Forums » Suggestions
Improving the game for new players
I've been playing Vendetta for a couple of weeks now, and I'm totally hooked. I think it's a great game with a lot of fun stuff to do, and that the player guilds interaction is probably the most interesting part of the game. Over the weekend I started a new character, reminded myself how that feels, and have been thinking about how new players see the game.
Yesterday I saw a lot of confused people on channel 1, and a lot of people trying to help out, and some of the new players getting it, others getting annoyed and leaving. I get the impression there are plenty of new players coming into the game, but I'm not sure how many stay on past their trial period. Whatever that percentage is, it could be higher, IMO. Here are some suggestions for making the game easier to get into for new players.
* Make the game more user-friendly, allowing players to be more self sufficient. It's great that there's a userbase out there willing to help, but players should be able to figure stuff out just from the interface.
* Show more weapons and ship types to newbie players, even if they can't buy them. Makes it look like there's more content to the game. Fixes "what, I can only get one crappy ship?"
* Show missions you can't do yet, same reasons.
* If a newbie dies in an Ion storm (for some definition of newbie) when they get back to a station flash up a message telling them why Ion storms occur and how to avoid them. No, they haven't read the manual -- let's make the game more friendly.
* Cut the XP required for level 1 licences in half, move level 2 down a bit, leave level 3 where it is. This won't affect the grander scheme of things but will help newbies feel they've made some progress. I think a level 1 licence should be obtainable in under an hour.
* Somehow make the tutorial more obvious. Loads of people are floating around not having done it. Maybe a message box "do you wanna do the tutorial" that experienced players can say "no thanks" to.
* Add a little bit more life in game. There's lots going on on the message board and channel 1, but how about the news system in game? Maybe seasoned players could post small numbers of recruitment adverts for their guilds. I wouldn't want to see the news system become full of OOC stuff like the message boards, so posters would need to be fully in-character when posting.
* Add some combat hints. I came from games like Privateer where you could just turbo in, shoot the crap out of people, dodge a little, turbo out, come round for another pass. Vendetta isn't like that - even the easy bots will nail you unless you strafe. How about some flash-up hints if you're not strafing and you get hit? "Use a and d to dodge left and right!" or something.
* The official website doesn't seem to have much of a ship or weapons catalogue. I think it should, because new people are unlikely to wander far off into fansites to look at that stuff.
This is a great game, but I'd like to see it easier for new folks to get into. It's been developed by a small team and I know you're pushed for time, but I hope a lot of these suggestions are small things that could make a big difference.
Cheers!
Yesterday I saw a lot of confused people on channel 1, and a lot of people trying to help out, and some of the new players getting it, others getting annoyed and leaving. I get the impression there are plenty of new players coming into the game, but I'm not sure how many stay on past their trial period. Whatever that percentage is, it could be higher, IMO. Here are some suggestions for making the game easier to get into for new players.
* Make the game more user-friendly, allowing players to be more self sufficient. It's great that there's a userbase out there willing to help, but players should be able to figure stuff out just from the interface.
* Show more weapons and ship types to newbie players, even if they can't buy them. Makes it look like there's more content to the game. Fixes "what, I can only get one crappy ship?"
* Show missions you can't do yet, same reasons.
* If a newbie dies in an Ion storm (for some definition of newbie) when they get back to a station flash up a message telling them why Ion storms occur and how to avoid them. No, they haven't read the manual -- let's make the game more friendly.
* Cut the XP required for level 1 licences in half, move level 2 down a bit, leave level 3 where it is. This won't affect the grander scheme of things but will help newbies feel they've made some progress. I think a level 1 licence should be obtainable in under an hour.
* Somehow make the tutorial more obvious. Loads of people are floating around not having done it. Maybe a message box "do you wanna do the tutorial" that experienced players can say "no thanks" to.
* Add a little bit more life in game. There's lots going on on the message board and channel 1, but how about the news system in game? Maybe seasoned players could post small numbers of recruitment adverts for their guilds. I wouldn't want to see the news system become full of OOC stuff like the message boards, so posters would need to be fully in-character when posting.
* Add some combat hints. I came from games like Privateer where you could just turbo in, shoot the crap out of people, dodge a little, turbo out, come round for another pass. Vendetta isn't like that - even the easy bots will nail you unless you strafe. How about some flash-up hints if you're not strafing and you get hit? "Use a and d to dodge left and right!" or something.
* The official website doesn't seem to have much of a ship or weapons catalogue. I think it should, because new people are unlikely to wander far off into fansites to look at that stuff.
This is a great game, but I'd like to see it easier for new folks to get into. It's been developed by a small team and I know you're pushed for time, but I hope a lot of these suggestions are small things that could make a big difference.
Cheers!