Is Amia even trying to attract new players? I mean, what is it doing exactly to try and promote the server?
Always thought the attitude here is: "We're the biggest server in nwn, they will come to us."
Well, I try to spread the word, but I think I am about the only one.
What would you suggest to do, though? I am far more interested in solutions than observations.
Since you asked... for starters Amia should stop relying on the "existing with a largeish number of players always worked" mentality, and start going out there (NWN communities) and advertising & marketing itself aggressively. (Maybe Amia already does that, I honestly don't know.)
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The easiest and most convenient way for amians to advertise is through the innertubes thing. The site will be the first thing people check out - the all important first impression.
Amia World The place isn't bad; it's a nice looking forum but it's not exactly saying anything to visitors. What do players need to know, need to download, need to learn? What's the setting, where is it, when is it? What to expect, what are the rules, what are the changes? The welcome mat could be somuchmorewelcoming.
Welcoming, informative, and fucking organized. The modification pages out-dates Jesus! The most informative page about Amia is buried dead last in the Rules & Lore forum. Click on the General Discussion board and you get treated with threads about player-dm grievances (I exagerate but the point is, visitors and players could easily get the wrong impression.)
Honestly, I don't blame the admins/mods for the state of things. PhpBB is a forum application, it's designed and meant to be used as a forum not a portal. I can't even imagine the amount of scripts and haks you have to use to make it behave the way it does now. You guys simply can't rely on forums postings to be your content server/conatainer. The forum is a 900 lbs gorilla who simply can't keep up.
My first suggestion would be to use a proper CMS (Joomla) or, imo more appropriate software, a blogging platform (Wordpress) to serve up your pages and articles. Integrate and utilize the wiki or a wiki for player lore needs. And of course keep the forums for IC postings, spam, and boobies.
Keep the front page always current and updated. A quick overview of the server like what the other PWs I've linked above did but going one further and keep the page fresh and engaging. A weekly IC newspaper on the happenings around Amia would be perfect for the job. Revive the Amia Paper and use it to give people a glimpse of Amia World.
Last edited by ticket on Thu, Oct 08 2009, 13:05 PM, edited 1 time in total.
Forum and sidebar's fine. A nice informative greeting page instead of the forum on first visit would be helpful I guess. Some of the more talented lurkers here could make an Amia banner and a youtube video.
I agree with ticket, though. I made the forum a power-user application. It's completely streamlined for daily use (well, not the updated changes etc, but I can't script people who update them, and I don't have the discipline myself). It's not really inviting for the first-time visitor.
I guess I could make a nice introduction page... but who's gonna keep it up-to-date?
Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Location: I'm pretty lost but I don't wanna be found.
Dev Disco wrote:
I agree with ticket, though. I made the forum a power-user application. It's completely streamlined for daily use (well, not the updated changes etc, but I can't script people who update them, and I don't have the discipline myself). It's not really inviting for the first-time visitor.
I guess I could make a nice introduction page... but who's gonna keep it up-to-date?
This is what I was thinking. It's very functional! I give it that! Though, it's rather overwhelming for new users/players.
I like the idea of revitalising the Amia Recorder. Maybe a faction idea??
_________________ "The householder's disdain for the vagabond hides a hint of jealousy."
Joined: 04 Oct 2005 Location: Nice city, good beer
I think making a nice welcoming page is a great idea. Maybe with some screenshots, or that map someone made of Amia. It doesn't need to have much information, only make people curious to play on the server and feel that they are indeed welcomed here.
I can't second ticket's suggestion enough. When someone first told me about amia, I went to the website and honestly thought... 1998. If I hadn't been invited to play nwn specifically to play on amia, I would have chosen a new server just based on the website. Seeing a bare-bones gold-on-black text website gives the false impression that effort isn't put into it.
Obviously many people aren't like this, but I imagine some people are.
Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Location: I'm pretty lost but I don't wanna be found.
