Focused Feedback: New Player Experience (NPE) Improvements

[Dev Unitas]

11 hours ago, Doc_Scorpion said:

Out doing some testing of exploration tips - are you supposed to randomly get additional tips when out picking up Exploration badges?  (This was not the one you get for finding your second Exploration badge.)

You should be getting granted additional Exploration tips when picking up exploration badges, to serve as a guide to others in the zone.

[Doc_Scorpion]

1 hour ago, Dev Unitas said:

You should be getting granted additional Exploration tips when picking up exploration badges, to serve as a guide to others in the zone.

Missed that in the patch note when I looked yesterday, and of course found it today.

Did some quick testing, and if the chance is random it seems to be maybe a bit too high as it lead me through all of the badges in Atlas Park.  If it's not random, I don't know how I feel about putting new players on rails and leading them by the hand.  OTOH, I can see the value of getting some Merits, and by extension cash into their pockets.  (Once on they stumble on how to do so, but that's a different topic.)

Also, leading them all the way through a zone seems to work against discovering them via street sweeping.

[Jimmy]

31 minutes ago, Doc_Scorpion said:

Did some quick testing, and if the chance is random it seems to be maybe a bit too high as it lead me through all of the badges in Atlas Park. 

 

It should be every badge in a zone that has tips (as long as you don't already have all the badges in that zone), apart from your very first badge (to avoid a double pop-up). The reality is that a very large portion of exploration badges aren't discoverable without being told where they are by another player or resorting to VidiotMaps / the Wiki.

 

That's why we added Tour Guide tips to begin with, so there's a diegetic way to discover them. Making them easier to use and access just means players are less likely to want to use those non-diegetic methods (and it's totally fine if you still want to do that, but the convenience gap between in-game discovery and the wiki should be a bit smaller than it is right now).

 

31 minutes ago, Doc_Scorpion said:

Also, leading them all the way through a zone seems to work against discovering them via street sweeping.

 

The aim is to make the badges more discoverable full stop. The method of discovery isn't the important part 🙂

[Bionic_Flea]

But Jimmy, why did you have to use the word diegetic?  First, you made me look it up, and second, because now I have to come up with a Diegetic Flea.

[lemming]

10 minutes ago, Bionic_Flea said:

But Jimmy, why did you have to use the word diegetic?  First, you made me look it up, and second, because now I have to come up with a Diegetic Flea.

I went right to diatomaceous which should be your kryptonite.

[Sovera]

Since Aaron Thiery has come up a number of times and since we are talking about NPE it would be remiss not to mention how jarring it is to even have the option to kill the guy at the end. It jarred me then, it jars me now as I play in Brainstorm.

 

It's an option that should strictly exist in the rogue side.

 

I don't say this as some sort of moralism or think-of-the-children, just how it gives a bad first impression. I don't remember ever finding this option anywhere else than in that arc when in blue side.

[Lockely]

10 minutes ago, Sovera said:

 

It's an option that should strictly exist in the rogue side.

 

Ideally, it would award you a Vigilante point. Vigilante's very specifically sometimes kill people if they deem it 'justice.'

[Wavicle]

14 minutes ago, Sovera said:

Since Aaron Thiery has come up a number of times and since we are talking about NPE it would be remiss not to mention how jarring it is to even have the option to kill the guy at the end. It jarred me then, it jars me now as I play in Brainstorm.

 

It's an option that should strictly exist in the rogue side.

 

I don't say this as some sort of moralism or think-of-the-children, just how it gives a bad first impression. I don't remember ever finding this option anywhere else than in that arc when in blue side.

it’s precisely the same choice given at the end of Shauna Braun’s Vigilante arc.

[Sovera]

3 minutes ago, Wavicle said:

it’s precisely the same choice given at the end of Shauna Braun’s Vigilante arc.

 

I've never done that arc, but a player picking a vigilante arc gets an idea of what they will find. This is a hero side low level arc and one of the first found.

 

Regardless just my two bits on the subject.

[Wavicle]

9 minutes ago, Sovera said:

 

I've never done that arc, but a player picking a vigilante arc gets an idea of what they will find. This is a hero side low level arc and one of the first found.

