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Training and Beyond


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#1 acidic

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Posted 18 November 2009 - 10:29

Earlier tonight, I convinced my best friend to try out the game. He is more of a console player, but I twisted his arm and got him to log in. He has entered our world and will give it a try but some things became clear to me right away as I talked him through the entry phase and tried to imagine what it would be like if I was not on the phone guiding him through it.

The first thing which occurred was when he entered he had to read a lengthy introduction (remember he is a console player). I think the reading was a bit of a time investment and he wanted to be clicking stuff. I thought maybe if the thing was broken up as a series of pop-ups it might have engaged him a bit more.

The next thing that happened for him was that he said the game was very slow paced and that he did not feel like he was part of a multi-player game. This was even after I got him a spot in our faction and he briefly chatted with a bunch of the team. I thought it was odd, but then I kind of saw his point as I considered some improvements I wanted to throw out there. I am sure that cows are a bit overwhelmed with suggestions and this one would take some effort, but I think it would really benefit the community. Since we have all been through the training phase some audience participation would probably help.

My first suggestion would be to add a second list of players on the right hand menu bar below the faction management box. In this box would be a list of all players active (in the same fading manner as the faction box) who are currently on your same map. The idea behind this is that early on it should (optimally) do away with the lost in the void feeling many have, I think it would later improve elements like PvP and elite hunting.

My second suggestion is more involved and calls for a major overhaul of the training phase. A lot of the training phase seems designed to bridge the transition from playing sword to playing SS2. Each level has it's own map and teaches one of the new elements. The maps are nice and I hate to suggest that something was done wrong, but I think that now the transitional training is complete, it could be done better. Therefore I suggest dumping the entire training phase through loading bay and replace it with a single primary map. From the map maybe there could be missions where you enter a second map briefly to learn that element of the game, but mostly put everyone level 1-8 in the same room. The presence of more players will help people socialize and get to know the ropes. I also think it would benefit the game to stick the cooling tower and perhaps another attraction to make it a hub for all players. This would ensure senior members pass through to answer n00b questions in the chat and show off their stuff. Think about all the attractions in the mist mountains. There are people of all levels tooling around there. It creates an aura of a living world that is visible to every n00b on their first visit to the game. If you look at gothador, one of the coolest things is the mish mash of various leveled players on most maps. Maybe put a PvP arena in the training zone, that would bring a good amount of players back there.

A final thought for the n00b is to assign all n00b a set of training gear right off the bat and have their first mission be equipping it. People are impatient as in the case of my friend and doing that would be make them feel like they are doing something right away. I also think increasing the speed (by increasing mission rewards) at which the players can get out of the training phase would help get them to buy in a lot faster. I suggest that the goal should be for a n00b to enter the desert within their first 1250 energy. After that, leave things as they are, but at least now the n00b will have entered the game with some momentum.

#2 ss_werd64

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Posted 18 November 2009 - 11:48

This is a great idea, especially the part of having a box showing if there are other players online on the same map, it would improve many things such as PvP, GvG, and selling items needed for missions.

The beginning is very slow paced, when i first started off i did the a couple of the missions for like 3 days and quit for a week, and gave it another go.

your suggestions would help the game by far with new comers and with oldies.

#3 candyguy

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Posted 18 November 2009 - 14:10

Fabulous! I always have a void feeling when on a map.

#4 MamorukunBE

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Posted 18 November 2009 - 14:16

I remember with nostalgia the very first days of SS2, when it was rare to step on a map square without a player already on it...That was quite a good "you're not alone!" feeling, indeed ^^ Haaaa, the good ol'time when even the core gears were not engineered ^^

#5 acidic

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Posted 22 November 2009 - 22:31

I have noticed lately a lot of threads being resurrected, hijackedor duplicated over the traininig phase. I really think at the very least opening it back up to us and letting us back in there will help with providing a social group for them to help answer questions. Give everyone in the game a viable reason to go there too, and artifact or a special store or whatever....

In pursuit of the traverse stim I recruited some friends to play the game. Aside from the server issues making the game very slow to load, there was a general perception that is was a very boring game. Mostly because of the local chats being unhelpful and uninteresting. I hope you guys consider consolodating the training maps to put more people in the rooms with each other. Maybe set up the first 3-4 levels on a maze like path with mission check points every few steps, so they do something often at the start.

#6 ss_nthnclls

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Posted 23 November 2009 - 01:41

This is a nice suggestion. If only a cow would actually read the suggestion forum...


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