A "No0b" Arena Message of the Day

[Babalonian]

I think my mind is bored before school starts next week, I'm not trying to create a new wish thread everyday, apologies if it sems I'm bableing.

Yesterday, I logged in and as usual it put me at a field far away from the action.  I was about to jump to a different field when I heard and engine start and a player rolling down the runway.  I was thinking "Maybe it's a buffer going on a run", and figured I could escort him.  It was a fighter and a player I had never seen.  He gets wheels up and then crashes.  I do a quick score check on him and it was obvious he was struggling so I sent a PM to him, "Would you like some help?".  He replied, "lol, yes I do".  So I invite him into the TA and let him follow me around shooting me.  Now, I'm not a trainer and really am kinda lost on how to help him much so this is basically all I had for him.  If nothing else he got a better idea on E management and gunnery.  I decided to help him out after reading this thread.  This is a tough game, we who play here should keep that in mind and remember how lost we all were when we first started.

I think most new players to AH tend to leap before they look (maybe all?). 

Idea 1: The "No0b" arena MOTD, where a 2-week trial account gets a unique/friendly popup everytime they enter an arena, encouraging them to seek help in the TA or the Training Forum, and/or to a global help channel where they can ask questions.  It will only be as much of an inconvenience as any of the other arena messages or anouncements that pop up for all of us upon connecting and you can close with a click.

Idea 2: The "No0b" Global Help Channel.  How difficult would it be to make a global help channel (all the MAs linked to one) that only trainers (maybe also CMs and AVA staff) and trial accounts have access to?  Make it one of the default tuned-in channels via a fresh game install, so the "no0bs" are already tunned into the "Rookie Help" channel upon joining an arena for the first time.  This way trainers can help that guy who decided to start in the EWA while in another arena, or even other new players who may know the answer.  To prevent abuse/clutter of it as a global "all chat", it would probabley be wise to remove a "no0bs" access after a few weeks, and by that point they have probabley explored private messaging players or discovered 200 for all chat.

Idea 3: It might be a good idea if there was a symbol/identifier so that other friendly pilots can identify a new player from one that isn't.  I don't think it should be visible or obvious to enemy pilots, with exception to after they've been shot down or have shot down the new player, because it shouldn't be used against them, but if I had a good fight with a noob until they made one mistake (or I did) and I know they're new to the game, I might be inclined to PM them encouragement or tips (or maybe questions about what was their previous ID).

[Tinkles]

I think my mind is bored before school starts next week, I'm not trying to create a new wish thread everyday, apologies if it sems I'm bableing.

(Image removed from quote.)


I think most new players to AH tend to leap before they look (maybe all?). 

Idea 1: The "No0b" arena MOTD, where a 2-week trial account gets a unique/friendly popup everytime they enter an arena, encouraging them to seek help in the TA or the Training Forum, and/or to a global help channel where they can ask questions.  It will only be as much of an inconvenience as any of the other arena messages or anouncements that pop up for all of us upon connecting and you can close with a click.

Idea 2: The "No0b" Global Help Channel.  How difficult would it be to make a global help channel (all the MAs linked to one) that only trainers (maybe also CMs and AVA staff) and trial accounts have access to?  Make it one of the default tuned-in channels via a fresh game install, so the "no0bs" are already tunned into the "Rookie Help" channel upon joining an arena for the first time.  This way trainers can help that guy who decided to start in the EWA while in another arena, or even other new players who may know the answer.  To prevent abuse/clutter of it as a global "all chat", it would probabley be wise to remove a "no0bs" access after a few weeks, and by that point they have probabley explored private messaging players or discovered 200 for all chat.

Idea 3: It might be a good idea if there was a symbol/identifier so that other friendly pilots can identify a new player from one that isn't.  I don't think it should be visible or obvious to enemy pilots, with exception to after they've been shot down or have shot down the new player, because it shouldn't be used against them, but if I had a good fight with a noob until they made one mistake (or I did) and I know they're new to the game, I might be inclined to PM them encouragement or tips (or maybe questions about what was their previous ID).

Yeah like.. a star. 

Seriously though, I think that all your points are valid. Quite a few struggle with things like this, I have some difficulty in some points, but am overall better due to those in the TA and MA who have assisted me in ACM tips and plane information.

Tinkles

<<S>>

[Babalonian]

Yeah like.. a star. 

Seriously though, I think that all your points are valid. Quite a few struggle with things like this, I have some difficulty in some points, but am overall better due to those in the TA and MA who have assisted me in ACM tips and plane information.

Tinkles

<<S>>

   

[Wiley]

If we're going to use info that's already available to us, maybe have stars optionally show up in friendly icons?  Seems like a half-decent indicator if someone is a newb.

A Message for Newbs window would seem to me to be a really good idea.  All it would really need maybe is to be off to the side or above or below the current MOTD window, just with links to the TA, forums, a couple other helpful things maybe...

A question/answer channel seems to me like a good idea, with reporting for people who provide snark/disinformation.

I like it.  Don't know how much use it would see, but it's better having it available IMO.

Wiley.

[Babalonian]

If I could I would lurk around the help channel myself... but if others are also like me, good intentioned (or otherwise) and all, it will undoubtedly have sporatic general/off-topic chat. 

My greatest fear is it becomes a similar or an even biggers (global) version of ch200.  Although I wish I could lurk to help when bored in climbout, I think maybe removing a new players after 3-6 weeks (and not permiting regular old players like me to rejoin) would be best for its health.  Maybe agressive moderating could work, but I don't think it's fair that mods in it helping new players with questions have to constantly switch hats and be the babysitters for it.

[RotBaron]

Good ideas. 


Only one thing, I often am tuned to the help channel. I've just found it interesting for a long time, the types of questions that get asked, for awhile I was learning, these days I'm answering questions in there - if I know the answer. Snailman is often there and able to provide more info than I can. However there are sometimes others who can't seem to figure out the Help Ch. isn't for chat...not very often.  Anyways, my point is, maybe some of us in the game that have proven they can answer rookie's questions without being smarthats could be included, I don't know how much coverage there is in the LW players with "mod" authority and thus without the rest of us the rookie questions might be going unanswered.  Maybe "lurkers" could be tolerated until they prove  they can't control themselves.