Has this game died?

Blackout · 2014-04-25 12:03:04

I'm a little upset because I didn't find out about this until a few days ago and stupidly I bought it on steam instead of the author's personal site and I don't know how to check what version I have and there seems to be no instructions.

I bought this because I was a huge fan of Sleep is Death although that game seems to have dies too without the SID servers to keep people meeting and also hosting play/story/flip books.

It seems this game barely came out and now the are not many people playing in just a few months. I also seemed to miss a lot of things like earning while your not playing from you and your wife... blueprints.... way cheaper prices on tools.... It now seems a wasteland with only extreme impenetrable houses and then pure pieces of crap... people just killing themselves and looting again.

There has to be more to this? I shelled out the full 17 price and feel I haven't got much play. There should be an offline mode where you can build houses or a way to save them or something.... and you NEED MORE PLAYERS!!!!!

At 2000 starting money, you can log on, and either make nothing and try your luck, or make a crap house and die in two seconds because you spent your money on your house and have no money for tools.

So what is the active player community .... how many people actively play?

Is this game dead in the water already?

Pohaku · 2014-04-25 12:30:58

Wow... I bet there are people who will think you are me, posting under a second account - I basically mentioned in a post (under the '"Jason - 'sale' ..." thread) that the game is dying, and that it wasn't fair for it to still be marketed as 'massively multiplayer' where people might be paying the full Steam price for it, because the player base is dwindling and it is now becoming unplayable. I actually said that if I'd bought this game yesterday, I'd be feeling ripped off and asking for a refund.

To answer your question - it's not dead, but it's going that way. Very few active players now. I can't be bothered counting, but out of the house list of maybe 50-60 houses, and I'd bet there's not more than a dozen online at any one time.

Anyway - now you have the game, it *IS* still playable. Read some threads on here about trap ideas, do lots of suicide scouting before you build anything, try some robberies with tools, and figure out how people get you to die in their houses. Then try to implement the ideas yourself, cheaply if possible. While you are playing, keep looking for houses that show up as $2000 with 0 deaths and 0 robbers. They are often abandoned houses with no security, allowing you to stroll in and take the money. There are not many popping up nowadays, but if you catch one or two it will give you a big boost to get your house going.

As for keeping the game alive - I personally think it needs to be punted out to the masses, in a sale for a few dollars/pounds, however Jason has firmly stated that he will never do this, and people seem to think he will not change his mind. The other side to it is trying to promote the game to new players by whichever way possible. Some of the guys here have been working on a video, hoping it will go a little bit 'viral' among new players and bring them in that way. I hope that works too!

And finally - if you come into my house (Philip Ernst) be sure to bring a full tool set and die quickly. (I especially need some metal cutting gear... lol)

Cylence · 2014-04-25 12:39:30

Hi Blackout.

Although we definitely would like a larger player base, there's still plenty of game even with a small community.

1) you have the correct version if you are on steam (it's the latest).
2) you need to know about http://castledraft.com to plan designs and record houses when robbing.
3) there's a very steep learning curve. This is a hard game, and if you are willing to put in the time, it's willing to reward you. check out http://thecastledoctrine.gamepedia.com/ … trine_Wiki for what each item does. The stickies in the forum are also a good source of information.

I suggest learning the game through robbing. I wrote a guide on how to break tough houses over time. It takes patience and persistence to be a good robber. No house is impenetrable. For proof, in my current life I robbed a house worth $50k+ with 2 visits. I did get lucky on the second visit, however after all I mapped out, it would have only taken 2 more visits for a guaranteed theft (if the owner didn't make updates).
Burglary: Home Invasion 101
This alone will be worth the $17 when you finally break into a vault.

I also wrote a guide on designing houses.
Building: House Design 101

There is also the free community server, where the house items are $0 and you can play around in self test to learn everything.

Iceman has also created a mod with it's own server

Hopefully, I've given you enough to start enjoying. Hope you find out whether this game is for you or not. But there's plenty of game left even with a small player base. So definitely not dead.

tigerbalm immunity · 2014-04-25 12:41:25

First, welcome

i'm sure you will get many more eloquent responses than the one I am about to give you.

in short: the game is losing players and does need more to be maximally exciting, however, nearly all of your complaints are part of the game and many would be worse if there were as many players as you had hoped.

$2000 is not a lot to work with. you have to very carefully and cleverly use it to build an opening trap that will kill people that bring tools. this is not easy.

Established houses are going to be very tough to rob. They have money to build more traps because clever people couldn't figure them out and died.

you really have 2 options when starting a fresh life.

1. spend all $2000 on robbery tools and take a shot at robbing a house with, say $4k-$10k value. (pro tip: you have 5 minutes on a fresh life before your house goes live so you can scout established homes with no tools, decide which tools you think will work best and then come back with that set.) this will still be difficult but you could get lucky and have much more $$ to build with. but mostly you will die. it's meant to be frustrating. keep robbing.

