Building a Playerbase

[wes773]

Hello, Mit,

Just a bit of constructive criticism because I love this game and I want it to grow. I discussed this ingame with a couple of players(new and old) so not all ideas are mine. I just hope to throw them out there so that there's a chance that things can be changed, or at the very least, reconsidered.

I haven't been able to play as much as I would like due to real life obligations. I log in when I can, and even though I can't play the game at the same level as I could years ago, I want this game to grow. We've had quite a few old players return to the game recently, and that's great. It's always good to have old faces/names around. That being said, there needs to be a focus on retaining the newer players in order for this game to ever grow.

I think the main problem is people don't know what to do when they log in. A lot of people are used to the hand holding that has become the norm in video games. Yes there's the Atractor guide, but it takes you to the web browser and you have to figure out how to open it before you can use it(this is also bad because it takes the player out of the game and interrupts any immersion). Maybe it makes more sense to put a "How to play" button on the title screen if the guide is meant to be the easiest way for new players to figure things out. You've seen how few new players actually listen to other players in the chat. Players helping new players can not be a substitute for a guide.

What I think would be most beneficial to new player is a short tutorial that teaches the basics and gives the player an idea of what their goal is and how to accomplish it. There needs to be a reward for completing it that is good enough to encourage the player to stick with the game. Maybe the 10s from imports could swapped out with 10s from the tutorial.

Another option would be have some sort of toggle-able on screen guide for newer players that pops up the first few times they play until they've chosen a skill and made some money. It would most likely work best as an OSD with different options to click through to read the info in the online guide.

At the very least, I hope to see a "How to play" button available somewhere easily seen in the game that opens to the atractor guide.

Mit, you're doing a great job with the game, and I hope it grows into everything you want it to. I hope my post has been helpful. Good luck with development

[Morvis]

If Ariya ever becomes a thing again I plan to script up an interactive startup assistant guide for newbies

[Mit]

Thanks for the feedback, wes. Agree with most of it, and certainly improving the 'new player experience' needs to be the primary focus for a while.

An on-screen helper/tutorial is high on my list, however before that can happen I believe we need to refine the gameplay mechanics significantly - tutorial/guide will take time to develop and it would be wasted time if it all needs redoing again when the mechanics change. The new employment stuff is a big factor in that but I'm also looking at changing some of the skill selection process and other bits too.

I'd hoped to have made more progress on that by now however I've had little time available for development over the past couple of weeks - lot of work on and I've got to spend a chunk of time to find a new job for the winter.

If i don't get time for much more progress soon I might look at some more temporary measures to help out, but generally speaking I'm still looking at this as a longer-term process. The early access opening boost was great fun and everything but if it takes 6 or 12 months to get things right for the new player process, thats how it might have to be.

[wes773]

Understandable, Mit. Seems like you have a good plan for the game going forward. It'll take time, but it will get done. Good luck, Mit.

Also, thanks for taking the time to read through the forum.