Nov 20th, 2015, 04:12 PM
MCP has had a sudden recrudescence recently, but it won't last long. I'm here to talk about my personal view and opinion to ultimately suggest advice to the owners on how to continue the growth of MCP.
Certain things must be taking into consideration if MCP will continue to grow. The sudden bursts of activity MCP is currently experiencing is only temporary and if it is intended to stay, things must be done. Firstly, more events must happen on MCP at a more consistent rate. Once players get attached to a server, the overall concept will only intrigue them for a small while. It is up to the server owner to keep that player interested by constantly running events that can participate in. Things like the plot contests that have been going on has without a doubt had a positive effect on the server. There are a small handful of builders on MCP that have been idle for quite some time, and these contests have allowed them to have fun and build their own things to show off to the whole server, under the owner's support. However, building contests will not keep MCP moving forward, for it only appeals to a certain group. Consider adding more things that can appeal to different groups of people on the server.
Suggested Event Options:
PvP Contests
Faction Contests
most guard kills in a month by a faction
best looking base
best functioning base
Prison Events
scavenger hunts
Christmas point games
top event winner of the month
Recruitment Policy
invite the most players that achieve the rank of E Block
These are a handful of ideas that come to mind when I think of different events that can be hosted by the server on MCP in the future. Keep in mind you can get as creative as you wish with these.
To continue my thoughts, most of these events are retention based. They are meant to appeal to veteran players, although still appealing to newer people. The events listed are intended to keep players active and having fun when they get attached to the server, not to actually hook new players. Hooking new players onto the server is difficult, I'm 100% sure you know what I'm talking about what I say that there seems to be no good way to hook every new player that comes onto MCP. Well, that's because there isn't. Most players that come onto the server come to see how it is; what the community is like, big or small, quality of the server, straightforward or advanced, Pvp oriented, friendly, etc. It is extremely difficult to market towards that group of people considering that your server might not even be the server they want to be on. The group you want to target are the people that considered the server and actually play it.
There is something I've learned over the years of my experiences. A lot of the time, players go on servers for other human communication and relationships. Want to know the reason why MCP has had such a good community? Or why at some times the server average has peaked so high? It's because when the owner or admin is on and communicates with new players, they often get instantly attached. One of my first experiences with you was when you were having fun with me, changing my name to usefulbob =). As a young kid, I felt I got attached to the server because of a simple experience such as that. I don't think I even talked to you after that, but the fact that you communicated to me through admin command was special. The idea of having a Mod that runs around greeting new players was an EXCELLENT idea but was EXCUTED poorly. Lizzy (no offence) was a godawful option and a new mod should be reconsidered. Natefoster should consider taking this job as a warden until a new mod is chosen. The Mod should be active and attached to the server, someone that won't leave anytime soon. When they start to make connections they are automatically the man on the server everyone knows. This is one option, for the owner them self can commit to this task, for it is very effective.
Consider this one paragraph above if you were too lazy to ready anything else.
In terms of expanding the server, the only thing I suggest to do is increase ways to encourage the invitation of friends and voting. Doing so will greatly expand the server is quite obvious ways I will not go into.
For more reference on expansion & retention: (SKIP)
[ Retention
Retention ? The server's ability to retain players so that they return in the future.
To begin, it will be stated that server retention can be accessed through a multitude of methods. Some include: unique game play mechanics, connections with players, connections with staff, a player goal that is interesting and fun to work towards, etc. Each of the listed examples will be explained in detail. Unique game play mechanics offer retention from the perspective that it impresses the player and gives them something new to explore. This obviously gets them intrigued in the server long enough for my next examples to kick in. Connections with staff and other players are important for successful server retention to exist. Player are confirmed to stay longer if they establish early friendships with other players. In early stages of a server, an active owner is an active server; the owner should be online to greet new people, establish connections, and give them reason to come on. Lastly, all successful servers should have some sort of major end goal. Examples include becoming Free on a prison server, winning the Hunger Games, owning the best faction, surviving the elements, etc. It can be appealing to players if they are given an intriguing end-goal that they can easily get into and work towards completing; hopefully meeting new players on the way.
