A server with a player-base of 10,000 will be miles more successful than a server with a player-base of 50,000, if the former can maintain said player-base and the latter cannot. Sadly, we've seen nothing but decline in Cubecraft's player-base in recent months, which might confound some people seeing as very little has actually changed. However, I would like to argue that that lack of change is the problem.
Most of the ideas for Skywars and Eggwars have long since been exhausted. After all, there's only so many things you can do to change up a game that is as basic as PvP but in the sky, without creating an entirely different game (see Eggwars, Tower Defenders, Lucky Islands, Blockwars, etc., all of which are spin-offs of Skywars in some way). Therefore, it's perfectly understandable why this steep decline in player-count has occurred: It isn't that the games have gotten boring, but that people have gotten bored. With the level up and cubelet systems offering no real incentive or rewards for long-term objectives, players have no reason to continue playing a game that plays out identically to the last fifteen-hundred times they played it. At the end of the day, you either win or lose, and are awarded the exact. same. prize: a combination of numbers that cannot be used to show off in any meaningful way, or reward the player further.
Anyways, I propose adding a very slim chance of receiving a pet upon winning a certain game on the server. Given their rarity, they will not devalue miniatures in any way. These pets will be displayed both in hubs and in pre-game lobbies, and for a very crucial reason: people want to see their hard work recognised. If nobody sees their pet, then there's no point in them having their pet. Below, I have created a list of gamemodes and their corresponding pets, and the rarity of receiving said pet. The rarities are dictated by how long each game typically takes to conclude, as well as the difficulty in winning said game.
Skywars - Bunny pet | 1/2,000
Eggwars - Baby villager pet | 1/1,500
Survival games - TBD | 1/4,000
Blockwars - TBD | 1/3,000
Tower Defence - Skeleton pet | 1/1,000
Ultra Hardcore - Creeper pet | 1/1,000
Assassins - Zombie villager pet | 1/1,000 gamble at the cost of $1,000
Lucky islands - Bat pet | 1/2,000
Minerware - Slime pet | 1/2,000 (First place), 1/10,000 (Second & Third place)
Parkour - Ocelot pet | 1/1 from completing every mission (not an easy feat)
Super Craft Bros - Zombie pet | 1/3,000
Hide and Seek - Block pet | 1/3,000
Barn Brawl - Cow pet | 1/3,000
Cubelet - Squid pet | 1/3,000
Look at how well pets have done in Oldschool Runescape for further verification that this idea is a smart one to make:
These statistics are as of March 2nd, and indicate how many times certain players have killed a monster without receiving its rare pet drop. There are actually people that have killed over 20,000 of the exact same monster, just to receive a totally cosmetic companion. If a similar stigma can be created around Cubecraft's pets, then the replayability of many games will soar. How so? Well, think of it this way:
Why pets will work
When you win a game, you're going to receive some satisfaction from the flashing particles and the rewards, right? You'll receive say, 100 exp and 25 points. This feels amazing the first time it happens to you, especially when combined with that universal "first win" achievement that will give you an even larger reward. However, every subsequent victory therefore feels less satisfying, because you've now grown accustomed to receiving those exact rewards. Those rewards will feel a lot more satisfying the first time you win a game, than they will the thousandth time you win a game, because you know what to expect and it isn't much that you're actually receiving. In fact, the reward is totally meaningless, because there is no reward for leveling up (more on that below).
However, if you introduce pets into the drop table, then there will be far more excitement leading up to that victory. Instead of players having 100xp in their minds, they'll now be asking themselves 'Will this be the game? Will I get the pet?' If they don't get it, then they'll feel an urge to try again. This is because they want to justify the time spent on the game overall by winning that pet, to demonstrate to others that they are in fact the master of said game. If they do get the pet, then they'll obviously show it off. This will encourage other people to get the pet, because they too want that recognition from other players. They want something to show for all their hard work, something that the average player doesn't have and can't easily get.
This shouldn't be entirely complicated to implement. After all, a similar system was done in the Cubecraft 2.1 update, and on a far larger scale.
First of all, I think we need to have people's levels displayed in the TAB screen alongside their names. We need to celebrate the accomplishments of the player-base after all, otherwise they have no value. It won't make the chat messy, should be relatively easy to implement, and rewards veterans whilst encouraging lower levels to compete. Keep in mind that your level is not an indication of your skill, but rather how much you've played the game.
