What can be done to save Sundren?

[Dave Fritz]

Getting in game is good, it feels strange to be online when more DM's are logged in then players! Plus, too much time by myself on the client can only lead to mayhem and destruction...

get the F*ck on and play!!!!!!! I was just In there for 2 hrs and nothing!

Please post here http://www.sundren.org/forum/showthread.php?t=20602 And maybe drop a note to Saulus supporting this http://www.sundren.org/forum/showthread.php?t=20575 As I understand it, he's the only one who can make it happen.

Posting/PMing to hook up with others is much better than hanging around hoping someone else will show up.

[Snowmane]

The big problem with mass emails is we'd only really get one shot at it, and (as Saulus has said) the wording would need to be very carefully considered. It would probably be best to hold fire until we've taken some steps back on the road to recovery before sending it, be it quests or the Northern expansion (or ideally both and more).

I can agree with that, though I might counter if we don't do it soon there might not be anyone left. Still, it's Saulus' server and if he's not ready to pull that trigger, that's his decision. I am just trying to help!

I would also suggest that the e-mail points to a weekend when the returning players should log in, and attempt to have at least one DM on at all times that weekend (to cover every time zone). The DMs could sign up for shifts to guarantee 100% coverage of the weekend in all time zones. Who knows, maybe some old DMs that left might return and you could recruit them too.

[Silas North]

It seems that ever since this thread started, the population has gotten a small boost. Undoubtedly, the playtime forum aided in that as well.

Good luck to you Sundren.

[Thief Of Navarre]

Who can save sundren? Dane? No, I think only Osclow Wiltenholm is up to this task.

[Troy47]

Just a visitor here, but whenever player numbers sag on my pw we focus on running open social type events. Festivals, tournaments, contests, etc. Things where a DM or multiple DM's can announce the event in advance, so people can plan on logging in, and then running the event perhaps with some notable npc's in attendance, or some other happening set to occur, so as to use the general social event (which is really just dressed up tavern rp, shhh) and hook the attending players into some plot that can then be followed up on the next night.

Another fun thing we did was a 'City Occupation/Takeover' weekend where we setup all dm's to commit to essentially being on 24/7 for a weekend where the main server city was 'taken over' by an attempted Coup. We then cast all new players/lesser known players as the down trodden pc's being kept under guard, with starting the underground resistance that would lead to taking the city back over. PC's could also, if they wished, turn in their fellow resistance people and play the evil backstabbers. A little Les Mis, but it was a lot of fun, and it got newer pc's/players and returning players who felt disconnected from the world and events instantly re-engaged.

Also getting DM's to announce on the forums when they'll be on client/dm'ing in advance also helps.

Best of luck.

[ManUtd4Ever]

I agree... there has been a small bump on the server and I see that there are a few new DMs who are eager to help. Consistent with the recommendation above is my point that "less is more."

I would encourage the DMs to team together as best they can to plan and execute at least one major RP event each month. Instead of a handful of really small events, pick a time zone and then rotate a major time zone(s) to the right for each event. Tie each event to a Sundren plot line, because if the story stagnates then so too will the player’s interest.

Pick a date and time on the weekend for maximum participation. Announce the event and its objective, and then post it as an update and not just a forum post.

Cheers!

[Saulus]

Just a visitor here, but whenever player numbers sag on my pw we focus on running open social type events. Festivals, tournaments, contests, etc. Things where a DM or multiple DM's can announce the event in advance, so people can plan on logging in, and then running the event perhaps with some notable npc's in attendance, or some other happening set to occur, so as to use the general social event (which is really just dressed up tavern rp, shhh) and hook the attending players into some plot that can then be followed up on the next night.

Another fun thing we did was a 'City Occupation/Takeover' weekend where we setup all dm's to commit to essentially being on 24/7 for a weekend where the main server city was 'taken over' by an attempted Coup. We then cast all new players/lesser known players as the down trodden pc's being kept under guard, with starting the underground resistance that would lead to taking the city back over. PC's could also, if they wished, turn in their fellow resistance people and play the evil backstabbers. A little Les Mis, but it was a lot of fun, and it got newer pc's/players and returning players who felt disconnected from the world and events instantly re-engaged.

Also getting DM's to announce on the forums when they'll be on client/dm'ing in advance also helps.

Best of luck.

You've basically described what I've been asking DMs to do since I opened the server, announce 'pre-planned' events. They don't seem to like doing it though and rather do things ad-hoc.

