ARE THE DEVS LIVING ON THEIR OWN F PLANET ?

[sprinkz18]

I've played this game since 26/April/2018 and I'm level 40 rank 3, all thanks to DLC and loads of man hours, I've put other much loved games like GTAV, Sniper elite 4, Uncharted 4 and Hitman etc on the back burner to play this game, and have no urge to revisit them anytime soon while I'm playing FP, that's how much I love it

Damnnn!  I'm even at the stage where as a low level I used to jump for joy when I caught a small or large mouth bass but now I'm cursing them for taking bait intended for larger fish, it's a bit like me as carp angler catching a nuisance bream, but yet it adds to the fun and realism

AND I'M GOING TO TREAD CAREFULLY HERE

But I believe the problems could lie within the mentality of the development team

It s obvious that game devs are highly skilled and intelligent in their own profession and will normally only see things from their own personal prospective, which is all well and good when you're working with a like minded team to produce something extraordinary

But how far does that remove them from the various mindsets or mentality of their customers, do they assume that because they are clever and skilled and understand how something works that everyone else can, they need to remember that almost every player is going to be intelligent and skilled (or even totally useless) in something in their life, but unfortunately its not always going to be the same as what the devs are skilled in

for example I'm a skilled mechanical engineer by trade but going onto a fishing rod that says it's got a lure weight of 1/6 - 5/8 oz and having to work out how to put a matching lure stating something like 3/4 oz or 1/5 oz etc is totally beyond me, I had to change from imperial to metric just to make it easier in to work out then change back so I'm seeing fish weights in lbs again

You can see I'm not knocking or criticising anyone or anything and I wouldn't bother posting if I didn't like the game, you just need to see everyone's needs, wants and likes are different and you have to get the right balance which going by every bud I talk to about this game say you haven't

The best solution would be to talk to a range of players with totally different ideas from your own aspect and you'll find you've got a viable masterpiece in the making

Or failing that, give rock star a call (yes that was a sly dig) sorry lol but it's just that you've got a superb and entertaining game that's actually driving away (mainly through lack of catching) a lot of new players almost from day one

[WhiskerFisher]

The lure weight thing isn't too hard to understand if you fish irl, that's actually important in real fishing, it's not like they just made it up. Same with line rating. These things in excess could actually break an irl pole if too much is put on it. Lure rating is just what weight or lure or bait that the rod will effectively load at to cast the lure the maximum distance. Usually the best load to produce the ideal energy will lay somewhere in the middle of this range irl. It's measuring roughly how much force can be applied from a line before it snaps the rod. Irl we would use lower rated leader lines on heavier line to reduce this chance of happening.

But I agree that this is a bit difficult to understand if you haven't touched many irl fishing set-ups and having to learn it on the game should be easier for new players. Simply adding some advice near the beginning to explain this via tip boxes would clarify this up dramatically and make it easy to grasp.

Edited June 11, 2018 by WhiskerFisher

[sprinkz18]

The point of my post was trying to understand how and why the devs have failed to keep the majority of newbie's continuing to play, like fourteen of my buds and their buds alike, , so I'm just stating what they have experienced and said,

So do the devs really expect to keep new players that have already got expensive exciting or fast paced games to then download and try a fishing game (of which they probably have no RL interest in fishing anyway) to stand by a lake with a rod set up they barely understand and wait around (if they're unlucky enough) for  ten minutes or more in some cases (becoming bored) before they catch a fish with low pay and low xp, and then they might catch a weed or break the line and have no idea or even the will to mess about working out how to repair it?

Then they're expected to continue that for god knows how long before they level up enough to go to a new lake or earn enough to buy upgraded tackle!

So you could argue that they can use real cash to buy dlc etc, well NO they won't if they're already half bored or disillusioned with the game, because they might think what if I spend money on this game to progress and it turns out the other lakes are half barren and boring also!

They'll just spend their hard earned on dlc for a game they already enjoy, you work it out!

And another example was with a second bud, he made enough xp and cash etc to make it to mudwater river and never caught a single fish in 20 minutes before complaining how bored he was before leaving to play fortnite, and he's never been back to FP since

So ok you've got some good loyal players that saw the potential in FP that played on to reap the rewards and benefits that this brilliant game offers, but then you've probably got thousands more that got too bored and frustrated early on that didn't

[mdram]

if they cant figure out the rod setup, this may not be the game for them.

there is tons of info out there if people want to go look for it

[J.Mitchell WV]

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wEvjycxSaVLNmVOCIZPALsPvLtxnJSz_LDcPKowAFb4/edit#gid=1935795731

Great resource right cheer. Just about everything a "newbie" could ask for.

