# of players

[ELITEofWARMANGINGERYBREADMEN88]

How many players do you think S2TW will average MP wise after the initial die down period ends?

[Swoosh So]

impossible to tell with the current system of no foyer and games showing by zone? also with the new features its really hard to tell if they will succeed and bring fresh players to the game.

[Phog_of_War]

If there is an MP chat lobby, and a 'choose a game from this list' style game foyer, I will be in.

Sadly, it appears that neither of those things are going to happen. So unless the MP gameplay is just amazing, or CA actually reads these (and other) MP fourms and implements these things, I will again be playing only the SP campaign. I dont see why we cant have a server list style of choosing what map and playing with whomever we want. I mean look at a game like CoD: Black Ops or even Counterstrike and the way they have it set up. It seems so simple and we have been PLEADING for this for a long, long time.

I think that if CA would just come out and say "Ok this was our thought process. Nothing can change it now, but here it is...." Then I think the community as a whole, and we Orgahs in particular, would be a whole lot more understanding. I think the last thing we saw from CA was something from Jack Lusted about modding or something.

[Nikodil]

I'm not too hung up about the lobby and game list. Say MP is indeed a huge success, and we get as many players playing MP as SP, there would be not hundreds but thousands of players online at any moment, and not tens but hundreds of games. A single game list and a single chat log would not work. OK, having no game list and no chat log wouldn't be better, but I think we need something better, something different.

[Phog_of_War]

Sorry but I cant help but be pesimistic. Ever since chat lobbys and hosted games were removed, the community at large have been begging for them back.

Believe me, I HOPE, in my heart that this sickening feeling that CA and/or $EGA didnt include at least, a general chat, is just wrong and unfounded.

I wish to be plesently suprised when I drop into the MP and see a chat lobby full of people. Clans recruiting and people that have not been seen in years, start popping up in the Lobby, Clans with their private chats and complete MADNESS in the general lobby. This seems so simple and is almost a necessity in the new sort of Clan Wars and ladders that they are talking about.

[Sp00n]

I'm not too hung up about the lobby and game list. Say MP is indeed a huge success, and we get as many players playing MP as SP, there would be not hundreds but thousands of players online at any moment, and not tens but hundreds of games. A single game list and a single chat log would not work. OK, having no game list and no chat log wouldn't be better, but I think we need something better, something different.

A MMO style chat channel would fix this maybe, in any case I'm with Phog on the pesimistic side, all they had to do was take Shogun's MP setup which was the best imo whether that was more by luck than judgement who knows, add NTWs online Campaign and quick battles add the stuff they are adding but make it customizable keeping the old MP styles intact.
Not really difficult we'd have chat systems, map creaters, old style and new style MP types and a happy community.

I despair at the power up buildings I really do especially if there is no way to switch them off, I don't want Starcraft I want Totalwar online.

The main thing is I don't really think they care about how MP has been, they see the other RTS's online and want that type of fanbase, god help us when they dumb down more for console Totalwar.

[Kocmoc]

I said it a few times already, i agree about the need of a lobby.

But the old lobby we once had wont work at all, you can handle 100-300 player, but not thousands.
There are so many games, who already worked out a good way to handle it.

As spoon said, look at mmo chats, you can customize and so on.


But one thing for sure, if you want many player, you wont see the same complex TW game anymore.
They have to dump it down or it wont work and also they are surely much more interested into the console as in the PC.

So we just will get what they produce for the console and how this will work out you surely know yourself.
Im pessimistic all the way, its a shame and i dont like myself for this, but i doubt we will getting anything playable.


Koc


edit:

to the initial question.

In terms of what CA will count as success, i believe they want to see 30k+. In peak online same time, surely over 10k.
If you take the sold copies of the last versions and the current people counted on steam, the whole thing is a disaster (if you focus on online activity).

Since you just can see people who play TW-games, no matter if MP or SP, its very very hard to judge on the correct numbers.
Many people still play ETW, so if i have to guess, i think around 1000-2000 people playing online, both games.


