Kevall Longstride
DUST University
Ivy League
1366
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Posted - 2014.05.29 08:55:00 -
[1] - Quote
Would love to be on biomassed at some point. Really enjoyed the last one. Being the UK you'd have to have like 5 hours earlier so I could join you. And even then it would considered late over here. But I don't want to to inconvenience the other candidates or yourselves too much. Needs of the many and all that....
Anyhow....
The NPE is a tricky one because I'm very much of the opinion that simply sticking a bunch of tutorials at the beginning of the game is a complete waste of time. Players invariably skip them, thinking they know better or they become too much of a class room and turn off players. In fact the only piece of straight out, direct advice that the game need give a new player is join a corp ASAP.
The other problem with NPE as far as Dust is concerned is that server side hotfixes will not be enough to improve it. There'll have to be some substantial UI changes in the game itself in order to better serve the new player. And to be honest, I think that the time needed to do that would be better spent doing it for Legion, and getting it right for day one for that product.
All is not lost however for Dust as improvments in Eve's UI and corp mechanics coming up over the next year should make it easier to compensate for the lack of Dusts NPE using the Eve client. It's not the best solution I grant you but I think such an approach, will bring benefits without tying up Dev time with the limited team working on Dust right now.
So having said that, everything that I say I'd want in the NPE here, is going to be based on the assumption that it'll be developed for Legion first, with the hope that it can make it into Dust sometime after.
The NPE needs to be closely integrated with all the systems that will have to be in place in legion for its launch. Fitting, market, progression, PvE, PvP, salvage, trading etc, will all need elements of the NPE in them from minute one in a Merc's career.
Training as you do is more efficient and enjoyable than reading wall o' text 101. I know its odd me saying that when I currently send 31 emailed 101's to each new member of D-UNI but if CCP had considered having a proper NPE from launch..........
You also have to make the assumption that a new player will know nothing of New Eden. Sounds obvious but the problem with Dust was that the lack of NPE was due to CCP's assumption that players would've done some research before downloading it. The lack of proper information immediately limited your potential player base.
So Legions NPE will have to explain EVERYTHING. Boring and tedious I know for our vets as they have to plough through it all but utterly essential for the games growth. This is not dumbing down. It's smart because it ensures that the game has as high a retention level as possible, leading to more people for you shoot in the face. More players is what we all want.
I'd just like to add on a personal note. I get a finger nails on blackboard feeling whenever anyone bleats about x, y or z being 'dumbed down'. Not everyone is Einstein, nor are they all Forrest Gump but explanation leading to understanding is preferable to ignorance. I say this as someone who has trained people in my job for 20 years and that mantra has served me well.
But explaining everything in the game can be done without the player being aware that they're being schooled. UI can be used creatively to show benefit as long as a context is given to a player within that UI. Training A can lead to B and combining C brings you D. All of that can be done without a word having been spoke or read.
Separating the NPE so its a feature that can be 'skipped' for the convenience of a Vet would be a very bad move. There'd be too many skipping it because they think they know it all already, resulting in no NPE and leading us to the situation we have now in Dust. For a Free to Play game, NPE is priority one, two and three. With no incentive to play the game for a month because they ponied up a months subscription, new players will need to be given a sense of achievement and immediacy from day one so that they are still playing on day thirty, leading to them getting a name on a sculpture and waking up with a tattoo in Reykjavik two years later.
There's already been some great ideas in Legions UI thread. Nearly all share the same core idea, giving the player a context in which to place that new knowledge. For trainee in anything, context is everything.
CPM1 Candidate
CEO of DUST University
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