Expanding FGM

The only other games besides the CMAK and CMBB I play with any regularity are Advanced Tactics and occasionally for fun Commander Europe at War(CEAW).

Now and then I dust off the CS series and my rusty old Steel Panthers WaW ... but the graphics there do make my eyes water...LOL.

But I do agree that perhaps expanding the membership of FGM a little and find a few more good active members can only be a good idea.

I wonder what the ratio of members signing up and staying and becoming good, active regulars?
 
Ratio is probably 1 in 10 which is poor. The reaper has also dispatched about 15-20 members in the last 10 days... we lost another 2 today. These are the guys that have not visited or posted in 90 days... thats quite high. Im keeping a handle on it but its a worrying trend that we are losing more than we are gaining which in the long term does not bode well for the website. We need to get out there and market ourselves but I have no idea how.
 
Well... The thing is that not that many people are interested in wargames (and/or especially CM). And most that are have already joined other clubs like the Blitz or BoB - or just don't care for it at all (I do know quite a lot of the latter).
If you just care for membership you'd have to expand into those games that aren't really popular here like FPS or RTS games. But if you did that, you'd have to get those games A LOT of coverage (actual patches, official developer events, modding scene etc.) - not sure if that's worth it. I joined for the wargames and I already see a problem with our regulars (please no noe be offended!): most guys around here ONLY care about CM and don't even bother to touch anything else in earnest. Anyway, maybe we should try to find out why people actually join the site, meaning: what sparked their interest in the first place and then capitalize on that. Easier said than done, but that#d be a start without revamping everything and adding tons of new stuff...
 
I dont ever intend to deviate beyond a wargaming club. We play a bit of Armed Assault but apart from that we remain loyal to a wargaming club. I think we just need to keep our head above the water until the new CM comes out and if popular make 'THIS' the place to be for that game.
 
I think we just need to keep our head above the water until the new CM comes out and if popular make 'THIS' the place to be for that game.
Click to expand...
YIKES....that will probably be years from now!
Lord Bane
 
I agree with you there, Bootie. Totally. That's why I joined (and because you proposed a new platform for distributing mods, but that became secondary pretty soon).

But given the reluctance of most regulars to touch anything else than CM it'll be hard enough already. I have to ask myself what everyone played BEFORE there was a CM. :eek:hwell:
 
My games are:

CMBB
CMAK
CMSF
BATTLEFIELD EUROPE - WWII ONLINE
Oblivion (courtesy of the FGM game give away :))
 
I think the HPS games would be a good edition to the FGM .
 
Earl of Grey said:
But given the reluctance of most regulars to touch anything else than CM it'll be hard enough already. I have to ask myself what everyone played BEFORE there was a CM. :eek:hwell:
Click to expand...

Before CM? You have to go back to before 2000 for that. There was Close Combat 3 and the fantastic Real Red mod for it. It was great to play MP online. Also played a bit of Starcraft for a laugh. But, CM hit the sweet spot and I have stuck with it.

Now, FPSs are my favorite genre, but I get tired of all the kiddies hacking to glory. But, back before CM, I used to have lan parties with friends and played lots of Quake 1 MP and Co-op, as well as Duke Nukem. But, I really loved playing the FPSs, Blood and Redneck Rampage. What a laugh. Since then, the Cod series has been enjoyable. I used to love sniping on Vanilla COD, Carentan map, against all the run and gun types. ****ed them off big time! :whoo:

If CM:N is good, the flock will easily expand.
 
I expect great things from the Arma2 WW2 mods. At least I expect we'llt ry them... And hopefully CMN will increase membership, but it's also possible that a lot of other sites will spring up once that one is released because everyone then notices that "WW2 has never looked so good"... :)
 
Bootie started FGM about 6 years ago and has been running it successfully ever since (longer than WW2 itself); I don't know how many members there were in the old days but I should think there are more now than at any time in the past, so what's to worry about?
Anyway, small membership means a club has a more cosy atmosphere, not like some of the huge sprawling multi-compartmented monstrosities out there.
If new members want to join FGM that's fine but in the meantime we're fine as we are.
Incidentally, at any one time guests outnumber members here by about 3 to 1, so the club is really 3 times bigger than its registered member strength..:)
 
I think anyone who is genuinely interested in gaming with CM has a home here. Perhaps when CM-N is available and is as good as it is hyped, I'll look into getting it. All the other games would be great to have listed in the club and members can play each other if they have the games. But for me, I only have CMBO, CMBB and CMAK and they fill the bill and I couldn't be happier with the arrangement (PBEM).
Bigger is not necessarily better
IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT!!!
 
Wardog said:
..Bigger is not necessarily better!!
Click to expand...

Right, for example one big club is split up into different 'factions' (WW1/ WW2/Napoleonic/ Naval warfare/American Civil War/American Revolution/Ancient warfare etc) each of which is further split up into groups who only play one game title, and none of these factions and groups talk to each other for the simple reason they're only interested in their own period and game!
Their Big Boss actually had to post there not so long ago urging them to talk to each other to foster a 'community spirit' throughout the club but it fell flat. I mean, what on earth would a WW2 fan have to say to a Napoleonic fan or vice versa? They've absolutely nothing in common.
So those big clubs are really just a collection of small "clubs within a club" (factions and groups), each one separate from all the rest with no overall club community spirit.
At least in FGM we all play CM and can therefore talk to each other about it with a great community spirit..:)
 
It can't be bad to think about the future and how to attract more members that actually stay. Sure, we do have a good core group, but I'm seeing about 20-30 names here which are posting - about some I do know more, about others nearly nothing. And we do have many more 'active' members, I think. Admitted, I've not yet participated in much tournament or ladder action and therefore don't know everyone very well yet, but in time, I will (can't wait for the Normandy campaign to start off!).

Anyway, I'm in the process of starting a little CS game with Reich and I think we could try to post a little AAR or even an in action report so the club sees we're not just playing against each other but also giving the others a chance to participate at the same time (hoping it might spark some interest for others who have the game or want to try something different than CM for once).
 
This pic sums up the cosy warm atmosphere of FGM perfectly..:)

gentsFGMa.png
 
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