Adopt a newbie program

[Silvatica]

How about doing it as a FAQ with common questions from new players and explanations on how to do it ?

 

PS Somewhere one could write about the gargs on WS at nighttime.

 

CTRL-h -> Newbie FAQ, General FAQ, Skills FAQ

 

The problem is: People don't read >.<

 

Piper

 

Those are very generic and basically useless.

 

These FAQ dont answer questions like:

 

Where do I buy lether gloves ?

Where can I sell bones ?

Where can I sell furs ?

Where can I buy a sword ?

Where can I buy armor ?

How do I make fire essence ?

Where do I find sulphur ?

Where do I find red snapdragons ?

Where do I find roses ?

 

Ok so I am here - what do I do now ?

 

It goes on and on and the FAQ you point at don't help new players with the questions above.

 

Again, people don't read, you are the living proof for that

 

CTRL-h, then there is a tab named "Skills". Read the alchemy part and you know where you can get leather gloves, sulfur, red roses, snapdragons and how you make fire essences.

 

What else can you do than having instructions hidden behind a "?" icon? Obviously it is too hard to guess, that you can click on it and read the texts there.

 

Piper

 

Again as a new player I have a very simple understanding of the game and I have a very simple question "Where do I buy leather gloves" and as a new player I don't want to have to guess in which FAQ the questions is answered and often I as a new player have very little understanding of all the complex things in the game as such a new player I want to find a list of the questions I have and the common answers to those questions and don't want to have to skim through all so called FAQs to try and find where the answer is hiding.

 

A FAQ is normally a list of questions and answers. The items called FAQ in the encyclopedia is sadly more like a HOWTO. Which in itself is useful but not as useful as a FAQ with the question "Where do I buy leather gloves?" just the questions I was asking.

 

So yes the HOWTOs serve their purpose but they are not a FAQ for easy reference when playing and learning the game

 

 

(Bleh pip beat me to it but I can't emphasize enough that the information is there, you just have to read it!)

 

yes the information is there - but it ain't easy to find since its hidden among a lot of other information. So for finding the answer to a simple questions like "Where can I buy leather gloves?" it's therefore nearly useless.

 

 

And why should a newbie have to read it all again if they have not fully grasped all information from the first reading ?

 

The game needs a FAQ with common questions and answers to those questions so the players can find the answers they search easily.

Edited April 5, 2009 by Silvatica

[Usl]

Being one of those guys that spend some time answering question over question on channels 1 and 2, you have no idea how many times those exact questions are asked over and over - at times, with the very same wording used in the FAQs. And lots of answers add, after a summary explanation, "You can read more in the Encyclopedia/Help/Skills guides (Press Ctrl-E/H, etc. etc.)".

 

The information is there, but most players want to have fun, not read through manuals; as Radu said, the learning curve can be steep, unless you are (like me) one of those guys who read manuals and licenses on software before using it.

 

A possible improvement would be to have a better organization of the FAQs: Maybe, just an expandable list (as in the rules window), so that people can more easily see all the questions, and then click on one to read the associated text. Then, they could be grouped as: "Where can I find...", "How do I make...", "What does it mean..." etc.

Should not be very difficult to code, since most of the logic is already in the client, and the text could be preserved (only need some rearrangement in the xml help files, I guess).

[Aislinn]

@Silvatica: But everybody has different questions. What is your first question somebody else might have figured out and vice versa.

We can never know who needs what info or can't find something else, so we divided it up into categories.

Anything that says FAQ or Tips should be a dead giveaway to start with, and when you want to know how to start a skill, it strikes me as logical to look up that skill, rather than think that will be in a FAQ too. Especially since there is a big tab that says "skills" on it.

If every possible question was put into the FAQ list, it would go on forever and get longer as somebody would have yet another unthought of question. We have to start labeling and sorting and categorizing.

[The_Piper]

So yes the HOWTOs serve their purpose but they are not a FAQ for easy reference when playing and learning the game.

 

Ok, i dont want to hijack radu's thread about adopting newbies and turn it into a discussion about FAQ's and HOWTO's, so i will stop posting here.

