MagiStream Activity

[randomname]

I want to add that the Kirin thing was fun because the darn things actually bred hybrids fairly regularly! Not like the deer and some of the others. I think I even had trouble getting the the wolves to breed hybrids.

[Celery]

As the concern for new players is true, it's also having a huge effect on the Magistream economy. We lost many players to inactivity, and their creatures are no longer being traded around. It's also not only easier, but trendier as well, to stockpile holiday creatures (everything from end of 2013 on is extremely common). So sales often recycle the same creatures, there aren't any new players to buy those creatures for collecting, and the rarer stuff is being jacked up because the number of people who have them are dwindling.

[CinnaminDraconna]

<snip>
and the rarer stuff is being jacked up because the number of people who have them are dwindling.

Which is one of the biggest reasons for re-releasing older creatures and being able to repeat the older quests.

Just look at Rewin Dragons.. with all the new Crystalwings we get every Magiversary, the need for more Rewins keeps growing. Being able to get them from drinking at Remy's was awesome, but unless that will happen every Magiversary we need another way to get more Rewins. Yes, they were added to Remy's, but you can only buy 2.. why? I never have understood why 2 is the max you can buy, when we always need more because of new CW's.

Limiting Donation creatures I understand.. they are how the site gets real money to keep operating. But limiting creatures we get free is rather discouraging. If new players can't get the creatures that were free when they were released they might decide MS isn't worth hanging around. And considering how expensive older creatures get, the sales/trade market can be VERY annoying... if you can even find what you're looking for.

One thing I'd like to suggest is being able to buy gold with Shards. Why? Because there are certain players with millions and millions of gold who dominate the sales/trades available. They're able to do that because they've been here for years and have been able to donate lots and lots, then sell shards for thousands of gold each.. current rate has been stable at 50k per shard for a while now, but I still see some players asking for 55 - 75k per shard. That makes the sales/trade market VERY lopsided and is probably pretty discourging for new players. Maybe if we could use shards to get gold more folk could afford to buy those older pets.. if they become available. I have no way of knowing if that will change anything over the long term, but I think it might help in the short term.. especially if some older creatures are re-released too.

[wispa]

I agree with what @shadowrose45 said, as an older player Magistream is the one game I stick with. I like everything about it here.

I admit that I am not overly active on the forums, but I am generally on the site daily. I just tend to breed my creatures, camp out at the steam (waiting for something of interest to swim by), and read the forums (without actually commenting much).

The group of people here are some of the best I have come across online. Everyone is helpful and kind.

I have played on other games that always seem to have something going on and for me personally it's just too much. One game got to having an event every single month and sure at first it sounded great, but it was exhausting to play. I want to play because I enjoy my interaction in the game, not because I feel like I'll miss something if I don't.

I'm not saying some of the ideas aren't good (because some are), I just really like the feel and atmosphere that Magistream has here and I'd be sad if that went away. (oh and I hate adds even though I run add blocker)

[BeeNme]

I agree with what @shadowrose45 said, as an older player Magistream is the one game I stick with. I like everything about it here.

I admit that I am not overly active on the forums, but I am generally on the site daily. I just tend to breed my creatures, camp out at the steam (waiting for something of interest to swim by), and read the forums (without actually commenting much).

The group of people here are some of the best I have come across online. Everyone is helpful and kind.

I have played on other games that always seem to have something going on and for me personally it's just too much. One game got to having an event every single month and sure at first it sounded great, but it was exhausting to play. I want to play because I enjoy my interaction in the game, not because I feel like I'll miss something if I don't.

I'm not saying some of the ideas aren't good (because some are), I just really like the feel and atmosphere that Magistream has here and I'd be sad if that went away. (oh and I hate adds even though I run add blocker)

well said. I agree with everything you've written.

[Sanne]

After a 6 year hiatus for me, I did notice the quiteness as I compare it to 2012. But I still like it here hahaha

[Madd]

I've tried paid ads before and they didn't do very well, and that was when MS made enough to waste stupid amounts of money on ads that didn't work. I suspect we could spend every spare dollar on advertising and then some, and you'd never see a difference in new users.

I've always kept an eye on what other sites do, adoptables sites and others in the same sort of space. Some have remained pretty much the same and kept an old, dwindling user base. Some have expanded to include all kinds of mini-games and skills to level up and that kind of thing, and they're still far less active than they used to be. A few have changed so much that they've alienated their old users, who have left, but not enticed enough new users with the new system(s), so they've reinvented digg basically.

The rest of the team has updates and improvements planned. The site is still getting better. I think, in the past nine years, the landscape has changed. MS came out two years after the iPhone. Twelve year olds in school libraries play candy crush now. Nobody plays the new RuneScape, just RuneScape Classic from 2008, and everyone on there is 25+ years old. I could try to learn mobile development and bring MS into the new world, or we could change slowly and accept that in a few more years, maybe nobody is going to want to play adoptables games anymore. Who am I kidding? They will. Just not, like, a lot of people.

P.S. The really effective ways to increase activity are boring. Most of our users never post on the forum. If we made an alert pop up for them, encouraging them to introduce themselves, many of them would. Most visitors don't sign up. If we changed the site to encourage them to sign up, or made the signup process easier, there'd be more activity. The relevant conversion funnel is visit -> signup -> post. Optimizing conversion funnels is for marketers and I have no patience for it. It's boooooring.

Click eggs, party hard, nothing lasts forever.

[Sanne]

You could always ask my husband, he loves doing that kind of stuff lolz (lead developer DPD)

[WolfyWolf]

Click eggs, party hard, nothing lasts forever.

Can I get that on a shirt?

[Ktanaqui]

Click eggs, party hard, nothing lasts forever.

Can I get that on a shirt?

With MagiStream critters. Please.