Okay as a new player
Adam
This website is literally unusable because of how rigid the social gameplay is... this is not the fault of the devs/mods who seem to be trying their best but there NEEDS to be some way to entice new users to stick around because of as right now the social game for new/newer players is impossible. I'm hopeful that the devs here can come up with some creative solutions here bc we're less than 2 months into this website and the majority of players I'm running into have played hundreds of games and spend all their time performing a balancing act with all their long-term relationships instead of working with new players. I want this website to succeed but most players who play multiple games, make 0 connections, and get voted off immediately each time will just log off and never come back lol. Obviously gaged had the same issues near the end of its life but this user base is SO insular already that we need to do something or else Kovaze will continue to consist of mostly holdovers from tg who seem completely fine with picking up where they left off in terms of alliances/hierarchies Sin
EDIT: Okay I didn't know if I'd get responses but I got a lot LOL I appreciate y'all for being so kind and I'm happy we're all sharing the same vision here. I spent a LONGG time on tg so I'm very aware of how a site like this can lose steam when new users feel shut out and the old users only strengthen bonds with each other. There's some good suggestions in the comments and also in RandyBandy's blog https://kovaze.com/blog/41471 - I hope we can continue to come up with more
27 votes, 117 points
Comments
I get nominated a lot in games too because I don't have many friends on this website and it seems like everyone else in the games are friends with each other. I'm always down to work with anyone who is willing to work with me though. I would love to work with you in a game sometime.
Hi, dear! Welcome to the site! I'm sorry your initial experience wasn't the best. As some people have said here, Frenzy is the best game for meeting new people. The arena has become a purely physical game and the social aspect no longer exists, so it's very difficult for newcomers to get a good ranking, but you'll get there with time. As for relationships, I also think time will bring you great connections here. Not all veteran players are friends with each other; many don't even like each other. You'll get to know everyone little by little and be able to connect with someone. I say all this because when I was a newcomer here, I had my difficulties, and even today, I don't have connections with most people here. If you need to talk to someone, or want some game tips, my email is always open for you!
As someone who was new abt a week ago yes Arena is not newbie friendly AHOGISHJDOFJAOWE. I got many bottom placements and literally had to get help from a friend (who is now banned he ate) to know the strategy on certain comps. You very much need to rely on people giving you the benefit of the doubt and letting you go far to be able to thrive. Frenzy, on the other hand, is very much newbie friendly and just requires you to be extremely active in making alliances and having relationships... it's still very difficult to get past certain friend groups though, and the more you play the more you see who hangs out with who and who's cool with who. This post is so so so true and I hope that the site overall (not just the people behind it) becomes more new player friendly... instead of calling them all multis lmao!
itsamodernlife Okay completely agree and I'm happy there's somebody else "newer" to chime in! Frenzy is definitely more newbie friendly - unfortunately I think a lot of new users will leave if before they invest enough time to figure out the premade dynamics but I'm not sure if there's a good solution for that
Adam Honestly this sounds bogus asf but like sequestering people based off of points might be the solution? Gives newer people the chance to play with other new people without the pressures of precons and then once you reach a certain amt of points you're in the big leagues. It's extreme but there's not much that can be done from a developer standpoint.
itsamodernlife Yeah that could definitely work if there's enough of a userbase to support it!! Idk how fast games fill right now though lol but that was along the lines of what I'm thinking. I'm also wondering if a popup when you join a game type for the first time with rules & tips might be helpful?
itsamodernlife They could never make me hate modern
ur so real for this ily bestie
hausofkimchi ILYYY
i agree with a lot of what you're saying but i dont know what sin could possibly do about it. and i also feel as though the "comp-ification" of the website is the real threat for new people. I've seen new people flourish in frenzy. I used to see it too in arena, but ever since arena basically became a comp oriented game mode in the last 2-3 weeks I fear it is no longer a good entry point for new players and it is no longer a good game to play if you are mediocre or even medium level at the comps. i dont think we are at a stage where new players will struggle to get ahead yet, but it is happening. Frenzy is still okay for them. Arena, sadly, is not.
