I believe they need to add a improved (or mandatory) tutorial or maybe have an option where another player could talk to the person and help the new guy with some of the basics and if the new guy thinks he learned a lot he could say that the tutor was helpful and the tutor could get a reward promoting the want to help people integrate themselves into the game.

What your saying is true but do we want more FPS orientated people who treat the game to much like COD?

Call me silly: but this is obviously a team based game. Communication is key, to teach new players, direct on the field, and harass and complain. I know a profit plan is in order, but the "universal voice transmitter" thing just makes people keep the mic off. Who wants to pay to talk?
Yes, I know we can comm with team and with squad without the UVT, but I had to discover this on accident. 'Paying to talk' lessens the likelihood of VOIP. Which lessens the experience. Just drop that off your profit plan and help make this game team based. It builds community and will give inertia to the interest.

+1 they need to sort out the voice options.

But personally i think we need more tutorials, i remember when i first logged on back in closed beta and looked at all the skills and the fitting menu, it was so confusing i just left after the first match. coming back just before open beta the tutorials while not great did help, we need a way to educate people how the system works without boring them. also some kind of under 1mil sp play list would probably help newbies find their feet without getting stomped into the ground repeatedly.

I disagree with those who believe that this is only good for bringing in brain dead twitching wretches. Just because you don't understand something doesn't mean you are COD fanboy who knows ***** for brain. I am one of the most intelligent (and arrogant) people I know, and I made two trial accounts on EVE without understanding what was going on. Third time was the charm. Anyway, Dust is very similar. It's less complicated, but it still has it's fair share of what I call "mindpricks" that prick your mind, like the annoying UI, the poor given information and the lack of a guiding hand. If this smart (and narcissistic) dude can have trouble with EVE, be damn sure that an ordinary Joe looking for a more intellectual FPS can have trouble with Dust.

I dont think we need to dumb it down too much.. what I think would be good is a few 'premade' suits up to 2nd tier (Type II) for the different classes. The info on the suits would explain their purpose and give some general ideas of what skills would be preferable for that suit (though not all would be mandatory).

Its one things to teach people what does what but the best way is to give them a goal. That allows the newberries a little more comfort room to get used to the system before throwing them to the wolves.

I've been watching youtube videos of new DUST 514 players and I caught a bit of the Escapist Magazine live feed.

New players are just lost. The starter fits, now that the game has been around for a while, are death traps. In the name of giving new players a quick way to get into the fight they turn them into hamburger.

The tutorials are ignored. The screen with directions pops up. There is a second or two hesitation, GÇ£Do you want to know more?GÇ¥ GÇô GÇ£No wayGÇ¥ says the player. Click.

The problem seems to be that new players don't get the core mechanics of skill books, skill advancement, and how they tie to purchasing equipment and fitting. I saw a staff member at the Escapist buy multiple copies of skill books thinking that was how you advanced skill. The also wanted to buy all the skill books they were qualified for just because the skill description seemed interesting. They didn't have any idea of a skill acquisition plan based on play style.

I was thinking a mandatory, interactive tutorial GÇ£How do you like to play an FPS?GÇ¥ where the new player has to answer questions and in the process learns how to buy skill books, advance skills, purchase equipment and fit a dropsuit to achieve their goals. It would be a lot of work for the developers but there's a chance it could pay off big with better starter fits.

In another thread I suggested a GÇ£Mentor ModeGÇ¥ where the player's screen was echoed to another player and they were in a common chat channel. The GÇ£MentorGÇ¥ could give advice or evaluate the player for a corporation. It might be possible for friends / corp-mates to help each other out a little easier if there was something like that.

Good idea! +1

Also I was thinking, when they bring in certificates then players could be presented with a choice of basic certificates to begin with, much like they are with the current "classes". The certificates would the automatically purchase and train the relevant skills to complete the certificate, giving the simplest basic course of how skills work.

This could obviously be done for advanced certificates too. Just pick the profession you want and follow the yellow brick road.

Edit: I think this is where PvE would definitely improve the state of things. The game could begin with you just being alone in one of the maps, a timer in the corner and some text on the screen: "Two minutes until enemy reinforcements arrive". As a new player you are shown the intro skill screen (what type of player are you) and you shoot stuff right away. The first round is easy and you can destroy everything in minutes.

A supply depot is dropped next to you and you are told by a mysterious voice to hack it, so you do. Now access fittings and restock ammo or give another class a go.

Fight off another wave and you get told to escape. Call for aerial support and high tail it to a pre-determined exit zone in your fast as hell LAV.

There you go CCP, I just wrote your tutorial for you :)

The SP tutorial would come after that first PvE engagement and as soon as you return to merc quarters.

You are stuck in the starting position and the lady voice says "Earning skill points in battle allows you to train skills. Open your neocom and select 'character-skills' to view your skillset."

From there she could tell you to choose one and tell you the benefits of all the starting skills that each player can begin with and let you go from there.

If you are making an alt then the game should recognise you already have one character and ask if you want to skip it, just so we aren't spending half an hour locked into something we may have already done twice.

Sounds good, a PvE intro to the way battlefield roles work would really help players become grounded before they start spending ISK and SP. I think that would help improve the new player exprience and lead to greater retention.

I'm all for keeping Dust as it's own entity, I don't think it needs to be watered down for "mass appeal" but I also don't see any harm done to the nature of the game by making new player orientation a more robust offering. In short don't make it easier to play dust by oversimplifying dust, Make dust easier to play by providing strong tutorials, PvE intros etc. to ensure a robust system for our new player experience. A complex game adds depth and fun value, driving new players away at the door does not.

0.02 ISK
Cross

ps ~ for those who care I play EVE and everyone I know in EVE agrees that the new player experience is one of the weakest links in the game, it would be great if D514 could buck that trend.

Yeah sorry about that. I definatly could have worded it better, but it was late and, at the time, I couldn't think of anything better to convey my point. But I stand by what I said. And trust me, unless this game gets dumbed down to the point where it's your common run and gun shooter, there is no way the "stereotypical CoD player" will ever find his/her way in here, and a simple tutorial definatly won't change that.