Real Time Ascend Maling List Archive
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: CF: Publicity



On Fri, 30 Apr 1999, David Sundqvist <azzie@netpolicy.com> wrote:
> On Fri, 30 Apr 1999, John Cater wrote:
> > I think we need to be a bit more "out-there" with crossfire.
> > 
> > There are tons of people trying to find linux games and they don't
> > usually fall over crossfire.
> 
> happypenguin.org (linux game tome) seems to track crossfire releases too,
> and has a few links. They could probably be pointed to a more maintained
> page too. We've got a nice average rating there :).
[...]

Announcing the next release on freshmeat.net should give us some
publicity.  IIRC, one of the previous releases was announced there
already.

Also, creating a nice front page for CrossFire with attractive
graphics and a short description of the game could encourage more
people to download the stuff.

But in the end, what counts is to have a game that is easy to compile,
configure and play.  Then the game will promote itself easily.  We
still have some problems in these areas, so I am not surprised that
the game is not extremely popular yet.  The use of autoconf has
greatly enhanced the configuration and compilation part, but it is
still difficult for a newcomer to get into the game, except if he has
some friends teaching him the basics or if he spends some time reading
the docs.  The game should be easier to understand than it is now, and
it should give a better initial impression.  The GTK client is a step
in the right direction, but that is not enough.  The new graphics will
also contribute to the better initial impression.

Improving the ease of use does not mean that the game should be
simplified to a point that it becomes dumb and boring, but we should
find a way to ensure that new players are not scared when they see the
hundreds of items, monsters, spells and prayers that they can
encounter in the early stages of the game.  This is one of my goals
with the mini-quests: provide an easy start so that new players could
e.g. start with a fighter character and fight monsters on low-level
maps without knowing anything about spells and prayers (or without
knowing that religions do exist).  Also, new players are typically not
familiar with the stats and do not know what is the best combination
of stats for a new character (depending on the choosen race/class).
That could also be made easier.

-Raphaël

-
[you can put yourself on the announcement list only or unsubscribe altogether
by sending an email stating your wishes to crossfire-request@ifi.uio.no]