[Update] What has happened to our sim

[Roys]

and can it be fixed? When I joined, way back in the dark ages, it seemed like it couldn't lose. Everyone was so fired up and wanted to help. It was new, different and exciting. Mike asked for and got our help. He even wore out Kingab's two predessors Tanico and Unbridled. But we all wanted to help - and did. We started a paper, residencies and The Equinics among other things. We became the model for all the other simulated racing games, but they are gaining people and it feels like we are losing them What went wrong? Can this be fixed? And no, I don't think a new viewer is going to do the trick.

I play two other horseracing games - Track King and Sim Horseracing. Both have their faults but both are much more into hands on training, and money management is a big part of both. They have things that you can do daily - from petting or feeding your horse a carrot, to owning and operating a farm. You can schedule vet work or schedule the kind of training you want for each horse - beach gallops to gate works with a lot of other options in between.

Both of these games work on a 3 month year. They take a break between years for a few weeks but you can continue to train on your horses. I'm not really sure I like that part as the years go by so fast and being old I have a hard time remembering. In both games you can have unlimited horses - but you have to be able to afford them. Anyway, I'm not saying they are better - just that they seem to be finding new people to play and this one seems to be stagnating or losing people. One of those games doesn't even have a viewer and you get a 'running line'. But boy, do they have people.

Personally, I love this game - I have been here so long, I feel I know everyone. I hate the direction it is going. But I don't know if it can be saved - or how. Everyone is so apathetic. No one wants to donate their time and the few who do are so overworked - they just burnout faster.

If this was your game - what would you do to get people interested again?

[sledge4]

I agree, the viewer won't "save" the game. I wish I knew the answers why the game doesn't get more attention. I have to imagine it is (or at least was) a pretty good money maker. He did spend a lot of time getting that football game up and running and I think that killed the momentum he was building here.

What will save the game? Fresh repaint of the site? More racing? More "hands on" features?

I have email communications every few weeks with Mike, but there hasn't been much activity lately with that either. There was some talk of stuff back a couple months ago, but I was asked to keep it on the down-low. But right now things that need to be introduced are things that will be effective in re-energizing everyone versus stuff that just kept population holding still.

What do others feel would re-generate interest? Or is it like re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic?

Will

[Nagnagnag]

Because this is in the residency and I'm sure Mike will never read it I think the problem is the sense that he has walked away from this game... When was the last time there was a new feature... a new viewer has been a topic since I left originally 5 plus years ago.... Honestly success of any endeavor begins at the top... good direction and a drive to do better begins there.

Now don't get me wrong I think Mike has done good with what he has done but I'll say this. When I came back to this game two or so years ago I enjoyed it immensely. All of the new features.. like RODOTS. It kept it fresh.. It has since though gotten kind of stale. I think people just get bored and like any other human they need some new and flashy things to grab their interest. just keeping everything the same forever is dull. This is the same viewer I haven seen my entire time on the game for example. So I think ultimately people just get bored... and Mike's response is meh. Fair enough in the end it is his show; but without the player there is no show.

Some I ideas I have are more visibility of standings. Maybe instead of pictures on the front we could put lists of top trainers and horses, upcoming contests. Do some promotion right at entry point of new visitors. Keep it game orientated. Maybe make the layout more flashy and have more sim wide residency contests... oh and reduce the number of residencies... amalgamation in my mind must happen. What's the expression ( and no offence meant folks) too many chiefs and not enough Indians.... that's kinda how I sum up the residency situation.

Of course none of this will happen. In the end it's the same game as it was yesterday. A great game but one that is in dire need of a remodeling.

[Roys]

Nag - you have some good ideas.

The front page could do more to feature the residencies without getting too cluttered altho I like the pictures also. I wonder if you could have a front page - say as is - then going to another - that gives a more general idea of things that are going onj. Track King does that and on the second page they have things like - notices, richest stables, stable of the day, a list of updates, a list of your next races, a list of your last races, any mail you have gotten - all kinds of things and from there you can go to any page you want from forums to your stable.

You are right Mike probably won't see this and if I do send him anything - it won't go with names (I doubt he holds it against anyone but ya never know - LOL). When Mike started this game he was single and it was his only game. Then he got married and inherited a houseful of kids which he later added to. But at least he was still with us - on the message board, responsive to emails, in the chat and made it all fun. Then came the BB game but it didn't interfer very much - but - that damn football game really killed us.