 

I suggest, that you start a new thread in "Suggestions", if you have an idea how to improve all those FAQ's and HOWTO's and the help window and encyclopedia (i agree, there are a lot of places to look for informations).

 

Feel free to suggest your ideas in a new thread, but don't lets hijack this thread

 

Piper

[DogBreath]

Maybe have a quiz newbies can take (and get a prize of course) from reading the FAQ's and newbie help Optional, and random (so one set of answers isn't going to work for every newbie.)

[HereticEast]

the ? faq only briefly mentions one boat and not that you use them to get all over the place.

for about 2 weeks i thought the only way to get to VOTD was through KF! i didn't figure out

any of that until i found that CEL page.

Edited April 5, 2009 by HereticEast

[Galdin]

If its not too late, I'd love to help as well . Ive been around a while, so I think i can throw around a few tips.

[Entropy]

The problem with too many prizes is that people can create new accounts just for the prizes, then (illegally) transfer them to their main.

 

the ? faq only briefly mentions the boats and not that you use them to get all over the place.

for about 2 weeks i thought the only way to get to VOTD was through KF! i didn't figure out

any of that until i found that CEL page.

 

AFAIK, the Tutorial NPC tells you pretty well how to use the ships, yes?

[Airakose]

Hmm...

It has been a while, so I don't remember well... But there is a random beginner info feature for under lvl 10, right? It gives tips in the chat console? Maybe make it more noticable and have specific information appear as they figure certain features out.

For Example-

When they first start, have it tell how to walk.

Then after they walk the first time, tell them to talk to the Tutorial NPC, and how to.

Have him explain some things, as he normally does, but more quests (As stated above) for different features.

On the quests, at first, maybe have more specific information pop-up as they need it (What should appear on mouse-over on a plant, on an animal, ect...)

 

This, coupled with more people being willing to help them, would make it easier to learn the game's controls, I think. ^^'

 

O, also, there seems to be an unwillingness in beginners to do the tutorials. Perhaps force them to do the tutorials somehow? ^^'

 

 

Edit: Added forced tutorial Idea

Edited April 5, 2009 by Airakose

[HereticEast]

AFAIK, the Tutorial NPC tells you pretty well how to use the ships, yes?

 

the Lasud NPC kind of hints at it. i don't know if the other one does.

my newb already did that one but a rabbit ripped apart his

augmented armor! not a fluffy. a little brown one. he's going to

quit!

Edited April 5, 2009 by HereticEast

[marack]

After reading the posts, i thought of an idea to make it newbie friendly, Orientation Island. new people could start there then after a skill reaches 20 they are "denoobed" to IP. only approved helpers would be allowed there.. on this island could be a storage, potion seller, magic shop, and other NPC's that just sells the basics with some tutorials to learn about using them. this would keep new people from exploring the first day, wander onto a pk map and get PK'd and quit or gargoyle beat them to death on WS at dark. much more to say on the subject but i'll leave that to others. i will be willing to help test this if needed.

We used to have that, Newbie Island.

After a while, newbie helpers didn't want to go there anymore, so we got rid of it.

 

Did this work when helpers did go to help??

Yes but there were some drawbacks. Players got antsy to get to the "real game", and even though you all are enthusiastic now, so were the helpers then. Interest and enthusiasm wanes, newbies need help at inopportune times when helpers are busy, always reasons why the support vanishes.

 

Personally I loved Newbie Island, I was sorry to see it go. I thought it was very helpful both as a newbie going through it, and seeing others go through it. One comment though, EL was a LOT smaller, there wasn't anywhere near as much to learn as there is now. But I would definitely support having it come back if Ent could be convinced.

 

Edit: After a chat with pip about old Newbie Island, we did think that newbies having the option to go straight into the game OR choose Newbie Island would be a good idea. Also they should have the option to change their mind after they chose if their choice doesn't work out for them so well after all.

 

As suggested, I think having the choice at Login or having the ability to teleport from IP and Newbie Island would be great solution...especially as it seems to have been successful in the past

[Entropy]

As suggested, I think having the choice at Login or having the ability to teleport from IP and Newbie Island would be great solution...especially as it seems to have been successful in the past

 

If it were successful in the past, it would still be here, no?