 

Regardless just my two bits on the subject.

Definitely intended to provide a Vig option, but you make a valid point. Maybe if the text clarified “a Hero wouldn’t do this, but a Vigilante might”

[megaericzero]

I think what Sovera is saying is that having that option in such an introductory Primal Earth story arc might lead new players to believe more (Primal) content will have those kinds of choices when a majority of (Primal) content is pre-Going Rogue design and therefore won't. That and/or having such an extreme option for a low-level hero given you're not going to do that to other villains later who are arguably more unforgivable.

 

It's understandable in that the live devs were probably going to add more stuff like that to lower level content in future updates back then but, since we've been stuck for a decade with only those few new pieces with GR's style writing, it stands out quite a lot compared to how a lot of pre-30-ish content will actually be on Primal Earth.

Edited February 8 by megaericzero
corrected sentence

[gameboy1234]

46 minutes ago, Sovera said:

Since Aaron Thiery has come up a number of times and since we are talking about NPE it would be remiss not to mention how jarring it is to even have the option to kill the guy at the end. It jarred me then, it jars me now as I play in Brainstorm.

 

If you went through the Galaxy City tutorial, you already made a moral choice.  I think it was intended to reinforce (or change) that choice.  It would be cool if the game did something with that choice, but I don't think it's strictly necessary.  Something small, like a different clue (explaining in-story that you made a morale choice) would be cool, but I wouldn't overly worry about it.

 

(On the subject of new player experience, I find the whole "clue" thing really unwieldy.  The clues are seldom in order, they're hard to find if you have more than one set on the list, the UI is kinda clunky, and in general I don't find it great.  A re-imagining of some the UI menus would be a great NPE addition.  The clue bag should be a paper notebook or a computer (smart phone) screen with a bit more organization and easier way to read / organize the clues.  Maybe clues and souvenirs could be combined into the same dialog.)

 

[Tatterhood]

1 hour ago, Sovera said:

I've never done that arc, but a player picking a vigilante arc gets an idea of what they will find. This is a hero side low level arc and one of the first found.

 

Regardless just my two bits on the subject.

Graham Easton's arc does the exact same thing, and makes a really big deal out of it by giving you a different badge and temp power depending on whether you choose to kill the guy. It definitely seems like the original devs were moving in the direction of doing more of this stuff. In HC-original content, Agent Watkins's arc has a moral choice of a different kind, though that one actually gives you a hero or vigilante point.

 

I can see the point that it's sort of out of place with older content, but I personally would like to see more of this kind of thing, not less.

[mechahamham]

P2W - T4V -> START

 

This seems like a good change, since it helps points new players to utilities that most of us take for granted. Additionally, the popup text you get explaining the jetpack and where to get more is also a good pointer.

 

There's one area where I think it could be improved. Something that I see returning players ask in /help fairly often is 'Where are my veteran's rewards?' Most people who answer these questions immediately jump to the 'Veteran's Levels' after 50, and how they interact with the Incarnate system. I think what most people are asking, though, is 'Where are the loyalty and purchase rewards like Sands of Mu?'

 

I think that popup text, which currently reads:

 

Quote

You have received a Jet Pack! This temporary power will allow you to fly at moderate speeds for a total of 30 minutes. You can acquire more time for your Jet Pack — and a host of other goodies — from the START Vendors located in Atlas Park (for Heroes), Mercy Island (for Villains), Nova Praetoria (for Praetorians), and Pocket D.

 

Would be a good spot to placed an addendum like

 

Note for Returning Players: Prestige Powers and Enhancements formerly available via the Veterans Rewards system are now available from START vendors.

 

Another good place to show something like this would be among the map loading screen tips.

 

Incidentally, there's an opportunity here for some real comedy in the game writing if you have the START reps be a bit sheepish about heroes and villains not being terribly okay with 'Paying 2 Win'.

[Reiska]

13 hours ago, megaericzero said:

It's understandable in that the live devs were probably going to add more stuff like that to lower level content in future updates back then but, since we've been stuck for a decade with only those few new pieces with GR's style writing, it stands out quite a lot compared to how a lot of pre-30-ish content will actually be on Primal Earth.

