Something I have been wondering..

[snzspeed]

Are people still interested in new SP episodes?

[PurpleJazz]

Of course! JJ2 could always use more levels for SP, due to the general focus in the JCS scene on MP. It would be nice to have more great, new packs alongside the Devres series.

[EvilMike]

My last episode will probably have over 500 downloads by the end of the month, and it hasn't been out for very long. Usually it takes a lot longer to reach that mark, I find.

So yeah, I think there is still interest in good SP episodes. There are a few good standalone levels uploaded recently (judging by reviews), and one small episode. I haven't got around to playing them yet, but I will soon.

However, one important thing is to advertise. A big project needs to generate attention, otherwise people won't know it's out. That's really the trick to getting lots of downloads. People want to play good SP levels, but they often don't want to check for them. What I recommend is 4 things.

1. Post a thread on the JCF to talk about it. If it's a work-in-progress type of post, use the JCS forum. If it's a completed project, use JCS or General (it's on-topic in both). And the most important thing: make sure you post screenshots. You can also use your JCF signature.

2. Have people betatest, or even send people the completed episode as a preview. And then as soon as you upload it, ask them to review it. You can even ask them before it's uploaded. Having a rated level on the top of the downloads page helps a lot, especially if the first review is an 8.0 or above. This is even better for something that takes a while to beat, because you'll be able to have that important first review on there within minutes, rather than (potentially) days.

3. Upload it near the end of the month. If something really good has been uploaded that month, wait until next month. This way you can "snipe" the featured download on J2O, and get your episode posted on the J2O front page. This is a cheap tactic but that's the way the system works (since it generally only goes to one upload per month).

4. If it's an especially big project, you can probably get a newspost on the J2O front page anyway. Ask a newsposter who is interested, or use rabbitjournal. Or sometimes, they will just post news about it anyway. For example, my episode got a newspost which actually came as a surprise to me, though I was thankful for it.


Anyway, some people will argue that it's better to just focus on good level design and not worry about "marketing", but really, there's nothing wrong with shameless self promotion as long as you aren't annoying about it. People want to hear about new and interesting projects. Besides, what's the point of all that effort if not many people play it?

[Dermo]

I think that I would be interested in an online cooperative SP level. One you could play on cooperative online. IDK that's just me.

[Olsen]

Well, for me 90% of the reason I still play JJ2 is because of Single Player episodes. :P

[snzspeed]

i have been working on a new sp lately and i wonder if there would be any interested potential testers..

[Olsen]

I'm really interested.

[Raven aka StL]

Me too, as always.

[Puffie40]

I think it goes without saying :P

[CrimiClown]

I wanted to post here saying "Of course we want more SP challenges" but then again it'd be quite obvious coming from me.