I'm all in for a serious conversation about it:

>I care more for playing CF how it is than having a ton of
>players. There are plenty of MUD options out there that have
>100+ players still. Those MUDs are not suddenly fun just
>because they have a lot of people. I choose CF because it is
>CF. Dumbing it down even more than it has been over the past 5
>years or so just to bring in/keep more players would be a
>tragedy. I'd rather play CF by myself than have that happen.

I admit huge numbers like 200 do not necesary mean more fun but I visited a mud where I was alone and believe me, you don't want to play by yourself only. ;)


>As far as trying to change things, CF changes all the time.
>Lot's of things have been added to be newbie friendly: fine
>leather from academy, newbie channel, improved outfit
>commands, anti-gank code, improved wikis, improved website
>info, constantly improving help files, and on the side of the
>playerbase: increased sportsmanship. To name a few. I could do
>without that last one, but I can't argue that it doesn't help
>retain players.

I wasn't clear enough about it but I wasn't saying there has been no changes in CF. I'm just suggesting that there could be more improvement (see my comment 'the more the merrier' to Daevryn about the gear fact).


>I don't think more players would necessarily be good for the
>game. One of the best parts of CF is when Gods exert their
>force upon the world and when game admins bring the game alive
>by controlling NPCs and such. With the lower playerbase people
>are much more likely to get caught up in actual events and not
>just toil away their years in capture the flag cabal wars.
>It's like asking 1 Dungeon Master to oversee a group of 25
>players. I'm sure it can be done, but everyone would have more
>fun if there is 1 Dungeon Master per 5 players.

I agree.


>Finally, I don't think much of the problem getting and
>retaining new players comes from poor administration. I think
>most of it comes from grumpy old coots that make up the
>playerbase (to include 1 or 2 imms I'm sure). Imagine if
>everyone actively participated in making the game more like a
>jaunt through a fantasy world and less like an arcade game
>where you desperately try for the high score. Instead we have
>said grumpy old coots constantly worrying about conspiracies
>and favortism.

Maybe, maybe not. I don't have enough info on this to have a serious opinion.


I'll finish by saying thank you for your comment well elaborated. It changed my views on the value of numbers.