Is user friendliness the only thing preventing Nullpomino from becoming the most popular client?

[unpronuncyashun2]

I've been on Nullpomino several times and I would say that it is so far the best client I've played on. Why then is no one playing on it? The only real answers I can think of would be (1) user-friendliness and (2) the skill level of players who play on Nullpomino. I've elected to assume the reason is more probably for the first reason but I would love to heard some theories on the matter. Thanks.

[ohitsstef]

I agree that it's mostly user friendliness.
There are simply too many options.

But then again, there is a guide to help new users figure out how to use Nullpomino.
So maybe a lot of people are too lazy to look for it, too lazy to set it up.. and other games are easier to access to them.. like Tetris Battle and Tetris Friends (ew)

[Agamemnon]

Too hard for someone uninterested to set up the basic client.
The various clients have various issues, and there are too many of them, and some of the various clients don't communicate that well with the others.
Too many servers so people don't all go to one place.
Poor maintainance of some servers.
And if you find someone to play when you want to, most of the lurkers have played thousands and thousands of games, so a new player will get utterly wasted, and not even know what hit them.

[eevor]

I think for a lot of us newer and/or slower players Nullpo is just too... fast. Don't know exactly how to explain it, playing 40 lines on Nullpo is awesome, but for multiplayer I still prefer TOP and TF. Speed is too emphasized on Nullpo, trying to create pretty much any fancy setup is suicide. It just gets boring, multiplayer is like playing Ultra and Dig in one.

I know I didn't explain it well, it's hard to.

[Katatoniopeth]

I love Nullpomino. It definitely isn't user friendly, and that would cause people not to want to use it, but there are other reasons as well. It doesn't look good, the interface doesn't seem appealing, (now once again you CAN customize that), but that along with it being a downloadable client rather then an online client (makes it less convenient) is another factor. Nullpomino has the greatest gameplay for Tetris I have ever experienced, but other then the gameplay, and all the awesome modes it has, it lacks in every other department :/. Needs a better spec system, needs background, blockskin, and music presets, needs a ranking system of some sort (similar to TOP would be good) and a bunch of other stuff. hope this helps.

[ohitsstef]

Needs a better spec system, needs background, blockskin, and music presets, needs a ranking system of some sort (similar to TOP would be good) and a bunch of other stuff. hope this helps.

Spectators can still watch games and there is a ranking system if you use the same tri-code. And I believe there are 24 options for blockskins.

I think ultimately it's just not ideal for players that don't want to spend so much time messing around with the configurations.

[Katatoniopeth]

Spectators can still watch games and there is a ranking system if you use the same tri-code. And I believe there are 24 options for blockskins.

I think ultimately it's just not ideal for players that don't want to spend so much time messing around with the configurations.

I hear that and I agree to an extent. It can be annoying messing with the configs, though I don't think the ranking system works well (assuming everyone had a tripcode), it doesn't categorize people by skill level. Specs can watch games, but it you have to open it in another window to chat, which is a bit annoying. Yeah there are blockskin presets and whatnot, I was just speaking in general as far as the aesthetic aspects goes. But I hear ya fo sho.

[ohitsstef]

how would it categorize people by skill level then?

i think it's the same as TOP's where you gain rank for winning 1v1 matches and lose rank when losing.

[Integration]

NullpoMino League Edition is userfriendly, but still nobody is on. One of the reasons is that Java isn't so much available anymore as it used to be. Another reason is that the predefined rules are duplicates of other games. I think developers should try more to come up with their own rules. Why should you play NullpoMino when you can have a better/funnier experience on the original games? NullpoMino has no feature that those games don't have.

[Blitz]

This is what's preventing NullpoMino from becoming the most popular client.
http://tinyurl.com/yfrxnpf <-- Does NullpoMino show up there? No? Why?
The Tetris Company would like people to play their official games so that they can earn more money. It's really that simple.

[Katatoniopeth]

how would it categorize people by skill level then?

i think it's the same as TOP's where you gain rank for winning 1v1 matches and lose rank when losing.

I think if there was a system made in Nullpomino where it goes off of your average apm, and speed, and gives you a rating that could be workable. Kind of like combining TF's ranking system with TOPs system,  except, the ranking is based on the TOP system (if that makes sense).

[ohitsstef]

I think if there was a system made in Nullpomino where it goes off of your average apm, and speed, and gives you a rating that could be workable. Kind of like combining TF's ranking system with TOPs system,  except, the ranking is based on the TOP system (if that makes sense).

TF's ranking system isn't by apm and lpm or whatnot. It's basically by how much you play and how many matches you win overall.

This is the same with TOP; there are levels and everything but they are not based on actual skill but how many matches you've played. For every match you play you win x amount of exp points, the more you accumulate the higher your level is.

So that being said, I'm a little confused by what ranking system you're talking about.

[unpronuncyashun2]

Although it's a sad truth, Blitz makes a fair point about the reach and availability of Nullpo, C2, and all the other clones that exist. The official products and services will always be more popular than the clones because TTC will pay to have their products come up first in a search. Most casual Tetris players probably won't ever hear about Nullpomino (or even this site) and will just spend their time blissfully in Tetrisfriends or Tetris Battle without ever knowing there's an alternative.

[Katatoniopeth]

TF's ranking system isn't by apm and lpm or whatnot. It's basically by how much you play and how many matches you win overall.

This is the same with TOP; there are levels and everything but they are not based on actual skill but how many matches you've played. For every match you play you win x amount of exp points, the more you accumulate the higher your level is.

So that being said, I'm a little confused by what ranking system you're talking about.

Yeah reading back, it does come off confusing. I guess what I am saying is, have the apm and tpm determine your rank, after say maybe playing 50 games or something, then after that, have your rank be generated, and you can raise your rank by improving those attributes.

[DarthDuck]

I think for a lot of us newer and/or slower players Nullpo is just too... fast. Don't know exactly how to explain it, playing 40 lines on Nullpo is awesome, but for multiplayer I still prefer TOP and TF. Speed is too emphasized on Nullpo, trying to create pretty much any fancy setup is suicide. It just gets boring, multiplayer is like playing Ultra and Dig in one.

I know I didn't explain it well, it's hard to.

I can relate to this. When I play on TF I usually do a couple DT cannons, imperial crosses, and a few fractals each game. I will even do some intentional "misdrops" just to see what will happen. But on nullpo I am not nearly as adventurous: I usually find myself rejecting tspin (and even tetris) opportunities, playing only for survival.

That and the only way I seem to be able to stay afloat at all in nullpo is by comboing every single time (since the line clear delay doesn't check the combo execution time like it does on TF). When I try to mix it up and use TKI methods I have a much lower probability of winning.

People are also right about the lack of available players being a vicious circle for having fewer players. It's not that I really mind getting slaughtered by people like Blitz or Agamemnon, but it is kind of embarrassing—similar to how when I dominate a less skilled player it feels awkward and I can't help but empathize for them. I think most top players (aside from Corrosive and very few others) feel the same way and don't really get off on dominating people, but instead keep playing to be polite; awkward for both sides.