Kevall Longstride
DUST University
Ivy League
1324
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Posted - 2014.05.17 19:45:00 -
[1] - Quote
First of all Vell0cet, you've done a great job with your mock ups. They're clear, concise and easy to understand. o7
But before I offer you an opinion on them, I feel it only fair to come clean about something. As those of you who are actively post on Z's official progression thread will know, I'm very much in favour of his plans. This isn't because of me wishing to make some sort of drama or being provocative I can assure you but a genuine belief that the player numbers will grow substantially using it.
In my latest blog which was a round up of Fanfest I speak of NDA's and how important they are. In that section I hint and wink about something which after the Dust Keynote became an open secret to those that attended. I'd signed an NDA prior to my going to Fanfest. The circumstance and reason for me doing so are not something I'm prepared or at liberty to discuss and I'd ask that you respect that.
But obviously any prior knowledge that I might have, is going to colour my views somewhat. So I feel its important for the sake of full disclosure that you know that before I proceed.
As for waiting till now to inform you of that, the heated nature of Z's thread, would've made it an unneeded addition of fuel to the fire. So.....
The first real problem with changing such an entrenched system is the familiarly that those that use it, have with it. It is so easy to forget that while we are used to its quirks and shortfalls and know how to bypass them, a complete novice, with no prior understanding of such a deep and complex skill are completely befuddled by it. As CEO of D-UNI, I am in an almost unique position to comment on this.
As most know, I use the Eve client to run my corp, partly because running a corp of that size using the Dust one is next to impossible but mostly because it has tools that while not designed for use in a Dust corp gives me access to stats and figures which I can then use. I do an inactivity cull every month. The first day of each calendar month, I kick from the corp any players that haven't logged on since the month previous to the one that just finished . So beginning of May, I kicked anyone that hadn't logged on after March 31st. You get the idea.
Now while the number of players I kick very rarely goes above 20% of the corp total, 90% of them on average are new toons less than 6 weeks old. Meaning D-UNI has a retention rate of roughly 10% for new players with a character less or just over 30 days. Now a strongly performing Free to Play game has a retention rate of 5%. So reading that you'd say were doing well.
The problem is and it is a major one, according to various chats and enquiries I've had with the Dev's over Fanfest, the retention rates from D-UNI alone represent a measurable proportion of the games total number of retained players. While personally gratifying for me, this is not the sign I'm sure you'll agree of a game in rude health, with one corp alone keeping the games total retention rate outside the statistical margin of error.
I don't tell you this as a way to gain epeen, I tell you this as demonstration of how grave the current situation is right now.
The problem is so bad that a tidy up of the tree and the introduction of some new UI just isn't going to be enough now. The proposals I've seen so far from players including your own Vell0cet are merely re-jigs of what we have now. And what we have now has seen the games retention rates drop for a year.
The number one question I get right now from new players is what do I do and how do I go about it. So complex and daunting is the current tree to a new player it that they are scared to do anything in case they screw it up. They sense that a mistake now could bugger them up right away but they've no clue as to why.
This not the way to encourage your new players to stay with the game, in a climate of fear of a mistake. In the early stages of joining game such as ours, players should be free to experiment and try as much as possible BEFORE they have to consider specialisations and bonuses for items. In those first few hours they must be given a sense of real achievement in order for them to feel comfortable in staying.
The first couple of hours should be spent unlocking as much as they can for use. They shouldn't be yet burdened with choices regarding bonuses till they know what things they like to do and want to do better. But to prevent them doing it with no structure or end game, giving a role to unlock with weapons pertinent to that role as unlocks to give a sense of progress is the key to do it. Unlocking a weapon to use should be an experiment not a life choice. Allowing that weapon to be used in any other role while busy unlocking lots of stuff should be seen as bonus, not a requirement.
So a given role that easily understood and equipped as for such as soon as is possible is more preferable than being burdened immediately with do I unlock light, medium or Heavy and hell do they mean anyway?
Racial bonuses for suits and weapons shouldn't even enter the equation till a player wants to specialise and understands that there is a benefit to the play style that they use by choosing a race.
Giving a player a lot of achievement early in the game with the promise of greater reward with increasing specialisation is how we grab them and keep them. Having roles gives them structure and understanding without the need of a separate tutorial or extra UI, it streamlines the process and facilitates self teaching. A better NPE will help with things like teaching them game lore and PvE, explaining the value of corps.
But it shouldn't be seen as a cure all panacea, compensating for progression system based on that for a Hardcore subscription game, when what is needed for a FTP is as broad an audience as possible.
CPM1 Candidate
CEO of DUST University
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Kevall Longstride
DUST University
Ivy League
1327
|
Posted - 2014.05.17 23:06:00 -
[2] - Quote
Godin Thekiller wrote:Kevall Longstride wrote:snip
Sir, having complex game mechanics Like PC and FW as well as a open world, as well as having fittings and such, additionally allowing cheating (not game cheating, but like person to person), lying, stealing, etc. as allowed will drive those away. I ask yet again, why is a system that limits others for a group of idiots better than fixing the system and teaching those idiots how to use the system, as well as give them a guide?
Well, calling them idiots is hardly a welcoming start wouldn't you say?
CPM1 Candidate
CEO of DUST University
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