Istaria: Chronicles of the Gifted Forum » General Discussion » How are the populations?

I played Horizons when it first released and loved it, but got bored and quit. Looking for something to play and remembered this game. It's been a LONG time now. Obviously the game isn't heavily populated, but I am curious. Are there still enough people running around in the game to have a nice community? Or is the game pretty much a ghost town.

Appreciate your responses.

Hi. I just recently went back to the game and am loving it! I missed the game in the first place, like i did with asheron's call.

Both games are great and now when you've played all the new mmo's out there, its really a treat to go back to old school games!

Im too new to tell how's the population, but i've seen like several other players in the starting area and had one friend already. :)

Here, i made small video how the game is nowdays ->  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-pW1Px9d90

It really depends on what server you play on -- I can't speak for Blight or Order, but on Chaos, there's still lots of chatter in the Marketplace and New Player Assistance channels. It's hard to pin point exactly how many people are playing at a time since a /who search only resolves 50 names at the most. But on the weekends, the search is maxed out and I've seen a higher number of players per night over the past few weeks.

For me, the community is very much top notch. It may be small, but I've enjoyed my time getting to know people and especially by joining a guild -- moreso here than other larger population games. It's not uncommon to see the starter areas hopping with plenty of new players, especially on peak time weekends. And it's quite easy to get to know people (and be known) when names in the chat channels become familiar.

With upcoming changes to the T2 adventure tracks with the winter update, it'll be a great time to come back to Istaria.

Originally posted by Aywren

It really depends on what server you play on -- I can't speak for Blight or Order, but on Chaos, there's still lots of chatter in the Marketplace and New Player Assistance channels. It's hard to pin point exactly how many people are playing at a time since a /who search only resolves 50 names at the most. But on the weekends, the search is maxed out and I've seen a higher number of players per night over the past few weeks.

For me, the community is very much top notch. It may be small, but I've enjoyed my time getting to know people and especially by joining a guild -- moreso here than other larger population games. It's not uncommon to see the starter areas hopping with plenty of new players, especially on peak time weekends. And it's quite easy to get to know people (and be known) when names in the chat channels become familiar.

With upcoming changes to the T2 adventure tracks with the winter update, it'll be a great time to come back to Istaria.

I re-upped my account and have been logged in for the past 2 or 3 nights... 

So far, I have to say, I haven't seen hardly any chatter in New Players (the active one, not the other one that no one uses) or the Marketplace... or Dragon for that matter. It was far more active last time I played... people hanging out in New Trismus, people constantly talking in multiple channels, etc.

So far, I've seen, maybe, 16 people in the New Players channel, and about 50 in the Marketplace... but both were almost completely quiet. As I explained in the other thread... people were talkative once they realized I was a new/returning player... But that quickly died off, within about an hour, if that. Before long, if I asked a question, the same one or two people would answer, and it was usually 2 or 3 word replies, unless I asked something that required a more verbose answer.

I go tto the point of feeling like I was bothering people by trying to be social... like they just wanted to be left alone to what they were doing. And it's not only that they weren't very responsive to me... They weren't even talking to each other.

So I just stopped talking and eventually logged out.

And this is on a weekend.

I have 30 days, so I'll keep checking it out, but I gotta say... It's not very reassuring so far.

Shall see what happens myself very soon!  Downloaded the client and installed everything over the weekend and actually remembered my username!  Will sub for a month and see what my old characters are like.  Will probably level a dragon though to try out the lower level content first and then wander around with my Battlemage.  Cannot remember what server i was on though... 

Many people might be on ventrilo and such - I know when I play WoW (when i can be bothered) I miss a lot of ingame chatter.  Maybe this was the case but its hard to tell.  Hopefully you will still have some fun over the remaining 30 days.  I wonder what server most people are on?  Hope to see people in game!

Originally posted by Novalar

Shall see what happens myself very soon!  Downloaded the client and installed everything over the weekend and actually remembered my username!  Will sub for a month and see what my old characters are like.  Will probably level a dragon though to try out the lower level content first and then wander around with my Battlemage.  Cannot remember what server i was on though... 

