Gemstone's population.

[Lucas]

I was wondering if anyone knows the exact population statistics from the beginning year to now. Also, has the population...

A.) Steadily gone down over the years?
B.) Has it ever gone back up?If so why?
C.) Predictions to current population trends, and why?
D.)* If the population has decreased do you believe the quality of players has gone up?

[Gan]

A through C would be answered by a yearly business report that is probably made available internally to the executive team since its a privately held company.

D would be a simple matter of opinion. I think the quality would raise somewhat because those who are left are obviously more loyal/dedicated to the game and would inherently seek to improve its gaming environment.

[Stumper]

Simu is pretty tight-lipped about releasing any population statistics but from my guess in playing the game over time has been:

A) Yes the population has gone down. Currently we are about 25% during primetime of what we were when AOL went flat rate.

B) Usually the game only spikes when merchant pay events come around. I would imagine those not to be new players though, but players activating closed accounts to go on those merchants.

C)With the coming of HJ, I think the number of players is going to be dictated by how HJ is packaged. If Simu is going to make players play for both games, you will see the population take about a hit, initially. As players tire with it, you may see them come back. If Simu packages the text based games with HJ, there is going to be an enormous spike in Gemstone accounts. However, I would imagine the population will go down because many of these accounts will only be part-time players.

D)The quality of the player has definately decreased. The RP is just gone. I'm going to beat the dead MA horse on this one. People just seem to be now longer reliant on one another because they've got tables of zombies. I'll also throw in the "disneyfication"(don't know who to source on that word) of Gemstone. Bring back demonic and the old exp penalties.

[Fallen]

Bring back demonic and the old exp penalties. >>

The exp Penalties are still there, just in a different form. Instead of getting a flat -10k for departing, you can get up to a -14k for departing without deeds. If you fail to work off that decay modifier before your next one, the penalty becomes even worse.

Further, there is temporary stat/skill loss in GS4. There are more than a few walking around with a near permanent -20+ to their CON. Death still has its sting.

[zhelas]

When i left 6 years ago the population was enormous there were times where there were atleast 1700 folks online and when it was slow there were around 700. Now the most i have ever seen is around 800 and yes that is due to a Merchant event or some invasion that is happening. Really i don't think the who is online accurately counts who is playing since there are a lot of Ma'ers. I am not sure Simu really cares as long as the money keeps coming in.

As for RP being gone? It only seems to come out when there is an event or something like that. Even 6 years ago RP was only narrowed down to a few groups and strangely enough it seemed to me that it was the same group of folks over and over again who were involve in every storyline. When others tried to RP they were normally ignored.

Yes bring back the demonic!

[Brattt8525]

It seemed to me that there was a real rise in people having more then one character for the sole purpose of MA'ing when they changed everything/dropped everyone to 100. The price dropped dramatically for character sales from what i noticed which allowed people to buy a bunch of needed characters to add to their stables.

[Latrinsorm]

It's gone down. Nobody's done any sort of rigorous analysis though, so anyone who tells you something like "25%" doesn't really have any evidence beyond anecdotal.

People have always looked back at previous eras as bastions of RP compared to the present era. The inherent contradictoriness of this position is apparently not a problem to them.

[Drew]

It's gone down compared to ten years ago but has been stable the last 3 years. There are enough new players to replace those who leave. Roleplay is at the best it's ever been in Gemstone, anyone who says otherwise is looking through rose-coloured glasses.

[Fallen]

Roleplay is at the best it's ever been in Gemstone, anyone who says otherwise is looking through rose-coloured glasses. >>

It takes so little to inspire it, too. Those that do not normally RP, or rp fluff characters will react to strong roleplay when it happens near them.

[Drew]

Roleplay is at the best it's ever been in Gemstone, anyone who says otherwise is looking through rose-coloured glasses. >>

It takes so little to inspire it, too. Those that do not normally RP, or rp fluff characters will react to strong roleplay when it happens near them.


totally agree

[Hulkein]

Gemstone is terrible nowadays.

[Jolena]

Roleplay is at the best it's ever been in Gemstone, anyone who says otherwise is looking through rose-coloured glasses. >>

It takes so little to inspire it, too. Those that do not normally RP, or rp fluff characters will react to strong roleplay when it happens near them.

Completely agree. When I first started playing GS almost 6 years ago, I honestly didn't find much RP but it wasn't what I was looking for at the time. I spent the first year of my time in GS learning how to do things and trying not do die every day while hunting. It was a brand new world and verbs were for experimenting with, with no real regard or thoughts towards how to develop RP with them.

Years later, I have to agree that RP is very much alive and well in GS in many different areas and within a variety of different character types/groups. At almost every event that Elanthian Elegance hosts, there are new faces showing up that are trying to RP and participate. Do they always do so flawlessly? Nope, not even close to it. But they are TRYING, which is the entire reason I enjoy having a PRO and the events that we hold. Its encouraging and fun to see the different types of RP out there and watch as they experiment just like I did when I was new to the game or just new to RP in general.

[Apathy]

On a related unrelated note, DR completely sucks these days, hence my cancelled account.

Gemstone bug anyone?

[StrayRogue]

GS, according to the mentors, gets a massive influx of new players every summer and winter (due to the holidays). How many of these stay however is in question. The population is slowly dwindling. That much, at least, is certain.

[Gan]

Engaging into the RP of a task, even, or situation that is affecting the place where I'm at is way cool. What turns me off is when I have to dodge the local 'seductive sex kitten' who saunters in and tries to make every other sentence a sexual innuendo or overtone. Thats when I find an excuse to return to grinding out a hunt. Its the same in wow when you're in town or near an inn and the local naked dancer puts you in their sights. Its a shame you cant just cut em down on the spot. :(

[Praefection]

With school out there most likely be a new influx of returning players and true newbs with too much free time on their hands.

[Parker]

There will also be an influx of ... me!

I will say, that up until a few months ago, when I put my account on hold, Gemstone had almost seemed to improve in it's RP, at least outside of Ta'Vaalor...

I suppose that could be part of my perception, having grown and matured a bit as a roleplayer.