Hi everyone.

For those who don't know me (that is, everyone), I have been playing Toribash from 2006 to 2008, and came back to play it more seriously only recently, now that internet in Indonesia is actually usable.

I've been playing more than one hours everyday for something like 600 fights, since a couple of month ago.

Several things kind of surprised me when I came back to being really active, and the first one is the very little growth in the community. The server list is not really bigger than 6 years ago as is, seemingly, the amount of simultaneous players.

I really LOVE this game. I really do. But... I think some things could be modified to get some more players to join in. At least, if that's what the community wants.

The main problem, to my mind, is:

The Game Is Not Newbie Friendly

All my friends have given up. I've tried and I keep on trying. But most of the people I know are afraid of the complexity and learning curve.
This is not a problem, Toribash is not really a causal game by design. But there are other deterrents.

- Incentive

When most of the recent online games offer bonuses for even logging-in, and achievements every time you sneeze, Toribash's achievement are pretty hard to get, and the only incentive given is belts requiring an insane amount of playing to level up (I have no problem with that, though) and TC used for customization.

Suggestions

• Give a prize when belting up
• Give a prize for continuous login (n days in a row)
• Give prizes for n amount of victories
• More achievements (Hours of online play, various dismemberments, booms, win in X frame... many can be thought of)
• Make more unlockable items based on things other than IQ (can buy a color set only if you've bought another one previously, or got some achievement)

- Prices

Which bring me to my second remark...
Holly hell is this game expensive!
I paid 30$ for 2 licenses, and it's very well spent money. On the other hand, I've been wanting some new colors or maybe some textures...and oh boy don't I have to grind.

Yes there is the market, but it's still pretty expensive when you start.

Not everybody has a betting mind, or the patience to stand tourneys (when you only have one hour a day to play, a full tourney is long).

Worse, some colors have IQ limits, meaning that even if I'm ready to spend real dollars to get something I like, I can't unless I play thousands of rounds.
Also, the void color set, cash only, is worth...74$ total !?
I have never bough a full game for this price, and I don't think I'll ever will.

Suggestions

• Discount full color sets
• Discount full texture sets
• No IQ limits for cash-only texture
• Cheaper cash-only items
• Unique cash only/TC only items, but most items payable both ways

- Customization

That's the most important incentive after the fun of the game itself.
And that's where so many things could be done.

Sorry to say, but many of the colors available at the shop are ugly as hell, and the cheapest are the ugliest. Orc? Srsly?
Textures are pretty expensive, and once you have paid for the right to use them, you have to design them yourself. Using your own design should be a perk, not a standard. Some people don't even know what gimp is. Of course if you want, you can pay someone to do it, which is paying someone to get you something you paid to be able to use that's a lot of paying.

The market is terrible, full of sets containing 25 similar items and the search function barely helps.

Suggestions

• Provide a limited choice of default, official textures directly available in the shop, and give out as rewards. An in-game interface could even be thought of, in the manner of a character builder.
• Create an in-shop texture market. Where players can upload their creations and sell them for TC or real cash. NOT via the forum. It has to be easy.
• I understand it has something to do with economics and wachamacallit. As a basic player I don't really care and neither will the newbies: duplicates in sets should be forbidden.

- Interface

Once in-game, barely better than IRC.
Players have to do everything via command line, the lobby is lacking filters, and even the buddy list has to be managed via command line.

Suggestions

• A server command menu, easily accessible from the HUD
• A real buddy list, with a window, telling users if their buddies are online and in what room.
• The possibility to set password, belt range (not by IQ, by belt name), and max players from the 'create new room' dialog box.
• Not showing rooms you can't join (belt restriction, maybe optional)
• Filter bets, tourneys, official rooms (credit to dellalanri)

- Rooms, rules and waiting time

When I was still 2nd dan, I had the choice between Tourneys (not an option, too long if I want to get any action), Public rooms (could try my luck) and Quick Aikido. Now I can access Ultimate, but... I always find it empty.

So, I tried joining user created rooms, only to be repeatedly kicked.
When I create a room I have to wait an eternity for someone to join, and get requests for mods I don't want to play.
Then again, no TC in public rooms...

Then there's the problem of waiting time. I play Quick Aikido quite a lot because... well because it's quick. It's not even about the reaction time, or even the match frames, but 4 players max in a public official room is heaven. You actually get to play.

Suggestions

• Quick Judo, Wushu, Twinswords and other, with max 4 players.
• New quick rooms auto-spawn when all full
• Skirmish mode: join a random quick room

That's all I can think of right now... Keep in mind, I don't imply, by any mean, that the game sucks. I just think that some of these improvements could help getting more users and more money to the game and devs, so Toribash never dies.