[sprinkz18]

It's not just about the set up though is it, it's about keeping them interested by catching a semi constant amount of fish, it's what they want and expect from a fishing game, if they caught enough to keep themselves occupied and entertained they might take the time to learn how to set up properly and then progress from there, and surely from a devs point of view it's about making it "a game for them"

After all If they don't stay and play they don't spend on dlc, and isn't that where the money comes from to pay the dev teams wages, keep the severs going and get us new lakes/fish etc added to the game?

[Hate_ful]

While i do understand the first few lake aren't that interesting or exciting . The more they level up or play the easier to learn to catch fish . It is a game but it is trying to be a simulator.

 

 

[sprinkz18]

True, they're definitely missing out, but sadly they'll never get to know to care about it

But do you know what the funny thing is about it, my buds actually liked the game concept a lot, albeit while they were catching fish, but as soon as the catch rate slowed down they got bored and left before they got bit by the bug, and these are dudes that would spend obscene amounts of cash on dlc

[WhiskerFisher]

Gotta hit the peak times and such too, it's normal to have hot periods then slow periods. Certain weather conditions will also play a factor. But yeah, I do agree... unless you're interested in fishing irl then these various aspects will likely turn someone off when they experience it. But to those like me and fish irl, I consider it normal to go out, fish for 3 hours, and maybe get some bites but not catch anything. I enjoy fishing for other reasons aside from catching fish... but that side of it, being outdoors, is not easily simulated by any game. Point it, I do expect that to happen in the game sometimes. One could argue that if all you did was catch fish after fish then it would also get boring from lack of a challenge... so idk. But I do get what you mean even if I suck at explaining it. Lol.

[Violentvole]

On 6/11/2018 at 3:04 PM, sprinkz18 said:

 it's a bit like me as carp angler catching a nuisance bream

Ah yes, getting out of the sleeping bag at 3am when it's chucking down with rain for a 2lb snottie was always...welcomed

This game will always appeal to people who fish for real more than it does to those who have never picked up a rod in their life.

It's a very fine balance to make it accessible to non-anglers while keeping it interesting for real anglers. I think they've done a pretty good job of it, having several friends who would tie a hook on with a shoelace knot if let loose for real.

A more in-depth tutorial would help alleviate the confusion non-anglers face, but not a mandatory one, so those who already fish for real don't have to sit through explanations of how to fish different lures, casting weights, drag settings, retrieve ratios etc.

I'm fortunate in that I fish for pretty much everything that swims, all methods and techniques, so getting started was no issue at all for me.

Think about it this way: Just how do you introduce fishing to the masses? It's a sport that is largely perceived as boring and for neckbeards. I think they've done a stellar job of it so far ( despite the issues ). 10 months after launch myself and a lot of others are still playing so they're obviously doing something right..

[sprinkz18]

42 minutes ago, WhiskerFisher said:

Gotta hit the peak times and such too, it's normal to have hot periods then slow periods. Certain weather conditions will also play a factor. But yeah, I do agree... unless you're interested in fishing irl then these various aspects will likely turn someone off when they experience it. But to those like me and fish irl, I consider it normal to go out, fish for 3 hours, and maybe get some bites but not catch anything. I enjoy fishing for other reasons aside from catching fish... but that side of it, being outdoors, is not easily simulated by any game. Point it, I do expect that to happen in the game sometimes. One could argue that if all you did was catch fish after fish then it would also get boring from lack of a challenge... so idk. But I do get what you mean even if I suck at explaining it. Lol.

I know exactly what you mean and I've thought about the prospect of getting bored catching fish after fish, but out of the two evils id think I'd rather be over catching than under catching, that way you'd still have fun and excitement before the boredom (if any) set in and you would be more inclined to return another day for that initial buzz, but not so if you catch hardly anything, like you said you can get bored fishing IRL (sometimes) but you still go back to RL fishing because you've probably caught big or in volume previously and you know there's a chance to do it again

[sprinkz18]

1 hour ago, Violentvole said:

Think about it this way: Just how do you introduce fishing to the masses? It's a sport that is largely perceived as boring and for neckbeards.

