1. Security. More secure payments system, site enhancement. Actually put the games back, events, and pay workers living wages.
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Infrastructure 1000 percent. The entire site needs reworking and upgrading and all the spot fixes and additions like the styling chamber are just making doing that more work. Moving the site away from its spaghetti code to a modern, functioning database and fixing security should have been the priority *before* they started trying to get people to come back.
Get all paid aspects of the site fully functioning. It's not acceptable to have NC be such a huge site focus when the closet and customisations don't work properly.
Increase pet slots, because the more pets people can have the more they'll buy to customise them. Update the userlookup template to be able to display them and make them orderable.
Once paid upgrades are sorted out, fix the battledome and bring back more games - ideally popular games like KQ and Habi. Change the neopoint ratio on games so they're worth playing. Introduce more games avatars.
Look at a system to allow pets to be 'nicknamed' on lookups so people can have the names they want displayed (even if it's not the pet's real name).
Introduce two new limited edition pet species and two new desirable pet colours which cannot be easily obtained - make one a bonus prize for completing a site event or plot (eg log in every day for a month type event, get the pet unexpectedly as a bonus, and make the other a random chance reward when completing certain activities. Otherwise they're lab only, mmmaaaybe premium perk. Severely limit the number given out each year and don't give out MPs, eggs etc or release them freely on pet days. You've just created a pet that will wake up trading possibilities again and get people playing more to be able to obtain one.
Figure out a less-chaotic purge system. Perhaps placing all purged names on 'hold' and releasing them entirely randomly over a year or so. Then set up regular automatic database purges of all unused accounts.
♥ Hydrapple ♥ (02-19-2024),Pringle (02-20-2024),soupwithnoodles (02-19-2024)
I agree with pretty much what everyone has said at this point, in regards to the site's infrastructure and other bug fixes.
On a personal note, I really would like a return of Keyquest and Habitarium.
I would try to see how many active players have a decent amount of coding experience and see if they would be willing to tackle certain parts of the site together, one at a time. Give them a copy of the code for that certain portion and let them fix all of the spaghetti, convert it, and test it for any kind of kinks/backend access that they just don’t have the time nor the money for. There has to be at least several of them on the site that could come together as a rag-tag coding team and fix things, one piece at a time.
Secondly, after the site has been renewed, I would take the time to rebuild games that were once beloved and now no longer exist, Keyquest/Habi. That generates clicks and time spent on site, even if only for those two games. I may end up contracting someone to introduce a new game, like Neoquest III, cause I’m a dork and want to play a new one.
Third, I may look into hiring an economist or two and let them dictate how and when items would come back into the game. Certain retired stamps, cove items, and item code items just don’t exist and I don’t see a point in that, especially when so many people covet them. This one is probably my only “eh” point because it could just be up to the community itself to decide those things. Perhaps take it to a vote to see how they would like that to happen, within reason.
Fourth and finally, I would likely change the rules as to how we can communicate on site. An IMing program built in. Removal of language filters (within reason). Cater more towards the adult fanbase that we have, as children are very likely not playing on the site as much.
Which is the lie ..? The mask, or my face?