Social Survey: Why people are loosing interest to Discovery?

[Omicron]

Technerfs

Snub pvp skill gap

PoBs

Other people telling me what is best for me / what I should do or like.

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[Jeremy Hunter]

just lost interest over time and increasing hectic RL didn't help either

That seems to be the most common pair of reasons from all of the vets that I've talked to since leaving.

People have less time and energy for this sort of passtime, and I think the stupid drama and tensions amongst the playerbase contributed to people feeling like Discovery was more work than play.

The best times I ever had was goofing around with faction mates, the worst times were seeing people literally bullying other players over some tribalism nonsense.

This is a part of why I drifted away, why I've come and gone over the years. Tribalism and bullying, hatred, all of it just festered and made the game unfun to play. It was a camp I admit I fell into later in my many, many years with Discovery, especially after I took over factions, entered high commands. I still RP a lot, I still do such things, but there are other places I can do them, and I manage to do plenty without most of this drama that I've encountered, been affected by, etc.

Some of my best memories were hanging out around Toledo, gearing up to fight the Core in Delta, and just chilling and talking in systems and just having fun. Heck, only reason I'm around is because of my factionmates - the Order's always been a home, and I always check the chat form time to time. helps that Golly keeps my discord perms so I can actually see and contribute, especially since I remember stuff from years ago rofl.

The tensions are what killed Discovery for me.

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May you ever walk in the Light, Shizune.

[Deluxe]

I do not play that long here, but was on two other pretty succesfull servers for a very long time which died - fought for them till the end-
In my opinion Discovery need the following change without a doubt:
Drastical! reducing the Systemnumbers, the Map is made at least for 150+ players, at best here are around 60, mostly 50 at prime time. Same goes for variety of IDs (not every House needs every kind of ID. Playerinteractions are the mainsource of fun in the game.
It need probbaly that:
It is just a impression and Im not expierenced enough here to say it for sure: Kick offical factions if they are inactive lol
actually I dont see a single faction I would recomment active. Phoenix maby suits the definition of active a little, but not a single other faction has 10d playtime last month, thats means not even 10 Members with one day playtime per month --Without saying how to react to that, as I said for that I am not enough into your Serverdynamics. But what I say is, I wanted to join a faction (unlawful) and there wasnt a single I would consider somwhere near to active enough. (flying alone I can do as indie also, without extra rules by factions lol)
And playing in clans /here factions is the main reason for long time motivation in this game!


Personally I would play much more here (and I talked to many players doing PvP, agreeing with me) if the pvp-mechanics for fighters work more vanilla. missels/Torps in fights should work the same (maby with higher Damage) than in vanilla -> It is much more entertaining due to more skill needed for that (how to CD missels/torps, avoid getting hit and hit with your missels/torps at the same time while cycling, and trying getting behind your opponent with it ist just way superior to the pvp mechanics here.) Your Substitution of that mechanics with the mines is maby working, but a huge downgrade of the whole gamemechanics as intended in FL. Only reason I can imagine why you did that, is cause you survive longer, whats suits the rp-dead if you get killed more, but that is a lame excuse for not getting into how mechanics should work. lol

The here often called "toxic" community I dont see, but I am used to a rouge tone, I actually like that kinda. Funfact: It is based on the small community cause you always fighting the same guys over and over again, just ignore them if they get salty.

Just my thoughts feel free to answer to that - always like to hear other opinions


Greetings
Deluxe

[Ace Razgriz]

Why are people losing interest in this game? Where do I begin honestly.

I had like, began my online life through Discovery, it was a community I thrived in for years and made many friends (which is still a friend circle I interact with daily). I still interact with people that play this game, so why did I leave?

This community in the end drove me away because of the utter and complete lack of maturity and being equatable to some deep end of /pol/. Most specifically there was a gross amount of homophobia and transphobia that honestly drove away a large amount of people that came out as queer and or trans after being in discord. For instance, I came out as trans in my time in disco, and when I initially came out to people I was referred to as a "mental health problem" and "social experiment" and that "i'm gonna be a sterile tranny". Here I am 4, almost 5 years later thriving now that I stopped caring about the input of people here.

You drive people in this community away because of backwards, toxic opinions that will never get you anywhere. Do you really want to defend that mentality? Because I can think of multiple people that would agree with me that running away from Disco was one of the better decisions they made as a queer person.

There are other things. Lacking rp and other general life instances, but sometimes I still feel a pang in my heart because this community fed a lot of my craving for writing roleplay and my own characters in a sci-fi universe. Nothing has ever come close to discovery since then in terms of how unique and fulfilling the experience of the universe was, but in the end the community is what stinks it out.

I had been through personal experiences of powergaming and having several years of roleplay retconned in discovery. My own main character based off my old self completely retconned out of a faction (who is still in charge of that faction btw!) and was **allowed** to do this because I "did something someone disagreed with". I was targeted and harassed, cast out and flat out bullied by entire groups of people because I made decisions that were outside what some people "wanted for themselves"

I'll be a broken record if I keep going, and I really doubt I'll ever make another post on this website, but if you really want to know why this community is dying: It's because discovery is the definition of turning away new ideas and allowing ideas to prosper. It's always about driving the same pvp motivated goals (think about how much can be done **outside** of shooting each other in this video game, yet you all ignore it). And it's all about "pvp meta, gank this gank that" and its just sickening. Mainline discovery is just 2016 connecticut, and thats what its going to end up as.

