We just launched revised faction hp as well as done some upgrades on internal security vs. automation. The next one (likely next week?) is expanding the ways to support past PayPal. Players will like that. And so will Admins who get asked about non-PayPal methods about once a week.

In the nearish future is ad hoc wars, and of course, further out ascension. We’d like to sneak in the upgrade to enable ICED/Retired players that’s been discussed in past few days. Revisions to the testing environment are coming out very soon, it’s about 90% done. This will enable more selected players to provide more detailed feedback and ensure higher quality roll outs.

This, of course, means the normal slew of minor upgrades to the game is put on the side, but players seem very happy to accept that. Cool of them.

I love our communities,
Admin ArrBilly

As with any game, we have a large number of players that take us out for a very brief test ride, knew immediately it wasn’t for them, and will never be seen ’round these parts again. We’d like to make everyone happy, but that’s not going to happen; we’re a niche and we know it.

What is really frustrating as a game designer are those players that come on, play for a few days THEN leave. There are all sorts of reasons that can happen, but the one we can most control is the balance of playing fun vs. education about game options. As a game designer it’s a very hard thing to do well. And to be honest, when we launched we didn’t do it at all — or rather the admins were on all the time just answering questions in the ingame shoutbox, hoping that the community would gain the knowledge to answer the next generation of players.

We recently sent out our first formal Newsletter for StarPirates. We’re aiming for 6 per year for each game. It mainly listed things we’ve done that they might find interesting; and we had a great response. A few hundred players are back in the game, and loving it, due to the newsletter. Cool.

One of those posted this, and it’s pretty interesting feedback:

According to my join date I have been playing for 1 year. In actuality, I have been playing about 1 week now. The first time I tried this game I logged in, attacked targets from the space area and kept getting killed. This made me think the game was ***ed and I never played again. Then about a week ago I got an email about the game, checked it out following the tutorial and have become hooked.

It is a shame they didn’t have that tutorial when I first started! Now I have so much catching up to do!

But happy 1 year for me!

So while we are not totally satisfied with the balance of fun vs. education for new players, we do know we’re definitely doing better. And great player feedback like that helps us specifically understand what we’re doing better.

In the true spirit of Saturnalia, today the masters have become the servants! (Colour reversal of the variuos “ranks” in StarPirates).

In addition, Stealth gear AND Class VI drive NOMs are findable for the next 48 hours. That Santa is leaking Stealth plating left, right and center!

This is after the eggnog gift to all active players a few days ago, and the bonus gifts with 50/50 draws!

Saturn — Starpirates love your festival!

Profile update, Better Companions, Critical Resistance: A big set of changes just went live. Profiles menu have been reorganized, and the Station page has reorganized the War content under Fleets.

A new attribute – Critical Resistance has been added to the game (see FAQ). No items (yet) offer this power though some Officers do – Officers have had additional powers added.

Several minor bugs with the AI Adviser, forum searches, etc. have been corrected.

Missions have a “smart link” on the left navigation – directing you to the list of missions or to the editor depending upon your ship yard state.

Attacks will show a fast jump-to link if the player looks to be at a different station(faster).

Building a Pirate Armada will now show you the station each player is in within the drop down. Armadas which intercept War Salvage Forays will attack the player, which also has the effect of slowly reducing the Armada size (better balance).

Banned players are no longer attackable. When banned, items are uninstalled/returned to Fleet by admin actions leading to a permanent and artificial underpowering of the target. A modification has been applied which moves all banned players to an impossible station and their profile will show as such. If you search within the same location they will no longer show up.

A new item is available in the Upgrade Account – 4 individual weeks of Notorious status which are able to be traded, put on the market, etc. When consumed, the player account is credited with 7 days. Note that these do not include 30 points – that is specific to the bulk purchase of a month at a time.

Snakehead Game’s aggressive PVP game, www.spybattle.com, is a year old! And to celebrate, we’re throwing a special agent party. Every player in SB was given 12 points and 12 free Special Agent days.

SpyBattle 2165 has over 100 players online every moment of the day now (or just about!), and nearly a thousand players active each and every day. It has grown due to being a mix of social gaming with great forums, and shoutboxes, yet having an edgy feel with bonuses for online attacks and other aggressive actions.

SpyBattle is a community game that can be played from any browser. No downloads required.

So raise a martini to another 100 years of battlin’ spy action!

Spies are known for their crafty disguises. They are, however, at their craftiest when they hide in plain view. As with the purloined Secret Dossier, there is nothing more wit-pulling than a spy dressed as a spy.

On that note, there were some fantastically inventive outfits for the SpyBattle Hallowe’en Competition. We had four finalists, and in the end we had TWO winners. Gallumbits and LilyBlack went back and forth leading the votes, and ended up in a near tie.

I couldn’t call it, so I offered them both the 1000 point prize. The other finalists got steak knives.

Login to the
SpyBattle 2165 forums

to see more!

The tradition of Hallowe’en weirdness continues on Star Pirates and SpyBattle.

Tricks, Treats for online players, and scary stuff are all part of the fun. Check it out.

Lots of reasons – we like to eat. We have bills to pay. We are obsessive with quality.

These are facts, but they are not the true reason we work our butts off. It’s because 98%+ of communication we get from players goes something like this.

From “Player Name Erased”
Date October 28 2009 17:47:08

Dear Sir:

I would like to thank you and all those at Snakehead for creating and maintaining a very entertaining and exciting game. As a side benefit, the community that has grown up around SP is as interesting as I’ve ever found anywhere.

The improvements and enhancements to the game that you continue to do are dynamic, and the access to you, the other Admins and CSR’s, Mod’s and Greeters is really great. I have enjoyed very much the game and the community.

Someday, perhaps I can be of service to the game in a small way as a Greeter or in other small ways, such as running a contest. I look forward to continue to grow in the game and look forward to the future of the SP and SB universe.

Just wanted to take a second out of your busy day and say thanks.

I love the game communities the players and we have formed together. I love my job.

AdminArrBilly

The SHG cats are hungry? Nope, instead all NOMs are now findable in
StarPirates.net.

“Huh?”, you say?

NOMs are Nano-Optimisation Modules. They are used, along with some other ingame items, to upgrade weapons, shields, engines and other equipment. They can be used to push items up to Mark V, just about doubling their power.

Now they are findable, we expect to see a rash of debris searches for those NOMs. And the fun part is they make every rare or very rare item even more relevant. The hunt to upgrade, is a fun one, and there are a lot of fun knock on effects for many parts of the game — for power players, and those who just dabble as a Star Pirate.

Want to learn more? Try the
free social game, starpirates.net now!

Arguably the top volunteer writer in the Snakehead community, Qilapid now has a blog outside it.  Check it out at: http://spwanderer.blogspot.com/.  I wonder if the WSN, SP’s best rag will make it’s way there.

If you are the owner of a blog, and have a page or two devoted to StarPirates, drop a line in game to AdminArrBilly.  You might see a free link to ya here…

Cheers,

AdminArrBilly