The way to introduce a newbie to fishing and get them hooked is to take them to a water where they're almost guaranteed to catch something and that ups the odds of them taking it up as a sport or just for leisure in the future

 I said before that my RL non fishing friends said they had fished once and never caught anything so they never took it up

And there probably still are a lot of people playing it, but out of 14 buds that downloaded and played FP only one stuck with it and she only did that because she likes gaming and chatting with me (so basically any game will do lol)

 She, like the others was starting to get bored with the game and frustrated over the navigation/controls and lack of catching in lone star but I tutored her through the controls and kept her interest up by competing against each other, now she's a high level player, paying for dlc and has a few uni,s under her belt, she even plays alone when I go offline

I can't rate FP enough and it saddens me that newbie's aren't staying on long enough to enjoy it

My idea to get and keep newbie's interested would be to put the catch rate up a bit higher in lone star lake and throw a few biggies in, after all it shows on the notifications what a player has caught and that would give others some inspiration, and someone catching a biggy on the notifications would give them a taste of what they could be getting when they progress further

I was in lone star the other day with 4 other players (I was testing lures, honest) and I thought I was alone going by the lack of fish coming out, there was a point where not a single player caught a fish for at least 10 mins, it was sparse and at worse almost barren in the 40 mins I was there (and yes they were actively casting) there was about 12 different players during that time no doubt disillusioned and bored to death and probably never to be seen again in FP

Edited June 12, 2018 by sprinkz18
spelling

[sprinkz18]

On 6/11/2018 at 11:38 PM, WhiskerFisher said:

The lure weight thing isn't too hard to understand if you fish irl, that's actually important in real fishing,

Regarding lure fishing in England it's not really that big a thing unless your into pike or trout fishing, there's a few that do it but overall the majority float fish or use rigs, I've fished since childhood and never once myself nor anyone I know have lure fished

[Violentvole]

Firstly, turn bold off. No need to shout.

Secondly, lure fishing is huge in the UK right now so you are either misinformed or blinded by your delkims.

Thirdly, the lack of catching is down to you. I have no problem on any venue. If you wish to add me and then join me on a venue of your choosing you'll see I can back up my comments with fish. Even if that means fishing Texas again ( yuck ).

[tombomb79]

great some competition finally and i love it!!  Maybe some day will have a personal fishing debate that we can lay all the talking into the game.  It be great if u2 settled it in the game fishing and maybe ill take the winner of 2? lol  We could challenge each other on the winner at this moment will just have bragging rights.  Thinking bout us challenging each other on forums a bracket tournment would be interesting..  would it be too much too create a bracket tournments for this game.  And bring on the competition cause ill play the winner  of u 2 lol       

Edited June 13, 2018 by tombomb79

[Violentvole]

Your posts hurt my eyes.

[WhiskerFisher]

Alright, hold on now, I don't think he was shouting.... calm down everyone, let's all eat some fruit or something...

...

*has some blackberries and a banana*

Okay now. That was delicious... Where were we? Ah, right...

I know exactly what you mean and I've thought about the prospect of getting bored catching fish after fish, but out of the two evils id think I'd rather be over catching than under catching, that way you'd still have fun and excitement before the boredom (if any) set in and you would be more inclined to return another day for that initial buzz, but not so if you catch hardly anything, like you said you can get bored fishing IRL (sometimes) but you still go back to RL fishing because you've probably caught big or in volume previously and you know there's a chance to do it again

Tbh, my personal best bass is barely over a pound. Lol. My area isn't great for large bass cause I am a bank fisher who fishes mostly public and/or backwater ponds or creeks. I enjoy being outside... watching nature... I skunked out totally fishing with a guy I met on a fishing forum from my town. It happens! What brings me back is the challenge. And not catching things teaches me stuff.... I'll know next time I need to change tactics a little cause what was working is no longer working. But yes I do hope to one day catch that big one. I grew up fishing for catfish, perch, trout... I've branched out into bass fishing the last year. Although I have a grasp of all the technique, I am still learning how to make them work! Hehe. It's going to be a certai ndiehard crowd that can beat through the grind and frustration who will prpevail in a game like this. For instance, I am dealing with network issues that cause lag. But have I called it quits? Despite the thread, thanks to member support... no I have not. Not yet! I want to see this grow it has amazing potential.

Regarding lure fishing in England it's not really that big a thing unless your into pike or trout fishing, there's a few that do it but overall the majority float fish or use rigs, I've fished since childhood and never once myself nor anyone I know have lure fished

Ah, well... try it sometime! It's a whole different challenge entirely lol.

[mdram]

12 hours ago, sprinkz18 said:

Regarding lure fishing in England it's not really that big a thing unless your into pike or trout fishing, there's a few that do it but overall the majority float fish or use rigs, I've fished since childhood and never once myself nor anyone I know have lure fished

line/rod rating are not just for lures

when you put a sinker on you need to know the rod weighting.  i would never put an 8oz that i use for surf on my river rod that only goes to 2oz

or my ultralight that only goes to .5oz(maybe less)

throw in that if you put on something too heavy the game tells you there is an issue

 

 

[sprinkz18]

19 hours ago, Violentvole said:

Firstly, turn bold off. No need to shout.

Secondly, lure fishing is huge in the UK right now so you are either misinformed or blinded by your delkims.

