Pseudonym0
Free Guard of Arrakis
2
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Posted - 2013.06.06 16:13:00 -
[1] - Quote
Another thing I would suggest is providing a little more insight into the values of the weapons and their meanings. I know this has been stated before, but displayed ranges would be pretty helpful, even if they were categorized with headings rather than figures (say point blank through extreme).
I have to admit, for example, while I understand that in principal a lower weapon precision is preferable to a higher amongst it's class, after playing for several months, I still don't really understand it. It doesn't seem to translate absolutely across weapons (i.e. a 54 precision pistol is not as accurate as a 54 precision AR at say, 20m, or so it seems at least). I'm assuming it is somehow causally linked to optimal range, but this value isn't easily available. Not suggesting putting complex trig equations into basic help material or anything, but a simplified explanation of the correlation would probably help the newer players. At this point I can pretty much gauge what weapon range someone is at simply by the size of their model, but newer players will have trouble with this, especially with hard range caps, which most of us weren't dealing with when we were learning. A more solid understanding of the weapons capabilities would definitely help.
Long story short, you folks have managed to make a pretty intricate, multi-layered game here and after major overhauls it can even overwhelm the more experienced players sometimes, so it's a great deal of info for any new player to take in about all the mechanics and permutations. I think something like the Evelopedia as I suggested or someone else's previous suggestion of a glossary of terms and meanings that is clearly pointed out to players would be invaluable, especially if you're planning on at some point reaching or approaching Eve-level complexity. |
Pseudonym0
Free Guard of Arrakis
3
|
Posted - 2013.06.06 18:11:00 -
[2] - Quote
I hate to repeat myself or start an argument here because we're trying to be constructive, but really, suggestions of 2-5 million easy SP to a novice player? I have to protest. I've been around since close to new years and I don't have 5 million SP on a single character. In the previous incarnation it was practical to advance different characters into different roles, whereas now it is considerably better to focus on one character. I'm sure other people who have played more hours have achieved far in excess of that in the same time frame, but not all of us have. Not every pre-release player has 10+ million SP, at about 2.5k apiece for ambushes (which is pretty good in starter gear, with the weekly boost), that is 4,000 matches. I do quite well for myself in my 3.3 mill SP logi fit, I don't top the list every time, but sometimes I do. Other times I die horribly over and over again to the higher tiered players, that's the game Sorry if I seem brusque, but I have no desire to play with a bunch of people who never had to run around in underpowered gear and weren't forced to actually use teamplay and worry about map objectives to get a decent score. |
Pseudonym0
Free Guard of Arrakis
3
|
Posted - 2013.06.07 18:07:00 -
[3] - Quote
Couple more ideas to consider
1) I think 1-3 optional skill respecs being available might help new players as well. These would, of course, expire after either a certain time period or a certain level of SP, but it should definitely be long enough that they've had the opportunity to get out into "the real world", and see how it works. Let's face it, they can kill all the other militia geared players they want, until they see it first hand, new players aren't really going to understand the difference between an L1 dropsuit running L3 gear, and an L3 dropsuit running L1 gear. Personally, I'm going with option 2 hands down, but other people might have different opinions based on play style. As a new player, I remember dumping a fair number of skill points into things I shouldn't have, and remaking a couple characters, but the re-entry process was pretty quick to remake a character, with pre-defined base skills. If the creation / initiation process takes longer, it's probably advisable to provide a way to correct the mistakes you made along the way, like skilling into a piece of equipment or weapon that massively overloads your CPU at the expense of something that would've actually helped you.
2) I was actually just about to suggest something similar to trainers, but more along the lines of a "buddy" system, but there are a couple hurdles intrinsic to either system. New players could perhaps be asked to provide their normal playing times, checklist style (i.e. weekday evenings, weekend mornings), their time zone and ,being a multinational game, what languages they speak, and be provided a list of suitable vets who had signed up to be helpers. These more experience players could be flagged in chat and perhaps have access to a "rookie chat" channel, which all the new players are in automatically. They could then invite allow a new player to join a squad with them and other rookies, or even them and other vets, which could in fact prove more effective and a better player experience in time.
I'd be hesitant to offer too much of a reward for this role, since the people you're looking for are the ones that are actually interested in contributing to the overall game, not the ones who are just looking for another avenue for their own advancement. Besides, if trainers are good to them, once they graduate maybe they'll take a look at the trainers corp  . Personally, I have no problem squadding with newer players and letting them pick my brain (not to suggest I'm in any way a pro at this), and it seems to be happening more often lately just by chance, which I suppose means the game is getting a lot of new player base. It's actually pretty fun sometimes, they can be like kids at christmas when they get a kill or a hack.
3) Taking all this into consideration, I also don't think any sort of strict segregation would be good, although a tiered rewards system might work. Removing players from exposure to enemy vets also removes them from exposure to friendly ones. Also, it limits the player pool for each group, meaning people could be forced into smaller matches with longer waiting times. Depending on time of day this could affect older and newer players equally, and could serve to alienate them. It also restricts the ability of people to play with corp-mates or real life friends who they've recruited into the game (which is something I'd think you'd like to encourage). Also, it could potentially cause problems of being repeatedly put into games where noone else speaks their language. I don't really have a problem squadding with, say, a spanish speaking person. On the other hand, I have no idea how to say "Look out behind you!" in Spanish. |