DUST Search - Announcement:[Dev Blog] The New Player Experience in Uprising 1.5

IAmDuncanIdaho II wrote:

Vell0cet wrote:

IAmDuncanIdaho II wrote:

Good stuff, this is nice progress. Don't forget you lot that this is the start, it's not fully fleshed out by a long way, only so much can be delivered at once. Getting the core stuff done first makes sense, and the blog says they decided the target audience is those who already have some FPS experience. That means you don't need to teach someone how to switch weapons or throw grenades.

I'm not sure if you've ever watched video clips of people playing dust for the first time while "thinking out loud" into a mic, but there is a lot of confusion about really fundamental gameplay mechanics that seem so obvious to us (like "cooking" a grenade) shooting the enemy MCC, what supply depots are and how they work.

The other point is that a massive portion of DUST's audience may not be FPS vets. I have played very few hours of FPS online multiplayer games prior to DUST, myself. I think CCP may find that marketing DUST to RPG fans who "finally have a shooter that rewards strategy and character growth" may end up yielding the best returns by a big margin. These players have the potential to be the most dedicated of them all, and may need more schooling in FPS gameplay mechanics than FPS junkies who are always moving to the latest shiny release.

No I've not watched that but can imagine it happens. I was just pointing out the target audience CCP has identified as mentioned in the blog. I'm not an FPS player myself, never have been until DUST, but I picked up some of these things from just playing and reading forums.

Either way, I agree with you - if the majority is as you say, then they *do* need to be shown those things - but CCP aren't focusing on them. They're focusing on those who already realise how that stuff works and need do nothing more than learn which keys or buttons to press to take those actions.

Ideally you'd "teach" it all - and maybe that will come. But CCP were pretty clear in their reasoning for their target audience.