Mathias of Constantinople wrote:
I can't second ticket's suggestion enough. When someone first told me about amia, I went to the website and honestly thought... 1998. If I hadn't been invited to play nwn specifically to play on amia, I would have chosen a new server just based on the website. Seeing a bare-bones gold-on-black text website gives the false impression that effort isn't put into it.
Obviously many people aren't like this, but I imagine some people are.
I was the opposite way around. I was server hopping, much in the same way as one would skip through channels on a TV to see what's on. I really enjoyed Amia but when I went to the site I was very put off from registering. It didn't look appealing and I'm very offput by forums in general until I've warmed to them (which takes a while).
I didn't register to the forum for months, and it didn't affect my play. Though I was missing out on SO much of the current plots and rumours. Now I'm glued to the forum because I want to make sure my characters aren't missing out on something the shouldn't be.
So, yea. I don't think the site as it is is that inviting, as friendly as it is.
I think inspiration from ticket's examples (WSI, Arelith, etc ... though, quite controversial) will definitely make a positive difference.
_________________ "The householder's disdain for the vagabond hides a hint of jealousy."
From a long time server hopper and occasionally player here:
An updated NWvault page with player reviews and votes would also help. Some sort of lowbie guidance would be nice.
Maybe occasionally check over here occasionally, for players looking for servers. I've posted requests there from time to time, and I always at least /look/ at every server that gets posted in my thread once.
The ones I stick with are the ones that grab me either from their website, the features the site lists, or the server itself. More information (not an overload, mind..) in the welcome area or journal IG on some of the server's unique features is always a good idea, and something that will keep server hoppers playing.
Maybe pretty it up a bit? The first room into the server is the first thing they see and Amia's is a bit.. utilitarian? That's good for longtime players, sure, but a little foreboding to new players.
Another thing is.. shove the unique features in there. Let a new monk know that he can get new ki-strike abilities as he levels, let the barbarian know about the rages.
Last thing to end this rant.. Make sure it's interactive. Make it seem like the sort of server that's fun to run around on and just explore, either alone or with some people. It is, but you wouldn't tell that from the welcome room and the temple of Waukeen. Amia is huge, but it's a little intimidating if you haven't been there before. (Heck, I've been here before and can barely find anything.)
..I lied, here's the last thing: A friendly and welcoming playerbase. If a new player comes in and sees the playerbase actively doing things and not (sorry!) relying on the forum for everything, they'll see that "Oh! This is an active server! I think I will go out and quest with some people for a few hours, thank you!"
And players.. It's alright to stay in town and talk. It is. But say things to people you don't know. Socialize outside of your comfort zone. You can make the server look great, and you can make it fun.. But if the players don't talk to a new player, or if everything looks empty, or if the older players look bored.. What's to keep a new player?
Sorry for the rant, just some thoughts.
_________________ Gahnn Bluetusk Aleksandr Vespermouth II "Malnutrition is scarier than any beastie."
Anyway, there is something players can do to make the place a bit more lively.
1. Post a review on the Amia page in Nwvault. Please, don't hesitate to give critique, I hate those "this server is whitout flaw!" posts that are obviously written by a staffmember or his favourite choirboy. Just show that we are active, and always welcoming new people. O, and don't go posting there all at the same time, spread the love.
2. Some people are actually bothering with asking other people for a nice PW world to play in. I mean: they don't open GS and click the top server... they gather information first. Unbelievable!
Anyway, many of these requests are posted on the BioWare forums. Take a look at it now and then and suggest Amia when you think it connects with the type of PW the player is looking for (once again: being honest is better than doing the "everything is shiny" routine).
Bahaha, woops. Probably should've found that first..
It's a good server, though! I like it, it's just a bit much to take in, especially as a new player, since the game and the server are a bit old and well-established. Anything you can do right away to dismiss the "Wow, there's a lot of stuff here.. I'm never going to fit in/find my way/find my niche" feelings that come with going to a new server will help keep new people in.
_________________ Gahnn Bluetusk Aleksandr Vespermouth II "Malnutrition is scarier than any beastie."
A seperate "entry" for completely new characters would be nice.
