Kevall Longstride
DUST University
Ivy League
1055
   |
Posted - 2014.03.11 20:55:00 -
[1] - Quote
Part of the problem in answering questions such as this right at this moment is that the candidates, like the community, is very much in the dark as to what the road map that CCP Rouge has in mind for Dust 514.
This is hopefully going to made clearer before 1.8 hits and must be made known before the election dates are announced, as voters will need that information, as well as the candidates, to make an informed decision.
So I think it wise that any answers we might give now, not be taken as definitive as circumstance may render them moot or in need of revising at a later date.
With that necessary proviso out of the way....
I've already posted this elsewhere but there is no harm in doing so again. Here is the proposal/essay that I created and sent to the previous EP back in June of last year. In it I lay out several grounding principles that any revised NPE has to adhere to in order for it to be successful. These are principles that are relevant to any form of training, be it training for a role in a video game or in a new job. In a previous life and to a smaller degree in my current employment, I've been responsible for the training of new starters and I know them to work. This document has been seen by the CPM (so I'm told) and several Dev's at CCP.
As to what I would do to help new players, its important to make clear that the game itself can do a lot more than it does now to help new players. Its current iteration is slightly better than that when Uprising first dropped but as the linked document demonstrates, I believe it capable of doing so much more. So I would be pushing for a significantly enhanced PVE and working with CCP to that end. By giving the newer players the correct tools in game to learn more themselves we can increase the player retention and encourage them to stay, build on their role in the game and ultimately, contribute to it either directly by taking on a role in a corp or indirectly with the purchase of Aurum.
In terms of incentives, I don't actually think that a form of bribery is really needed IF the game provides a coherent and meaningful sense of progression for the new player. A sense of accomplishment is as much a reward in itself as a lump of ISK or a number of free fits and is more likely to provide incentive than any number of provided skill books. I've played many games that provide a material gain for progression as a way of compensating for poorly designed player progression. Dust has in recent months itself fallen into this trap and every time a new batch of free gear is presented, we create further problems down the road when it comes to the building of an economy that hasn't arrived and must be in the established model of New Eden. Resource Gathering leading to Manufacture leading to Destruction and back to Resource Gathering. Having 'product' just 'appear' is incredibly damaging to an economy not yet born...
When you say out loud 'Give 'em more starting SP!' It sounds great and any new player would love it but again this will create a number of problems down the road unless the game is better at teaching that new player. Giving them a larger starting pool of SP is just going to make any mistakes in the spending of those SP so much greater. If a player is wise and tried playing with the free suits (which are poorly conceived for a new starter anyway, so they need work) before deciding on a role then fine. But nine times out of ten they are not and 6 months down the road, if they stick with the game, they'll be asking for a respec.
Respec's by the way, are entirely the creation of CCP themselves due to the slipshod way the NPE and the release of racial suits has been handled, not just from May's launch but from the closed beta.
That being said, I would have no problem with an accelerated SP accrual for new players and the removal of the weekly SP cap for Mercs for say up to 10 million SP or 6 months of age, whichever is sooner. I'd also go so far as to say that Merc's that qualify with the two criteria just mentioned should have active and passive SP gain from purchased boosters increased from 50% to 75 or even 100%.
The Academy can still serve an important purpose but it is badly let down by a poor matchmaking system, an ambush mode that allows vehicles and a lack of safeguards in place to prevent griefing of new players by vets going in there with the sole purpose of ruining someones day. We need new players coming into the game people!!!! Don't put off the ones that we do get! Again this goes back to an ill conceived NPE and a perhaps even a built in constitutional attitude at CCP itself, that frowns on the need of making it simpler for new players to progress. With work and TLC, the Academy can once again be a useful tool.
There are dangers to having Militia versions of all weapons because a highly specced into Merc can be devastating with them with little financial risk. This is one area where a revamped Academy could be massively helpful. If the game provides free suit fits with all the weapons available in the game while in Academy mode only, players can then try them all before deciding which to pursue when leaving the Academy. The game could even ask which weapon they like most and give them a basic skill plan to ensure mis-spend SP is minimised.
Anyway, I hope that has answered some of your questions. Please keep them coming folks. 
Mercenary Clone of Dennie Fleetfoot
CEO of DUST University
CPM1 candidate
|