Forums » Suggestions
Ideas to improve the new user experience.
As per Incarnates post in a previous thread I'd like to throw out some rough ideas for improving the new user experience. Many, or most of these ideas need some polishing however.
1) Add a PAYING race tube to the training sectors.
I've long since lost count of the number of times I've gotten bored and gone around Dau, and shot at noobs. Typically they appear to have VERY poor control over the flight of their ship. I think having a race tube that pays them for completing the race in a set time might help the flight controls become more instinctive. I'd just say copy/paste whichever race tube is the simplest. I don't know what kind of time is reasonable to expect a new pilot to achieve in an ec89 with a free battery.
2) Switch the dorsal/ventral translation (strafe up/down) with the roll clockwise/counterclockwise.
It's long been standard practice when first training new players, who are on PC, for vets to tell new players to do this.
3) Add some faster bots.
The Orun collectors seem trivially easy to hit, which is fine. I think having some more agile bots, also with training blasters might be good to add. I just think the extra excitement would be more fun for some new players. I'd suggest leashing them to no closer then 2km from the station, so pilots who are having trouble can escape them.
4) Add a keystroke hologram to the initial training missions.
I'm not quite sure how to describe this. In some games when you first start out, it shows a key on a keyboard being depressed, partially see through. Some people are likely to absorb the information they need faster, or better with such a visual representation then say just a HUD message.
5) Add a picture of the keyboard to the F1 help screen.
Something like this which I found simply by searching "game keyboard binding". https://img.finalfantasyxiv.com/lds/game_manual/na/9d/aef4a622c40e88dbd0316e2223c060eb659b3e.jpg
I dunno how that would work on mobile, maybe somebody could come up with a viable similar idea for that?
A printable image might be useful too, I know from back in the 90's with the game "Independence War" There was a poster like that which I remember being helpful when first starting. I don't know however how many players still have printers.
6) Some way of explaining chat features to new users.
I've on numerous occasions had to explain to new players about the tab-complete feature, or /msg or /join, etc. I don't know what the best way to do that is. Best guess, some kind of persistent bot that /msg's new players when they first launch, with a brief message "Hi I'm here to help explain the chat system, reply with 'tell me more' for more information, to respond to this message, open up the chat box ('t' by default) and hit the [Tab] key". I'm sure somebody here can come up with a dialogue tree, or maybe a better idea. A better idea would be great, this seems kinda clunky.
If anybody else has any ideas, that'd be good too.
1) Add a PAYING race tube to the training sectors.
I've long since lost count of the number of times I've gotten bored and gone around Dau, and shot at noobs. Typically they appear to have VERY poor control over the flight of their ship. I think having a race tube that pays them for completing the race in a set time might help the flight controls become more instinctive. I'd just say copy/paste whichever race tube is the simplest. I don't know what kind of time is reasonable to expect a new pilot to achieve in an ec89 with a free battery.
2) Switch the dorsal/ventral translation (strafe up/down) with the roll clockwise/counterclockwise.
It's long been standard practice when first training new players, who are on PC, for vets to tell new players to do this.
3) Add some faster bots.
The Orun collectors seem trivially easy to hit, which is fine. I think having some more agile bots, also with training blasters might be good to add. I just think the extra excitement would be more fun for some new players. I'd suggest leashing them to no closer then 2km from the station, so pilots who are having trouble can escape them.
4) Add a keystroke hologram to the initial training missions.
I'm not quite sure how to describe this. In some games when you first start out, it shows a key on a keyboard being depressed, partially see through. Some people are likely to absorb the information they need faster, or better with such a visual representation then say just a HUD message.
5) Add a picture of the keyboard to the F1 help screen.
Something like this which I found simply by searching "game keyboard binding". https://img.finalfantasyxiv.com/lds/game_manual/na/9d/aef4a622c40e88dbd0316e2223c060eb659b3e.jpg
I dunno how that would work on mobile, maybe somebody could come up with a viable similar idea for that?
A printable image might be useful too, I know from back in the 90's with the game "Independence War" There was a poster like that which I remember being helpful when first starting. I don't know however how many players still have printers.
6) Some way of explaining chat features to new users.
I've on numerous occasions had to explain to new players about the tab-complete feature, or /msg or /join, etc. I don't know what the best way to do that is. Best guess, some kind of persistent bot that /msg's new players when they first launch, with a brief message "Hi I'm here to help explain the chat system, reply with 'tell me more' for more information, to respond to this message, open up the chat box ('t' by default) and hit the [Tab] key". I'm sure somebody here can come up with a dialogue tree, or maybe a better idea. A better idea would be great, this seems kinda clunky.
If anybody else has any ideas, that'd be good too.
1) +1, a lot of spacey style games have something similar in their training missions
2) -1 I use the defaults, as do many many others, and although I am no niki or shape, I do well with the defaults and couldn't imagine it being any other way. This is a personal preference only, but I obviously have no real objection to the defaults being changed as I can always change them back. But yeah, you may like w+s to go up and down, but I prefer better control over forwards and backwards. It is my opinion that controlling distance in a fight leads to the win, not just dodging incoming fire (but we are getting away from new player here) - also a _lot_ of new players don't even have a keyboard.
3) not sure it would make any difference, might seem more fun to the new player who is looking for action, not all are.
4 + 5) + a lot (on mobile it already shows a gamepad if you have one connected, although that might be a different /help menu, it is already covered there)
6) yep again + a lot
2) -1 I use the defaults, as do many many others, and although I am no niki or shape, I do well with the defaults and couldn't imagine it being any other way. This is a personal preference only, but I obviously have no real objection to the defaults being changed as I can always change them back. But yeah, you may like w+s to go up and down, but I prefer better control over forwards and backwards. It is my opinion that controlling distance in a fight leads to the win, not just dodging incoming fire (but we are getting away from new player here) - also a _lot_ of new players don't even have a keyboard.
3) not sure it would make any difference, might seem more fun to the new player who is looking for action, not all are.
4 + 5) + a lot (on mobile it already shows a gamepad if you have one connected, although that might be a different /help menu, it is already covered there)
6) yep again + a lot