28 replies to this topic

[Rascula]

MadCat02, on 02 November 2013 - 01:04 PM, said:

All triel mechs are horrible biggener traps . That alone tells me how PGU feels about new players .

I think they do it on purpose so people have space to improve

That's possibly true to an extent although I don't think they want new players to have 'too' hard a time of it, as I said above the learning curve is horribly steep. <they want more new players as it obviously means more potential cashflow!>

Its been brought up a number of times on the ask the dev's board.. and im sure they will introduce some help for new players, but their priority at the moment is the new UI etc.. That said if you throw new ideas at them theyve got a lot better at actually reading them, and who knows may implement some of them down the line.

[NoSkillRush]

Good Suggestions OP! Give the Devs sometime as this guys are working out the details and pumping out content somewhat quickly.

[SpinalDethpizza]

Op's points 3,4 and 5 are all pretty good ones. Though I feel that if teh tutorials get implemented properly (point 3) then points 4 and 5 may not be as neccesary. Having the first mech and engine that a players buys a 50% is a good thing I think. Lets them mess around with a mech they like without having to dump most if not all of thier cadet earnings into it. A centurion with a large engine eats up almot 6 million cbills right there. which leaves a pitiful amount for them to actually experiment with diferent weapon types. I think the 50% off would be a good thing, especially when you conisder that to get the 'mech tree filled up they'll have to by 2 more for full price.

Unfortunatley I get the sense that we'll be waiting until after U.I. 2.0 before PGI starts to role out the new player assistance that they've been working on.

[Phobic Wraith]

I happen to agree with the OP. Without waxing verbose, the new player experience is dismal to say the least. I appreciate all the help the forum gives, you guys go above and beyond helping new players, but that IS NOT an excuse for the way new players are being man-handled.

The truth is, while we have ALL been "thrown to the wolves," the wolves have gotten meaner, and after the c-bill 'economy' nerf, the wolves are hungrier.

The MW:O newbie experience is not static, it's getting harder. And new players that I have brought in have left for greener pastures too.

I get the "suck it up" talk, but we should never be against making this game a better environment for newer players.

[Roosterfish]

I agree with Fox to a certain extent and liked 3 of his suggestions.

PGI should make the new players experience more pleasant but it would be wrong to go overboard on it. Also PGI has to make sure it's not abused and it will be if it can be.

For you new guys in this game you're gonna get your lumps. I got them and I'm willing to bet most of the rest of the folks that play has got them. I've been playing awhile now I still get skunked and sand kicked in my face at the beach. Every now n'then I get to skunk and kick some sand in faces now, even a blind pig finds an acorn ever now n'then.

Read up on the stuff you can and even spend some time watching videos. Youtube has tons of vids just be sure to watch the recent ones not stuff over 6 months old for the most part.

If you like playing lights watch the vid in the thread PEEFSmash posted, heck I don't even play lights but there's a ton of info there. Koniving has posted a lot of threads to help new guys and so has Helmstif. There is info out there but you got to look for it.

[mailin]

But, PGI DID make the new player experience more rewarding by offering the Cadet Bonus. I don't think they need to do anything else, although there is talk about getting rid of the cadet bonus and replacing it with a reward for going through some type of upcoming combat training. If they do this, I want to be able to go through this training and get the bonus!

[SpinalDethpizza]

mailin, on 03 November 2013 - 05:41 AM, said:

But, PGI DID make the new player experience more rewarding by offering the Cadet Bonus. I don't think they need to do anything else, although there is talk about getting rid of the cadet bonus and replacing it with a reward for going through some type of upcoming combat training. If they do this, I want to be able to go through this training and get the bonus!

Honestly I think the c-bill boost for the newer players doesn't do much for them. It might actually make their experience worse.
Why? Because they see they have all this money so they pick the biggest baddest mech on the block (or maybe just the one that looks the coolest) without really having enough knowledge to understand the interplay between the different wieght classes and what their strengths and weaknesses are. So they might end up making a choice that really doesn't suite the style of play they may like/be good at.
Sure they get more c-bills but they're still flaiing around in the dark, and most people aren't going to want to take the time (unfortunatley) to search the web for the good info. What this game sorely need for new players is a fully working tutorial that covers a bunch of stuff, like ghost heat, heat managemnet strategies, weapons max range and optimal range, the use of vision modes and the pros and cons of a pruposeful shut down.

[Icewraith]

What this game NEEDS is a $5 or $10 "starter pack" that gets you one chassis in each weight class that's already equipped with double heat sinks and a week of premium time. You can't sell these mechs for c-bills ingame and they come with their own mech bays so you still have four slots.

It solves the impending drop weight issue, is a very low financial bar to support the game but still gets new players invested, and with the cadet bonus gets them the cash flow to play around with all 4 mechs the first week and pick up a fifth chassis of their choice using c-bills.

[mailin]

I completely agree that this game needs tutorials, and I really like the idea of the starter pack. I just don't think that giving away stuff or more bonuses is the way to help new players learn the game, as the OP originally suggested.