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« on: June 16, 2010, 12:03:44 AM »
Thorax's approach is an interesting one, but I don't think it's the best option.
First, when starting a server decide what you want your server to be all about. Decide on the theme and what you will be doing within that theme (such as just making a static build, making a build with lots of events, or making a build to be used as a minigame.) You may think making a sever a freebuild will attract more players than having restrictions on your build. In fact the opposite is true. Having no theme will result in people being lazy and un-inspired, who get bored and leave the server more quickly. Having a theme restriction, especially an unique one will get people inspired and want to build. One reason for this is that instead of having their thought process start thinking about what to build from nothing, you give them a big head start in thinking of something to build. For instance if a player joins a server and sees a small desert cubescape, a house, and a race track, they are left pretty uninspired. However if a player joins a space colony build and they see a spaceport, a living quarters, and a power plant, they may immediately start thinking about what else the space colony needs and are more motivated to build. Another reason is that it makes the server unique and players will want to return to the server later in order to see how the build has progressed, to see how their build is part of the larger server build, and most importantly to continue on making the build even better.
Second, limit your add-ons. When someone decides to join a random server that has little to no players in it, if they see the loading going quickly, they're much more likely to stay. Taking your theme into account disable any weapons and vehicles which are not required for the server. Next remove any duplicate weapons. You don't need 10 guns which do the same thing, so limit it to the highest quality add-on for any type. For example you don't need 5 different sniper guns, chose your favorite. If it is a building/eventing server only, disable all vehicles, weapons and projectiles which you don't need for your events or decoration.
Third, name your server appropriately. Proper spelling is always good, and a title which explains what the server is all about will attract people who are curious or interested in the server, which are people who are much more likely to stay since they know what kind of server they're getting into and they know they want it. Also make sure you're server title isn't long, so that it doesn't get cut off. Using a unique and descriptive name that is also the name of the build you're making works very well. For instance naming a server "lava dm" isn't nearly as interesting as "Lavaland Battle."
Fourth, start your server and get busy. Don't worry about tricking players into joining, because eventually a random person will join. If you named your server nicely and had a short load time, you're likely to attract people who will want to check the server out in enough quantity to get the server population off the ground.
Fifth, ever heard the saying "location location location"?, well, in Blockland the phrase really is "content content content." Get building boy. If you start building a strange thing happens in Bl. People start looking at your build and like to see how your build progress comes along, and many will want to build themselves. A player who is just hanging out may leave after looking over the build, but a player who is engaged building will likely stay for long periods of time. The first few people may come slowly, but if they're in the server and building and staying, since less people are leaving it takes allot less people to build up to the tipping point where your server becomes very populated. Unique content also plays a role here. If you host a server with a default save your server has no value to return to later than any other server which is also hosting that save. A unique build can be loaded many times and makes your server worth returning to.
Sixth, make friends. THIS IS NOT GIVE PEOPLE ADMIN. By making friends and having a growing list of people who are interested in your servers, your servers are much more easily populated in the early stages. People love to join a friend's server even if it has few people. They also make great people to help create larger builds which attract more people.
Well, that's all for this wall of text of a post. Are people interested in a longer version which goes over more specifics? If so I may write a more prepared and in depth topic.
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