We've commented many times on how one of the biggest missteps in many online-only games is the complete lack of a tutorial and place to learn the basics and direction of gameplay and how to be successful. We can already see the questions of disenfranchised new players that will go unanswered for long enough for them to become frustrated enough to stop playing. "Whats an alliance? Why should I join a corporation? Why should I care what race I am? You mean these fits affect my Dust Merc? Hold on, this isn't like HALO 4?" Provided the Powers That Be point new players in the direction of New Eden's library of content in a concise, well-done tutorial/introduction to the galaxy we're sure to get more than a few converts to the Gallente way of doing things.
New Eden offers a rich history and not to expose players to it is almost criminal. Perhaps they'll be devoted to the Caldari way of life or to Empress Jamyl of the Amarr cult, errr...RACE...if only they knew she existed, At a basic level players need to know the options they have. We've always thought that the best tutorial for this genre is one that is offline, in-depth and that requires completion before you can participate online but that may not be an option here. While Dust's F2P new status is great news from an exposure point of view, and for game population, we must be careful to let willing players see just how deep the rabbit hole is.
That is especially true for a game with this much depth and what would seem to be a semi-steep learning curve. Since Dust 514 is the first of its kind, people simply have to be shown New Eden's offerings or we risk an influx of clueless, truly ignorant new players looking to play a free shooter, and veteran players who resent them for not knowing what a tutorial should teach them. See the PS3 exclusive MAG for evidence of how this disconnect can ruin a community. Contrary to popular belief, "blue dot" is not a term of endearment. One of the most critical mistakes developers must avoid is the assumption that their player-base will train new players and get them up to speed. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is the I-dont-need-an-instruction-manual-not-now-RIGHT-now generation. And too often those willing to seek out mentors fall victim to online con-men who appear willing to help, but seek only to take advantage of newer players. Never forget that many gamers are arrogant and believe they can figure out basics without the help of others. While this may work for some, in the end too many won't get to appreciate the game's depth and that will be the most grievous wound of them all.
Because it will be self-inflicted.
A true tutorial is necessary in its purest form and can only come from the minds at CCP. Its in everyone's best interests that they produce a well-done one for Dust 514.
bravo! imo this is the only way to prevent the mass influx of casuals from turning into blue dots gone wild.
ReplyDeleteagree with this 1000%
ReplyDeleteIf the devs make a tutorial, it will be based on how they expect us to play the game and possibly not terribly useful. What new players really need are player-made tutorials that are based on how people actually play the game.
ReplyDeleteCorps and alliances will obviously want to have their own tutorials for their players, but will not be inclined to provide that useful information to "pubes" (i.e. the public.)
So what we really need is a player written tutorial on a public site. Since there are apparently only three Dust fansites with any traffic and this is one of them, I guess that puts the ball back in your court.
And please, please, please, keep the roleplaying stuff to a minimum.
You sound like a carebear trying to come off as one of us 0.0 overlords.
DeleteNow go make sure you Vote for me in the CSM "pubbie" and I'll try not to suicide gank you while you are mining or invade your high-sec level 4 with my Itty V and kill your Tengu for lolz.
Pubbies
we're all about Community so we'll gladly do a tutorial but remember that casual players don't go to community websites. they'd never benefit from it. If Dust 514 is going to be successful, casual players will outnumber the hardcore and a large number will inevitably be converted. Our stance is that many players are casual because they don't know better. If Devs offer more they'll never be able to go back to the days of team deathmatch. The key is for CCP to create a USEFUL tutorial that educates new players about how to be successful, they are the only ones who will have access to new players in that critical period before boots hit the ground and when people stop playing out of the frustration of not knowing what's going on.
ReplyDeleteWhat we don't want are things to boil over to the point where its informed players versus noobs and things like being voted/kicked out of games are taking place because a person lacks experience or simply doesn't know how to hack an enemy terminal for instance (or why its important)
This usually inevitably leads to the team-killing and other foolishness that online can devolve into simply because new players aren't provided with useful and necessary information. Now is the time for CCP to release videos that detail how to be successful (which can be watched online and played in video windows while people first launch into the game) a true tutorial should be more hands-on, however. It should not only show controls but also provide some backstory and outline the goals overall and in each game mode.
Unfortunately, dev-made tutorials take a long time to make, and the one thing we know for sure is that how the devs think we will play the game is not how we will actually play it. Thus dev tutorials can only go so far. They can say "pick a race" and "train a skill" but they can't really give you good advice about which race and which skill to train.
DeletePlayer tutorials can say: "If you want to be a scout, pick this race and train these skills; If you want to be a sniper, etc.; If you want to run around shooting people with an RPG, 'just don't'; if you want to be a platoon leader, do this, etc." They can say "if you haven't done the official tutorial, do it now and pay attention to these parts."
There will be official Dust forums and Dust stuff will be on the Evelopedia, but the forums will soon become a mass of craziness while getting a sticky is not assured and finding stuff on Evelopedia is an artform in itself. Player run fansites like this one can make sure the links to really useful information is prominently displayed.
