Why is Simplex's population still in a slump?
Mar 3, 2023 18:35:28 GMT
jendestroy, ChewFester, and 1 more like this
Post by Zanril on Mar 3, 2023 18:35:28 GMT
I've discussed this topic multiple times already with the regulars that join voice chat on Discord and I'd like to know what everyone else thinks about this since low population numbers still persist. Maybe that will change in after 1.20 releases?
Back in my day, during 2017 (1.12 - 1.13) which I consider to be Simplex's Golden Age, off-peak days on Simplex had at least 15 to 25 players online and would rise up to the 40s and 50s during prime days, like weekends. Now? I'd be lucky to see more than 10 players online at once most days.
My enjoyment of playing on Simplex isn't totally diminished just because I don't see many players online but I do worry about the health of the server witnessing:
• Less players coming online for events (annual or otherwise)
• Long time players and staff joining briefly to maintain their shops or vote, only to leave or say they are coming back to play on Simplex then returning to inactivity
• The nether shops - the sole refuge for independent shop ownership no longer being shopped at imgur.com/a/snfDLbQ
• An absence of active player towns.
What I and the others I've talked to could think of for why we have the numbers we do now are:
Back in my day, during 2017 (1.12 - 1.13) which I consider to be Simplex's Golden Age, off-peak days on Simplex had at least 15 to 25 players online and would rise up to the 40s and 50s during prime days, like weekends. Now? I'd be lucky to see more than 10 players online at once most days.
My enjoyment of playing on Simplex isn't totally diminished just because I don't see many players online but I do worry about the health of the server witnessing:
• Less players coming online for events (annual or otherwise)
• Long time players and staff joining briefly to maintain their shops or vote, only to leave or say they are coming back to play on Simplex then returning to inactivity
• The nether shops - the sole refuge for independent shop ownership no longer being shopped at imgur.com/a/snfDLbQ
• An absence of active player towns.
Its overall not a good sign to me. You and I cannot deny that current player numbers have impacted this server in multiple ways, and reduced or removed possibilities that is required or makes this server more enjoyable. I don't miss the days when I couldn't get on Simplex and was stuck at my server list constantly, and when I did get on, multiple conversations would be going on in public chat or someone already occupying the enderman grinder to mend their gear when I arrive. What I do miss is when many shops populated the server increasing the pool of possible items being sold and total stock, helpful hands for grunt work were plentiful, big pop-up fishing parties at spawn, and more. Simplex was more lively.
• Better competition
- Maybe there a server out that beats Simplex at its own game
- Maybe there a server out that beats Simplex at its own game
• Over saturation of servers like Simplex
• Poor interest in Semi-Survival Multiplayer Servers like Simplex
• The server reset
- He is an extreme example but bgargani didn't like the reset so much that he is still developing a copy of his base from the first world to this day. Players may still miss the old world and wish the reset didn't happen so they stopped playing and have moved on. There is also the case of those players did stay around on Simplex 2 but then eventually stopped playing.
• Long time players not voting anymore
- Since the core of this community, the god ranked players, are already at the end of the voting progression they got one reason to vote. Claimblocks are the only unique reward from voting and even then we get enough claimblocks to claim everything we want to build in and protect in time.
Player's rank progression not being reset due to the community wanting that transferred due to voting for a soft reset may have lead to this population slump as a side effect. This lead to the server relying on only the new players to keep vote counts for the server high.
- Since the core of this community, the god ranked players, are already at the end of the voting progression they got one reason to vote. Claimblocks are the only unique reward from voting and even then we get enough claimblocks to claim everything we want to build in and protect in time.
Player's rank progression not being reset due to the community wanting that transferred due to voting for a soft reset may have lead to this population slump as a side effect. This lead to the server relying on only the new players to keep vote counts for the server high.
• Lack of interest in Minecraft in general
- Other games might be grabbing the attention of people better
• Player Towns
- Towns were magnets for new players. If anyone wanted to base with someone, be near lots of players to see their builds (or other players in-person), joining a town was the way to go. I can think of 4 towns (ONLY FOUR?!?!) that are on Simplex 2 - Spruceville (the sequel), New Terradyne (which never went public), Rivertown (its mayor, a streamer, left Simplex awhile ago) and one other town I can't recall the name of are the only towns on this server and none of them are active.
• New Player experience
- Its quite a lonely experience joining this server. You get greeted at the door and there is no follow up besides to answer questions. You are expected to build a solo base somewhere and what you do from there is up to you. For being a multiplayer server Simplex it not very social. Even most public events like build competitions, egg hunts, trick-or-treat, are done alone.
One reason I DON'T think Simplex is the way it is population wise is due to staying up to date with the most recent version of Minecraft and its updates as a whole. 1.17 was such a half-baked update. 1.18 brought the new world generation, increased build limit, and floor. 1.19 brought the biggest generated structure in the game thus far and the Warden to inhabit it; it has remained in the top 5 popular things searched on the Minecraft wiki for many months now. So where the hell is everyone wanting to experience these great updates on a multiplayer server?
