I recently uploaded my Phoenix mod to Modddb and Strategy Informer. No big deal really. I've now over the last two weeks crossed the 1000 downloads barrier. I have a dedicated server with a good connection, so where the f*** is everyone? I've seen about 20 players actually hit the server and that's it. Does this mean that all the other people who downloaded the mod play it in SP? It's not like they can't connect as i included everything you need to connect for MP use. I'm baffled and confused really. I mean 5% of all the downloads equals 50 players but what are people doing with the mod, just looking at it? Does the Underverse suffer from this as well?

_________________

I have always said and I still am right about this even back when TLR was TLR way back when. Anyway 10% of the Freelancer players are online and that was then the larger amount of players are still playing Single player and looking for good Storyline mods and open SP mods. I say now its more like 3% play online and 97 % play SP now.

I swear the bots must like to download files more than humans. This is how you can find your files on the wayback machine. It baffles me why they would download them so many times though.

And FlyByU is right as well. Many folks will download a mod to check it out in Open Singleplayer if they can so they aren't lost if they want to go MP.

_________________
http://FreelancerCommunity.net
http://UnderVerse.us

You guys maybe right, i would have thought most FL players are not new, maybe some coming back after not playing it for a while, or if they are new, then someone they know has turned them onto it.

Don't get me wrong, i couldn't care less how many people download my mod, not like i'm selling one of my albums where numbers are obviously important, but there comes a point when you look at how many people have downloaded the thing and then wonder why they won't try MP. Bizarre.

Just shows there are a lot of 'closet SP' players out there, probably more than we realise. Unless aliens have downloaded it...

I see the numbers issue with other good mods as well, i'm assuming Underverse and Crossfire have had bucketloads of downloads due to the work put in and you'd expect hundreds trying to force their way onto the servers, but that's not the case. All very perplexing.

_________________

ya .. think we are almost 1500 Dl since 2.24 Christmas release

We For sure didnt see that kind of traffic .. Most of our players have been with us since beta but we do see 9 or 10 new Ips every week

Most just come in to Explore a little and vanish Some stay for the long haul

Our Average has been about 30 at peak most days

_________________

Hey You! Check out The UnderVerse by Team RIP
The RIP Team Forums

Tell you the truth I didn’t try MP for almost 2 years after I had played SP. My 1st server was iirc Area51 none modded server. Then over to Monkey Universe where I meet Rip but I don’t know them by there new names lol........

Anyway there are a lot more ppl play offline then online. Take for instance My BDSL v1.25 its now on about 8 or 9 different sites to D/L and almost all are over around 1300 each I never thought it was very popular. It has been out for many years now also. People have posted it up in places I never heard of until I did a search and came up with several lol.

I was chatting to OP this morning and he's had like 10k+ downloads for 1.8, he sees around 30 odd players at peak times. I mean that's a lot of downloads but again, very few treading the MP water so to speak. Just shows that FL still has a reasonably large fanbase, at least for SP if nothing else.

Only 'other' solution seems to be to make a server RP like Discovery, as it's the RP servers that draw players. I find that mind boggling considering the whole nature of FL which is do as you want, but there you go. I won't be going the RP route, hate being forced to do this and that, just get myself banned if i played on other servers lol

_________________

I like SP at times just to be alone, think and enjoy the game without restrictions. I like MP more if the RP is good. I do know that when surfing the TSP forums, more players are looking for many of the Server mods and asking if they have SP for it. They're like Gibbon, don't want to play MP, same as when I go to Space Sims Central forums.

I think much of it has to do with feeling Obligated on MP servers and having to play it and not any other or, due to having rules that implicate, This is an RP server and you must follow the rules here, join a Clan or you're not special, so to speak. Everyone tries to recruit you to join them and then if you're not active enough, you get kicked from the clan or characters get wiped do to non-compliance and that's not what many are looking for.

No mater the genre, I think that in the case of Freelancer, there are more SP players than MP due to it's reading on the box that there are no restrictions of what you can be. Plus the fact that if they want an online experience, they can have it if they want it by running a server themselves.

I can also bet that there are many private servers out there that aren't listed due to the option of not making it internet accessible or allowing new players and putting it on Cryos or flserver.de for all to see.

Just like the Broken Oath mod, it too has 1,000+ downloads. SP seems to be the best for many. Same goes for Vanilla Servers.


jmho

HK

I play it either way.

_________________

I feel your pain brother.

_________________

Some interesting points mentioned here. Obviously there are more SP players than MP, that's a given. The reason why players prefer SP is what i'm starting to find interesting based on the points raised above.

Assuming these are true and i see no reason why they are not, one of the main reasons must be because players don't want to be bogged down by rules. Perfectly understandable, so why is it on servers where there are hardly any rules apart from the basic no cheating or swearing etc, do players still not bother to show up? Are they too lazy to register on a forum and read the most basic of rules? Or is that they just can't be bothered? Less stress to play SP than go spend 5mins on a forum.

If that's so, here's the paradox, if players don't want to mess with loads of rules as you would need for an RP server for instance, then why is it that those are the most popular?

The conclusion is simple, players don't want lots of rules so they stick to SP, also they want loads of rules so they play RP. No, that can't be right lol

_________________

I would tend to think that most people who stick to SP do it because they don't know how to pvp and get wasted by the pirate types on MP servers. Nor do they wish to learn pvp.

I honestly don't think they could ever be attracted to MP unless the server didn't allow any pvp at all heh.

_________________
http://FreelancerCommunity.net
http://UnderVerse.us

Maybe with my megamod (Galacticum) i'm making i should leave out the OSP option, see if that would persuade people to try the MP aspect as there would be no other way to play it. Probabaly alienate the whole SP loving public but you never know.

I mean look at what Sushi and wodk4 and the others are doing with the Star Wars conversion. Don't think that will bother players too much if that doesn't have an OSP version with it, although hardly difficult to include one. Now that would be a crime if players didn't turn up for that mod.

After they've played mine of course lol

_________________

Yeah but that's the problem, what about all the people without an Internet connection? They just can't play MP, so they wouldn't be able to play at all in that case.

_________________

I hate to say it but most game players have an internet connection. It's pretty standard these days, come to think of it, i don't know of anyone that i do know who doesn't have one.

Yes there are situations where you might be on a laptop on a beach somewhere and have a crazy urge to play FL, in which case SP is the way to go, but if people are determined to play MP, they find a way.

Only last week i had one of my players sitting in a caravan with his laptop, using his mobile phone as a modem so he could connect, that's what i call dedication

_________________

LOL using a mobile phone as a modem is OK, but using it to play FL is just wrong

I'd hate to be there when he gets his bill

_________________