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[Zephyranthes]

Yeah, I'm just driving by momentarily to post here. It's astounding how nearly all of you people rightly point out that the community is the issue and then do shit all to improve it. The same toxic behaviors, the perpetual "old boys' clubs" that have plagued this place since the beginning, the inability of admins or moderators to do anything to curb circlejerk groups and malicious activity just because it's not posted about directly on the forums, and a complete lack of care for actual bigotry and harassment players have experienced from factions and individuals alike have all contributed to a significant amount of players leaving and not returning.

It was never Discovery's gameplay changes or fluctuating standards of roleplay that really drive people away and keep them away. I don't recall people avowedly swearing off of Disco because of a balance change. People took breaks, cooled down, and came back after a while. I did this many times. It was always the people, the problematic members of the community that drove other members away and kept them away. Little cabals of assholes trying to affect the server for their own benefit at the cost of others. Conspiring to gank others, to deny roleplay opportunities and freedom to others, and to just harass anyone who was different. "Compassionate" was never a word that factored into a description of Discovery. It's worse than a LOT of other communities of similar size. And it's only been shrinking as the only people who could be interested are consistently driven away.

Instead of looking for some hypothetical, undiscovered player base, you should be focused on why so many have never come back after leaving. I'm afraid most people will lack the perspective to see the issues until Discovery is already dead.

[Geoffacake]

I ended up running a House, by myself, which was abhorrently a strain. But its the circumstances that got me there. When you're literally fighting a group thats equal to your own faction in numbers yet they've placed eachother in 4 different faction sharing leadership roles, its a toss up of details and circumstances that had me and my members on the backfoot, not to mention the absolute dirty tactics they were pulling.

I came to Disco to play out my fictional stories that would involve other peoples interactions, crazy right? Well, guess it stopped being that down the line when I became BDM's leader, I'd rather say it straight since I really don't feel like coming back any time soon but the absolute shitshow of playing RL diplomacy with people and trying to curb what was probably the biggest pandering to Fascists fantasises to be reflected in the games development was honestly a lot. I am talking about Rheinland and its stupid that it came to this. I stood by my principles as a character and person, and what I got called in return to that by other players (not their characters, but actual players) was:
- Brainwashed
- Corrupted
- Power Hungry
- Traitor

What really came to it being the last straw for me was the absolute difficulty of a "Grand project" that was my ship, it became a development hassle that really had me looking at it and saying "Its never going to happen, so why am I here?". Especially when a dev turned around and said its not going to happen because 'Its not rheinland enough' as the immense multi-thread and document detailed posts clearly state why this isn't a traditional rheinland ship.

I went through a lot to Develop the BDM into the Federal Independent agency its known as now, with its own IFF and NPC group, yeah they're a bunch of alphabet spooks lacking scientific morals. But I had at least had the decency to realize that actual Nazism and fascism seriously doesn't have a place within our faction, let alone house.

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[sasapinjic]

"Why people are loosing interest to Discovery?"
Isnt it obvius?
Lack of sex ,or sexual or erotic content!
It is know fact that sex is main driving force bihind everithing we do, so people are leaving because they do not get enough of IT !

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Spoiler

welcome to Loberty
^ where you can get Freelancer ISO , in emergency

These two spoilers were too big so now they're both one ~Champ

[Enkidu]

What really came to it being the last straw for me was the absolute difficulty of a "Grand project" that was my ship, it became a development hassle that really had me looking at it and saying "Its never going to happen, so why am I here?". Especially when a dev turned around and said its not going to happen because 'Its not rheinland enough' as the immense multi-thread and document detailed posts clearly state why this isn't a traditional rheinland ship.

I went through a lot to Develop the BDM into the Federal Independent agency its known as now, with its own IFF and NPC group, yeah they're a bunch of alphabet spooks lacking scientific morals. But I had at least had the decency to realize that actual Nazism and fascism seriously doesn't have a place within our faction, let alone house.

You know better, Geoff. I'm a trans person who works at a supranational NGO (I.E: Not a fascist). I helped organise and create the imperial RP, which I made with Tabris, who is 1) deceased, and 2) was an exceptionally decent human being. DHC, Kruger, and RM all had their own inputs and different reasons for doing so.

This is like saying people who cosplay stormtroopers at Comic Con are plotting the downfall of democracy, or that Tolkein was rooting for Sauron the whole time. Discovery is not about a self-insert, it's a high-fantasy. Psychoanalysing each other is the path to the fun stopping for everyone.

Ultimately, it is only a game.

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THE SYNDIC LEAGUES
(A co-operative of Rheinland's outlawed trade unions, determined to take the underworld for themselves.)

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[Hemlocke]

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[Diaz]

Well, it’s obviously because a lot of people think they’re above other players, why? Because they come and say something and then others come and join him, and then after whoever they say that, he gets tired of it and leaves Disco. A lot of new factions are made by the same people, only to do harm to other people, create a new faction where they can win. Ganking is the worst thing that exists here, a lot of people are ganking, one of them starts, fifty of them come to destroy it, why is that? and then you wonder why people are leaving with Discovery