2-week trial players...spin off from Frustration thread

[Babalonian]

Some HUGE things that would help the 2-week trial offer new folks:

A)  If smarty-buttocks folks would stop saying "ALT + F4" to everyone with a new player question

B)  If smarty-buttocks folks would stop saying "Hey NOOB--go to the Training Arena"  (it's not always staffed 24/7 world-wide)

C) If experienced players see a new person asking obvious "new player" question like--"How do I start my engine?",  "How do I get my joystick to work?", and "How do I keep from stalling all the time?" To do some one-on-one mentoring.


It's not hard at all to find a clear text/VOX channel and get them to go there and walk them through the "everyday easy's".  You are not only saving them from always doing it on green, you are helping someone new with what I'm pretty sure everyone agrees is a pretty steep learning curve for planes, and almost as bad for gv's and gv/gunnery skills.  

What are ya afraid of?  They might shoot you down someday?  

Besides, you just might be helping a future squaddie who has natural talent.

I think the biggest help, other than their own personal AH trainer, is if the new guys knew of a few good more-or-less public squad channels to tune to for everything from help to casual socialising rather than channel 200... in fact, 2-week trials should be banned for 4-weeks from 200 for their own good and sake of progressive development in the game.  But seriously, I wish each squad could advertise or have it selectable from the roster to tune to their channel, if public, for other players to participate/communicate with them that might want to (and squad officers could maybe have permission to mute/kick people from it if there are abuses).

[AAJagerX]

Possibly a drop down list of squads on the clipboard with a button that sends a request to join that squad's vox.  I could see that being useful, but who would make the decision to allow/deny access?

[Babalonian]

Gets a little complicated there.  Maybe under the squad management menu, have a class/category to assign squad members as vox moderators.  Also maybe under that menu manually specify the "Squad vox" number too the squad leader wants.  IE: POTW in knight-side 152.  Squad members maybe default to this channel when joining the arena.

Only complication I see are us large multi-squad/wing squads, so hopefuly those multiple wings can specify the same channel, but that might lead to some problems with having moderators that can eject other moderators or other issues....


Edit: you could take off squad-size limitations in-game, but I think it would also add more functionality if two squads who wanted to join their voxs together temporarily or permanently for joint operations could do so via one of the squad's changing their default squad vox to the hosting squad's vox.

[The Fugitive]

That's all well and good, but do you really think that learning the controls is the difficulty that two weekers struggle with the most?  Do they fail to subscribe after their trial because they couldn't figure out the controls, or how to shoot at a building, or even land?

No, they don't subscribe because they get shot down over and over and don't know why.  And they learn quickly that they aren't "wanted" by the player base.  They are harassed, called all kinds of fun names, given the Alt-F4 gag everytime they ask a question, and told that they must go to the TA because they suck so bad.  They go to the TA...  Guess what...   They log in to the TA, and unless they are very lucky, there is no Trainer in there.  So, from their perspective they've just been the victim of another Alt-F4 style gag.  Think they will go back to the TA?

I think that motivating Squads to get involved is what needs to happen.

Imagine a two weekers improved experience if they are paired up with a squad who is willing to show him how to manuever to avoid a HO, how to merge, how to dodge a guy coming down from a large alt advantage.  Plus, on top of all that, he immediately gets introduced to some folks in the game.  Folks that he knows will answer questions.  He'll ask a lot more.  Learn faster.  And definitely enjoy his 2 weeks more.

While a few canned missions to teach the controls wouldn't hurt, I doubt they will do much to convince a two weeker to subscribe.

Having a training tutorial and making each new player go through the training will do a number of things.

Teach them how to set up their controls and do basic stuff like taking off, straffing targets (angles, compression, aim) landing (ON the runway NOT on the grass, and why) Radio controls, GV driving, buff missions to a strat, even a mission agains the AI for some fighter training.

As well as training it will get a person "into" the game, as they MUST be flight qualified to fly. Missions start with a briefing and end with one getting the info MOST players don't LOOK for, or spend their first night loading the text with question like "how do I start my tank?"

All of the info NEEDED to play this game is very easy to find. The trainers have a good site full of info, as well as HTC's help section on the main page. The problem is nobody wants to read this info, they want to play! Well let them play in the training tutorial.

Marking new guys with a different color would be the best way to chase off new people. More than half the players today go for HOs and vulches to get easy kills as apposed to fighting for one. Now you want to high light the baby seals?


Helping new players is great. I try when I see a question pop up. I also spend some time on the "newbs" channel and get ignore more often than not. My squad, has taken in a number of new players and showed them the ropes. Our squads, unlike other  doesn't have an age limit. But for every squad or person out there that helps, there are two, three who knows how many working against them. People trashing new guys on the radio, PMs, not allowing them to wing with or join their squad. It's looking more like high school than a club where we all have a common interest in flying.

