Forums » Suggestions
Remove general chat until trade level...
Immersion is supercritical for newbies. Something new players look for is whether or not the game "takes you there" and this impression can be made or broken inside a few minutes.
I remember playing VO alpha, launching from the dock not knowing what to expect and finding myself dropped into a panoramic environment evoking an atmosphere similar to "2001: A Space Odyssey." That was the hook for me; I was a piloting a spacecraft out on the frontiers of space.
It is my opinion that General Chat, while a useful communication tool, kills this impression due to the mundane content of the chat.
It is easier to respond to a pilot in character if they have not been discussing their cat, new guitar, or Barack Obama on channel 100 moments earlier. The game may feel isolated without this background chatter, however when two pilots do cross paths will they first discuss their in-game goals or what music they listen to? A new player should feel comfortable in the game universe without off-topic socializing continuously occurring in the background.
Game functions are already in place which will allow players to organize events and guilds to recruit new members without the need for an IRC-like chat system. Any player has the ability to send a system-wide message from a station every number of seconds. News articles can be posted for viewing under the PDA tab. Groups and guilds may communicate freely amongst themselves.
General chat made sense in alpha and beta when Vendetta was an engine test and the game was devoid of content. Progressive storyline missions are now an avenue for players to interact with the game. Piracy and border skirmishes create PvP action, while Hive skirmishes provide large scale PvE action. New players should experience these without being subjected to a vocal minority bantering on 100 or getting swept up in a flamewar.
For this reason, I suggest removing general chat until a player reaches Trade License 5
At this point, they might be sent a message congratulating them on their accomplishment and notifying them of a galactic communication network now available to them. Keeping players from joining chat channels for the initial hours of gameplay would shift more focus onto the game universe, create more in-character interaction among players, and increase the feeling of immersion for new players.
I remember playing VO alpha, launching from the dock not knowing what to expect and finding myself dropped into a panoramic environment evoking an atmosphere similar to "2001: A Space Odyssey." That was the hook for me; I was a piloting a spacecraft out on the frontiers of space.
It is my opinion that General Chat, while a useful communication tool, kills this impression due to the mundane content of the chat.
It is easier to respond to a pilot in character if they have not been discussing their cat, new guitar, or Barack Obama on channel 100 moments earlier. The game may feel isolated without this background chatter, however when two pilots do cross paths will they first discuss their in-game goals or what music they listen to? A new player should feel comfortable in the game universe without off-topic socializing continuously occurring in the background.
Game functions are already in place which will allow players to organize events and guilds to recruit new members without the need for an IRC-like chat system. Any player has the ability to send a system-wide message from a station every number of seconds. News articles can be posted for viewing under the PDA tab. Groups and guilds may communicate freely amongst themselves.
General chat made sense in alpha and beta when Vendetta was an engine test and the game was devoid of content. Progressive storyline missions are now an avenue for players to interact with the game. Piracy and border skirmishes create PvP action, while Hive skirmishes provide large scale PvE action. New players should experience these without being subjected to a vocal minority bantering on 100 or getting swept up in a flamewar.
For this reason, I suggest removing general chat until a player reaches Trade License 5
At this point, they might be sent a message congratulating them on their accomplishment and notifying them of a galactic communication network now available to them. Keeping players from joining chat channels for the initial hours of gameplay would shift more focus onto the game universe, create more in-character interaction among players, and increase the feeling of immersion for new players.
What about players confused about the game and seeking help?
This would only make sense if the game was much more populated.
This would only make sense if the game was much more populated.
How about just limiting the frequency of transmission on global chat? Maybe you should only be able to broadcast on 100 once every 60 seconds, similar to system chat. This would eliminate a lot of the off-topic chatter. I agree that it detracts from the immersion.
Re: slime
I think general chat hurts more than it helps. Someone truly interested in helping new players can always fly to a capitol station. Otherwise there is the message board and the manual.
Why would it make sense if the game was more populated? Please elaborate.
I think general chat hurts more than it helps. Someone truly interested in helping new players can always fly to a capitol station. Otherwise there is the message board and the manual.
Why would it make sense if the game was more populated? Please elaborate.
