Starmade interest through the years

[silverfoe]

Was a bit curious how popular starmade has changed over the years. I used google insights, so data is quite accurate. Basically looks how frequently terms with starmade have been searched.

Google Trends

Quite sad tbh. Wouldn't expected it to plummet this much.

 

[JumpSuit]

Was a bit curious how popular starmade has changed over the years. I used google insights, so data is quite accurate. Basically looks how frequently terms with starmade have been searched.
View attachment 45034
Google Trends

Quite sad tbh. Wouldn't expected it to plummet this much.

1st off: StarTade?
2nd: the game isn't meant to thrive just yet as the devs want a small manageable community during the time of alpha development, maybe when beta hits they will advertise the game and sell it out for more players to come flood in.

 

[kiddan]

Building off what JumpSuit said, it would be a terrible idea to have a large number of players losing interest and/or giving poor reviews on an incomplete game. If Schine needs more players, I've been told they have the means to get them.

 

[PriZm]

its exactly how it feels.. the golden age was around the steam release, then another revival during 2015 with lots of people on the servers and many new players. Today im happy if i find a server with 8 people online tbh There is a difference between a large number of players and hardly any players at all. Its just not fun playing on almost empty servers. I think the game could use some more people playing/testing the game. But i agree, it has to become more stable to do so.

 

[silverfoe]

its exactly how it feels.. the golden age was around the steam release, then another revival during 2015 with lots of people on the servers and many new players. Today im happy if i find a server with 8 people online tbh There is a difference between a large number of players and hardly any players at all. Its just not fun playing on almost empty servers. I think the game could use some more people playing/testing the game. But i agree, it has to become more stable to do so.

This, this so much.

 

[JumpSuit]

its exactly how it feels.. the golden age was around the steam release, then another revival during 2015 with lots of people on the servers and many new players. Today im happy if i find a server with 8 people online tbh There is a difference between a large number of players and hardly any players at all. Its just not fun playing on almost empty servers. I think the game could use some more people playing/testing the game. But i agree, it has to become more stable to do so.

Increasing the playerbase at this moment is going to be hard to manage forums wise, probably even in-game wise too requiring more server staff than really needed at this stage of the game.

 

[Dire Venom]

Bearing in mind that like 90% of the game was codded by one guy .... yeah XD Starmade has done pretty well for itself.
If they were part of a larger company they wouldn't have the freedom the develop the game as they wish, but also by being small they rely a lot on volunteers and take time to make progress.
Due to the scope of the game, it is far from in a 'finished' state. The universe and npc updates will likely make exploration, single player and multi player much more enjoyable and likely to keep players.
The price of the game will also rise to reflect the amount of content, with an estimated final cost being like $40 or so.
If they could get more skilled volunteers/funding I'm sure they could make more significant progress, they have 2-3 proper staff I think and the rest volunteers.

As stated by some other players, Starmade already has a hardcore fanbase and it would be advisable to wait until the major universe updates come out and a lot of bugs are fixed plus a price increase before trying to activly build a playerbase which is both expensive and time consuming.
They have limited resources so development would have to practically cease for this to happen for some time.

Also lol at the one guy disagreeing with everybody.

 

[Crusade]

pls no more players.

 

[GDPR 302420]

Oh look another thread to feed the fanboys false hope into a game that is never going to be completed.


Sorry whiteknights, but this needs to be said:


Lets face some simple facts here, StarMade is never going to be successfull, this game is dying at a rapid rate yet a lot of you fanboys keep up the delusion that when this game becomes "complete" all the people who left are going to come back.

But let me tell you, the approx 200k people who have left this game do not plan on coming back, they have moved on to other games, most have forgotten this game even exists.

This game, like it or not is a failed project.


"B-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-buuuut its in alpha so its all ok"

I've seen the "but its alpha" excuse pulled by the same fanboys so many times, but that whole counter-argument becomes moot when you compare this game to other games that actually work.

Go play Avorion, the building mechanics are better then StarMade's in every way.
Go play Empyrion Galacitc Survival, see how the survival mechanics play out.
Go play Starpoint Gemini Warlords and see how the fleet mechanics are better then StarMade's fleet mechanics.

2 out of 3 of the games I mentioned are also in alpha, the exact same state this game is in right now and is going to stay in until its death.


To quote a former council member and well known community member "It's like fucking stockholm syndrome"


Take a look at this game, They spend 6 years with a buggy game with a terrible engine that keeps getting worse and worse the more it gets developed, then after 6 years they decide to start over with a completely new building system and to add icing on the cake, they did not even finish creating assets for the current system, they haven't even finished updating the NPC pirates to use the current docking system with was replaced over a year ago!

This right here is a testemony to developer incompetence.


Do you fanboys honestly think that people are going to "come back" after Systems 2.0? Do you honestly think that this game is "sleeping" rather then just plain dead? Do you honestly think StarMade is going to be marketable AT ALL?

