There's definitely a bunch of us with long-term projects, but I think that impression that we don't play is mostly because devs split off into their own servers or game communities once their game is playable.
For example:
Arx is supposedly slowing down in its "old age" (it's been around longer than I've been using Evennia) but the last time I looked, there were over 50 players online.
Silent Heaven launched only a couple months ago, but it's consistently had between 15 and 30 players online every time I've checked. I haven't played it since I'm not into horror, but if it weren't for that I would definitely have tried it out. It's got its own Discord server so I figure all the chatter is over there.
Secrets of Aelandris has only had one playtesting window so far, but several of us in the Evennia community played and are looking forward excitedly to the next one. Playing it comes up every now and then in the Evennia community, but mostly we talk about it on the Aelandris discord.
Song of Avaria, which I also helped playtest, posts regular development showcases, and we've got multiple people in the Discord community looking forward to it launching alpha early next year. People ask about playing it every time a new showcase drops. (One should be going up this weekend, btw!)
The Mystavaria builders and testers are also all over on their own discord, so I have no idea where they're at in terms of activity. They aren't payable yet, but several of us are looking forward to trying that game out as well.
Machine Garden opened up a sandbox pre-alpha a while back (a year or two, i think) which got several players and active discussion on its discord, as well, although it's currently down for major code renovation.
And those are just the ones I'm personally familiar with that have names! (Aside from mine, of course, but it doesn't count yet.)
Most people who look into Evennia are looking to make a game, since that's what Evennia is for, so there's of course a bias in that direction in terms of the community discussion. But there's some games out there, and the ones that are playable definitely get players.
For example:
Arx is supposedly slowing down in its "old age" (it's been around longer than I've been using Evennia) but the last time I looked, there were over 50 players online.
Silent Heaven launched only a couple months ago, but it's consistently had between 15 and 30 players online every time I've checked. I haven't played it since I'm not into horror, but if it weren't for that I would definitely have tried it out. It's got its own Discord server so I figure all the chatter is over there.
Secrets of Aelandris has only had one playtesting window so far, but several of us in the Evennia community played and are looking forward excitedly to the next one. Playing it comes up every now and then in the Evennia community, but mostly we talk about it on the Aelandris discord.
Song of Avaria, which I also helped playtest, posts regular development showcases, and we've got multiple people in the Discord community looking forward to it launching alpha early next year. People ask about playing it every time a new showcase drops. (One should be going up this weekend, btw!)
The Mystavaria builders and testers are also all over on their own discord, so I have no idea where they're at in terms of activity. They aren't payable yet, but several of us are looking forward to trying that game out as well.
Machine Garden opened up a sandbox pre-alpha a while back (a year or two, i think) which got several players and active discussion on its discord, as well, although it's currently down for major code renovation.
And those are just the ones I'm personally familiar with that have names! (Aside from mine, of course, but it doesn't count yet.)
Most people who look into Evennia are looking to make a game, since that's what Evennia is for, so there's of course a bias in that direction in terms of the community discussion. But there's some games out there, and the ones that are playable definitely get players.