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How to save System Lords

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  • Dildozer
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Jun 05 2015 7:39 pm

How to save System Lords

If you are a regular player the following will probably p*ss you off. Don't worry though I'm here to help.

1.) Update the interface and make it more interactive. I can't be the only one who hates doing repetetive tasks to accomplish simple goals when a check box will allow me to accomplish in 30 seconds what takes me 10 minutes.

Examples:

"Send naqadah from all planets" (this should be a permanent feature that isn't limited by frequency). Combine "Trade" and "Your planets" menus into one menu, adding check boxes next to each planet you own. Have check box at top that performs "select all" planets (maybe even two check boxes next to one another, one indicating "send to" the other "send from"). To right of planets add a drop-down menu that performs designated actions and a button which executes chosen command.

Allow reinforcements to be sent from all planets in a similar fashion.

Allow buildings/military to be constructed in a similar fashion.

Limit naqadah in depository to a percentage of total net worth rather than an arbitrary figure.


2.) Naqadah mining is the single most important aspect of the game. I didn't even know about the game until after "resources" were removed so I have no idea what the mechanics of that were like but I can assume it was something like starcraft. I like the idea of asteroid belts but I feel like there arent enough of them in the game. Add more, but make them less valuable. Don't just limit them to asteroid belts. I could go on and on with suggestions which would lead to more frequent conflicts but I'm not getting paid to write any of this so use your imagination. The point is there should be more variety to a universe/galaxy to inspire people to go explore and conquer. Please don't remove earning by creating a system of naqadah welfare.

3.) Limit the amount of units that can occupy a planet and be sent to do battle on a planet. Kind of like starcraft but not so limited. This will make the losses more symmetrical and prevent players from rage quitting when their entire fleet gets wiped out in the first 5 minutes.

4.) Expand alliance size. Disallow battle between alliance members and non-allied players. Also put a 7 day cap on battle between players who have recently left an alliance and non-allied players to prevent abuse of the system.

5.) Make it harder to create multiple accounts. Use gmail verification. If you don't want to deal with that particular devil, use text verification. Make sure to disallow TWILIO and similar phone numbers from being used to verify. Not foolproof but better than what exists here so far.

6.) 30-day free trial then $5/month to keep your account active. Why? Take a lesson from the big players in any modern subscription based industry. It's easy to get in the habit of something but pretty hard to break. Get customers acclimated to the concept of spending money on your game FROM DAY ONE. They then have 30 days to get addicted then it will cost them.

7.) Astroturf or have someone do it for you. Paid advertising can easily be ignored. A silent co-ordinated simultaneous invasion of multiple Stargate internet forums is harder to ignore. Why do you think governments pay people to troll online political forums? Because it works.

8.) This game is the only thing your players care about IN THE HERE AND NOW. Make it badass and it will advertise itself. Following the above suggestions would be a good start. Crucifiers analysis in the "game changes" post was pretty spot on too.

9.) Anyone that still cares please expand on anything I might have missed and correct anything you disagree with, making sure to explain why you disagree with it.

I still want this game to be here, and hopefully alot more active a year from now.

  • Dildozer
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Jun 05 2015 7:40 pm

Almost forgot to add: give in-game credits to existing players who bring in new players. Give a small credit for bringing in 30 day trial members, and a larger credit for bringing in customers who convert to paying customers. Works for Fortune 500 companies, why not for System Lords?

  • Sadeyes
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Jun 05 2015 8:25 pm

Anything that can help the game does not p1ss me off. It is always welcome.

It's impossible. I hate it. It's evil. It's astonishing. I want to kiss it to death.
  • Axufuris
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Jun 05 2015 9:24 pm

Some of this has been tried and failed. The paid subscription will just kill the game. I have played it since day one but would quit as soon as he did that. If he did a one time buy i would have done that after the subscription. There are plenty of other ways to earn money. The biggest thing hurting this game is the pay to win.

Oh Hello There