User:54sr/Sandbox
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12 x 12 12 x 12 : The Malton Survivor Tour | ||
The Facts
It's 2012. There are 10,000 some active players left in Malton. Many/most of the oldest groups still active are down 10-15 something odd players active. Many have even less.
FACT #1: Malton is nothing without community.
The wiki is still active, but the realities of the in-game world and the wiki have become strangely disconnected. Status reports have not been updated in an eternity. Many groups on the wiki no longer exist in game. Some groups in-game are still active and have a substantial force, but one couldn't tell by looking at their wiki pages, which were lasted updated in 2007. Many of the larger groups still active have abandoned the wiki completely, retreating to their forums, while other groups may or may not be active, but no longer even have a forum. FACT #2: Malton is a "Zombie" apocalypse.
The current dwindling number of active players places the zombie population at 34%. In a large majority of Malton, players can travel for dozens of blocks without seeing a single undead. If there's no undead to fight, then what is there to do in the game? FACT #3: Malton hasn't changed nearly at all in over half a decade.
While other games come and go, receiving crazy graphics updates and patches that require gigabytes of downloads, Malton remains true to its roots: a simple, fast, text and colored block game. The basic skill needed to play Malton is easily acquired, but the community driven aspect constantly evolves the experience. FACT #4: The number of new players in Malton has dwindled to almost nothing.
Although Malton still sees its fair share of new signups, the majority of these accounts go inactive after the first time they are killed or level one, whichever comes first. A new character's first days in Malton, particularly for rookies, can make or break their experience. If they find empty and ruined buildings in deserted suburbs, they likely won't keep playing. On the other hand, if they run into a massive hoard and are killed in seconds, they definitely won't be back. FACT #5: It is harder to start a new group in Malton these days.
With even the most ancient and storied groups run to the ground for lack of recruits, no one can argue that a new low-level player will have an incredibly hard time finding recruits to help them build up a strong group. FACT #6: An unorganized survivor is a dead survivor.
Without clear coordination, survivors have an incredibly hard time maintaining the supply lines vital to survival. This includes barricades on safehouses, fuel for generators in resource buildings, and working revive points. Even freelance survivors have an easier time working closely with other survivors in moderately populated areas. FACT #7: The majority of zombies have gotten lazy.
Instead of a continuous drive to assault survivor positions followed by a period of downtime, where the hoards pull out to other suburbs, giving survivors a chance to reclaim the suburb and prepare for the next offensive, the zombies today are content to ruin buildings and then camp out in them permanently. This destroys the critical game mechanic of balance, meaning that survivors have an incredibly hard time taking back permanently ruined infrastructure. Thus, the critical challenge of Malton is ruined, and survivors have no choice but to retreat to zombie free suburbs. At the same time, there are not enough zombies to go around, and many suburbs are left with no undead action at all. FACT #8: The PKer vs. Bounty Hunter metagame is broken.
Although there remain plenty of PKers, there are few dedicated bounty hunters still around. Thus, PKers have only average survivors as targets, survivors who are already hard-pressed to keep the undead at bay and maintain Malton's infrastructure. FACT #9: PKers are survivors too.
PKers require the same ammunition and supplies as regular pro-survivors, and face the same limitations when zombies are permanently located in ruined malls and police departments. In years past, a large number of "respectable" PKers who held a code of honor once kept other, more dastardly PKers in line. However, these groups have suffered the same member drain as others, and are no longer a match for lone, honorless lowlifes. FACT #11: Inter-group communication and operations is at an all-time low.
While most groups hold alliances of some kind, very few of these have actually seen use in recent times. Indeed, even some of the oldest and largest "Alliances" are now a distant memory, with only handfuls of members left in ghosts of groups. FACT #12: It is impossible to hold large buildings without a large and dedicated force.
Even against small zombie hoards, these buildings will fall. Once they have fallen, it will take only a small holding force of zombies to keep the buildings ruined and out of action. Yet, it would require a substantially larger force of survivors to clear and hold them again.