Author	Thread Statistics \| Show CCP posts - 3 post(s)
Vell0cet Royal Uhlans Amarr Empire 399	Posted - 2013.10.04 00:07:00 - [1] - Quote The Good: Objective-driven learning is a massive improvement, and from the screenshots and what I've read, this looks to be an excellent start. NPE is probably one of the most critical aspects for DUST's long term well-being so I'm happy CCP is taking it seriously. The Bad: This is ridiculously limited. The lack of a gameplay tutorial is very troubling. Team Vanquish needs to look at the first Halo and the first Portal games for inspiration for how to introduce new mechanics in a fun and engaging way. Solutions: There needs to be a PvE scenario that walks the player through the gameplay elements, giving a "tour" of the features while explaining how to use them. Make it a story/scenario instead of a tutorial and players will be more likely to work their way through it. I have 2 ideas: 1. Have a "training ground" story where the new player is in "bootcamp" on one of the existing maps, when the facillity gets attacked by bad guys. You are forced to react to the invasion in a heavily scripted scenario that walks the player through challenges that forces them to learn the fundamentals of DUST gameplay. 2. This would be more work, but a lot more interesting. Have a ship that transports the new character from the clone facility to the training facility, and the tutorial begins when your ship comes under attack, forcing the player to help defend the ship and learn skills at the same time (see the Halo 1 tutorial for inspiration). It would give players a tiny glimpse of "penetration mode" in a very limited way that would be easier to implement. It would also help anchor them in the New Eden universe. Perhaps the beginning is on the ship and the end is on the ground to cover things like vehicles and orbitals. During whichever version you go with, the player should do many of the tasks associated with DUST's gameplay that many newbies might not figure out: Switch Weapons Throw Grenades Jump Melee Sprint/stamina Hack a turret and shoot from it Hack a supply Depot and switch fits Hack a null cannon (explain MCC's can't be hit by anything but null cannons) Fire a variety of weapons Drive a tank Get in a dropship, shoot it's turret and then jump out while activating inertial damps Call in a vehicle Fire a swarm launcher (lock on) Use remote reps on an NPC drop nano hives, uplinks run an active scanner explain the signature profile system launch an orbital (perhaps as the big "finale" that finishes off the bad guys) Wrapping this in a good story will make it fun and feel less like a tutorial and more like a game. Use funny dialogue (see original Portal for inspiration), make it compelling. Draw the player in, and show them the things that make DUST so much more interesting that other FPS titles out there. This is your biggest marketing opportunity you will ever have, and the chance to "sell" players on the game. It could result in millions of dollars to CCP's bottom line if done properly, that's how important an engaging NPE is, especially for a FTP game. Keep the Academy short. Add a 2nd tier academy "graduate school" or something. Graduate academy is a game mode that is designed to take players from being fresh out of the academy, and get them ready for tough fights, free from pubstomping. It caps out when the new player has sufficient SP or WP to be reasonably competitive in normal pub matches (maybe around 2 million SP, but this could be tweaked based on your data). This mode is an optional game type. Players who graduate from the academy will still have the option to play in regular pub matches in addition to this "safe harbor" mode. The reason to do it this way instead of just having a longer academy is you don't want players with 1,990,000 SP in academy matches butchering players starting their very first match. Keep the existing academy as it is, and keep it short so players can progress forward. Give Academy graduates this option so they can skill up a bit in a more sheltered mode if they want to. Finally. You should really consider my Quick/Dirty Test Range Implementation Idea. This would be a great mechanism for new players to test out weapons/fits/vehicles before deciding where to invest their SP. It will also give them a taste of the future, which may give them goals and start to get them hooked. I think it would significantly increase both new player retention rates as well as booster sales as they build their dream fit and then start working towards making it a reality.
Vell0cet Royal Uhlans Amarr Empire 401	Posted - 2013.10.04 09:26:00 - [2] - Quote IAmDuncanIdaho II wrote: Good stuff, this is nice progress. Don't forget you lot that this is the start, it's not fully fleshed out by a long way, only so much can be delivered at once. Getting the core stuff done first makes sense, and the blog says they decided the target audience is those who already have some FPS experience. That means you don't need to teach someone how to switch weapons or throw grenades. I'm not sure if you've ever watched video clips of people playing dust for the first time while "thinking out loud" into a mic, but there is a lot of confusion about really fundamental gameplay mechanics that seem so obvious to us (like "cooking" a grenade) shooting the enemy MCC, what supply depots are and how they work. The other point is that a massive portion of DUST's audience may not be FPS vets. I have played very few hours of FPS online multiplayer games prior to DUST, myself. I think CCP may find that marketing DUST to RPG fans who "finally have a shooter that rewards strategy and character growth" may end up yielding the best returns by a big margin. These players have the potential to be the most dedicated of them all, and may need more schooling in FPS gameplay mechanics than FPS junkies who are always moving to the latest shiny release.
Vell0cet Royal Uhlans Amarr Empire 413	Posted - 2013.10.07 15:22:00 - [3] - Quote IAmDuncanIdaho II wrote: Vell0cet wrote: IAmDuncanIdaho II wrote: Good stuff, this is nice progress. Don't forget you lot that this is the start, it's not fully fleshed out by a long way, only so much can be delivered at once. Getting the core stuff done first makes sense, and the blog says they decided the target audience is those who already have some FPS experience. That means you don't need to teach someone how to switch weapons or throw grenades. I'm not sure if you've ever watched video clips of people playing dust for the first time while "thinking out loud" into a mic, but there is a lot of confusion about really fundamental gameplay mechanics that seem so obvious to us (like "cooking" a grenade) shooting the enemy MCC, what supply depots are and how they work. The other point is that a massive portion of DUST's audience may not be FPS vets. I have played very few hours of FPS online multiplayer games prior to DUST, myself. I think CCP may find that marketing DUST to RPG fans who "finally have a shooter that rewards strategy and character growth" may end up yielding the best returns by a big margin. These players have the potential to be the most dedicated of them all, and may need more schooling in FPS gameplay mechanics than FPS junkies who are always moving to the latest shiny release. No I've not watched that but can imagine it happens. I was just pointing out the target audience CCP has identified as mentioned in the blog. I'm not an FPS player myself, never have been until DUST, but I picked up some of these things from just playing and reading forums. Either way, I agree with you - if the majority is as you say, then they do need to be shown those things - but CCP aren't focusing on them. They're focusing on those who already realise how that stuff works and need do nothing more than learn which keys or buttons to press to take those actions. Ideally you'd "teach" it all - and maybe that will come. But CCP were pretty clear in their reasoning for their target audience. I guess my point is that what they've done is a great first step, but they picked a few pieces of low-hanging fruit when some of the most critical content isn't there. The tutorial in a FPS is like an interactive commercial that shows how cool the game will be if they stick around. I think a lot of people load up DUST, skip all of the videos and tutorials and jump right into an academy battle, only to see a bunch of guys with ARs running around and maybe a LAV or two. I don't think many new players realize there are lasers, tanks, , heavy suits with HMGs, remote repairing, shields & armor, orbitals, a connection to EVE (or even what EVE is) etc. it looks pretty blah when I see clips of people in the academy, and I can see why they would just uninstall. My concern is that their reasoning for their target audience is merely a justification for just doing the easy stuff. I hope they're planning on making a really engaging story-based gameplay tutorial as soon as possible. To not do so would probably cost them a ton of potential players and money.
Vell0cet Royal Uhlans Amarr Empire 427	Posted - 2013.10.15 03:24:00 - [4] - Quote CCP Greyscale wrote: ...We're not expecting using orbital strikes to be something a new player needs to know about in their first few days! I think this confirms that you're created an incorrect mental model about the purpose of the tutorial. If you're thinking of it like an instruction manual that explains the necessary skills, then you're absolutely correct in this assessment. If you're thinking of the tutorial as your very limited opportunity to surprise and delight new users who can very easily uninstall and play the next game, then the orbital between games is your crown jewel and should be featured prominently. It's fun, interesting, and unique to DUST. I am a student of software development and coding. By far and away, the most important time is the first few minutes. You need to really astonish your new players in the first couple of minutes or you're flushing millions of dollars down the toilet.