Many people might be on ventrilo and such - I know when I play WoW (when i can be bothered) I miss a lot of ingame chatter.  Maybe this was the case but its hard to tell.  Hopefully you will still have some fun over the remaining 30 days.  I wonder what server most people are on?  Hope to see people in game!

 

I play mostly on the Chaos server and it seems to be the higher population server in my experience.

There was chatter while I was logged on tonight. Sure, it's not a huge constant stream of discussion -- I don't see that any night. Remember, people have group and guild channels, too. And as mentioned above, some prefer voice.

Originally posted by Aywren

Originally posted by Novalar

Shall see what happens myself very soon!  Downloaded the client and installed everything over the weekend and actually remembered my username!  Will sub for a month and see what my old characters are like.  Will probably level a dragon though to try out the lower level content first and then wander around with my Battlemage.  Cannot remember what server i was on though... 

Many people might be on ventrilo and such - I know when I play WoW (when i can be bothered) I miss a lot of ingame chatter.  Maybe this was the case but its hard to tell.  Hopefully you will still have some fun over the remaining 30 days.  I wonder what server most people are on?  Hope to see people in game!

 

 

I play mostly on the Chaos server and it seems to be the higher population server in my experience.

 

There was chatter while I was logged on tonight. Sure, it's not a huge constant stream of discussion -- I don't see that any night. Remember, people have group and guild channels, too. And as mentioned above, some prefer voice.

Not to sound snarky, because I understand the desire to keep Istaria in the best possible light... but I sense a bit of apologist spin in that response.

I've played Istaria before, after Virtirum took over, as well as all the way back when it was still Artifact Entertainment and Atari were the publishers, and at least one other time in-between. I had the original game box. I had the strat guide. I'm not brand-new to the game or its history. That said, I know what the community was like back when I last played, during the same time periods (evenings/weekends, etc). It's not something I'm imagining or mistaking.

As for people talking in guild, on  Ventrilo, etc... I'm certain all that was true the last time I played as well. Regardless, the channels were always active; people were always talking. It practically *was* a constant stream of chatter in the main channels (new players, marketplace, dragons, etc.). You'd see some of the same people carrying conversations simultaneously in 2 or 3 of them. I'd occasionally have to scroll back when switching tabs to keep up with what was being discussed. It was very consistently active. People asking and answering questions. People joking around. People chiding each other. People debating various things. People discussing the tedium of building their lairs...and so forth. There was *always* a discussion going on.

I remember more than one occasion when a large crowd of people would gather to celebrate someone ascendeing to Adult or Ancient dragonhood on a few occasions... There were at least 15-20 people at the events, and there were many others cheering them on and congratulating them in the chat channels.

Back then, Istaria on the Chaos server did indeed have a much more active community, no matter when I logged in.

Also, it seems a bit disingenuous to describe and praise the community as active and friendly and welcoming in one thread... Then, in another thread, to say "well, they're probably on Ventrilo or in guild chat and not paying attention" when someone points out how quiet and inactive it's been over the course of a few days. You can't have it both ways, and I'm not going to believe that I was just coincidentally on at all the wrong times, every time; especially since I logged in at the same times I always have before - evenings and weekends. While it was always active before... it hasn't been now.

Why not just say it without the sugar-coating: Istaria is simply not as active now as it was back for a time after VIrtrium took over. There are fewer people playing, and those who are playing are not as talkative as they were back then. There. Simple.

Sorry for the edge on my post, and I mean no disrespect. But it just irks me when people try to indicate that somehow what I'm plainly experiencing somehow isn't what it seems because it might reflect poorly on "their game".

I'm not bashing the game, or even the people playing it. Istaria's a fine game that I wish were doing better, because I think it's one of the few MMOs out there that truly *deserves* to do better. But I'm not going to sugar-coat or explain away the facts of what I've experienced in my times playing it to make it look more than what it is, either.

Originally posted by WSIMike

Why not just say it without the sugar-coating: Istaria is simply not as active now as it was back for a time after VIrtrium took over. There are fewer people playing, and those who are playing are not as talkative as they were back then. There. Simple.