The Solution? 12 x 12
The Plan Gather together a force of at least 12 individual groups which currently have around 12 active members or less. This combined taskforce will then tour Malton, clearing and retaking buildings, reviving zombies, and the like, all while looking to achieve the goal of acquiring at least 12 new members for each group. There are still plenty of active survivors who are unaffiliated. A large majority of these are newer, lower level players, but plenty of Malton veterans have returned only to find their past groups long gone. The goal is to find the friendless survivors new groups out of the many great groups that are struggling to stay on the stats page these days. Why Malton 12 x 12? Why not 10 x 10? Simple. It's 2012, there are twelve months in a year, and I figure we've got about 12 months to unleash a full scale Malton campaign or watch the city continue to fade away. And getting 12 new members for 12 groups which currently have 12 active members means a gross of new recruits. Should be enough to take on the Dead. Perhaps. The taskforce of groups will include both mobile groups and those groups normally located in a single suburb or region who wish to participate. The Tour As part of a twelve month campaign (or however long it takes/we have), we get the taskforce of groups mobilized and move through every single suburb in Malton. Sounds simple right? Well, here's the rest of the idea. The taskforce is followed up by a massive undead hoard, which gives the taskforce enough time to secure every building in a suburb and prepare defenses, then launches an all-out siege on the suburb. When the suburb is finally totally ruined, the hoard pulls back one suburb and gives the taskforce enough time to revive, rebuild and restock, then move out to the next suburb. Rinse and repeat for 100 suburbs. Alternate idea: The taskforce and the undead hoard begin at opposite ends of Malton and make their way into Malton, ruining or rebuilding suburbs in alternating, opposite directions, until finally meeting up for the "Big Bash" in Ridleybank. Eventually, the taskforce will pass through and begin repairing what the undead had already destroyed, and the hoard will ruin what was previously repaired. That, or everyone will just be dead in Ridleybank and it's game over. Both these ideas operate on the principle that not every group, survivor and undead, will be part of the taskforce or the hoard. However, the more that are, the more fun it will be. Why the bloody hell?: Simple. It's all in the game. And the way the game is going, it just might be game over soon. The ultimate goal is to get the entire remaining community together for the most fun adventure possible with such a small community left. And to rebuild the sense of community and action so beloved of days past. You're insane!: As Kevan is my witness, time will tell if my idea is doomed to fail. Either way, it is my offered solution to a growing problem. Whether it gains momentum is beyond my control. I have talked with the leaders of many old groups recently, and all agree that attracting new recruits is a problem these days. There is simply not enough of a community left. And while there are plenty of active and large groups left, these may be mobile or in more populated/ high profile areas. The problem is one of scale and location, and for now small groups permanently located in one suburb, it is sure a problem.
Frequently Anticipated Questions, Arguments, Random Outbursts:
Q: I'm a PKer/PKer group? What can I do to disrupt you activities? Q: I'm a PKer/PKer group? What can I do to help? Q: I'm one of the (very few) large groups left, and your idea sucks! Q: I'm a citizen of Malton who is unaffiliated with any group. How can I join this movement? Q: I'm a a freelance player and hate groups. Can I just join in the action? Q: BARHAH! Q: We're a zombie hoard. How can we eat your bra!nz today? Q: We're the RRF/MOB and we need members too! Q: I'm an admin/sysop. How can I help? Q: I'm an admin/sysop and your idea is stupid. Q: Where is the forum? Q: THIS IS A GREAT IDEA! But I have some suggestions/improvements! Q: I'm the leader of a group with 12 active members. Where do I sign up? Q: I'm the leader of a large group and you should all stop wasting time and join my group. Q: Your idea is so great, I'm going to copy it and pass it off as my own! Q: Cool Story Bro. Have a cookie. Q: Did you think this shit up in five minutes? Q: I'm a one-man group and I need members! Can I join? Q: Guarantees? Q: Will it work? Q: Explain entire strategy. Q: Enough with the questions! SupportersHave a group with 12 or so active members and want more? Think this is a good idea? Show your support below! Of course we will accept as many groups as want to join, but for now: The Big (Little) 12:1. As the Chief Architect of this So, if you've got the balls, or the beer, or both to take it, then step right up and sign your name. Independent Survivor SupportPKer SupportZombie SupportSysop SupportBub SupportA Randomly Undead ThoughtIt's 3:00. Do you know where your zombie is? What is UD without zombies? Where is your zombie alt? What's that, you haven't got a dedicated zombie alt? Why the bloody hell not?! MAKE ONE! But only one! No zerging! Tales From MaltonTheFireChief's Story:
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