Popomundo - The TBL Punk Scene!

[bruins72]

If anyone needs a video director or a record producer, let me know. I've got 5 stars in each. The only catch is that you need to work around my touring.

[Coyote of the Sea]

Oh and i btw, i don't really enjoy being called "kid" at nearly 26... No offense though

umm its called a joke, as old people often call younger people kids hince i'm saying you kids because i used to play popo like years ago and don't rembmer any reference to numbers anywhere (everyone always called it good, above aeverage, nice and stuff)

[Shadd666]

Archi: new songs that have never been played live are best for singles Most famous ones are for albums.

Coyote of the Sea: Sorry, i'm a bit nervous lately, and didn't caught the joke. Mea culpa.

As for the numbers, i don't how it was in the old days, but now when you put your mouse pointer on the names (ab. average, perfect, etc), you've got an information about which rank it is, out of the 26 ranks. Maybe this was not implemented when you were playing I play for a bit less than a year and a half, and i've always seen it. But maybe it was not there before, or maybe you never noticed it

[bruins72]

Actually, I think singles work best if they've been played on a limited basis. There is a cap on the number of people it's been played in front of, IIRC. I want to say 50k or something?

[Coyote of the Sea]

i'd agree that singles probably are best if the song isn't one thats played at every show etc etc.

not sure, but i know the game makers like some sort of realism and it makes sense you'd use a smaller song as a single to make it big and help sell the album later.

[bruins72]

Without getting into a bashing of the people behind Popomundo (or whatever it's being called now)... I just can't agree with the statement that they like sort of realism in the game. They're veered far from that path and thumb their noses at it if it suits them.

[Coyote of the Sea]

err i'll rephrase it, they make the core (musical aspect) of the game in a way that it makes some sense (i.e. singles used to sell a song to sell a album later)

[Shadd666]

Yeah, the core has some realism, and some of the recent additions were heading pretty realistic, which is a good thing. But we still have the stupid zombies, bands getting astronomical and ridiculous percentages of the sales, buses that crosses the oceans, etc etc etc

Still a fun game though

[joehelmer]

Flying buses what a sight!

[Coyote of the Sea]

or the fact you can spend a $1000 dollars going shopping and never buy anything

[Coyote of the Sea]

out of curiosity, does anyone visit the forums that plays? i do from time to time but just like before i left (in boredom) the last time, i see the forums are still this VIP are 1337 and Non-vips sucks, kill all the non-vips!!!! its annoying when paying players act like they are the most powerful souls, and don't pay attention to why non-vips are needed. but whatever, i got my rant on it in the forum, just wondering is anyone else still reads the forums there?

[bruins72]

To be honest with you? Non-paying players on Popo bring down the game for everyone that does play. I'm a VIP paid up for the next year or something like that. Over the past several weeks I've had a heck of a time staying connected to Popo. Why? Because there are hundreds of thousands of people playing the game yet only a small percentage (less than 10%... closer to 5% I think) are paying members. They're taxing the servers and until the people running the game can catch up, we're all suffering. Plus, shouldn't the wishes or needs of the people that are paying the bills take priority over the freeloaders? I don't really see where you can have the room to complain about something that doesn't cost you a cent. That's just my thinking. To me, it would like somebody who is running a trial version of EHM for the past couple years complaining about a limitation of the game.

As for the Popo forums... I avoid them like the plague. I don't like the way they're set up. I find them very disorganized and hard to follow.

[Coyote of the Sea]

except no free game=no game at all. You can't expect people to pay when they can't try the game.

Plus to add, the management of the free game is fairly mismanaged, ads=good, paying to get rid of ads=better. Plus without Non-vips they have nothing to test on. If you paying to play, your going to be upset if a change happens that your strongly disagree with, thus lowering the profit of the game if you stop paying due to it. Instead if we see if this upsets people too much or is this gets more people to buy etc. on the non-vips it allows VIP to have the game they payed for, and the DEVS to tinker with things.

Its stupid to say people who don't pay, can't complain though. In fact its ignorant. You mine as well kill the game now because if they don't complain about anything, the game would be lost by now. You basically are saying, "okay, you play the game too, try to help out or just aren't willing to pay. Well i say **** you and go to hell." You think anyone will keep playing and maybe become vip at all when the vips act like that to them? NO. thats the problem with the VIPS and always has been. They have their heads too far up their ***es to realize they contribute just as much to killing the game as the ones who don't.