2. you build a small house as cheaply as possible and leave as much as possible in your vault to attract robbers, although it won't be much. then wait for people to die in your house and donate their bounties and unused tools. use these funds to improve your house and attract more robbers.

as far as the cheaper tools you think you missed out on, that was all in the alpha before the official release, so...don't worry. and the bigger bounties for killing family members was being used to exploit the system and so smaller bounties is actually protecting your family. and since you're new, your family could use all the protection they can get.

hope that helps

good luck and happy hunting

StefanLindskog · 2014-04-25 13:09:52

Hi Blackout! The previous answers have given you all the knowledge and tools you need to eventually excel in this game. The ones who still play this game absolutely love it. It's not a game for everyone - but it's not marginal either. We're working on spreading the gospel, so to speak - so don't give up on the game and on this great community. We do bicker here on the forum, but the one thing we all stand by is the awesome sauce that is The Castle Doctrine.

Keep at it! You'll love it once it dawns on you. I promise.

gyuri · 2014-04-25 13:53:21

Hi and welcome!

I've been playing this game for over a year now, most of the time with much less players than right now. Yes, there have been experiments with blueprints, salaries and stuff, and the version you bought is the one that is working, has no serious balance issues any more and will not die until a handful of people still plays. The more the merrier, so spread the word.

Plus, as Cylence already mentioned, you have access to a free community server and a standalone mod with special tools and items. There has been a real money contest, and there might be more in future, so you could also win your money back.

I hope you take your time to learn the game and enjoy it as much as most of us do.

mala · 2014-04-25 14:24:54

hi, Blackout, welcome to the community.

This is tough game, just keep playing and it will become easier.

What you've called "impenetrable houses" were 2k starter just a week ago (yes, we die a lot). Take your time to learn how to trick robbers, and soon you'll have an impenetrable house yourself.

tigerbalm immunity · 2014-04-25 15:46:32

Cylence wrote:

I suggest learning the game through robbing.

best advice.

the only way to learn what will actually trick/trap/kill people in your house is to be tricked/trapped/killed in everyone else's. a lot. bring tools to learn how to find weak points in other's designs, so you can strengthen them in your own house.

Blackout · 2014-04-25 17:30:06

I have had the game on for two days. I was looking for something different in multiplayer rather than the same old Wow and fps of the past ten years. This seemed really cool in the little trailers but it seems only high level people (and not that many) and not seen many mid level or new houses. Not many at all. I love the design element but threw the computer when realizing you wipe your house if you die. This doesn't give much incentive to rob if you have spent hours building a house. There should be some mechanism to save your house / various houses and the game definitely needs more players as this does not feel 'massively multiplayer' by any means. I like the premise a lot, but it doesn't seem to support both robbing and building as if you spent hours building you don't want to step more than two feet in some of the other houses because the owners are so ahead in game concept and you'll die and in no way want to sit their building again. Especially if there are not enough players. Perhaps it should give you 3 different characters that reincarnate so you can play each differently and have different houses. Or maybe there should be a grace period of a week for new players before the 'everything is wiped'. Then again you would need more players for that. 12 people online at a time is not fun. Big players can just continuously pick off newbs as they know everything.... this needs a new term... house griefing! As the game is I see myself being frustrated by this and passing on within a few more days.

As a side note, Sleep is Death was brilliant... are there any more sites that support that (connecting players with controllers and hosting the flip story books?)

Killer Mosquito · 2014-04-25 19:39:28

One thing I'll say... the frequency of action is kind of like a bell curve. If you build a 2k house, don't expect to get a LOT of action in it until you get about 4-5k. Then the robberies start to pick up. Once you reach 11-15k, people get a bit more cautious in your house. Paintings instigate some of the more skilled robbers. I like building death traps. In that sense, I like constructing the perfect house and seeing how it does. It's only half the game... but I like it a lot. I'm a terrible robber. Once I lose a house, I start doing suicide runs to get money in the community. I recently made a run in most houses with 10 doorstops (because of course I chose doorstops... that way when I see pitbulls, I'm like "Man, I'm glad I brought all of these doorstops...")

There's still a pretty good player base, although it's true that it's not as large as it once was. It's a great game. It's hard to build a 2k house that works... and you have to keep a close eye on it. All of a sudden, someone will come with a $600 bounty and 2k worth of tools and your house is worth more that your security systems can protect. It's tough... but it's fun in my opinion. I just got another friend playing it. He bought it yesterday. It's a game worth playing... just not a lot of people know about it.

TheRealCheese · 2014-04-25 20:58:14

Yes we really do need more players. The game is great as it is, but it could be so much better. That being said, a lot of what you are experiencing as a frustrated new player, was also frustrating for new players when this game had a larger player base. Stick with it, you seem like a swell dude and this is a really nice community. If you have any questions, read some of the faqs, or Cylences excellent guides that he already linked to, or even if you don't want to do that, just post about it and some of us 'veterans' are going to help you out, because that's just how people on this forum are. Stick with it, once you get over the steep learning curve, this game is so awesome.

