New Player Experience ideas

[gameboy1234]

Some quick ideas on NPE.

 

1. Playing red side with an Ars/Traps controller, there's a lot of pretty clear differences with blue side.  One is fewer zones and therefore fewer giant monsters to fight, which can be a bit of a bummer with the new drops.  This could be changed just by adding more GMs per zone.  Sharkhead for example could use a giant slag golem appearing once in a while.

 

2. The brokers on red side feel very dated.  Having to do three or five newspaper missions before you're allowed to have a contact is way too old school.  Plus with new XP rates it's easy to miss the actual story arcs.  I'd like to see brokers hand out new contacts whenever a player talks to them.  Or at least the first contact should be given before any newspaper missions.  Of course, newspaper missions should still be present and should give a mayhem mission after you do enough.

 

3. I was offered Vince Dubrowski as a contact in Sharkhead at level 21, and his first mission is to clean out some scrapyarders in the Pit who are all level 25+.  This basically wastes a contact with the newspaper system.  Checking for contact level and making them appropriate for a player would help.

 

4. And obviously Oberst Straxt should be added to contacts given out in Sharkhead.

 

 

[Rudra]

5 minutes ago, gameboy1234 said:

and therefore fewer giant monsters to fight, which can be a bit of a bummer with the new drops.  This could be changed just by adding more GMs per zone.  Sharkhead for example could use a giant slag golem appearing once in a while.

What does this have to do with new players? (I'm also against more GMs just being plopped in zones.)

 

6 minutes ago, gameboy1234 said:

3. I was offered Vince Dubrowski as a contact in Sharkhead at level 21, and his first mission is to clean out some scrapyarders in the Pit who are all level 25+.  This basically wastes a contact with the newspaper system.  Checking for contact level and making them appropriate for a player would help.

You got a random mission from Vince Dubrowski. You can just abandon it and he will give another mission. His other missions, other than the talk to one(s), are instanced missions. And he is a level 20-24 contact, so he is an appropriate contact for your level. (And The Pit is a level 23-27 area. With a little bit of searching around, you can find lone Scrapyarders of manageable levels to fight.)

 

11 minutes ago, gameboy1234 said:

4. And obviously Oberst Straxt should be added to contacts given out in Sharkhead.

Oberst Straxt is in Striga. I can agree with a contact referring the player to him or giving a mission to go talk to him, but not as a contact given out in Sharkhead Isle itself.

[The Chairman]

1 hour ago, Rudra said:

Oberst Straxt is in Striga. I can agree with a contact referring the player to him or giving a mission to go talk to him, but not as a contact given out in Sharkhead Isle itself.

 

Is there a pop up when a Rogue/Villain reaches L20 "introducing" them to Oberst Straxt? If not, having a contact in the appropriate level band giving a mission to speak with him would be appropriate, if only to make sure folks are aware of the new content. Contacts used to do that for David Wincott, Jim Temblor, Stephanie Peebles, and Gordon Bower. I would think a more immersive means of introducing new contacts would be a good thing.

 

Sharkhead's level range is 20-30. Which zone would be preferable to have a contact introducing Oberst Straxt?

[Rudra]

Just now, The Chairman said:

 

Is there a pop up when a Rogue/Villain reaches L20 "introducing" them to Oberst Straxt? If not, having a contact in the appropriate level band giving a mission to speak with him would be appropriate, if only to make sure folks are aware of the new content. Contacts used to do that for David Wincott, Jim Temblor, Stephanie Peebles, and Gordon Bower. I would think a more immersive means of introducing new contacts would be a good thing.

 

Sharkhead's level range is 20-30. Which zone would be preferable to have a contact introducing Oberst Straxt?

Not that I've seen and I've run a new character through that level range since it was added. A popup when you get to level 20 or 21 would be fine in my book. So would adding a mission to the appropriate level contacts that sends you to Striga to find him like some other contact missions do. I'm just against like a broker introducing him.

[gameboy1234]

20 minutes ago, The Chairman said:

If not, having a contact in the appropriate level band giving a mission to speak with him would be appropriate, if only to make sure folks are aware of the new content.

 

This is the "new player" part of the contact system for me.  If you're new you don't read the forums much and you don't search through the wiki.  So you don't know to go looking for new content.  Putting the contact (Oberst Straxt specifically) on the Broker would make sure everyone sees it.  Even better, don't make the player choose from a list, just give them the contact for the newer and better content so they actually see it.

 

BTW, Darrin Wade introduced me to Vince Dubrowski after his first mission, so that happens too still.  If it feels more organic, it'd be fine to have whatever contact was chosen by the player also say "Oh, there's a submarine to Striga with some interesting opportunities, why don't you check it out." and then add Straxt as the contact, that would be fine too.

 

Some comments were made during the recent beta about updating the Find Contact system, specifically for new players.  This is kind of on the same lines, make sure players, especially new ones, are aware of the better content in the game and sent to those contacts.