What can be done to reverse the decline?

[BGtheBrain]

*****

[Streaker]

You can start smaller and incoorporate team games into the SoC. That's already the case, but as far as I can see it's still minimal. A graduation from the SoC, into the team-game section.
It would allow newer-ish players to quickly develop team strategy and apply to clans (and actually get accepted) more easily. While it won't attract new players to CC, it will definitely help them to stay here.

For more new blood more drastic changes are needed I think. The app is indeed a no brainer. Publicity and a premium-entry package are also nice. Most games give a limited amount of free prem stuff for completing a noob-step plan. You could also link that here to the SoC. Gain a month of premium for completing graduation for instance.

[owenshooter]

You can start smaller and incoorporate team games into the SoC. That's already the case, but as far as I can see it's still minimal. A graduation from the SoC, into the team-game section.
It would allow newer-ish players to quickly develop team strategy and apply to clans (and actually get accepted) more easily. While it won't attract new players to CC, it will definitely help them to stay here.

For more new blood more drastic changes are needed I think. The app is indeed a no brainer. Publicity and a premium-entry package are also nice. Most games give a limited amount of free prem stuff for completing a noob-step plan. You could also link that here to the SoC. Gain a month of premium for completing graduation for instance.

this implies people go to the forums when they join... less than 1% of CC'ers visit the forum... that isn't going to help...-Jésus noir

[iAmCaffeine]

The clan scene is competitive; you'd be stupid to not utilise everything to your ability. That includes learning complicated maps and perfecting your strategy so you win as much as possible. If not, why don't we just play 41 quads games on Doodle Earth?

If it helps to reverse the Great Decline, the VDLL is willing to have a 41 quads Doodle Earth clanwar with another clan. Awaiting opponents from this moment...

nobody cares about clans anymore... they made themselves obsolete with the stupid direction clan wars took... who is interested in playing obscure maps with obscure settings in nothing but fog out of the trenches? nobody cares... žzzzzz, the black jesus is as bored as the rest of CC...-Jésus noir

Are you really that blinded by your crusade Owen? Usually I agree with you, but the above comment is just stupid. Even people not in clans are spamming complicated maps & settings, that's nothing new now. Can you please specify who "the rest of CC" are in this situation?

[owenshooter]

Can you please specify who "the rest of CC" are in this situation?

the rest of CC would be anyone that has had or plans to ever have, sex with an actual breathing woman or man... i hope that clarifies the situation for you... yes, i just called you and the rest of the active clan world über map setting nerds that choked the life out of what the clan world used to be... the black jesus has spoken...-Jésus noir

skip to :50 for a clan war meeting

[iAmCaffeine]

yawn. this thread has now become useless.

[WingCmdr Ginkapo]

yawn. this thread has now become useless.

Ban Owen from the site and that will stop happening. You will also lose his efforts to bridge the gap between volunteer roles. So you know swings and roundabouts.

[owenshooter]

yawn. this thread has now become useless.

it's a repeat thread that should have been merged... and anyone suggesting that clans are the way to save the site is just DAFT... D... A... F... F... Y... oh, wait, my bad...-Jésus noir

[owenshooter]

yawn. this thread has now become useless.

Ban Owen from the site and that will stop happening. You will also lose his efforts to bridge the gap between volunteer roles. So you know swings and roundabouts.

this from a multi whose first act on the site was to put me in C&A for my avatar... BA HA HA HA!!! sooo, now we ban anyone from the site you don't agree with or who is wicked smart, far smarter than you are... i get it... you eliminate those that are smarter than you, then you have the chance to be the smartest kid in the room... sounds like a plan i heard before... hmmmm...-Jésus noir

p.s.-please go start a thread to boot me from the site...



p.s.-i was talking about nazis, not good will hunting... but i just wanted to say, "how do you like them apples" to you...

[WingCmdr Ginkapo]

I didnt put you in C&A for your avatar

[owenshooter]

I didnt put you in C&A for your avatar

apples and oranges..

