I have to admit though that is a bit alarming but the dynamic that is minecraft has changed a lot. from what I can see the use of MineCraft is in a decline anyways so this shouldn't be surprising.

 

Just want to point this out: http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=minecraft&cmpt=q

Minecraft is also experiencing a decline.

 

The title should not be about the decline of builders, since the decline of interest for Minecraft is causing the decline in builder population.
ECC is probably not the only server affected, so we shouldn't be worried that this server is becoming unpopular

 

I agree with the above ^_^

 

I don't think a lack of builders is killing ECC just because there's no one to do grunt work. I do my own grunt work all the time. Just because you're a President doesn't mean you're too good to clear your own land.

 

^ I agree w/Revan and the rest, Minecraft as a whole is facing decline and ECC is getting hit because of it. However, since July Minecraft's "interest over time" has gone down by about 20%, while ECC's has gone down by 50%. I don't believe the smaller amount of Builders is purely because of a loss of interest in the game itself.

I doubt the server will die anytime soon but the playerbase will slowly shrink until the Summer "resurgence".

 

I just compared a bunch of servers in the top ten of our votes sites to ECC with the Google Trends search... ECC has one of the biggest declines out of all the other big/popular servers. However, it also has a longer history that is constantly up and down, whereas other big/popular servers are huge increases that either stay stable, or have dropped soon after. Either way, ECC is not in the "healthiest" place when it comes to new users compared to other servers.

Minecraft is, yes, also declining.. But as Falcon said, Minecraft decline is not even near ECC's decline. Considering the giant growth of many other servers, I would not put Minecraft's decline as the main basis for why ECC has a decline in new users, because clearly many other servers are not having the same trouble and manage to get a lot of people that stay around for a while.

However, it is also important to note that economy is not a very popular game style for Minecraft at all, which is one major reason why there are so, so few economy servers (and the ones that exist are often roleplay and/or more town focused). Although, even if Andrew adds non-economy things to ECC, it will still be economy heavy/based; so whatever else he adds, minigames or other things like aether/nether, I do not think it will get as big of a new user increase as one might imagine.

tl;dr: ECC has a larger decline in new users than other servers and less increases that stick around. As well, economy is one of the least liked game styles/genres for Minecraft (I dunno why; I hate PVP lol).

 

Yes, the lack of builders may be affecting ECC, but not killing it. I have a builder alt, and on that alt, I always advertise for jobs such as dirt placing, etc (Builder-type jobs). I don't get spammed with replies, so I really don't think demand for "peasant labor" is that high anymore.

 

I have for a while now thought that ECC is too different from base minecraft. The exp system is a good example of this. We have all been playing ECC for a while and now know have a good grasp of how it works but kids just getting started are facing such a drastic difference from the base game and all the other servers as well. I believe this drives them back to the familiar. Most probably aren't looking to spend hours learning and researching like joining ECC is some kind of bizarre test. I think an overhaul of either the mechanics of ECC or an overhaul of how new players enter the game are in order precisely because of the Minecraft user decline. Blaming it on the decline and doing nothing is a mistake. In these times we should be looking at improving, not just settling or else the slim pickings of new players will only get slimmer.
So we could do things like find a ways to make things simpler since every little way helps. Also we could improve the wiki which I have never heard anyone say how convenient it is, only how it has weaknesses in critical areas like teaching how to make a simple trade sign that powers the economy. Making the tutorial into something builders can learn quickly and efficiently from while being playing a bigger part in a builder joining would also help a lot. I know that isn't too specific, and it is 1000x easier to say then do but in my opinion in times of decline are the times to take action.
Maybe getting builders to take a survey asking them about their experience with ECC would help to pin point what the majority don't like. It could be like that thing andrew does when they fill in a form thing and post up and a winner is picked for a reward every so often. Alternatively it could give the builders something to start out like half a stack of food if they complete a survey. You guys know how those builders love food lol.
**** I just wanted to edit in that today I made sure to pay more attention to the player base and at least today there was a healthy amount of builders online. After seeing so many builders online today I think that the opinion about declining ecc numbers might need to be looked at again. From what i have seen today there is no need for concern. I will try to pay attention over these next few days as well to see if those numbers are consistent now.

 

From what I have seen. Developing a town made for builders and residents, is pretty much useless nowadays. I seldom get buyers for plots/houses in my "low" town. I also barely get any buyers for my richer town. It seems that the ECC house/plot economy has plummeted. I think all the money is currently being made by farmers. Farmers with melon swords and pump axes that are farming for 1 hour+ a day are making more money than I am, while I work on my towns. This is usual, but I actually lose money on my town because of the lack of builders. Even worse, the pvp economy has been ruined too. Since the installation of the new pvp arena, I have not seen anyone fight there. Nobody. I used to be able to make at least 30k per day off of pvp. (When I say day I mean like 1-3 hours) now I make nothing from pvp. I think the only way to really give ECC a kick-start before it dies out, is to remove the new pvp arena, and make it more suitable for actual pvp and not just for looking at. Most importantly, ECC needs to advertise more, add more ranks in the economy, and make it harder to gain ranks. Resident is too easy for builders to achieve these days. I think it should cost 20-25k to get resident and not 15k. Also, if these changes do not occur, I know that ECC will die out all together. Most presidents+ will leave because of bordom and they'll think they've conquered ECC already. Please make these changes, staff of ECC, it is sad for the economy to crumble and to most people's favorite server disappear.

 

Thats odd. I saw 10 people in PvP North 1 yesterday. We were fighting for quite a while. As for the PvP Arena's. what would you suggest to make them better?

As for advertising, I take it you haven't noticed that 1) we have been. 2) We've had a large increase in builders since we did that. Anyways, all of these things should probably be posted in the suggestion section.

 

With SG and a lot of people having high pvp MCMMO levels, PVP world has lost its touch. SG isn't that fun for new members either.

 

I will write a comprehensive reply to this when I have time. ^.^

 

It is not entirely true that the amount of builders is decreasing compared to other ranks. A few days ago I was playing all night, and saw the builder to Res+ ratio skyrocket. From 1 am EST to 6 am EST the ratio was consistently between 1.5:1 and 2:1. While it is true that ECC is becoming less popular, I don't think the answer is more advertising; I believe it is better advertising. The banner adds for ECC are similar to many others and don't draw enough attention. I hope that Andrew has a design contest for ads soon, since sticking out is much better than simply having lots of ad space. The ECC YouTube page could also use some more videos and possibly some videos other than trailers. The most important thing about advertising is: "Quality over Quantity"

 

I think the same, I've seen builders ask "How do u plaic watr?". Someone would say Donate. The builder leaves.

SwaggyMcBuilder Has Left The Game.

 

I feel that there has been a major decline in new builders. I mean, they still have the majority of the online population but, there isn't as many. I still remember back in 2012 when there was a new builder ever minute. I truly feel that you are correct in some ways, it is on killing ECC but hurting it. However, andrew is doing so hefty advertising this month so, we'll see.

 

I don't think a lack of builders is killing ECC. Honestly, I think a higher ration of highly ranked players to brand new players benefits, because you see that a larger amount of people that dedicate themselves to the server than players that play for a week and stop.

 

In some aspects this is true, but the longer a player is on ECC, the less they have to donate for and the less they have to get with in-game EcoDollars. Both of which stunt/halt donations (which keep the server living) or prevent economic flow and growth. New users provide more donation possibilities and more economic movements.