There isnt enough player interaction as it is
A newbie starting in the middle of Itani space isnt likely to come across anyone else for a long time, until they begin their foray into the borders and grey space
while chat does detract from immersion, a main selling point of vendetta is our community, as of now, and i feel we would be removing a critical element from the game if general chat was even temporarily removed
maybe this could make sense if pilots came across each other more often in sectors, as would happen in a more populated universe. as vendetta stands now, this isnt so
A newbie starting in the middle of Itani space isnt likely to come across anyone else for a long time, until they begin their foray into the borders and grey space
while chat does detract from immersion, a main selling point of vendetta is our community, as of now, and i feel we would be removing a critical element from the game if general chat was even temporarily removed
maybe this could make sense if pilots came across each other more often in sectors, as would happen in a more populated universe. as vendetta stands now, this isnt so
Well, another frequent complaint from newbies is the "small size of the playerbase", and the question of "I never saw/heard anyone else", etc. Subscribing them to general chat at least says that.. someone is there.
If we had a bigger player base, I would support putting newbies just on channel 1 (and not letting them join others), when they're in the first stage of the newer three-stage-introduction system (1st a single newbie-specific sector, then the Capitol system where they start, then Nation borders).
Anyway, more feedback welcome.
If we had a bigger player base, I would support putting newbies just on channel 1 (and not letting them join others), when they're in the first stage of the newer three-stage-introduction system (1st a single newbie-specific sector, then the Capitol system where they start, then Nation borders).
Anyway, more feedback welcome.
I agree that community is the main selling point of Vendetta... I also think the community is larger than general chat.
Conversation on channel 100 fits under the category of player interaction loosely. I think player interaction necessitates at least some locational proximity within the game universe; to me player interaction is teaming up to find a hive queen or repairing a wingmate during a hive skirmish or flying patrol across the corporate sectors. General chat has little to do with these activities.
I acknowledge that general chat does add to a sense of community, particularly to veteran players who know each other. Recently I have been flying with general chat off, and it does feel very isolated.
However, a newbie has a different perspective on the game. A newbie knows no-one to begin with, therefore any player interaction whatsoever will be toward the unknown.
Before the true size of the universe is known, flying around for several hours without contacting another player may not be as detrimental as it sounds, provided the game gives the player enough leads.
I think that having a sparsely populated world with localized communication gives the impression of great distance (and this is a space game, after all) whereas global chat gives the impression that not many people play this.
I think it would be better for a player's first interactions to be in-sector or in-system than listening in on general chat. Many new players assume that they are hearing nearby players to begin with, and when they realize they are on a global chat channel the universe drops in size greatly. Vendetta need make no apology for the number of players currently playing, I would argue that the immersion must come before the player base.
edit: of course, when I was a newb the universe was a lot smaller...
Conversation on channel 100 fits under the category of player interaction loosely. I think player interaction necessitates at least some locational proximity within the game universe; to me player interaction is teaming up to find a hive queen or repairing a wingmate during a hive skirmish or flying patrol across the corporate sectors. General chat has little to do with these activities.
I acknowledge that general chat does add to a sense of community, particularly to veteran players who know each other. Recently I have been flying with general chat off, and it does feel very isolated.
However, a newbie has a different perspective on the game. A newbie knows no-one to begin with, therefore any player interaction whatsoever will be toward the unknown.
Before the true size of the universe is known, flying around for several hours without contacting another player may not be as detrimental as it sounds, provided the game gives the player enough leads.
I think that having a sparsely populated world with localized communication gives the impression of great distance (and this is a space game, after all) whereas global chat gives the impression that not many people play this.
I think it would be better for a player's first interactions to be in-sector or in-system than listening in on general chat. Many new players assume that they are hearing nearby players to begin with, and when they realize they are on a global chat channel the universe drops in size greatly. Vendetta need make no apology for the number of players currently playing, I would argue that the immersion must come before the player base.
edit: of course, when I was a newb the universe was a lot smaller...
eighteen < 3000 thousand?
Agreed that 100 is a mess and often off-putting as far as character immersion goes. But I usually prefer education over coercion as a solution. Currently, the VO community is still small enough that if there is a consensus that it is beneficial to separate OOC chat from RP chat that it could be done with a little self-imposed discipline from everyone. The bigger VO gets, the harder it will be to do so, however, unless the culture is established first. Gaining and enforcing that consensus may be difficult initially but worth it in the end, in my opinion.
Why not make 100 turned off by default for new players (blind both ways, players can not post to it or read it)? Channel 1 could have a 15" time limit so it does not get spammed as much an people have to think before they write (both people who answer and people who ask).
I suggest a new OOC chat tab and channel with a bind using the "o" key. "t" would function as usual. I realize 300 is supposed to be the RP channel but since no one uses it might as well make it the new OOC channel instead of trying to make everyone switch.