Listen I think u coulda done a lot better had u not called out mackey lol I totally feel this it’s gonna feel way worse in the arena getting sent in over and over. Theres a lot of nice people who play a lot of frenzy and you can very easily meet new people there!!! I understand the frustration completely when you’re not known by a lot of ppl you’re seen as disposable in games especially the arena. You’ll get more experience playing games and you’ll meet some people you enjoy working with, and pretty soon you’ll see new players you can help. I try and help new players a lot, not everybody’s gonna know that you’re new bc of having a design so don’t be afraid to like ask people for tips or advice as a new player. I know this is all soooooo much to think about but there’s nice people on here like paigesings04 and cherry and nakime who are especially especially friendly to new players!
sobriquet too if you ever see her in a game tell her you’re new she will try her best to make you feel included
Amandasings04 LOL I don't regret calling out Mackey bc I was on tengaged for a WHILE and I can't remember anybody asking for my save in pm's without even saying hi first... aside from that completely agree and thank you for sending these people my way <333
As someone who's been here since the beginning, I totally see what you're saying and I agree. Personally I'm exhausted with managing my long-term relationships every time I join a social game and I'm too bad at the comps for race so I just blog now.
Paigesings04 Okay real af. Love your cat btw <3
unfortunately I think this is just how any social strategy based game is until more casual options are added, but I hear u for sure. this is definitely a valid concern but I don't think sin can do much unless you have any ideas - but im down to join games and help u out :)
Lover again its not a gameplay problem its a community problem. You are part of it and I have experienced that firsthand.
DakotaMagic now Dakota that last sentence is unfair af
Amandasings04 truly
Amandasings04 I was not attacking him. I was just speaking to the fact I have personally gone into an arena where Lover had a group of 6 friends in it, and when I commented that, they said "well better win comps". IF I was a new player...I'd leave and not come back lol. Not everything is an attack or unfair. I knew what I was saying. We have to think of many perspectives.
DakotaMagic I didn’t say it was an attack I said it was unfair. lover commented to be helpful and supportive this was not the space to call somebody out and air your personal grievances.
DakotaMagic I was not saying that at all! but yes, I joined with my friends as people do. the very next game I saw you in, I said I'd make it up to you and if I remember correctly I brought you to f3 (I think you got 1st or 2nd) with my friend maddie when we could've easily voted you in at any moment when we were asked but like Amanda said, this isn't really the place, I was moreso trying to open up a spot for suggestions so that when sin sees this, he can get some advice for how to fix the issue.
DakotaMagic you can blame the community, but once you make friends you don't want to screw them over. and like I said, unfortunately that's just how it is! you make allies in games, and once you join a game with someone you've worked with before, you're more likely to work with them over someone you don't know! you can blame me (which, I don't know what you're referring to but im sure you're not wrong) but that's just common sense. Familiarity is incredibly important in these types of games because any person with common sense would rely on someone they know and trust over someone they don't.
Lover Im voting you out over new people any chance I get.
CarltonRS and honestly I dont blame u
Lover Okay I'm just going to ignore the argument that occurred under here LOL I appreciate the advice and I do agree with your assessment mostly but I think WITH this site demo there's just so much social game going on that's alienating into new players (and I was very active on TG so I am aware of that but it's even worse here). I'm gonna write suggestions in the blog as I think of them but I do think holding players in finals for a certain amount of time preventing them from joining another game like with fastings did help break up the monotony. Also any sort of game or opportunity for newer users to practice comps without being immediately targeted/eliminated like they are currently in Arena because I've gotten last every time now LOL
Adam ok YES like that's actually a really good idea. holding people in games, though it pissed ppl off when juries stalled in frookies, did make the more successful players be able to control less games. I think that would help a lot Sin - unless the concern is that it would make other games fill slower- which is fair too. Maybe a shorter wait time because 12 hours was insanely long. I don't think he will add practice links, but I do think more casual options will be on their way eventually.
idk why you got negged here's some ++
I called this out when i started and got SPAM negged just like you are! Plussed!!!
DakotaMagic <333
I agree, it was rough for me at first but I quickly met friends and made some connections. i always make an effort to work with new players in games because i know it sucks to know nobody and get last place because you're an easy nominee. hugs!!
Space Hugs!! That's definitely all we can do is individuals I think - even if we don't see a feasible path to working with new users at least communicating with them if you can and being honest