[Troy47]

Lol. Ya, I feel your pain good sir. Ultimately DM team members have to take ownership of a PW as well. It's not an easy thing at all, getting dm's to be active, have fun dm'ing, while also servicing player needs, etc. Structurally speaking, I've never seen any 'design' or setup on a pw that can't be solved by straight forward old fashioned DM activity. Calls for reboots/vault wipes/new systems etc. are really just window dressing. The only thing NWN2/NWN1 really has unique to it is the dm client, and it takes devoted people to volunteer their time on a regular basis, not an easy thing to get by any means.

[Troy47]

Perhaps you could try a pie-in-the-sky idea I've had before of a pw/pnp hybrid. Essentially you'd have a team or faction of pc's played by players who were all also dm's. In order to have your PC remain on the team, each DM had to run at least one real event/plot for the group per week, with that DM's PC sitting said event out as otherwise indisposed off team. If someone doesn't do their event, they don't get to participate in the other's events until the next week they run their event.

Could work with a pirate ship/crew setup, or in a city really if all pc's knew eachother. It's plainly a departure from Sundren or most other standard pw setups, but I think it could potentially solve the problem of dm activity, at least for that small select group.

[rustediron]

Just chipping in before I go back and read the other 5 pages that a reboot sounds amazing, and running the clock back all the way to Mundus and the valley's discovery is a great idea.

EDIT: Perhaps an RSS feed/mailing list/twitter to send out notifications when there are 10/15+ players online at once?

It seems there's a forum for co-ordinating play hours, that sounds like a good idea, perhaps it might be worth actually designating a day of the week/time as 'peak time' and have the server provide some small benefits for playing in those hours. I think effort trying to revive the server is probably better spent trying to co-ordinate the active player base to play at the same time, rather than trying to bring back inactives/find new players.

EDIT2: Also, what's this about a floating city?

[Ashathor]

I'm not a long-time player, only played a few months before the second sunderering and only recently gotten back into things, so my thoughts may not be as informed as others. A reboot might work, but it sounds like a drastic change that should properly be a last resort before trying out other methods first.

More DM events and the like could really fuel people to come back on. Even if only a few show up, they'll be pumped to get back on for the next one and maybe more will show up then as well. If I had skills as a DM or story telling perhaps I could help, but I'm unsure if I would be good at it as I've never tried it or know how the client works.

I know how stretched the staff is, but for the moment the best I can do is stay active ingame even if I'm the only one on at the time. You can't get a bunch of people on at once if you just instantly quit during low population times. If you don't have anything to do till more people show up, maybe just have NWN2 run in the background while you do other stuff, check back every now and then to see if people are coming on. If someone sees at least a few people on, they may stick around as others start to log on. Just my thoughts on it.

[Rhifox]

Hi folks, long time.

Going to echo the sentiment that scheduling events helps a lot. A lot of players don't have the time and/or energy to stay on and active 24/7 to catch the ad hoc events, but still would like to be involved. Scheduling events really helps those kind of players keep interested, because they can set aside time and know exactly when to get on to participate. In particular, consistent scheduled events. A couple of solid events that are guaranteed to happen at X hour on Y day. Even something as simple as a weekly bar night. When people know for a fact that it's going to happen, and know exactly when and where it will happen, they'll start scheduling their weeks around it.

Admittedly, that's something players should also be arranging on their own, rather than just leaving it to the DMs.

What I would suggest is making a dedicated 'Events' forum. Simply being faced with a forum that outright says, "Hey, schedule some events and advertise them here!" helps encourage people to make some. Especially once it gets active and people can easily reference past event threads to get inspiration and encouragement. In the past, the Rumors forum has been used for this purpose, but I think a dedicated Events forum would work a lot better as it'd keep the event threads from being flooded by rumor threads.

I don't think a story reboot would help. What might work, without being so drastic, is consolidation of various smaller factions into larger alliance blocs and centralizing of hubs to encourage people of similar alignments to more regularly associate with one another. When I was still playing, that's what I was ICly working towards with the Red Wizards and the Banites, though it was a slow process.

[Silas North]

Who can save sundren? Dane? No, I think only Osclow Wiltenholm is up to this task.

....Who???

[Dave Fritz]

(snip)You can't get a bunch of people on at once if you just instantly quit during low population times. If you don't have anything to do till more people show up, maybe just have NWN2 run in the background while you do other stuff, check back every now and then to see if people are coming on.

I'd do this in a heartbeat, however the "other stuff" is really playing NWN2 or involve not being on or near the computer, usually.

If I knew how to run two instances of NWN2 using two different Neverwinter Nights 2 directories, I'd give it a try. Actually, I don't think it can be done, but I'm no expert. Anybody else know for sure?

[Fezzik]

....Who???

Some guy in a hat.... his protege is WAY cooler!

and a gnome, so like, double whammy!