To judge on STW2 it is too early, we lack information especially about the battles (which will be the important aspect).
Now its also questionable, if there is just one goal or maybe 2.
If we are down to just the battles, than i dont believe in 10k or more people playing the game constantly.

I wonder, if its possible to get Console and PC together, so that you could play console vs PC....

[AMP]

They won't see that many players online when you need to have steam running in order to play without getting kicked out of your game. How many times I've got kicked out of my game only to notice it was because steam went down... that's not very attractive to new players or anyone really and lots will give up playing if they keep getting kicked. To make matters worse the lack of maturity has really infested games these days... nothing like spending a whole day on NTW having almost every game ruined by kids who always get their feelings hurt over every bruise they receive during a match.

As for Chat I'm sure they'll just want you to use steam even though that doesn't help at all with chatting to everyone once you're in the game playing or in the lobby waiting around. Some kind of MMO style could work if you want high numbers playing your game online because the old school foyer won't for thousands of players unless to broke it up into a lot of chat rooms which would be silly, so a global and local MMO chat style would be best.

In the end their goal won't happen if you need to have steam running while playing TW...

[Swoosh So]

I just hope for a good game, i dont really care how many play it as long as my online friends do. Im happy with a small and happy community as i am with a large. Amp if u get time come on msn..

[Phog_of_War]

They won't see that many players online when you need to have steam running in order to play without getting kicked out of your game. How many times I've got kicked out of my game only to notice it was because steam went down... that's not very attractive to new players or anyone really and lots will give up playing if they keep getting kicked. To make matters worse the lack of maturity has really infested games these days... nothing like spending a whole day on NTW having almost every game ruined by kids who always get their feelings hurt over every bruise they receive during a match.

As for Chat I'm sure they'll just want you to use steam even though that doesn't help at all with chatting to everyone once you're in the game playing or in the lobby waiting around. Some kind of MMO style could work if you want high numbers playing your game online because the old school foyer won't for thousands of players unless to broke it up into a lot of chat rooms which would be silly, so a global and local MMO chat style would be best.

In the end their goal won't happen if you need to have steam running while playing TW...

AMP. Rembering the old WiC days with kids running around with 3 heavy arty and crying when all of his units are wiped out by heavy choppers over and over again, eh? :-D Anyway, yes, I'd have to assume that you will need Steam in order to play MP. I dont think this is a bad thing really. IIRC, Steam has only gone down on me like once all last week. Its probably the most stable of the MP portals. Its almost a sure thing that we wont be able to have hosted servers, so Steam is really the bet alternative.

And as far as the maturity level I guess I cant really speak for MP, considering that the last TW MP game I played was in Med 1. I just remember the Shogun and Med1 MP were filled with mature adults and very smart and respectful kids that honestly wanted to learn and improve their wargaming skills.

[AMP]

Yeah I won't forget those days in WiC... it's sad how people enjoyed pubs more than clanwars and never asked for atleast teamplay games on servers. The game was designed for teamplay which was quite obvious and it even said that on the BOX! Yet you'd see everyone in pubs and next to 0 clanwars going on after ESL was over. The kiddies would brag about their scores and worshipped their pretty stars when in the end all that meant nothing and didn't represent any skill or have any value in the clanwar scene. The pubs to me were just a starter for getting a feeling for controls, units and the TA as well as finding some good friends to play with and train with in the clanwar scene. After playing some clanwars I couldn't go back to playing in pubs... I'd rather watch a good replay and spend time thinking of new tatics if I had to wait around for a clan match.

I guess I'm just one of those rare people that like to be competitive and play on an even playing field. And one of those rare people that don't care for meaningless scores, ranks, and titles people like to carrry around with them.

I hope STW2 doesn't turn into such a thing, but sadly it has already started to awhile back with the other TWs and it's only gonna get worse... I think so anyway... because it needs to have true meaning and be flawless.

I'm not very pc smart so could someone remind me as to why we need steam to be running when we launch and get into a game in TW? I've played other games on steam that don't need steam running while you are in game, so what part dose steam play in our games while we're in a game? hmmm...