Wake up fanboys, you have all fallen victim to what is known as the sunk cost fallacy, its the very same thing nigerian prince scammers use to keep people giving them money.

This game is doomed, other voxel games have beaten StarMade and are rapidly gaining playerbase while StarMade's community is dropping like flies, its like a suffering farm animal waiting to be put down to end its misery.
[doublepost=1506409251,1506409065][/doublepost]

Starmade has become the exact thing that early access is infamous for. Good luck marketing your game 1-2 years down the line when it has a 6 year reputation of being a buggy broken mess.

 

[Tamren Shade]

Go play Avorion, the building mechanics are better then StarMade's in every way.
Go play Empyrion Galacitc Survival, see how the survival mechanics play out.
Go play Starpoint Gemini Warlords and see how the fleet mechanics are better then StarMade's fleet mechanics.

Then why are you still here? Either you still believe that the game has something or you don't. If you think it's dead game that needs to be put down, why are you wasting time here? Are you looking for some kind of validation? If you drag some players away will that somehow make your life better?

How many super-ambitious, possibly too ambitious, games have you personally coded with a small team on a part time schedule? Attacking the devs isn't going to make Starmade hit beta any faster. Attacking people who still like something you used to like and now have decided you're done with seems like a waste of time.

And like you said, there are other games to explore while waiting. I'm not a fortune teller, I can't see the future, but I hope Schine can pull off the game they want to build.

The game will be finished, or it won't.

I may still be playing or I may not when that happens.

$10 got me 1500+ plus hours of game, not many games can do that anymore. From what I gathered you've been around a lot longer then I have, and how many hours have you gotten out of Starmade since you started playing?

If you want to go, go, if you want to stay, stay. No one is going to judge you either way.

 

[Calhoun]

It's easy to get more players if you already have a community. Schine have said in both their comments and their attitudes that they fully expect no one from the current community to be part of the community upon release. That's likely true, because at this rate there won't be a community if they finally release.

How many super-ambitious, possibly too ambitious, games have you personally coded with a small team on a part time schedule? Attacking the devs isn't going to make Starmade hit beta any faster. Attacking people who still like something you used to like and now have decided you're done with seems like a waste of time.

I'm not a snake handler, but I know getting bitten is probably not a good idea. Just because you are not a professional in the field does not mean you do not recognise good and bad decisions, nor does it remove the option of bringing those decisions into question.

 

[PriZm]

According to steam we are talking about ~100 peak players and ~50 average during the last 30 days. Im sure servers would be much more alive and fun if this number was doubled. We would still be far away from anything you wanna call "a large number of players" but it would definitly help.

 

[Nauvran]

According to steam we are talking about ~100 peak players and ~50 average during the last 30 days. Im sure servers would be much more alive and fun if this number was doubled. We would still be far away from anything you wanna call "a large number of players" but it would definitly help.

ppssstt not everyone uses steam for starmade.

 

[PriZm]

i know, i also dont use steam for starmade. But it provides some orientation on how the player count developed. Other sites providing player count stats basically tell the exact same story. Starmade never had as few people playing it as it does today, and all im saying is, it would not hurt if there was 2 times or 3 times more, so there is actually things happening on servers again. As a pure builder you dont mind (maybe you are even happy, since there is less people potentially lagging the server), but i like player interaction - and atm there is none.

 

[GDPR 302420]

Schine have said in both their comments and their attitudes that they fully expect no one from the current community to be part of the community upon release. That's likely true, because at this rate there won't be a community if they finally release.

Fucking this

How many super-ambitious, possibly too ambitious, games have you personally coded with a small team on a part time schedule?

I don't need to be a an animal tamer to know that sticking your hand into a croc's open mouth is a terrible idea. Just because you are not a professional in the field does not mean you do not recognise good and bad decisions, nor does it remove the option of bringing those decisions into question.

Attacking people who still like something you used to like and now have decided you're done with seems like a waste of time.

I am not attacking shit, I am just telling people how it is without doing that sugarcoating BS

Attacking the devs isn't going to make Starmade hit beta any faster.

Of course it wont.

ppssstt not everyone uses steam for starmade.

Because SMD players account for sooo much of the games playerbase lmao




Look, I want to see this game become successfull as much as anyone else here, I paid money for this product and if I have criticism I am going to bring it up whenever fanboys like it or not.

As much as I want to hold on like the Schema Fanboy Squad do already, I have come to accept that this game isnt going to go places, assuming it even gets out of alpha in this decade, you should accept that too.

 

[Nauvran]

Fucking this



I don't need to be a an animal tamer to know that sticking your hand into a croc's open mouth is a terrible idea. Just because you are not a professional in the field does not mean you do not recognise good and bad decisions, nor does it remove the option of bringing those decisions into question.



I am not attacking shit, I am just telling people how it is without doing that sugarcoating BS



Of course it wont.



Because SMD players account for sooo much of the games playerbase lmao




Look, I want to see this game become successfull as much as anyone else here, I paid money for this product and if I have criticism I am going to bring it up whenever fanboys like it or not.

