New Player Introduction Area on Planet Arkadia

Im thinking a safe and well located sweatcamp/area/s for new sweaters. I dont know if sweating will also be a integral part of Arkadia, but what i have learned sweating is an integral part of a nibs life, especially for the first 6 months of familiarization.

 

Yes that is a very good idea, the old swamp camp was great for new players, if there is a place to sweat where a lot of newcomers are, there will always be some healers/resellers nearby. So plenty of possibilities for newcomers to ask questions.

 

I wonder about the new player area. Will the team allow some experienced players and some new EU players run through the training area to check for bugs and provide opinions on what could be made better or clearer? For example if there is some confusion on tasks or something we could provide feedback.

Also I wonder if there will be a lot of new people coming to the game just for Arkadia. It may be just me but it seems like most people here are dedicated EU players(Which is reassuring). I hope that Arkadia has some great marketing strategy to get some new players. Seems like I dont see that many new players anymore since I started with one big group a month ago and it seems to have died down... What do the veterans think about getting fresh blood in Arkadia?

 

Great thing you're doing there, Dave (and the rest of the crew )

Here's my input:

While I did love the whole idea of calypso Gateway, a few things are just not so good for newbies.

I would love: More of the story behind the Planet - why am I here? Why's this the starting point? What can be done?

Also, the missions on Calypso Gateway are just horrible, sorry. How can you have new people trying to mine, craft and hunt without getting ANYthing. It should be a matter of course, that new players who are trying the game for the very first time, are having a feeling of success when they are in the newbie area. Otherwise, why on Lootius should they continue?

Make tutorials easy to understand - and the story line not too complicated.
Make a lot of little 'newbie missions', where they can try out the game, get little cheap freebies, which can help them out - to make it fun from the start.

I believe it's MAIN for the game, that we can keep the newbies in the very first newbie area. If they don't like it, they won't ever be back.

Thanks for asking

 

Great! Love to Hear that David. Im all up for that and testing would be fun. Looking forward to it all. Keep up the good work.

 

A quick idea: maybe the new player could have a tutorial robot that hovers next to them until they graduate or have been in game for a set amount of time, this would have a dual purpose, it would be a repository for the standard tutorials delivered in a friendly way but also it would identify the player as TRULY new. Many players have been known to don their beginner costume to elicit chariable gifts or join 'newbie' competitions, this would eliminate that tactic. Also the player would feel they have achieved something when the 'bot finally left them.

 

Hi David and nice to have you here with us. Enjoy your stay in Arkadia's forum

 

I dont like the idea of "Freebies" to anyone. This just opens the door to multi avatars and the standard MMO exploiting of this. If anything give them a chance to EARN what people might think would be a good freebie. MAybe at the end of the mission the NPC offers to seel the new player the gear for what ever returns they got during the trial phase of the mission.. maybe if they did not make enough in returns an adjustment of collecting some sweat would pay the rest of the items off.

This way the player is garanteed starting gear in a way that is harder to exploit AND elimnates them miss buying gear at bad prices or gear that is too far above their levels at higher prices then normal because of simple lack in game knowlege.

Along with giving new players a resonably fair start we would cut the newbie scammers off at the knees so to speak.

 

How about incentive for the experienced players on EU to help the new guys out? I was thinking maybe a revised/Arkadia-specific Mentor system that could be implemented. That way both mentor and pupil can benefit mutually. Also, I think Cyborg Bill has a point - But perhaps giving the players some decent beginner items which can't be sold/traded to enjoy the game itself might prove a worthy hook.
Also, I believe that Arkadia does have more potential in terms of a more immersive experience, and perhaps seek to distinguish and better itself from the mistakes of the other planets, so keep up the good work guys

Two cents from an excited Singaporean

 

Might getting in a bit late but this is how I see a good newbie teaching system.

A you may know I am one of the Community Advisers. Now this is a fun hobby it doesnt really get newbies interact more into the game. I still be lieve a mentor system is one of the ways to go. Personal 1 on 1 attention and making friendship is how we can draw more newbies. Granted the tutorial mission on the Claypso gateway give a good basic feel but really the more you make for newbies the dumber they become.

So if i had a say in the whole designing a planet thingie. i would make a similair training area like FPC did (kinda what the Guides have been sying to FPC the whole time from day one when vu 10 came) but I would more involve the newbie with a story line. I know arkadia is good with this and I expect a lot of story based arakdia missions. But what i also like to see is a redone mentor system where everybody gets involved in teaching. Ofc MA has to fixed the exploit bugs of the mentor system but something with a mission based teaching program is cool.

 

I said it on PCF and I have to repeat myself here. The people who truely care about new players mentor someone they meet because something in that person inspired them to do so. Haveing a mentor system brought back in that is reward based is a bad idea.

Currently anyone who is truely a mentor has not stopped helping new players because there is no "Reward" they are still doing it. Even when there was a reward system I helped players and never once did I askto be their "Official mentor" in the reward program. Far too many people only did it for the reward and the new player more often then not got ignored after the initial acceptance. Too many got hit with the drive by mentor invite that stuck them with some uselss asshole only in it to get the reward.

Leave rewards out of the mentor system .. the new players will be the better for it. Not to mention more apt to stay once they learn and not get sham'd their first few minutes in game. Make a good starting area, allow those that are willing to help to help and leave mentoring as a thing of the past as a skill or reward based system.

 

I for one dont want a "GATEWAY" type of an arrival zone.

Get the people into the game straight away. This is how I amagine it:

New Arrival Zone:
Before you 'land' on the planet you would get some basic information of the planet and the story. Then you are in front of the plane. Then there would be an NPC that would have like an exclamation point about the head '!' that she wants to talk to you. She would welcome you to the planet, telling you how to move around, and pointing you to the airport "arrival" building. There you'd have more NPCs telling you who and where you should visit. After leaving this buidling, which could be visited by mentors(* read about them later down). you cant go back unless you have the 'mentor status' (about this later). This whole "town" would be filled with buildings with npcs explaining all the parts of entropia that would give you small missions telling you who to meet experts on hunting/mining/crafting and other profesions. Talking about mobs etc. This whole city would be like one huge mission where people would learn. I image imagine a square with a TP just like in old PA with noobs around it.

*mentor status/licence: You could get this status after completing a mission that could be activated after getting a certain amount of skills and after completing it, you'd get a licence

Damn I wish I could actually talk with someone from you guys at the company personaly. I have an awesome game in my head, Its just hard to explain.

 

Heh I think we all do to a certain extent Juan

 

what about lock area . and a "noob island" so ppl can have some basic mission like they buut in atlantis then once they got them , they have a "pass" to the wild world, so they know and understand the basic. and will not be scam stupidly

 

I know this is answer not strictly about the set up of the planet but.....

1. When I started 5 years ago I jumped in, listened and learned as I went. But the most useful thing, and I kept going back to it for more than a year, was an excellent and very detailed beginners guide (with pictures) in the 'entropia forum'. I flipped to the relevant section, found what I needed and went back to the game, done. Using this I didnt need to ask a thousand dumbarse questions and didnt actually join a soc for a couple of years.
2. The main problem I had a couple of times, the longest was for over a week, was being trapped at an outpost. That almost made me give up. Unless all regenerations are to tp's there needs to be some advertised way of getting help.

p.s. I'm sorry to say I forget who did that great guide but I owe them, and so does M.A.

 

EwoK, you are spot on, one was Alice. I would strongly recommend something similar be made available for Arkadia. It took you through easy and complex actions step by step.

Hey Alice.... thanks)