Maken Tosch
DUST University
Ivy League
7889
   |
Posted - 2014.04.11 06:58:00 -
[1] - Quote
The Overall mission of the academy is to help new players get to know Dust 514 on all aspects until they are ready to enter the harsh world of New Eden and to improve player retention in the game.
The current issue with the academy in its current state is that the academy does not in any help new players fully understand the world they are entering and the new player is left with little to no understanding of any of the aspects of the game. As a result, it's up to the player-run corps to pick up the slack in training new players on even the most basic things about Dust. From learning how to fit a militia suit to something as mundane as how to active and disable voice chat. This doesn't need a player-run corp to teach a new player. This needs a better academy. An overhauled academy at least as such training corps are limited in numbers and only so few of them are organized and effective. In the end, player retention suffers and ultimately the game suffers as new players become more and more frustrated with things they don't understand. Things that should have been made clear to them from the start of the character's life.
What first needs to be done is to make the academy actually feel like an academy. In the first academy level, it should be setup so that all skill books are to be locked so that new players have to use every militia gear in the market while they are in a test range. The test range can be any of the current maps we have today only with no other player in it. The new player is alone so he/she can have all the time in the world to get a feel for the weapons, vehicles, and installations. After a certain amount of time, or after a certain set of conditions are met (hack an objective, swap suits at a supply depot, drive a vehicle, etc.), the test range ends and the player is given SP for the effort they put in for learning. Here they will get a boost in SP accrued during their time in the entry level of the academy.
After a certain amount of lifetime SP is reached (let's say about 400,000 SP), the new player is promoted to the next level of the academy. In this next level, all skill books unlock and the player is encouraged by the tutorial system to read through them and understand them before applying any unallocated SP they earned into them. It's highly recommended to introduce the ISIS* system that we have in Eve Online onto Dust 514.
* - ISIS in Eve Online stands for Interbus Ship Identification System which helps new players in Eve get an idea of what the progression will be for every class of ship and what core skills are best to be focused on for that ship along with recommendations for mastery of that ship.
Once the player fully understands what each skill book does and the tutorial has given a grasp of the core skills required for each role and suit, the player is required to make a choice of which suit/weapon/vehicle to train up to at least level 1 and then use the suit/weapon/vehicle that is applicable to that skill in a test range. After being in the test range, they are then put into the early phases of a PVP match where it is two opposing teams of 6 players each max in a 3-objective skirmish match. Here, the new player has no power to join any private squads. They are just automatically queued into a random squad. The system then encourages the players to at least speak to each other or at least communicate in some way. This may require overhauling the chat system as well if needed in case of any players that don't have a mic but like to use text chat. The current chat we have right now doesn't even give you any indication that you got a message in chat while in a match. So that needs fixing.
While in a 6v6 match, each team is given a target objective by the system since the system will act as squad leader for both teams for now. Both teams fight it out for capture of the target objective. Incentive is given to the whole team for capturing the objective first and holding it. The match will continue for at least 10 minutes or until the objective has switched sides at least three times. Whichever comes first. Each consecutive match will have a different target given to both teams each time they start a new match in 6v6. Players in this level of the academy can still opt to go to the test range if needed.
Upon reaching 500,000 lifetime SP, that player is then promoted to the third level of the academy. Here, he/she is able to create private squads with other 3rd level academy players and have access to the academy chat to look for more players to squad with. The matches they enter are still 6v6 but the system gives them more complex tasks to complete and the squad must then do whatever it takes to finish those tasks while having to play against another squad. Each private squad can also choose to go to the test range instead and practice some more if they need to.
It must be noted that in order to graduate from this level to the final level of the academy the player must win a certain number of 6v6 matches.
Upon entering the final level, the player is then forced to squad up with similarly-leveled academy players (if they are still in that 3rd level squad) and then put into a 12v12 match against similarly-leveled academy squads. Here, the players must win X amount of matches and complete the tasks set by the system in order to graduate. These tasks will be complex such as carrying other players with a dropship or LAV, hacking and holding objectives for certain amount of time, using active scanners and having your squad kill the scanned targets, placing defend orders, calling in orbitals, etc.
Again, the test range is still available as an option and private squads can be formed with other academy students for more practice.
This is just for thinking short term here. I have long term ideas as well, but that is for another time.
Dedicated Scout // Ninja Knifer
Everything I know about the Caldari I learned at Nouvelle Rouvenor
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Maken Tosch
DUST University
Ivy League
7891
|
Posted - 2014.04.11 07:14:00 -
[3] - Quote
THUNDERGROOVE wrote:P-Please CCP..... Get these noobs out of my matches 
At the very least, have them actually trained up and ready before feeding them to us sharks.
Dedicated Scout // Ninja Knifer
Everything I know about the Caldari I learned at Nouvelle Rouvenor
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