Server retention is incredibly important to a successful server. It can be rather easy to get new players to join a server, however if the owner can not give them a reason to return, it is in vain. Retention is the reason the players return to a server, without it, the server would have to rely on short visits from new players that may only stay on for one hour, get bored, and leave forever. Using methods, like the examples stated before, an owner can create reasons to pull players into the server, making them want to return and continue their adventure.
Expansion
Expansion ? The server's way to attract new players to join the game.
Closely knitted to retention, expansion is another key factor to running a successful server. To begin, it will be made clear that server expansion is another way of saying server promotion or advertisement. Ways to get the server's name into players that seek to play on a server. A prime example of server expansion is a voting network. It is very simple for owners to place their name and description of their server in a voting network, then for players to find that name and join. Other methods may include: Youtuber endorsement, paid server ad agreements, site ads, in-game recruitment.
These methods will be explained in detail. To start, voting is a universal must for servers; it is an excellent way to get new players to find your server. When someone wants to play on a prison server, for example, they may look up 'Minecraft Prison Server'. If the server an owner put in falls within those tags, it will appear before the player, along with other servers?popular to least popular. Youtuber endorsement includes a server owner paying or convincing a popular Youtuber to play or review their server so that their viewers may feel inclined to check it out themselves. Paid server ads includes paying a rival, or even friendly server to put advertisements for another server inside of their server. This will incline their players to join the promoted server. Site ads are simply just buying advertisement spots in a website that could relate to Minecraft, then putting an appealing advertisement for the server in the spot. Lastly, in-game recruitment doesn't only involve going into others server and advertising, but an owner convincing their own players to bring a friend or family member is a lot more acceptable instead. This obviously encourages centralized growth from your own players, which can lead to retention (since the player now has a buddy to play with).
Server expansion is a very necessary thing to have in a successful Minecraft server. It is the very idea of bringing new potential players onto the server?if you remove all ways of expansion the server will surely die within months. Using methods like the ones stated before, a server owner can quickly and effectively add expansion methods to promote their server to the public, bringing waves of new players for them to keep. ]
Another suggestion tying in with encouraging players to vote:
http://cdgs.net/index.php/topic,2600.0.html
Thank you for considering this suggestion, and as always, good luck with CDGS! Cheers!
Certain things must be taking into consideration if MCP will continue to grow. The sudden bursts of activity MCP is currently experiencing is only temporary and if it is intended to stay, things must be done. Firstly, more events must happen on MCP at a more consistent rate. Once players get attached to a server, the overall concept will only intrigue them for a small while. It is up to the server owner to keep that player interested by constantly running events that can participate in. Things like the plot contests that have been going on has without a doubt had a positive effect on the server. There are a small handful of builders on MCP that have been idle for quite some time, and these contests have allowed them to have fun and build their own things to show off to the whole server, under the owner's support. However, building contests will not keep MCP moving forward, for it only appeals to a certain group. Consider adding more things that can appeal to different groups of people on the server.
Suggested Event Options:
PvP Contests
Faction Contests
most guard kills in a month by a faction
best looking base
best functioning base
Prison Events
scavenger hunts
Christmas point games
top event winner of the month
Recruitment Policy
invite the most players that achieve the rank of E Block
These are a handful of ideas that come to mind when I think of different events that can be hosted by the server on MCP in the future. Keep in mind you can get as creative as you wish with these.
To continue my thoughts, most of these events are retention based. They are meant to appeal to veteran players, although still appealing to newer people. The events listed are intended to keep players active and having fun when they get attached to the server, not to actually hook new players. Hooking new players onto the server is difficult, I'm 100% sure you know what I'm talking about what I say that there seems to be no good way to hook every new player that comes onto MCP. Well, that's because there isn't. Most players that come onto the server come to see how it is; what the community is like, big or small, quality of the server, straightforward or advanced, Pvp oriented, friendly, etc. It is extremely difficult to market towards that group of people considering that your server might not even be the server they want to be on. The group you want to target are the people that considered the server and actually play it.