Secondly, there needs to be base rewards that become more lucrative as your level increases. For example:
Levels 1-10: 75 points
Levels 11-20: 100 points
Levels 21-30: 125 points
Levels 31-40: 150 points, 1 cubelet
Levels 41-50: 150 points, 1 cubelets
Levels 51-60: 150 points, 2 cubelets
Levels 61-70: 175 points, 3 cubelets
Levels 71-80: 200 points, 3 cubelets
Levels 81-90: 250 points, 3 cubelets
Levels 91-100: 300 points, 3 cubelets
Levels 100+: 350 points, 4 cubelets
Why not also throw in some useful perks for reaching certain milestones? For example:
Level 5: Jump Boost I in lobbies
Level 20: Speed I in lobbies
Level 35: Jump Boost II in lobbies
Level 50: Speed II in lobbies
Level 65: Jump Boost III in lobbies
Level 80: Speed III in lobbies
Level 95: Jump Boost IV in lobbies
Level 100: Glow effect in lobbies (I really like this one, much better than unlocking the troll hat)
Level 110: Speed IV in lobbies
Level 125: Speed V in lobbies
These would give every fifteenth level actual value, and should definitely be considered. They wouldn't devalue the /fly perk, which would still be both faster and more adventurous. Though, let's face it, if somebody is level 95+, they probably already have /fly.
Every season, this leaderboard will reset. It will be available for a handful of games, such as Skywars, Eggwars, Survival Games, and Blockwars. Those that are placed in the top five during each season for these gamemodes, will be awarded a rank-up and a handful of in-game goodies, as well as being forever commemorated for their efforts on the CCG website. This could be used to revive games that aren't quite as popular as they used to be, and would offer a viable enough incentive to have people playing them for months.
What are your opinions on these ideas? Also, thnx for reading x
Most of the ideas for Skywars and Eggwars have long since been exhausted. After all, there's only so many things you can do to change up a game that is as basic as PvP but in the sky, without creating an entirely different game (see Eggwars, Tower Defenders, Lucky Islands, Blockwars, etc., all of which are spin-offs of Skywars in some way). Therefore, it's perfectly understandable why this steep decline in player-count has occurred: It isn't that the games have gotten boring, but that people have gotten bored. With the level up and cubelet systems offering no real incentive or rewards for long-term objectives, players have no reason to continue playing a game that plays out identically to the last fifteen-hundred times they played it. At the end of the day, you either win or lose, and are awarded the exact. same. prize: a combination of numbers that cannot be used to show off in any meaningful way, or reward the player further.
Pets
I've proposed introducing pets numerous times across various threads in some form, typically as a reward for overcoming a great challenge. For instance, I proposed rewarding the player with CCG's old mascot, Cubey the baby ocelot, upon completing all parkour maps in my parkour thread. The reason that I keep bringing it up, is because people like pets. They like the idea of having a visible entity follow them around that other players can see and envy. Sure, we have miniatures, but you cannot earn them in-game so they offer absolutely zero replayability. They're also uncanny and most of them are flat-out ugly to look at, which I imagine is why they don't sell very often (just an assumption based on the fact that no new ones have been added for a very long time. If they were selling well, new ones would be added regularly).Anyways, I propose adding a very slim chance of receiving a pet upon winning a certain game on the server. Given their rarity, they will not devalue miniatures in any way. These pets will be displayed both in hubs and in pre-game lobbies, and for a very crucial reason: people want to see their hard work recognised. If nobody sees their pet, then there's no point in them having their pet. Below, I have created a list of gamemodes and their corresponding pets, and the rarity of receiving said pet. The rarities are dictated by how long each game typically takes to conclude, as well as the difficulty in winning said game.