Obviously, you and I cannot write much of a tutorial today, but people who get into the Beta will most certainly be giving each other advice on what to do and I hope some of them will be organized enough to collect the good information in one place. Because of the non-disclosure agreement that information will most likely not be posted online, but it could certainly be shared in-game and there should be enough useful information available to have a half-way decent guide available for all the noobs at launch. Of course it will be based on the Beta and will need to be rewritten on day one, but it will be a start.
agree that its a start but again, most casuals will never come close to forums, EVElopedia or even our blog. we're intrigued by your suggestion, however. We're going to start the process of collecting the content for a tutorial and get feedback from the community. If its well-done enough (the fan-made trailer for MAG was it best advertisement and actually give players a glimpse of how the game was supposed to be played) maybe CCP will use it. thanks for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteany community members interested in helping can email us at magww@live.com, we can use all the help we can get.
We (Read: those of us who've stuck around since 1/10) figured it out on our own, we didn't have people holding our hands and we damn sure didn't get anything more than a controller crash course from Zipper.
ReplyDeleteIf I have to, I'll figure out Dust on my own, but I refuse to handhold for anyone that doesn't come to Dust with me from somewhere else. I seriously doubt I'd need to for them though.
Give us Aura (or maybe her sister, Terra) for Dust, it can only be a good thing.
this article speaks the truth.
ReplyDeleteyes. the less dumb blue dots the better.
ReplyDeletethis is a MUST HAVE. Anyone who's experienced players waste bombing strikes because they didnt know about the AA can attest to this.
ReplyDeletehe's right. the initial training and tutorial isnt for the guy who's been watching the game since 09 and figures everything out with his caln. Its for the new player who sees the download available and has never heard of Dust 514. Its also for the guy who may be too shy or too proud to ask for help or how things work.
ReplyDeleteI think we may be talking about different things. I hope CCP has learned something about the new player experience over the last 9 years, but I expect that there will still be a lot of hoops for you to jump through before you actually get to the point of shooting people in the face. It is a persistent shooter and decisions you are forced to make before actually playing the game will probably still persist even after you learn how stupid they were. Walking them through the steps to get into their first real battle is what I'm talking about, not handholding them after that point or teaching them what buttons to push.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, I don't think CCP cares about "the new player who sees the download available and has never heard of Dust 514." The game is free-to-play because that is what their competitors are doing, but if you don't know what Dust is or aren't looking for a persistent team-based shooter, then I'm pretty sure they don't want you and they are not going out of their way to cater to you. If they can't be bothered to use google to find out more about Dust then I'm not sure we want them either.
I think I would rather have 100K players than a million if it meant that I was ten times more likely to run into someone who knew what they were doing.
couldnt disagree moar. i played cod before finally moving up to real shooters. i hope ccp doesnt have ur elitist attitude.
ReplyDeleteno kidding, whats with all the "we dont want you if youre not like us" lemme guess. you play eve?
ReplyDeletef2p proves ccp is being open minded with the playerbase as they can and like this piece says, maybe convert some of them. open your mind a little.
Please read a little more carefully. The discussion was whether we should just cross our fingers and hope that CCP will make a good tutorial or whether it was up to us, the fan-base to take initiative. If you google "Dust 514 tutorial" this page now comes up as the #1 hit. If we post it, people will find it if they are looking for help. I was responding to the attitude that people need in-game tutorials because they won't go looking for out-of-game tutorials and FAQs. You are fooling yourself if you think CCP will make a decent and useful tutorial at launch. The game will be complicated and people will need help, and if they expend even the slightest bit of effort they will find it if we post it.
DeleteWe think the issue is that many of these players have experienced the downside of semi-complex games without tutorials. MAG is a good example, and MAG was full price. The fear is that many casuals will download a free game and try to play Dust like every other FPS. We'll put together a tutorial for those who desire it but what percentage of casual players do you really think will read it? None. In truth its for the moderate player converted after finally playing a tactical and persistent game and the hardcore.
DeleteWhat to do vs. how to play. If the game battles are complex and you want people to leave quickly just remain mum on how or what is going on in them....MAG blazed a lot of trails.
ReplyDeleteohh YES THIS PLEASE...
ReplyDeleteI dont know how you feel but I Smell a dust storm coming :-)
I agree. please provide background, tutorials and training for new players. it benefits us all. fate rarely calls upon us at a time of our choosing. the life you save could be your own, you never know when the difference between victory and defeat lies with that blue dot you don't care about training competently.
ReplyDeleteGuys, with this attitude of "if they don't know what they are doing we don't want them" YOU will ruin the game. EVE has more than one award for Best Community and that is what makes it great. I have played EVE a long time and know that it is a harsh place but also an easy place to find help - see EVE Uni as an example. So if the DUST community can help COD nooblets to see the light, maybe we can steal the next Best Community award from EVE.
ReplyDelete