Subject: Owenshooter [ka]

Comments:

I quote from livechat, "owenshooter: the black jesus has forgiven Adman, so shall ye all.... "

Now if that isnt abusive towards those of a particular faith then I dont know what is. Its not like I even need to find multiple examples as similiar posts are made hourly by the looks of things. Slightly concerned that this doesnt directly break the community rules.

Anyway my real point is I'd like to add my name to what I hope is a growing list of names of people who find claim to be black jesus offencive. Yes everyone has a right to free speach, but that does not mean they have a right to free speach on your website.

i'm still right...-Jésus noir

[WingCmdr Ginkapo]

this implies people go to the forums when they join... less than 1% of CC'ers visit the forum... that isn't going to help...-Jésus noir

This is quite important. The Central Command screen should be the source of all! The interface makes puts emphasis on the risk game and nothing else. Help and Rules are one of the most difficult things to find on this site.

[Streaker]

this implies people go to the forums when they join... less than 1% of CC'ers visit the forum... that isn't going to help...-Jésus noir

This is quite important. The Central Command screen should be the source of all! The interface makes puts emphasis on the risk game and nothing else. Help and Rules are one of the most difficult things to find on this site.

It would help if the site interface becomes more user-friendly, and a 'to-do' list for new recruits would help as well.
A lot of online games have something like a 10-step programme on how to get started.
Build this into CC, and have new recruits come to the forum like this.

[macbone]

Drawing more people to the forums would certainly help. That's one reason I stuck with Conquer Club over its competitors. Still, most users would rather play Risk than log into the forums.

[owenshooter]

Drawing more people to the forums would certainly help. That's one reason I stuck with Conquer Club over its competitors. Still, most users would rather play Risk than log into the forums.

when the forums were active, listed as the best online by multiple sites, the site actively killed them off to get a cleaner "family friendly" environment (for the alleged sale to Hasbro)... the forums were an amazingly vibrant place, where if you missed a day, it could take you literally HOURS to catch up on what was going on and with whom. Even the clan threads were epic, they are now even more pathetic than the MOB game forum (or whatever they call that now)... i do believe that the forums helped to drive the site in a positive and upwards motion... you can probably chart the decline of the forum with the drop in members... not saying that those members left the forums and the site, but you can say if one forum goer leaves, there is probably a correlating number of non-forum goers that leave... the forums were a great indicator of how "alive" the site was... past admins blame the advent of social media and gaming systems for the decline in numbers, i blame them (past admins/some mods) for being half assed in their attempt to Kill/sanitize the forums and to make CC a family friendly site for purchase. the mere thought of throwing map makers from the site and refusing to give them their work, still sickens me to this day. so much was wrong was done to this community, i doubt it will ever be as viable and lively as it was before. i applaud the efforts to bring them back, but it is a long road... the old guys that are still around, like myself, seem to be here due to our love of the site and a refusal to let "them" win... i am here as a big middle finger to the past admins that destroyed the forums and led the site down the path to where we are now... i love this site, and i just wish they would have listened when we tried to tell them how they were destroying it... HOWEVER, i do agree that a lively forum reflects a healthy site... how do we get there?-Jésus noir

[DoomYoshi]

Right, clan leaders can set the rules. To me the idea isn't so much about excluding maps/settings as it as about bringing the war back having to demonstrate the skills to play risk and not so much about having specialist teams who always play together on the same map/setting. The format would require that all members of the clan be able to work together, I know there's people in my clan with whom I rarely play a game, and be able to play on any map/setting included in the war. I think it would help show the all around skill of the clan.

I used the word obscure to build off of the original post but I think a more appropriate term would be speciality maps. Things such as Feudal War, Antarctica, Age of Realms, Waterloo, Arms Race! - where unless you've put in time and practice to learn the nuances of the map they can be essentially won in the first few rounds while you are still attempting to figure out the winning strategy.

I've always found Arms Race! to be one of the easiest non-classical maps if not the easiest.
Also I understand what you mean, but it's pretty much impossible to accomplish without excluding maps from the clanwar.

The clan scene is competitive; you'd be stupid to not utilise everything to your ability. That includes learning complicated maps and perfecting your strategy so you win as much as possible. If not, why don't we just play 41 quads games on Doodle Earth?