Skywars - Bunny pet | 1/2,000
Eggwars - Baby villager pet | 1/1,500
Survival games - TBD | 1/4,000
Blockwars - TBD | 1/3,000
Tower Defence - Skeleton pet | 1/1,000
Ultra Hardcore - Creeper pet | 1/1,000
Assassins - Zombie villager pet | 1/1,000 gamble at the cost of $1,000
Lucky islands - Bat pet | 1/2,000
Minerware - Slime pet | 1/2,000 (First place), 1/10,000 (Second & Third place)
Parkour - Ocelot pet | 1/1 from completing every mission (not an easy feat)
Super Craft Bros - Zombie pet | 1/3,000
Hide and Seek - Block pet | 1/3,000
Barn Brawl - Cow pet | 1/3,000
Cubelet - Squid pet | 1/3,000
Look at how well pets have done in Oldschool Runescape for further verification that this idea is a smart one to make:
These statistics are as of March 2nd, and indicate how many times certain players have killed a monster without receiving its rare pet drop. There are actually people that have killed over 20,000 of the exact same monster, just to receive a totally cosmetic companion. If a similar stigma can be created around Cubecraft's pets, then the replayability of many games will soar. How so? Well, think of it this way:
Why pets will work
When you win a game, you're going to receive some satisfaction from the flashing particles and the rewards, right? You'll receive say, 100 exp and 25 points. This feels amazing the first time it happens to you, especially when combined with that universal "first win" achievement that will give you an even larger reward. However, every subsequent victory therefore feels less satisfying, because you've now grown accustomed to receiving those exact rewards. Those rewards will feel a lot more satisfying the first time you win a game, than they will the thousandth time you win a game, because you know what to expect and it isn't much that you're actually receiving. In fact, the reward is totally meaningless, because there is no reward for leveling up (more on that below).
However, if you introduce pets into the drop table, then there will be far more excitement leading up to that victory. Instead of players having 100xp in their minds, they'll now be asking themselves 'Will this be the game? Will I get the pet?' If they don't get it, then they'll feel an urge to try again. This is because they want to justify the time spent on the game overall by winning that pet, to demonstrate to others that they are in fact the master of said game. If they do get the pet, then they'll obviously show it off. This will encourage other people to get the pet, because they too want that recognition from other players. They want something to show for all their hard work, something that the average player doesn't have and can't easily get.
This shouldn't be entirely complicated to implement. After all, a similar system was done in the Cubecraft 2.1 update, and on a far larger scale.
Level up rewards
Simply put, there is no reason for players to want to level up. I've mentioned this before, but because most players dislike lag, they disable other players in the hubs. This necessary and almost mandatory feature unfortunately devalues all cosmetic rewards that are unlocked through both the cubelet and level up systems. First of all, people cannot see the items that you're wearing. Secondly, this is Minecraft; every item looks the same. Nobody is going to think "whoa, that's a cool hat!" and proceed to ask you how it is that you unlocked it.First of all, I think we need to have people's levels displayed in the TAB screen alongside their names. We need to celebrate the accomplishments of the player-base after all, otherwise they have no value. It won't make the chat messy, should be relatively easy to implement, and rewards veterans whilst encouraging lower levels to compete. Keep in mind that your level is not an indication of your skill, but rather how much you've played the game.
Secondly, there needs to be base rewards that become more lucrative as your level increases. For example:
Levels 1-10: 75 points
Levels 11-20: 100 points
Levels 21-30: 125 points
Levels 31-40: 150 points, 1 cubelet
Levels 41-50: 150 points, 1 cubelets
Levels 51-60: 150 points, 2 cubelets
Levels 61-70: 175 points, 3 cubelets
Levels 71-80: 200 points, 3 cubelets
Levels 81-90: 250 points, 3 cubelets
Levels 91-100: 300 points, 3 cubelets
Levels 100+: 350 points, 4 cubelets
Why not also throw in some useful perks for reaching certain milestones? For example:
Level 5: Jump Boost I in lobbies
Level 20: Speed I in lobbies
Level 35: Jump Boost II in lobbies
Level 50: Speed II in lobbies
Level 65: Jump Boost III in lobbies
Level 80: Speed III in lobbies
Level 95: Jump Boost IV in lobbies
Level 100: Glow effect in lobbies (I really like this one, much better than unlocking the troll hat)
Level 110: Speed IV in lobbies
Level 125: Speed V in lobbies
These would give every fifteenth level actual value, and should definitely be considered. They wouldn't devalue the /fly perk, which would still be both faster and more adventurous. Though, let's face it, if somebody is level 95+, they probably already have /fly.
Seasonal leaderboards & prizes
There is no point in trying to compete with the all-time leaderboards, since you'll never stand a chance of catching up. Thus, I propose introducing the seasonal leaderboards.Every season, this leaderboard will reset. It will be available for a handful of games, such as Skywars, Eggwars, Survival Games, and Blockwars. Those that are placed in the top five during each season for these gamemodes, will be awarded a rank-up and a handful of in-game goodies, as well as being forever commemorated for their efforts on the CCG website. This could be used to revive games that aren't quite as popular as they used to be, and would offer a viable enough incentive to have people playing them for months.
What are your opinions on these ideas? Also, thnx for reading x
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