Last edited by TheRealCheese (2014-04-25 20:58:52)

Lord0fHam · 2014-04-25 21:58:16

Also here is a big tip. If you ever get a good house going, do not go around just poking into random houses. You WILL end up dying to some unknown commit (personal experience) and then you will want to punch yourself in the face. If you want to go out robbing, make sure you bring the tools to do it right.

Nakula · 2014-04-25 23:25:06

hi blackout,

its a game of extreme, extreme, and even more extreme patience. most people make a house either with a successful robbery in a new life, or just with the 2k starting cash. after youve made something you think will hold out other peoples new life robbings attempts ($2k worth of tools and all), then you can take a step back. come back an hour later or so and see if you house killed anyone and immedietely make some upgrades in your weak spots. and wait longer. and repeat. until you have quite a nice house that can easily repel $2k tool new life robbers + more. at THIS point you can start to inch your way through peoples houses and map them out in castledraft.com. you should only rob if your up to date on all the metagame mechanics. look around these forums, the wiki, or just rob a ton to uncover all the mechanisms of the game. when your mapping out houses remember to never go anywhere that could kill you or commit you to an area. always leave behind you a safe path to leave. the game may seem very unfair at first. but everyone (including myself) says that when they start. right when you think oooh ok i just need to be more patient, thats when you die and realize SHIT i needed to be even MORE patient. its basically the longest game of chess youll ever play. but with an absolute fantastically creative drive to it. id say most people are NOT patient enough to play this game, and thats why the playerbase is declining. but theres still a good number of dedicated castlers out there. the game is not dead yet!

PS: im very sad at the fate of SID. I loved that game, let me know if you want to play sometime. anyone for that matter

Last edited by Nakula (2014-04-25 23:31:01)

tigerbalm immunity · 2014-04-26 19:51:22

are there like 20 new houses, or is it me?

there are 20 or so new names and houses in the 1k-2k range. exciting!

cullman · 2014-04-26 22:04:18

tigerbalm immunity wrote:

are there like 20 new houses, or is it me?
there are 20 or so new names and houses in the 1k-2k range. exciting!

I was showing a colleague the game discussing plans, and did like 40 Santa runs so that probably explains the resurgence of $1-2k houses.

tigerbalm immunity · 2014-04-27 06:40:27

cullman wrote:

tigerbalm immunity wrote:
are there like 20 new houses, or is it me?
there are 20 or so new names and houses in the 1k-2k range. exciting!
I was showing a colleague the game discussing plans, and did like 40 Santa runs so that probably explains the resurgence of $1-2k houses.

yes, very probably. do that again!

cullman · 2014-04-27 08:22:33

tigerbalm immunity wrote:

cullman wrote:
tigerbalm immunity wrote:
are there like 20 new houses, or is it me?
there are 20 or so new names and houses in the 1k-2k range. exciting!
I was showing a colleague the game discussing plans, and did like 40 Santa runs so that probably explains the resurgence of $1-2k houses.
yes, very probably. do that again!

I will. I am chilled out on everyone right now though.

tigerbalm immunity · 2014-04-27 08:52:51

cullman wrote:

I will. I am chilled out on everyone right now though.

bring gun + blow torch, please

cullman · 2014-04-27 12:32:35

tigerbalm immunity wrote:

cullman wrote:
I will. I am chilled out on everyone right now though.
bring gun + blow torch, please

Next round. I have been doing 5 saws.

Lord0fHam · 2014-04-27 12:47:13

are you back into the game again cullman?

StefanLindskog · 2014-04-27 12:54:50

Lord0fHam wrote:

are you back into the game again cullman?

I really hope so!

cullman · 2014-04-27 16:49:49

StefanLindskog wrote:

Lord0fHam wrote:
are you back into the game again cullman?
I really hope so!

Thanks. I fired it up to show a colleague the game, and am still thinking about whether or not I want to try to improve the game on my own. I have been tinkering around with a few things.

The Castle Doctrine Forums

#1 2014-04-25 12:03:04

Has this game died?

#2 2014-04-25 12:30:58

Re: Has this game died?

#3 2014-04-25 12:39:30

Re: Has this game died?

#4 2014-04-25 12:41:25

Re: Has this game died?

#5 2014-04-25 13:09:52

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#6 2014-04-25 13:53:21

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#7 2014-04-25 14:24:54

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#8 2014-04-25 15:46:32

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#9 2014-04-25 17:30:06

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#10 2014-04-25 19:39:28

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#11 2014-04-25 20:58:14

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#12 2014-04-25 21:58:16

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#13 2014-04-25 23:25:06

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#14 2014-04-26 19:51:22

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#15 2014-04-26 22:04:18

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#16 2014-04-27 06:40:27

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#17 2014-04-27 08:22:33

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#18 2014-04-27 08:52:51

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#19 2014-04-27 12:32:35

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