Assassin games would be better.

[ebt1972]

*ahem* I left the site and now spend most of my time on warlight. Perhaps i could chip in some comments?

Reasons;

- Interface, the warlight interface isnt perfect but its a hell of a lot better than the interface here. Its CRAZY that you have to piss around installing add ons to make the game play actually functional.
- Real time games, you can create these even as a freebie player and you can specify the turn time limits etc.
- Clans. On here some clans see it as a badge of honour to make you slog around for over a year before they'll deign to let you join the real thing. sod that, Im playing for shits'n'giggles, not for endurance

I kept getting told that being a member would make my playing experience so much better, but in reality i hopped to another site thats free to try that out..... and it already had a lot of the stuff CC was talking about developing. They got my $ and I play there, without having to wait for development.

PS. the thing CC does better is the forums..... dont lose sight of that

[Serbia]

PS. the thing CC does better is the forums..... dont lose sight of that

The only reason I'm still here!

Bollocks.

[Epitaph1]

*ahem* I left the site and now spend most of my time on warlight. Perhaps i could chip in some comments?

Reasons;

- Interface, the warlight interface isnt perfect but its a hell of a lot better than the interface here. Its CRAZY that you have to piss around installing add ons to make the game play actually functional.
- Real time games, you can create these even as a freebie player and you can specify the turn time limits etc.
- Clans. On here some clans see it as a badge of honour to make you slog around for over a year before they'll deign to let you join the real thing. sod that, Im playing for shits'n'giggles, not for endurance

I kept getting told that being a member would make my playing experience so much better, but in reality i hopped to another site thats free to try that out..... and it already had a lot of the stuff CC was talking about developing. They got my $ and I play there, without having to wait for development.

PS. the thing CC does better is the forums..... dont lose sight of that

Interesting to hear from someone who found another site enough to leave this one. I remember trying Warlight when I first started looking around for online Risk games and not liking it as much, but that was 5 years ago.

I'm curious how well this works at Warlight: https://www.warlight.net/coins/ Nothing like holding people's attention with the prospect of cash.

I echo BG's comments about clan life and having a CD or two dedicated to developing new clans. My clan is the main reason I'm still on the site because it made the site much more than just Risk. To preclude someone like Crown from developing multiple clans at once because of the 1 clan rule is counterproductive to say the least. If we had a dedicated CD developing more than one clan, then we could set it up in a way where the CD doesn't compete but rather mentors the clan members and tries to cultivate the clan forum life.

Clan life doesn't have to be about convoluted wars where the best specialists win (the irony of a TNC member saying that doesn't elude me). Someone else mentioned it, but I like the idea of doing clan autotournies. The maps and settings would automatically be set up, it takes the hassle of having one or two people arrange everything, and could get clan members more engaged. We could even set up a separate ladder or ranking for clans involved in such wars.

[waauw]

*ahem* I left the site and now spend most of my time on warlight. Perhaps i could chip in some comments?

Reasons;

- Interface, the warlight interface isnt perfect but its a hell of a lot better than the interface here. Its CRAZY that you have to piss around installing add ons to make the game play actually functional.
- Real time games, you can create these even as a freebie player and you can specify the turn time limits etc.
- Clans. On here some clans see it as a badge of honour to make you slog around for over a year before they'll deign to let you join the real thing. sod that, Im playing for shits'n'giggles, not for endurance

I kept getting told that being a member would make my playing experience so much better, but in reality i hopped to another site thats free to try that out..... and it already had a lot of the stuff CC was talking about developing. They got my $ and I play there, without having to wait for development.

PS. the thing CC does better is the forums..... dont lose sight of that

I can't stand the sight of that website. Everything's designed so ugly. It's a random mix of colours.
And they don't have the map diversity CC has. All of their maps are basic in gameplay, which makes them uninteresting to players who appreciate special gameplay maps.

[Ronaldinho]

As someone who joined fairly close to the birth of CC I'd like to chip in with why I think the site is unappealing to new players now.