[holydogg]

. They're taxing the servers and until the people running the game can catch up, we're all suffering. Plus, shouldn't the wishes or needs of the people that are paying the bills take priority over the freeloaders?

Yeah, since some time Popo is slow as hell and sometime I can't even connect. Boring rubbish indeed. I've paid VIP too. At least we can turn off those ugly adds.

At last, the dev are finally tuning up things on the musical side of the game. The riders, the crew, the private jet. That's better add-on than freaking zombies IMHO


I mainly lurk on the Montreal forum, but it's fairly dead by now. The forum is only revitalized when the Turks attempt a takeover and everyone else mobilize! We got a good share of mayor turn-over recently. By some rubbishy circumstance, I even been appointed mayor myself. My biggest achievement was peeing-off Melbourne administration

[bruins72]

I also like that they made having children a VIP only option. The way people crank out tons of kids, it bogs things down. This should help long term.

I think you're missing my point, Coyote. There are people that have been playing that game for years and not put one penny into the game. I don't see how they feel they should be catered to.

[archibalduk]

I agree with B72 - without paying members the game would never survive due to server costs. You can't expect the creators to pay potentially hundreds of pounds/dollars/euros every year so that we can all play their game. I think it's pretty darn good how they accommodate non-paying users so well as well as giving paying users distinct benefits. I paid for three months' VIP and it was well worth it - it cost me about the equivalent of a pint of beer The only reason I'm no longer a VIP is because I can't commit much time to the game any more and don't know how much longer I'll be playing it.

I do wonder whether ads will be enough to finance their costs. I guess they have so many non-VIPs that they might get a tidy sum from adverts, but will it be enough to pay the running costs? Maybe in the future we'll see mandatory VIP membership - either pay to play or don't play at all.

[Tasku]

either pay to play or don't play at all.

I'd prolly drop out at that point. Just don't see what all the fuzz is about.

At the moment I'm just dropping in occasionally to check my dude out, check the vital signs, make sure he's breathing and all that. Most of the time I do nothing with him, don't see the point...



Sounds awfully alot like my real life...

[Shadd666]

Coyote: Well, if you don't like it the way it is, no-one forces you to play...

That being said, most of the VIPs i know are really kind people who really care about the community and are helpfull toward new users, even non-VIPs. Of course, there are some stupid VIPs, and we see them easily because they are VIPs. But there are also a lot of stupid non-VIPs... A lot more, as there's a lot more non-VIPs. But globally, the proportions are the same, and the same as anywhere else. It's just a specific part of humans that are clearly stupid, and you'll find them anywhere, anytime. So this VIP free bashing is just a huge non-sense to me.

Oh, and btw, VIPs don't kill the game, they provide the funds for the game to exist. And non-VIPs don't kill the game either, they are the fan base that allows the game to devellop and to stay alive. And if they cause some lagging issues, it's not their fault. You can't accuse people to like a game that is made to be enjoyed! That's just a perfect non-sense!

Then of course, it's not all pink nor all perfect. There should be fatser servers, a better forum, no zombies, bla bla bla... True. But darn, do you anything that is perfect?...

Neither do i.

So, instead of ranting in the wind, either go away from it or propose something constructive to improve it. Ranting without proposing is just useless IMO. Point blank.

[holydogg]

That being said, most of the VIPs i know are really kind people who really care about the community and are helpfull toward new users, even non-VIPs. Of course, there are some stupid VIPs, and we see them easily because they are VIPs. But there are also a lot of stupid non-VIPs...

I agree, you have to build yourself a network of acquaintance in the game. If you can make friends in good places, VIP or not, but mostly VIPs, your game experience is clearly enhanced. To give you better jobs, advice, partnership or just nice interactions.

Some examples: Many Tblers owed Minty's character some drinks cause he offered us well paid jobs. THis was a great help for noobs.

Our band is really going better since we stated to do business with Pete McGinnes. Shadd has done a nice move by discussing with him.

I've got a nice network in Montreal community. Being well connected helped to run my club in the first months. I succeeded to have my club running both Hydra and Montreal Festival.

My "popospouse" was lucky to get connected with Dan Barrera. Running her club in Sao Paulo given her to be in touch with some big names, receiving very generous bonus and a record deal with a trustable studio.