There is something I've learned over the years of my experiences. A lot of the time, players go on servers for other human communication and relationships. Want to know the reason why MCP has had such a good community? Or why at some times the server average has peaked so high? It's because when the owner or admin is on and communicates with new players, they often get instantly attached. One of my first experiences with you was when you were having fun with me, changing my name to usefulbob =). As a young kid, I felt I got attached to the server because of a simple experience such as that. I don't think I even talked to you after that, but the fact that you communicated to me through admin command was special. The idea of having a Mod that runs around greeting new players was an EXCELLENT idea but was EXCUTED poorly. Lizzy (no offence) was a godawful option and a new mod should be reconsidered. Natefoster should consider taking this job as a warden until a new mod is chosen. The Mod should be active and attached to the server, someone that won't leave anytime soon. When they start to make connections they are automatically the man on the server everyone knows. This is one option, for the owner them self can commit to this task, for it is very effective.
Consider this one paragraph above if you were too lazy to ready anything else.
In terms of expanding the server, the only thing I suggest to do is increase ways to encourage the invitation of friends and voting. Doing so will greatly expand the server is quite obvious ways I will not go into.
For more reference on expansion & retention: (SKIP)
[ Retention
Retention ? The server's ability to retain players so that they return in the future.
To begin, it will be stated that server retention can be accessed through a multitude of methods. Some include: unique game play mechanics, connections with players, connections with staff, a player goal that is interesting and fun to work towards, etc. Each of the listed examples will be explained in detail. Unique game play mechanics offer retention from the perspective that it impresses the player and gives them something new to explore. This obviously gets them intrigued in the server long enough for my next examples to kick in. Connections with staff and other players are important for successful server retention to exist. Player are confirmed to stay longer if they establish early friendships with other players. In early stages of a server, an active owner is an active server; the owner should be online to greet new people, establish connections, and give them reason to come on. Lastly, all successful servers should have some sort of major end goal. Examples include becoming Free on a prison server, winning the Hunger Games, owning the best faction, surviving the elements, etc. It can be appealing to players if they are given an intriguing end-goal that they can easily get into and work towards completing; hopefully meeting new players on the way.
Server retention is incredibly important to a successful server. It can be rather easy to get new players to join a server, however if the owner can not give them a reason to return, it is in vain. Retention is the reason the players return to a server, without it, the server would have to rely on short visits from new players that may only stay on for one hour, get bored, and leave forever. Using methods, like the examples stated before, an owner can create reasons to pull players into the server, making them want to return and continue their adventure.
Expansion
Expansion ? The server's way to attract new players to join the game.
Closely knitted to retention, expansion is another key factor to running a successful server. To begin, it will be made clear that server expansion is another way of saying server promotion or advertisement. Ways to get the server's name into players that seek to play on a server. A prime example of server expansion is a voting network. It is very simple for owners to place their name and description of their server in a voting network, then for players to find that name and join. Other methods may include: Youtuber endorsement, paid server ad agreements, site ads, in-game recruitment.
These methods will be explained in detail. To start, voting is a universal must for servers; it is an excellent way to get new players to find your server. When someone wants to play on a prison server, for example, they may look up 'Minecraft Prison Server'. If the server an owner put in falls within those tags, it will appear before the player, along with other servers?popular to least popular. Youtuber endorsement includes a server owner paying or convincing a popular Youtuber to play or review their server so that their viewers may feel inclined to check it out themselves. Paid server ads includes paying a rival, or even friendly server to put advertisements for another server inside of their server. This will incline their players to join the promoted server. Site ads are simply just buying advertisement spots in a website that could relate to Minecraft, then putting an appealing advertisement for the server in the spot. Lastly, in-game recruitment doesn't only involve going into others server and advertising, but an owner convincing their own players to bring a friend or family member is a lot more acceptable instead. This obviously encourages centralized growth from your own players, which can lead to retention (since the player now has a buddy to play with).
Server expansion is a very necessary thing to have in a successful Minecraft server. It is the very idea of bringing new potential players onto the server?if you remove all ways of expansion the server will surely die within months. Using methods like the ones stated before, a server owner can quickly and effectively add expansion methods to promote their server to the public, bringing waves of new players for them to keep. ]
Another suggestion tying in with encouraging players to vote:
http://cdgs.net/index.php/topic,2600.0.html
Thank you for considering this suggestion, and as always, good luck with CDGS! Cheers!
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