As much as I want to hold on like the Schema Fanboy Squad do already, I have come to accept that this game isnt going to go places, assuming it even gets out of alpha in this decade, you should accept that too.

My only point was that Steam doesnt account for 100% of the playerbase, maybe 90% but thats still an extra 10 people :P

 

[JinM]

I don't think the low player count is sad. We don't have new content. Every game can only be played for a certain time until it hits its content border. I don't understand why people argue about a game that gave them like 200 hours of game time, is not good enough for them anymore, even though they got 200 hours of gameplay allready out of it for 15€ or maybe even didn't pay for it. You guys can play this game for free you know - so it's pretty clear that Shine is different from the standard game companies that aim to make more money faster.

They explained that often enough: Faster development through more employes needs more money and more money forces Shine to develop at another pace as they want to. Within a more narrow time table some gameplay elements might need to get slimmed down.

Just get used to it: Just like in real life there are faster companies that need their employees to go to its limits every day, and then there are companies that don't drive on the "faster better and work harder" train. I suggest you just once try to work in a very contested sector once so you understand what it means to work so hard until you have problems to even sleep. The point is: The decission is not up to you, it's up to the people that work on the game.

 

[Dire Venom]

I got 1,500 hours of fantastic game-play from a creation based game (Robocraft). However eventually it went in a direction that I did not enjoy and I left. I more than got my moneys worth from that game, and enjoyed every minute of it.
From star-made I have also got countless hours of enjoyment, and I still discover something new every time I log on. I used to play a number of servers, however eventually I reached the limit of current exploration based content in-game and wanted to do something else.

How do RedAlert_007 and Calhoun propose to 'fix' starmade?
You disagree, with the development direction, that's fine but what would you propose doing differently:?
I fail to see how 1-3 part time coders can make any significant changes within a month or two without turning the game into bug stew.
Starting fresh on a new engine is not a feasible option, however that would fix some of the issues star-made has. With their tiny dev team such a propsel is insane. If it were a dev team of 40 with decent funding, sure no worries but this is litterly 1 GUY CODING IN HIS FREE TIME!!!

So far, no other game has let me spend 2 years building a 10 mill + block Death Star, outfitting every nook and craney with spinning dials, escape pods, patroling robots, inner shielding around customised componets and weapons, docked armour with AI controlled weapons, advanced docked reactors (then into Axuillary capacitors), 1 minute long visually stunning completely customisable weapon firing sequences, building complex logic computers and clocks in said ship and flying around completly customised Factions with Stark Trek themed ships blowing shit up to the imperial march.

If there is another game in which you can do this without melting your computer, please inform me. ^_^

 

[Calhoun]

How do RedAlert_007 and Calhoun propose to 'fix' starmade?
You disagree, with the development direction, that's fine but what would you propose doing differently:?
I fail to see how 1-3 part time coders can make any significant changes within a month or two without turning the game into bug stew.
Starting fresh on a new engine is not a feasible option, however that would fix some of the issues star-made has. With their tiny dev team such a propsel is insane. If it were a dev team of 40 with decent funding, sure no worries but this is litterly 1 GUY CODING IN HIS FREE TIME!!!

How do I propose to fix it? Simple.

1. Stop making dumb decisions that effectively throw away years of development.

2. Related to point 1, stop wasting time and resources. Schine have said they don't want to advertise, but then they waste the little money they have of dead end development. The upcoming power update is the biggest show of this. The fleet competition is also up there, as every single ship from that competition will have to be redone.

3. Listen to the community. Schine have said they don't play the game as a game. But instead of listening to the people who do, they ignore them. Listen to the PvPers on balance, listen to the builders on build system improvements, listen to the game-breakers on bug fixing. DO NOT THINK THIS COMMUNITY WILL GO QUIETLY. If you, Schine, keep doing as you are now and bullshitting the community, do not think it will not come back to bite you. You want a new community? Good luck with that after treating the previous one like shit.

That's obviously not everything that needs to happen but it's a hell of a good start.

 

[GDPR 302420]

How do I propose to fix it? Simple.

1. Stop making dumb decisions that effectively throw away years of development.

2. Related to point 1, stop wasting time and resources. Schine have said they don't want to advertise, but then they waste the little money they have of dead end development. The upcoming power update is the biggest show of this. The fleet competition is also up there, as every single ship from that competition will have to be redone.

3. Listen to the community. Schine have said they don't play the game as a game. But instead of listening to the people who do, they ignore them. Listen to the PvPers on balance, listen to the builders on build system improvements, listen to the game-breakers on bug fixing. DO NOT THINK THIS COMMUNITY WILL GO QUIETLY. If you, Schine, keep doing as you are now and bullshitting the community, do not think it will not come back to bite you. You want a new community? Good luck with that after treating the previous one like shit.

That's obviously not everything that needs to happen but it's a hell of a good start.

Ditto