[Coyote of the Sea]

I'm not complaining about the game though, so the don't play thing doesn't mean anything, i'm complaining about some vips outright bashing of non-vips in the public forums can potentially be hurting the base of possible buyers.

and as to long winded ranting, i have my actual rant in the forums at popomundo that give many ways to raise funds using non-vips. Third it also shows i never said (nor did i in here) that i'm against them making this and that etc etc a VIP function . but if you want critisms then i'll post a slew of short notes of change here. First, more ads. People don't like them but they usually (outside of pop-ups) are not in the way, make some money, enticement for becoming vip (ad filters) and gives people who cannot pay due to age or location a chance to still help the game. 2nd is lower the inactive time, make it like a month to get rid of those not playing anymore, and maybe spend a little time a few days a week looking for potential cloners. An outside the box idea (if corporations would go for it) why not have corporate sponsored clothes in the game? you could wear a shirt made by Polo, or Air Jordans etc. if the companies were willing to pay to have their products on there. Maybe even some name-brand stores i know it ruins the player company idea but they'd just have to limit the numbers of corpate stores in an area) like Nike World, Taco Bell, Air Canada etc.

[Shadd666]

@ Coyote: Well, your initial post wasn't that clear about the VIPs stuff, and i thought you were putting all VIPs in a bag and all non-VIPs in another bag. When you precise that you meant some VIPs stupidly bashing non-VIPs, than it's okay And i agree with you that this is really stupid from them. In the same time, you'll find that kind of people everywhere, unfortunately. They are visible in the Popo forums because those forums are not moderated. I mean, seriously moderated. But that's only one of the numerous problems of the popo-forum.

As for your proposition of more ads, i'm in for it Although i'm sure it wouldn't be a popular decision, i think it'd clearly help the game to devellop, and therefore can only be a good thing. Well... unless there are too much ads, of course...

Reducing the inactivity time before getting rid of someone? Why not... Although i don't see a huge benefit out of it (being inactive, they don't use that much bandwith...). But it couldn't be a bad thing, so why not. Maybe also implement the possibility to supress your own account. Some people want to leave the game or know they won't be able to play anymore, and some should be kind enough to supress their character, rather than letting him die 3 months later. But well, both wouldn't be huge improvements... Still improvements though...

However, i'm not that thrilled about the corporate sponsors stuff... I don't really like the idea of bringing real life business into a game universe. I don't mind when it neighboors the game (ie ads), but i'm a bit more reluctant to see it into the game. It should bring some conflicts of interest between the devs and the companies. And with the devs being dependent from the companies financially, those last should have the last word on a product (the game) that is not theirs, which could be really bad for the game, and therefore for us, the gamers. Of course, the risk isn't that high, but it's an existing risk nontheless, that doesn't worth it IMO. Although it's a bit less fashion, i prefer good old ads.

[Coyote of the Sea]

yeah, the lastone was just an outside the box idea, pretty sure they wouldn't go for it either (hince why i didn't mention it there). and the popo forums have some moderation?

oh and the inactivity time has dropped now, this announced probably today that you stop getting pdates after a month if you don't log in and die in two months. In good news should be a change with no complaining for the first time in i'm guess awhile

[Shadd666]

Yup, the change about the inactivity period sounds pretty good. First, they stop the updates to save bandwith, and then let another month for people to login, in case they were on loooong vacations or experienced computer/internet problems... Sounds fair to me, and for once it heads in the good way.

the popo forums have some moderation?

Well... i guess there must be some... at least officially... But the place is such a mess that i skipped it long time ago, and just check in from time to time to see if things improved, just to see it's not the case and run away

[archibalduk]

The Popo Forums ought to have a look at TBL for some inspiration on how to have a successful forum. Heh enough of my blowing my own trumpet already

I think I'm going to step into the world of tour buses and stage equipment as I seem to have reached a plateau in my concert performances. Could anyone recommend what pieces of stage equipment I ought to buy? I have $250,000 at my disposal but I'd rather stick to a budget of about $100,000 at the most. I need to buy a tour bus with that money too.

Are there big running costs in having a tour bus and stage equipment? I know that equipment needs to be replaced every year or two.

[bruins72]

I'm not sure what the best setup is and how often you need to replace it but I'd message Minty/April in game. He's got a very good handle on it. I do know that there are costs involved with having a tour bus and equipment. You're going to need to pay a road crew to set it up and drive your bus. You're also going to have to pay for fuel to get from show to show (not too much for travel costs). The crew might be where you have to be careful because the more stage equipment you buy, the more crew is needed to set it up in a timely fashion. Plus, you've got to make sure whatever bus you buy can carry all of the equipment you buy. It's got a lot more complicated since the days when we had to worry about costs.