Thirdly, the lack of catching is down to you. I have no problem on any venue. If you wish to add me and then join me on a venue of your choosing you'll see I can back up my comments with fish. Even if that means fishing Texas again ( yuck ).

Ok no more bold letter anymore 

I can only go by what I've seen and experienced on hundreds of different lakes and rivers that I've fished, maybe you're in the sea fishing and piker's camp and seen different ?

 But I'm not posting for effect or to have a pissing competition with anyone, but just to understand why a lot of newbie's leave the game early on, and what could be done to keep them interested

It might well be for selfish reasons because I want my mates to fish with me lol but they just won't have it, they all said it's a well thought through game but as boring as hell, hence my thoughts on making lone star a bit more interesting just to get them hooked

p.s. never used delkims, I bought the little mini wychwood alarms to go with my semi telescopic black ops rods, I'm trying to downsize and compact everything as small as poss, had too many barrows tip over with the ten tons of gear us idiot carp anglers bring along with us lol, I even got rid of the bed-chair, I just thrown the sleeping bag on the bivvy floor and I get a much better night's sleep without it

[Violentvole]

I probably sounded a little harsh there, you have my apologies. I packed in mainstream carping and hung up the Free Spirits a decade ago after a trip to the Ebro spoiled UK carping for me. Now I only fish for them on my terms ( huge waters, fly fishing, floaters etc ), my circuit water days are far behind me. No more bivvies, stoves and uncomfortable nights on the bank instead of a warm bed!

Lure fishing has seen a massive boom the last few years here in Blighty, largely thanks to the influx of soft plastics. It's such a massively popular branch of the sport these days that I'm considering sinking all my redundancy money into my own business, even though I know the money is in carp fishing ( they'll buy anything, need it or not ).

As for keeping newbies in the game, it's a tough one but I think they have the balance about right. There's certainly no lack of fish to be caught, although there do seem to be some people who really struggle despite playing for quite some time. As I don't pretend to know anything about coding and algorithms at all I can only guess there's an issue there for some people while others are not affected?  Depends on what server you're on maybe?

While venues can and do experience ' dead ' days ( Alaska being particularly susceptible ), it's usually just one day or, very rarely, two.

There was a guy here a while back - mid to high level if memory serves - posting about how he couldn't even get a fish from Texas anymore. I travelled there to test and had no problems pulling fish out at all, so it seems some people do have issues while others don't. I amazed some guys on Michigan on Monday by pulling out uni after uni while they couldn't even get one of any species. I wasn't doing anything different, just fishing as I always do.

Or perhaps that's just my IRL angling skills carrying over

Again, my apologies for my previous post sounding a bit narky. Tight lines dude

[sprinkz18]

1 hour ago, Violentvole said:

Ebro spoiled UK carping for me.

It's all fine dude, I didn't want you thinking I was having a dig at the game for no reason and glad you dont  

Its true about different fish for different players, I was in Michigan with a bud, same day same time same spot same tackle fishing for blue catfish, she caught 3 uni's (biggest 84lb) in a space of 10 mins, we stayed for about an hour and our count up was 15 fish for me (biggest 25lb) and 8 for her, so definitely player/connection dependent

And I'm glad were on the same page about foreign fishing, French fishing nearly ruined UK fishing for me so it was a choice of one or the other and not both but seeing as I live in the UK and the lakes only up the road I stuck with the UK

I'm off carping this weekend and its purely surface fishing (can't beat seeing a lump of bread being sucked from the surface lol, especially with the hook attached to it

Just gotta pray for warm weather and a northerly wind now 

[Violentvole]

Storm tonight/tomorrow.

Rivers open on Saturday so barbel-ho for me for the next few months.

Edit: went to Les-Quis in France twice and yet that didn't spoil UK carping for me, but having a run off a 30+ on a single pellet randomly cast before you can even sit down in Spain did kill it, bigtime.

Edited June 13, 2018 by Violentvole

[sprinkz18]

Ever thought of moving to Spain lol, especially for the poisson chat, must go there someday for those babies, biggest here is a 52lb

 Damn, never thought to check the weather 

[Violentvole]

I had them to 94 in spain. We were taking turns on the rods and I was in the water nursing a carp our guide had caught when a rod went on my turn. I told my mate to take it - 148lb lol.

I did have the biggest carp of the week though, a 38 common. Sucks that I could have had the biggest cat too, but even at 94 their still 6 feet long!

[Dennis_FP]

Hello, thank you for your feedback and proposition. We appreciate our players a lot and try to do everything possible to make Fishing Planet as comfortable as we can. We are interested in gathering the ideas of our users and always try to discuss it in our meetings for implementing them in game. We have a lot of updates was promised to our players which in progress now as well. Considering your feedback, it is very important for us to read a constructive criticism to understand better user's needs.