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Thinking about making an RSPS - Need tips <


TheRealSwaps

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It's a pretty big task, if you're planning on taking it serious. An old acquaintance sends me (and everyone on his list) a long message containing fixes and updates almost everyday. I'm not a RSPS programmer, but I knew this guy from assisting him with teaching a small Java class. Compared to some of the other programmers I've met through the RSPS community, he wasn't that bad (although I wouldn't say he was all that good at the time either). After almost a year of receiving messages about updates and getting asked a few questions, I found his server on this site (Elveron), which doesn't look too bad by the images (haven't checked out the server though). I'm not sure how well of a programmer he is now, but that goes to show that dedication pays off.

 

If you ask me, I think the hardest part would be originality. With the proper programming experience, fixing bugs and cleaning your environment will be the easiest part. You should take it slow and first try to think of ideas for a UNIQUE server that's actually worth playing. Marketing is also a pretty big aspect, and if you market the same material everyone else is marketing, you won't stand out.

 

Like I mentioned, I haven't played Elveron, so I can't give you an opinion on the quality. If you want, I could try and get in touch with him so you can ask a few questions about what it's like running a server. Although, if you don't have the coding knowledge or have a really close friend that can program, I wouldn't bother. Unless you have top-notch leadership skills or cash to dish out, the developers might take over. If you do decide to create a server, I wish you luck, and you can always come to me for any programming questions you may have :)

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How much investment you think this is going to need?

Depends. I'd say $1-3k To get going, and to stay up to make something back.

If you get big, you get noticed by hack forums, and everything else, so you get more traffic, but you also have the possibility of being

DDOS'd often, or hacked more often. 

You'll want a good host that can withstand Ddos attacks without shutting off your services, you'll want to have good developers if you're looking to produce something great(so you'll have to pay them), and you'll have to have a lot of time on your hands to stay active and stuff. There's a few sites out there that will/can basically help you create something/learn.

Some tips I could offer is~

1. Don't Clone another server. Make it something unique, and have some things players don't see often.

2. Don't go money hungry. If the server you create turns out to be a big hit, don't let money rule what you do. Keep close to the community, and see what they want. Even if that means polling updates every week like OSRS, it's good to see an owner that cares about the players, community, and game, not the cash behind it.

3. Be manipulative.  As silly as that sounds, you need to be. You need to convince people you have the best product out there. The one that is worth spending time on.

4. Don't have a lot of downtime. Downtime kills a server, whether it be an hour, to two hours. Try to plan updates/server moves at a time where players aren't on. If you do it when a lot of players are on, you lose potential players.(DO NOT UPDATE ON SUNDAYS)

5. Don't get corrupt staff members, developers, or anything else. Corruptness can easily kill a server.

6. Don't be discouraged if you have 5-10 players on a day at the start. That's 5-10 people that are either 1. Enjoying themselves and plan to come back. 2. Enjoying, and potential 'donators'. 3. Enjoying and plan to bring friends.

7. Get some security commands for moderators. This plays a big role later down the road if you get big, and start being attacked.

8. Try not to make players have to register on forums. Although it's good to have an active forum, Rsps players tend to not use forums anymore, and 7 times out of 10, will not even play the game if they have to register.

9. Try having a webclient. Just as with not registering on forums, some players don't like installing a client straight away, which leads to people not even trying the game out.

10. Get ads. This plays a big part in growing. They are not cheap, but picking good ads leads to more players, which leads to more revenue.

11. SEO plays a decent part in owning a server.

There's tons more you can do, but it all does require time, effort, and patience. Unless you have Thousands of dollars to throw at Advertisements to get 500+ players in a week or two, you will always have a decently low player count, but can grow. The last one I worked on with a friend had 40-50 players for about 3 months until we had got enough money saved up to buy a decent ad, and we went up to ~150.

I wish you good luck.

Edited by Etoke
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I can help develop your game for you but I won't be pitching in money wise. I've ran multiple servers and helped develop a few of the moderately large ones (Cloudin and Fatality614 to be exact) I personally don't feel they are worth it anymore unless you have adequate advertising and frequent updates and a unique feel to the game that is unique. But if you do decide to go through with it as I said I can help develop. Just let me know.

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