 

Yeah, it would not have surprised me at all if in the hypothetical universe where CoH didn't shut down, Paragon would have progressively revamped some issue 0 content to have more of this stuff over time; they were doing little revamps to older content all the time, like The Hollows in issue 16 for instance.

 

I do think it'd be a good stretch goal for Homecoming to go through and clean up issue 0 content still, streamlining out some filler and maybe introducing a little more map variety without actually changing the overall plot of those arcs.

[Terenos]

There are a couple of places in the archetype descriptions where it still genders the AT. Here are the ones I was able to catch, along with fixes:

 

Blaster

 

The Blaster is an offensive juggernaut. This hero can deal a ton of damage from a distance. But the Blaster must be careful, because he's they're somewhat fragile compared to other heroes. The Blaster can't stand toe to toe with most opponents at melee for long. His A Blaster's best defense is a great offense!

 

Defender

 

The Defender tends to help his their allies, and attack his (no pronoun needed here) foes, from a distance. The Defender excels at powers that assist friends, but can also hinder his their enemies. The Defender is able to attack at quite a range, however, the Defender is not built for hand to hand. He They might be able to dodge a few attacks, but the Defender won't last for long.

 

Dominator

 

As a Dominator, you control a devastating combination of control and assault powers. A Dominator can freeze foes in place, render them unconscious, or cause them to flee in terror. Dominators can also smite their foes with a selection of single-target melee and ranged attacks, with devastating effectiveness. Additionally, each time a Dominator attacks, he comes they come closer to unleashing his their true sadistic power of Domination. With so much emphasis on diverse offensive powers, Dominators lack in defenses and work best with teammates who can provide protection.

Edited February 9 by Terenos

[ZamuelNow]

Adding on to the gendering problem, the devs might want to tweak some of the originally redside only ATs still have villainous sounding parts to their descriptions.  Though I'm not sure of the exact replacements needed.

[Wavicle]

1 minute ago, ZamuelNow said:

Adding on to the gendering problem, the devs might want to tweak some of the originally redside only ATs still have villainous sounding parts to their descriptions.  Though I'm not sure of the exact replacements needed.

why is that a problem?

[sbloyd]

4 minutes ago, Wavicle said:

why is that a problem?

Blueside proliferation, I'd think.

[Lunar Ronin]

2 minutes ago, sbloyd said:

Blueside proliferation, I'd think.

 

Sweet.  Does that mean that the originally heroic ATs should be re-written to have their heroic descriptions removed as well, since they can be played as villains?

Edited February 9 by Lunar Ronin

[Terenos]

To be honest, the AT descriptors need a more complete editing pass to bring them all in line with a single voice. Some of them talk about the AT mostly in the third person, some of them talk about them in the second person, and some switch back and forth indiscriminately. My edits were mostly just to address a low-hanging fruit problem.

[Lockely]

7 minutes ago, Lunar Ronin said:

 

Sweet.  Does that mean that the originally heroic ATs should be re-written to have their heroic descriptions removed as well, since they can be played as villains?

Heroic ATs are all written in neutral language.

[Wavicle]

The villain AT NAMES are villainous. Just editing the descriptions is silly. Lean IN. They should stay villainous to match the names.

[Lunar Ronin]

4 minutes ago, Lockely said:

Heroic ATs are all written in neutral language.

 

Negative.  Blaster was quoted above, which mentions "hero" twice.  That's one AT.

[gameboy1234]

Note sure if I should post this here or the general feedback threads, but here's a new player talking about the game, from a different forum:

 

Quote

2. When I tried to set it [the Task Force] up initially... it didn't work out. The initial system for queing for a Task Force doesn't work. I thankfully met a great player who was able to setup a team, and get everything sorted, but it's frustrating that the way you're, on paper, supposed to do it doesn't work.

 

I'm not sure what "didn't work" here means, but it might be either that it doesn't start the TF (and it's unclear to a new player what to do next), or that there's no intro or other directions telling you what to do once the TF has started, or that the queuing system is borked because no one uses it, or because certain options ("lock team") should probably be on by default.  I could ask for more info, but I thought I'd post it here and let other folks think about it too.