1) The site looks ugly & outdated. All those little graphic boxes look like they have been designed by a 16 year old who has just learnt to use Photoshop. These need removing or subtly redesigned to not stick out like a cheap flyer in your car wiper from the local market.



Solution? Have the colours & fonts redone. Freshen the site up. Remove or re-do all logo's & banners on the site.

2) Clunky addons on the games interface turned on from the start. Make it minimilist. If you want to turn features on, seek then out in your settings & do so. But my god, coming back to this site from a few years back I was godsmacked about the amount of junk on my screen.



Solution? Have everything turned off. Have just the map & the essential items on the screen. See the attached image of what my screen is like now I have made changes. I have also highlighted a few buttons that do nothing? Just clutter the page up again. Also have highlighted the 'Waiting' bar? Why is it the entire lengh of the page. Seems excessive.

3) Mobile app. This is self explanatory. I know its a mammouth task & will take a lot of work but this would bring CC to the world of on the fly gaming, bringing fresh blood into the site.

4) Adverts on the site. Remove them.

It makes the site look tacky & cheap. Bring in a 'Reddit' style money indicator on the site so all members are aware of the costs of the month & if they're being met. I know there are very few things you can sell on the site apart from the obvious premium but perhaps letting people buy premium for a month? $4.99 for a month would perhaps make anyone who is thinking about giving it a try the incentive to give it a go for 30days.



Of course if there is anything I can contribute to I would be willing to give up some of my own time to help out.

[iAmCaffeine]

Very well said mate, I hope someone up top takes notice.

[Dukasaur]

All those little graphic boxes ... These need removing or subtly redesigned to not stick out like a cheap flyer in your car wiper from the local market.

Do you know why you get cheap flyers in your car wiper? Because they work! If they didn't work, they wouldn't be used. The flyers get people's attention and get them to go to the store on Sale Days or whatever. The boxes get people into the events they are advertising. If you think you know a better way to get people into the events, by all means say so, but if you think subtlety works, you're wrong. In advertising, the more garish the better. People bitch about stupid commercials all the time, but objective research proves that the stupider a commercial, the more likely it is to keep your attention. Same thing with garish banners.

I have also highlighted a few buttons that do nothing?

None of the buttons you've highlighted do nothing. If you want to know what they do, feel free to ask.

Also have highlighted the 'Waiting' bar? Why is it the entire lengh of the page. Seems excessive.

4
If you run in Panel mode, you can put the action bar among the right-side panels and it gets easier to take. Granted, it looks a bit excessive in non-Panel mode. Just switch to Panel mode and you can customize the screen layout very nicely.

[WingCmdr Ginkapo]

I have also highlighted a few buttons that do nothing?

None of the buttons you've highlighted do nothing. If you want to know what they do, feel free to ask.

Also have highlighted the 'Waiting' bar? Why is it the entire lengh of the page. Seems excessive.

4
If you run in Panel mode, you can put the action bar among the right-side panels and it gets easier to take. Granted, it looks a bit excessive in non-Panel mode. Just switch to Panel mode and you can customize the screen layout very nicely.

Toggle dead literally does nothing. On this point, fortunately new users start with panel mode deactivated so dont get bombarded with the clutz of an interface immediately.

The waiting bar expands/contracts to fill the screen size. A simple method, if a bit clumsy at times, of working on multiple platforms.

[iAmCaffeine]

All those little graphic boxes ... These need removing or subtly redesigned to not stick out like a cheap flyer in your car wiper from the local market.

Do you know why you get cheap flyers in your car wiper? Because they work! If they didn't work, they wouldn't be used. The flyers get people's attention and get them to go to the store on Sale Days or whatever. The boxes get people into the events they are advertising. If you think you know a better way to get people into the events, by all means say so, but if you think subtlety works, you're wrong. In advertising, the more garish the better. People bitch about stupid commercials all the time, but objective research proves that the stupider a commercial, the more likely it is to keep your attention. Same thing with garish banners.

Yes, perhaps the functionality of the banners is fine, but the aesthetics are dreadful. I could've done better when I was 14 and using Photoshop for the first time, no offence to the creator. Someone with more experience needs to get involved here, it wouldn't take much effort.