[GNucks]

Unskippable tutorials is bad game design. Let someone jump into the fray if they want to, don't restrict them from actually playing the game. We all stomp our feet and throw temper tantrums when caps keep us from playing with our friends, mandatory training would do the same thing.

Let someone pursue the training on their own, the game could remind them that the tutorial is available for the duration of their 2-week trial when they get killed or crash.

[dirtdart]

Two seekers are not annoying. Years of playing vets who should know the etiquette of the game are. 

[BERN1]

give the newb in green country diff colored tags or somesort of marker
how about making the help channel a default channel for 2 weekers or scrolling helpful tidbits across the help screen this could include trainers nics or squads that want to help newbs?
maybe a diff title screen for newbs that instructs them how to find the forums or schedule a trainer.
 as far as being told to goto the training room I still get that when i ask questions
shoot new accounts an email that kinda leads them through basic set ups and procedures
just some ideas comin froma guy that has been a "NEWB" in atleast halfa dozen Flight sims,it's really all up to the community

[BERN1]

oh yea as far as making someone complete "basic" training bad idea i never did make it over the last obstacle in america's army

[A8TOOL]

HTC out of touch.

Seems same complaints and help/ideas given for years w/o implementation.

One that makes most sense is new player stick set up aids

Another would be an optional tutorial...like many first shooters have used for nearly 2 decades.

[RTHolmes]

oh yea as far as making someone complete "basic" training bad idea i never did make it over the last obstacle in america's army

I'm guessing you passed basic ok, that was the SF thing where you have to creep around without getting discovered - that is not easy! 

a similar, short basic training for AH would be a great idea

[oboe]

Guys, for different colored icons for two-weekers, I meant within the country only (no way should opposing pilots be able to see a two-weeker highlighted with a different color) -- that would be just wicked evil.

Another, perhaps easier way to implement would be to prefix their handles with a special character, '^' for example -only countrymen would be able to ID two-weekers.  Our goal should be to help these players acclimate to the game, learn the ropes.

Or, perhaps the first time a new trial member goes online, he is automatically added to squad called 'The Nuggets' which is CO'd by a trainer or community manager - somebody would always need to be available for this duty.  Their job would be to answer questions, wing with them and give them pointers, help them get that first kill and land it, etc.   Anyway it would be a human introduction to the game--some players might like that and maybe some wouldn't. 

[ink]

I definitely think an arena that is all AI, has every "type" of mission for beginners, from fighter sweeps, to bombers bombing, to GV's doing there GV thing....

I would say it should not be mandatory but optional, give them incentive though, every "mission" completed they earn perks that can be used in the MA,(the better in the mission you do the more perks earned) this arena shouldn't just be for noobs though, any one can go and earn some perks and practice, with out having to do it in the MA, to get ridiculed when you drop bombs on your own field.

this would go a long way to get the noobs up to par for some MA fun.

I can see the "fighter" mission, you pick the nme plane, situation, number of nme's, ALT, load out, then you go do the mission, x amount of perks for every nme plane shot down.

a new "war" arena that is not necessarily replaying the exact way the war went down, but instead of knights,rooks,bish, its the real countries.
when you first sign into the arena you sign up for what you want to play as, IE fighter, bomber....and what country you want to fly for.
  this could have squad made missions and/or single player mission, along with AI missions that you could join.

with this arena, the two main LW arena's could be dissolved into one, the player base would be spread out through out the MA's,WAR arena, and training arena's, so the cesspool of the one main arena would be nullified.

change the dynamics of the MA's to a local eny(depending on the number of friendlies/nmes in a given area will depend on perks earned), perk EVERY plane, a spot on every map that has a fighter, and GV, area that cannot be taken. more ground targets to destroy, bridges, trains, and what not.




 

[DangerousGame]

Dale I found a sale on-line for red tape ( you might want to stock up )      

[save]

In Warbirds we have a "page trainer" button on the GUI.

Actually it works good, new users get help with issues that might not be of concern for the whole country channel ,and  that not will be responded with "Do  alt/F4"

[Noir]

Or, perhaps the first time a new trial member goes online, he is automatically added to squad called 'The Nuggets' which is CO'd by a trainer or community manager - somebody would always need to be available for this duty.  Their job would be to answer questions, wing with them and give them pointers, help them get that first kill and land it, etc.   Anyway it would be a human introduction to the game--some players might like that and maybe some wouldn't. 

I like that  They would feel less lonely, helping each other, winging, doing noob raids, maybe then create a squad...failing as a group is funnier.