I know people will accuse me of kissing butt here, but, really, if you think about it, this site is one of the best run web games.
I have played various web games, on and off, since 93, when the web was really in its nascency, and I think I have a reasonably good sample size.
Forgetting for a moment the game itself (chess), think about how quickly the easy interface has become more and more functional. Think about the growth of the forum system. Think about clans and sieges. Think about tournaments. The invite system, the tables. The little stuff (smilies, profile extras, avatars, record against other opponents, vacation settings). Think about all the things that make playing this particular game more fun that are totally unnecessary (timebanks, message inboxes, the info in 'my games'😉. And people smarter than I and those who have been here longer could list more and more things.
Now think of all the other web games you've played. Think about the interface, playability, and extras. I'm sure there are some that are equally as good as RHP out there, but I can't think of one, but I can sure think of a whole bunch that are far worse. Many games with lots of potential with dreadful interfaces, with people who run it that just don't care or don't have the time or expertise to do better. How many times have you started playing something that seemed fun just to have it be too frustrating to interface with? I know I have many times.
Think about how quickly little requests for convenience get put into place. Think about the little questions that get answered. The 'buggy' games that get investigated. The little problems solved. This site is consumately run by active and competetant coders. How many web games have that much? Just think of the nearly inarticulate FAQs that you've read on other sites which is enough to discourage playing. How many times has a potentially fun game you've played just gotten stale because it turns into the 'same old, same old?'
And here is Russ (and Chris?) making an excellent game better with a complete recoding revision! How many web games can you think of that had a great thing and strived to improve it rather than coast? Not many, to be sure!
And here's the greatest thing. 75% of it is available to people free of cost. All the important stuff and much of the fun stuff.
If I remember correctly, Russ quit his job to work on RHP full time. I believe I remember a degree of excited trepidation as he undertook this risk. He could easily coast on what he has accomplished so far, and yet he is driven for more. Now maybe he's making a killing on this site, but I get the impression he does it because he cares about refining it to the finest state. Maybe it's marketing, but it seems like passion to me. Why do I think this? Because of the total absence of the creators' name on the site. There is no About the creator page. The name is Russ Hot Pawn. It's totally about chess. Hell, if I made something half this good my name would be on every page, at least twice!
I, for one, appreciate this site very much and am proud to spend the 20 bucks annually to support it. Thanks very much.
Nemesio
I agree completely. But let me add a thing:
Russ & Chris obviously do a great job creating this site, but it is the users who make it fun to play. This thread would never have existed if there were only 100 people playing chess here.
As an example, there is this site www.dominategame.com. This is basically the boardgame Risk, but with some fancy things, like a blind map. Two years ago this game was fun to play. You just opened a window with a Java applet and you were ready to play. The interface was very good, there were lots of players and you would not be bored one moment. You could register, which would remove ad banners, but those were not really annoying enough to make it worth the price.
Then some day the admins decided that they should limit the non-paying that could play simultaniously members to 100, and that they should wait (no. of games played)*15 seconds before they could play. As some people had played 2000 games, they had to wait 8 hours.
Bad move.
The fun had gone, because there were no longer that many players, so you had to wait a long time before you could play a game (all players occupied), and mostly not the game-type you liked. The fun had definately gone.
As it is now, you can play free, but you have to download some software, which is only for Windows. Only if you pay 25 euro a year you can play in a browser, on all Java-supporting platforms. There are 173 players online at this moment, and with an average of 5 players per game this is very little.
So you see, you can make a perfect game site, but if there are no players it is worth nothing.
I'd say: Thanks to Russ&Chris, and thanks to all my opponents 😀
I absolutely agree with all the good things that are said about this site. I think Russ and Chris should get knighthoods for their great work (maybe even Rookhoods - I don't know whether they'd be up for a Queenhood though). But piderman makes a good point. The admins shouldn't be tempted to restrict the free access. The easy availability is part of what makes the site great, and once people get hooked I think most will want to subscribe eventually anyway.
- Joined
- 20 Oct 02
- Moves
- 610667
Originally posted by nemesioRHP
I know people will accuse me of kissing butt here, but, really, if you think about it, this site is one of the best run web games.
I have played various web games, on and off, since 93, when the web was really in its nascency, and I think I have a reasonably good sample size.
Forgetting for a moment the game itself (chess), think about how quickly the ...[text shortened]... ry much and am proud to spend the 20 bucks annually to support it. Thanks very much.
Nemesio
Put a spell on me
Now I need a frontal
Lobotomy😵
Originally posted by pidermanI'd say that this Risk site, then, was not perfect. Sure it had good interface, but the operators made a crap decision. Let me ask you this: Was it discussed? Was there overwhelming support? Was it introduced incrementally?
So you see, you can make a perfect game site, but if there are no players it is worth nothing.
I'd say: Thanks to Russ&Chris, and thanks to all my opponents 😀
When Russ and Chris make substantial changes to the site, they have typically asked for opinions, ideas, and criticism. And here's what makes them different: they listen. Yes, they aren't going to bankroll freeloaders for 1000s of games. But most of us understood that and thought it fair. But, beyond that change, which was in large part supported, there have been very few controversial changes. Look: Russ was even asking if it was ok to get rid of the blue text! I mean, something that minor and he asked input. How many of us would ask for input on the color of text on sites we run? Not many. We'd just do it, wouldn't mention a word, and be done, and, at least I, would ignore the complaints.
I agree that the opponents make the site fun, but the operators allow the opponents to be here. And, the operators allow us to choose among some 16000 opponents (at least who have moved within the past 100 days). That's a pretty damn good selection.
Nemesio
Thanks for everyone's comments here. (Sorry for the late post too, I read this thread over the weekend, but never had a chance to reply) As you can well imagine, feedback like this makes me feel pretty good. 🙂
I love doing this stuff, and even if I could retire tomorrow, I would still be doing the same thing, because it is my hobby too, a hobby I have had for about 22 years. And to have people appreciate my work makes it all the more satisfying.
Let me reassure you though, no killing is being made - I'm sure you can work out that to pay something close to a salary and cover hosting costs would need a huge number of $20 subscriptions every day. I hope to get there one day, I'm in it for the long term, so the enhancements should never stop.
-Russ
Originally posted by pidermanVery much so.
it is the users who make it fun to play.
Without a solid community of users, this site would be nothing. I always knew that would be the case, so we have done all we can to help that develop. So thanks to everyone who makes this a fun place to play chess AND communicate.
-Russ
Originally posted by RussI sincerely hope that you get all those subscriptions that you need to make a living from this site as I (in unison with the general opinion) couldn't find a better run web-page (and I am online a LOT !!)
Thanks for everyone's comments here. (Sorry for the late post too, I read this thread over the weekend, but never had a chance to reply) As you can well imagine, feedback like this makes me feel pretty good. 🙂
I love doing this stuff, and even if I could retire tomorrow, I would still be doing the same thing, because it is my hobby too, a hobby I have ha ...[text shortened]... get there one day, I'm in it for the long term, so the enhancements should never stop.
-Russ
Russ, many great thanks, without you, Metallica would not have such a great tribute clan here 😉😉
Regards
Boris