Something that visually appeals a bit more to those who are visiting the server for the first time, where they can also get some good information on the server, the setting, the changes and the rules.
I thought I'd stop posting, because I thought I said everything. Woops.
Something I realized, looking at servers I've played for more than a week, or stuck to all together..
The neatness factor. Those little things that make a server feel different from playing another one. Hope you don't mind if I reference other servers?
One server has semi-classes: Scripted classes you can pour xp into that sort of work like prestige classes, but are only five levels and are seperate from your normal classes. The server with these has ones that let you capture a few monsters for use later, one of them gives you more rage-abilities, one makes your charisma bonus into full-on undead annihilation, and so on. I find that (and a few other things, eh) neat.
One server has a druid augmentation that makes them feel more animalistic and every druid now plays differently from what you'd get on any other server.
One server implements PRCs you can't really get on any other NWN servers. I like that. It's similar to the others, the neatness factors seem to fit a common theme.. They change how the game itself works.
Last place, and a bit familiar, has a very intense neatness factor: Almost every class is augmented somehow. Monks get Ki abilities, druids get Thousand Faces, blackguards get /spells/! Spells for blackguards. Ye. Gods. You can change your spells using a book, and you can find new spells for your assassin.
..But you wouldn't know it, if you just jumped in from seeing the server on GS. The common theme here is.. What each of these servers does, you can't get on other servers, and you certainly can't get it in vanilla NWN. I said before it's an old game we're playing, and the servers that can do something new and original with it are the ones that hold interest. New players are likely to be veteran NWNers disatisfied elsewhere, tell them how much you've changed everything!
Tell them "Hey, you haven't done this before, have you? You bet your sweet ass you haven't. Oh, shifters? We're /working/ on shifters. Just thinking about how we're working about shifters makes you want to roll a shifter here, doesn't it? Oh hell yes it does. Go check out some of those summons, big guy. Haven't seen those before, either. Yes, they're all augmented. Go look."
Sorry for another rant. But Amia has things you can't get elsewhere, make sure new players know that.
_________________ Gahnn Bluetusk Aleksandr Vespermouth II "Malnutrition is scarier than any beastie."
Amia has a looot of custom content, which is also of very high quality.
The mythal system. The job system. The Blackguards spells and summons. The custom mage/druid/cleric summons. The unique bard songs. The monk abilities. The barbarian rage. The new implementation of an awesome UD. The diversity in monster bashing. The huge amount of factions. The DC system. The size, in depth design and structured layout of the world. Etc.
Let me know if someone needs any help that doesn't involve scripting.
When I first came here I was fine with the look, but I am very used to forums. I also agree an intro page might be great. Also for myself I like a 'new content' page for posts. I'm too lazy for watched posts.. LOL
Forum and sidebar's fine. A nice informative greeting page instead of the forum on first visit would be helpful I guess. Some of the more talented lurkers here could make an Amia banner and a youtube video.
"We are a Roleplay Server, though Amia's DMs and Designers work diligently to create a module that is equally appealing to the player who seeks a good story and the player who seeks action."
This bit should be tweaked a little, btw. Sounds like there's two separate groups of players, although what we want is players who do both RP and action at the same time. Not players who pick either RP or action (though nothing wrong with picking only the former).
"We are a Roleplay Server. Amia's DMs and Designers work diligently to create a module that is rich in story, adventure and action to satisfy all gaming senses equally."
I'm brand-spanking new around here. This is my second or third post on the forums. I was invited by melfsmite. He came to an old forum we used to frequent regularly together and posted a general invite. He said how great this server is and urged re-installing NWN and coming and playing.
I took him up on the invite (and am the only one so far, unfortunately - but the forum is long past dead with only a few regulars checking in every once in a while at best), though it took me a while. Since my re-install and checking out of Amia just came within the last three weeks I thought I'd share my thoughts on the process.
