I’m not sure myself if TW is indeed dying. Personally, I think that it’s neither growing or dying… just stagnating. In my view, the new amount of people entering and staying with the game, offset the people leaving. And yes, I am Optimistic.

But the one thing that is dying is the image of Tradewars. Even from my standpoint, Tradewars is still just as fun as it was before, but the image of TW is nothing like it was in the BBS era. This is something we need to work on.

One way we can help the image is by getting younger players… and just more players period into the game. Some of you have probably wondered (As have I) why there are not many new players going into the game. The answer is simple… it’s because of us! A lot of times, we destroy people’s home sectors which pose no threat to us. Why do we do it? Is it because it’s fun? Is it because they destroyed our tolls, or is it because someone paid us to do it? Unfortunatelly, I can say yes to those three examples. Whatever the reason, this is something that needs to be stoped. The only people that pose a threat to good tradewars players are other good tradewars players. TW is like Donkey Kong. Climbing the ladders are easy until the 900 lb. Gorilla starts throwing barrels at you.

That analogy perfectly describes what some newbies are going through. While the concept of TW is easily learned, your not going to stand a chance against the big gorillas Cross-port trading. It takes time to learn the skills of planetary trading, Turn Management and the like. And if there’s a gorilla on your back, how effective will your learning be?