[Nagnagnag]

How about asking Mike if a few of the more involved and senior members of the Sim community take over the game for awhile?? Get some fresh ideas out there maybe implement a few changes and try to rebuild this game?? I think when you are overwhelmed delegation is a good tactic to get things under control. I mean right now very little to nothing is happening maybe it can get the ball rolling on a few things. Mike as the developer would have final say in any changes but the actual work of implementing or changing could fall to others. I'm sure somewhere out there there's a few people computer savvy enough to work on the game remotely?? Maybe give them a cut of the take as incentive??

Now bear in mind I am not interested in being involved in this... I delegate enough in my own life and work already LMAO. But maybe there's some folks out there who could take this on?? if not well I guess we settle for what we get I suppose *shrug* In the end what can you do I guess??

[gocashbaby]

2 words - CASH PRIZES!

[Kobras]

This game is like a pasttime for me. A hobby. I will be here until it isn't here anymore. With that being said. I think that if there was more to do in between entering horses and watching them race, that would hold peoples interests better. I think incorporating a training aspect to the game would be a big improvement and be implemented some how on the off days of racing. Other activities on those days could help in keeping people active and participating. Just a thought.

[tracy]

Nag your ideas about veteran players acting in visible roles has merit. We used to have that. Mike's go-to people (Unbridled, Tanico, etc) are pretty much gone. When's the last time you saw Kingab actively doing anything in HR? The last MB mod, Winter, basically disappeared. Snowchief, one of the game's major cheerleaders, is not currently actively playing. Basically the old guard, for a variety of reasons, just aren't there anymore to act in Mike's stead. So the game has an appearance of benign neglect. Those of us left can only do so much. Just ask Roys or me sometime how we feel about the sim's support of the BTB .

So it becomes a matter of getting people to step up to the plate and contribute what they can. For a variety of reasons, Mike is not likely at all to allow access to the game code itself. That means any support is peripheral: residency management, tools creation and support, etc. The good news is Mike is very responsive to requests for help in a lot of those issues, but very few people have the time or skills to devote to those tasks, especially considering just how thankless a job it is. Add in the fact that all of that work is unpaid, and you are left with a tiny pool of people who can go beyond the just-a-player role.

It's going to take something major to reignite the passions and interest of the players. Not necessarily a new viewer, though that wont hurt. What will make a difference is getting someone to actively lead the game again. Again, who? Outside Mike, I just don't know. And when? Same deal.

I will recommend, for anyone who wants to be of any help at all, drop by the main mb. Check out the conversations. Drop into chat (if you can, some players such as Roys arent able to). Talk here, and/or at your other residencies. Whatever or however you do it, form those connections with other players. For most long-time players, its those relationships that helps keep us engaged even when the game itself may get a little stale. You'll find it helps you, and by extension helps your fellow players.

[Roys]

I agree - we all need things that are new and fresh (except maybe Fab) and I do believe this game, at one time, overwhelmed Mike. For awhile it grew so fast it was hard for him to keep up. It started as a lark, he and some friends thinking they could program a game, and was he right. It's a great game but like everything else it needs to be kept fresh. Look at the way people respond everytime he makes in any small change. Throw us a bone once in awhile.

On a side note -
As much as I love the BTB - it really is fighting an uphill battle. By it's very nature - once we had to cover more than 20 tracks a week - we weren't going to win. We didn't have the people to keep up. We used to pay people with sim money and you got so much per article and we had to wait for Mike to come in once a month (more often it was a lot longer) to pay everyone. Things have come a long way since then - at least as far as pay goes....

Then we went to just doing the graded races but as we narrowed the type of races we covered - we also narrowed the audience. Less readers = less partcipation. Now we cover so few races and most people don't have stakes quality horses much less graded quality - they just don't read the BTB at all.

Then Snow left. Tracy and I were never given any notice that she was leaving and it left us rudderless. Not only did she not tell us she was leaving - we have no idea if she will come back - so we just swim along, trying to keep our heads above water. I do not know how long we should give her (she was/is?) the driving force - but Tracy and I probably need to get together and see what we can do to steer the thing.

[sledge4]

Roys and Tracy, email me about the BTB.