Falling Spider wrote:
Make it seem like the sort of server that's fun to run around on and just explore, either alone or with some people. It is, but you wouldn't tell that from the welcome room and the temple of Waukeen. Amia is huge, but it's a little intimidating if you haven't been there before. (Heck, I've been here before and can barely find anything.)
This is too true. It is intimidating. It's large. Huge. And there are a ton of great things on the server that I have stumbled upon. And there are probably a million other things that I have no idea about since I've really only been to a couple areas to far (around Caraigh and Cordor).
I've read things here and there on the forums but I still have no idea on things. Dream coins? Huh? They do what in the how?
When first checking out Amia I was directed to the forum. I didn't really want to start wading into a bunch of threads on the forum right away, first thing so I clicked the name/link at the top to go to the home page. I was shocked to realize that the forum was the home page. No general information about the world or server to welcome a new person. Just a forum to dive into. That can be a bit intimidating. (So I'm glad to see a welcome page now up.)
I waded cautiously into a few of the sub-forums looking for information. There is a wealth of it in the links on the left of the page. As luck would have it, the first one or two that I clicked on just took me to forum threads. So I figured I would just find the information as I splashed about in the forum. I could read many different thread titles and get a general idea of some things as I picked what I decided was important for me to read and learn first.
It wasn't until later that I realized that some of those links on the left connect to pages with the information and not forum threads.
Maybe my memory is a little fuzzy because it had been so many years since I played NWN, but I recall having to download hakpaks in order to play on servers. No ifs, ands or buts, you had to have the proper hakpak to play on the server. So when looking for that download for Amia I was confused.
Heads? Hands and feet? Where is the hakpak? Where are the links and information that I need for the hakpaks needed instead of hakpaks that are completely optional? This download page doesn't tell me anything other than how to download these, where to put them and that they're optional.
So, yeah, a blurb somewhere that no hakpak is required would be nice. Just install the game, patch it and go. Oh. And a link to that patch would be good, too. This is an old game and it's very likely new players on the server will be (re)installing it if they get invited like I did. Since the auto-installer for the game doesn't work for 1.69 it'd be nice to be able to find it on the site of the server I'm checking out instead of having to go find it myself. (The first time I found it on Bioware it was apparently an outdated page. I found it somewhere else on the Bioware site after a search.)
I could probably go on a bit more but I won't. (For now.) I can't think of anything else at the moment and I'm still new enough that I'm still learning lots. So anything I say may be said out of ignorance rather than out of any perceived issues with finding/getting/learning it here.
I'm still learning lots around here because I've mostly been concentrating on grinding my character to get him high enough level to be able to adventure with Melf and the rest of the Red Cloaks. But I have a few other characters planned which I hope to use to learn more about the world, the mechantions, the stories and a lot of other things going on in Amia. I'll be spending a lot more time on the site here trying to learn about a lot of those things.
Well, would you be interested to write some diary kind of thing about how it is to start on Amia? I guess that would be very nice for new players to read.
... and obviously a goldmine for improving the server.
Well, would you be interested to write some diary kind of thing about how it is to start on Amia? I guess that would be very nice for new players to read.
... and obviously a goldmine for improving the server.
PMing you.
O'Raghailligh wrote:
I havn't figured it out, using mozilla firefox - little help please?
I like the new page. I was commenting to a buddy yesterday about how fancy Arelith's page is and feeling downright sad at ours! We must keep up with the joneses. In as friendly a way as I can say it, I mean.
_________________ Davion Telemos - Monk of the Four Winds Korthan Isharnos - Dragon Shaman of Thunder Spirit Zamasham
Can our front page have alternating pics like the sidebar? Be good to see it flash from advernturine world, to screenshots of war, the underdark, and then maybe a sacrifice or something.
I like the black and gold too..but my husband claims it is hard to read.. then again he is blinder than me. I think he would have a better time if the text was slightly bigger. I don't think the colors are the problem.
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I mean: they don't open GS and click the top server... they gather information first. 
I havn't figured it out, using mozilla firefox - little help please?