4 replies to this topic

[Termius]

Honestly while this has been brought up time and time again it will continue to be an issue until it is implemented.

MWO is a game that NEEDS an in game tutorial.

Why you ask? Well there are many reasons to put one for new users. Sure we have the training videos but in my experience they only give a basic understanding of the games mechanics. With the current system trying to understand this game comes from Trial and Error. From your first drop you have to test the limits of your mech and learn how it functions, all while trying to win a battle. This sort of system while will work for experienced players who have put TIME and EFFORT into the game, new players will find the experience discouraging. The bottom line is that Casual Gamers will not find this game easily accessible or playable with the current system. They aren't looking for a game that takes a many matches and multiple videos to understand.

Why would we even want Casual Gamers?

MWO needs to appeal to the casual gamer because they make up a vast majority of video game players. Right now it takes too much time to find out how everything works, and a new players trying to pick up this game might be turned away by this fact. The fix for this is simple, but time consuming for PGI to implement.

How can we make this Work?

The biggest way to make the New Player Experience better is to create a training map. Throw them in there with one of the trial Mechs and give them a tutorial of how a Mech handles, weapon groups, heat, and any other part of gameplay. This can be used to benefit All Players for a few reasons. Making the training map accessible to all players gives people a place to run around in their new builds, and if there is a "Training Dummy" like a fully armored atlas then you can test your builds damage. This benefits all players and helps get new ones to stay.

A training map isn't everything that we need. When a new player finally buys his new Mech there needs to be a step by step guide in the Mechlab on how everything you can add to your Mech works. This needs to be done in the pilot lab, modules, camos, and even buying a Mech. While this may seem like a lot of "Babysitting" many players would appreciate it and hopefully help them become lasting members of our community.

I love MWO and I want it to be a popular and successful game. However there is a lot of work for PGI to do still, and personally I think this should be near the top of the list. Community Warfare will be amazing, but having more players to take part in it will be even better.

Just my personal opinion

Termius



TL DR: MWO needs a comprehensive tutorial map for gameplay and one for each component of the game.

[Arisaema]

I agree with you, but sadly PGI has really stopped listening to the the vocal majority who want this, training grounds, actual in game chat rooms, ECM fixed instead of ******* around modding other gear to make up for OP ECM.

[Beeman]

I'm pretty sure they planned on having a comprehensive tutorial. I think it's not a really high priority, though...which is kinda bad considering we're already in the open beta phase.

There's a few ways they could go about this, too. They could just have a gun range, where you try out various mechs and various guns, shooting at targets at differing ranges...I've seen a couple people suggest that sort of thing.

I personally think it would be beneficial to have a simulated encounter with enemy mechs. Something that puts a little pressure on you and makes you feel like you're reacting intelligently and dynamically to stuff, even though it's the only way to accomplish the task at hand. Like Valve would do.

I'd also like it if there were a couple(or many) coop missions for up to four people, so you can practice teamplay and tactics. Maybe these game modes can utilize the trial mechs.

As for a mechlab tutorial...it's difficult to get interface tutorials right. I can't be the only one who hates clicking through mindlessly as the UI grays out everything except what I need to click...which also happens to be surrounded by a glowing box suddenly. Those types of tutorials are just bad. Maybe have a two-part narrative tutorial where you slip into the mechlab and swap one weapon out for another to suit the second part of the mission.

I don't know, it would need a bit of experimentation and testing. The goal would be to teach noobs the complexities of the game while not making them feel like they're teething or potty training.

[blinkin]

all games need tutorials of some kind. well designed games tend to hide the fact that they are teaching you how to play.

example: let us look at the worst case scenario Dwarf Fortress ( http://dwarffortress...x.php/Main_Page <-for those who need some reference)

this game attempts to deal with the issues by listing information next to any commands. the rest is assumed based on real life information. again this is in my opinion the worst case scenario. if you truly want to play a game with bare bones instruction and no hand holding then i suggest downloading this and playing for a few hours. you will die repeatedly. then you can play like a sane person with the wiki that i linked above open and ready for reference. i usually end up with between 4 and 8 different tabs open all pointing to different locations on the wiki.

[Termius]

Beeman, on 21 February 2013 - 10:32 AM, said:

I don't know, it would need a bit of experimentation and testing. The goal would be to teach noobs the complexities of the game while not making them feel like they're teething or potty training.

I completely agree with this, but there needs to be a guiding hand for new players. I'm not saying tell new players every little detail about the game, but little things here and there to guide them on the right path.

For example when a player goes to buy a new mech there can be a little tutorial on each weight class and what hardpoints are. From that a player should be able to pick based on how they want to play. After they buy said mech and enter a mechlab a mini tutorial pops up. It tells you what you can do, but not to the point of saying every piece of equipment in the game. Most players know lasers go "Pew" guns go "Pow" and missiles go "Boom". There is already ranges in the mechlab so they can explore that themselves.

What they really need to do is the training room above all else. Walking players through how to pilot a mech effectively while they are in a safe enviroment rather then being face-rolled by the enemy team is the biggest thing. Being able to be learn freely rather then being frustrated by your repeated destruction while trying to get the hang of it would improve the new player experience greatly.

It's the fact that you have to learn while constantly losing that would turn many players away

Edited by Termius, 21 February 2013 - 02:56 PM.