Sorry for the edge on my post, and I mean no disrespect. But it just irks me when people try to indicate that somehow what I'm plainly experiencing somehow isn't what it seems because it might reflect poorly on "their game".

I'm not bashing the game, or even the people playing it. Istaria's a fine game that I wish were doing better, because I think it's one of the few MMOs out there that truly *deserves* to do better. But I'm not going to sugar-coat or explain away the facts of what I've experienced in my times playing it to make it look more than what it is, either.

Oh, of course. I KNOW that Istaria isn't as active as it was once before -- I think that's just a plain given at this point. I never said that wasn't the fact. But I also think a lot is based on expectation, playstyle and experiences. My experiences with the community there (even compared to larger games) have been positive. I've joined guilds in other games that have been less helpful, active and welcoming than the new player assistance chat in Istaria (and these weren't always small guilds, either). But that is entirely my own experience, and that's really all I can speak for.

It is the truth that folks may be in guild and group chat -- that's also a given in any game. But it's also true that there was conversation in public chat channels - again, no, not a constant stream of chat (but the same can be said of other games I have played, too, to be honest). I can vouch that there are a number of players that spend time trying to help newer people in the game (even physically spending time on the training islands), but we can only do so much for as long as we're logged in! I can also vouch that there is a concern and desire to help new players as we know Istaria is a tough game to get a handle on for someone starting fresh.

Those have been my experiences and I was happy to see efforts that have been put out there. Whether these efforts can or will meet someone else's expectations, I can't say. But I've heard more feedback towards the positive from new people in the game than towards the negative.

So, as I've said in past posts, mileage may vary. I respect your experiences and I have no intention in trying to debate or change your mind, because that's not possible. I DO hope that you find something to enjoy in Istaria. But if not, then sincere thanks for giving things a shot and safe travels to where ever you choose to go.

Bring back the Angels, Demons, Giants, and Vampires!

I was on last night and it was kinda quiet for the most part.  Only about 30 or so people in market chat but there was a small group on the starting island that were chatting with themselves.  Definatly not as big as it was at launch but it did go through a time where people weren't allowed to make forum accounts and were overcharged monthly left and right.  Overall last night I probably saw 6 people running around, which isn't much but I didn't go anywhere popular either aside from the starting isle.

You have to cut folks a bit of slack. Games with low populations would be hard-pressed to add new players if they focused solely on the fact that they have a low population.

The big problem for Istaria is: how do they get that monkey off of their back.

One recent example of success: DDO and the major announcement of a F2P option. I know Istaria has one now, but a focused marketing-blitz to bring in new players on a certain day, so that suddenly out of the blue low-population is no longer a problem.

They need to do something. They can't expect that all they need to do is have Arweyn keep posting here at MMORPG.com.

Originally posted by PhelimReagh

You have to cut folks a bit of slack. Games with low populations would be hard-pressed to add new players if they focused solely on the fact that they have a low population.

 

The big problem for Istaria is: how do they get that monkey off of their back.

 

One recent example of success: DDO and the major announcement of a F2P option. I know Istaria has one now, but a focused marketing-blitz to bring in new players on a certain day, so that suddenly out of the blue low-population is no longer a problem.

 

They need to do something. They can't expect that all they need to do is have Arweyn keep posting here at MMORPG.com.

I can't speak for VI, but I doubt they think a few articles here are going to be enough to change the world. Though, one thing I've considered is that they may be waiting until the T2 revamp comes out before pushing any sort of marketing-blitz. Which, if you think about it, would be smart to do -- wait until the game has some solid new T2 gameplay in the works before showing it to new folks...

I know as a gamer, if I'm going to drop out of a game, it's usually somewhere between level 20 - 30. I don't know if that's the same for everyone, but it's been my personal observation. Any game can be fantastic with winning players over in the starting levels where everything is shiny and new, but if there isn't something somewhat structured to keep them playing past level 15-20, then people aren't going to stick around. That's why I think a more story-based, quest line approach to T2 content is exactly what Istaria needs -- I hope to see all the tiers updated in such a way, paving a foundation for even more content to be built on top of this as time goes by.