Thoughts.

[The Fugitive]

Planetside 2 has a training tutorial that you have to go through or it doesnt let you in the arenas.

I liked the idea as I worked my way through it to figure out how things work, but a number of guys I know just want to blow through it and get to the game. So its good and bad. From a customers side Id say it going to be a 50-50 thing. From a business side it sound like another good way to collect data, if that data is needed.

[Max]

You need a built-in tutorial that can be toggled on or off in the tower.    Making it mandatory isn't the solution but making it available is. 

An overlay with arrows that point to what things do is a start, particularly the chat bar and controls (to include guns, throttle, etc.).

Might it be possible to award perk points for completed tutorial segments? Not talkin 262's here; just enough to keep new players involved and progressing.

[CptTrips]

What I think would really help new players as well is, having a "New U" arena on a small map similar to the old H2H maps, where only 2 weekers are allowed + official AH trainers who can be in the arena to assist with questions.

This would allow new users to practice with other newbies in a smaller environment that would help them to get into action more quickly.

If very few people go into the Training Arena,  why do you think they would go there? 

I think it is very hard to get anyone to do anything but click on the Melee.  Would you force them?

[Vraciu]

Might it be possible to award perk points for completed tutorial segments? Not talkin 262's here; just enough to keep new players involved and progressing.

Yes, or a discount off the subscription for a month after completing. 

“COMPLETE THIS TUTORIAL AND GET $5 OFF YOUR FIRST MONTH OF ACES HIGH.”

[CptTrips]

Planetside 2 has a training tutorial that you have to go through or it doesnt let you in the arenas.

I liked the idea as I worked my way through it to figure out how things work, but a number of guys I know just want to blow through it and get to the game. So its good and bad. From a customers side Id say it going to be a 50-50 thing. From a business side it sound like another good way to collect data, if that data is needed.

I think the trick is to keep the mandatory training stripped down to the absolute minimum necessary to get wheels up and have a reasonable chance to at least land some rounds on someone.  People are chomping at the bit, so it is a trade-off.  You have to define what is the absolute bare minimum to know to make it worth logging in, but keep the forced training lightweight.

Anyone not knowing those absolute basics would be wasting their time.
Anyone already knowing those absolute basics should be able to blow through quickly.

Anything beyond the absolute minimum basics should be available as optional (possibly perk awarded for completion).

$0.02,
CptTrips

[ROC]

I like it.  Maybe a beginner area that has them go through the basic flight controls and how to play the game.  World of Tanks and other games do this.
WoW has entry level areas and quests that train you as you go.  Can't get into the dungeons and such until you are capable of not shooting yourself in the foot.
There is an investment in time to learn and seems to retain people better once they "buy in" with some sweat equity.

[streakeagle]

While you might want to default to such a tutorial, I don't know about making it mandatory. If I am already an experienced simmer and the tutorial took too long and/or was dreadfully boring, I would uninstall it and never come back.

Many first person shooters either offer or even make you go through some sort of "boot camp" before you can are free to do what you want. But people want to play those games so much that they will blow through those as fast as they can to get to the fun. I don't know that those even slightly interested in combat flight sims are that patient.

But MA numbers aren't going up, so why not try it out. If people can't stand it, they will surely let you know.

[CptTrips]

If I am already an experienced simmer and the tutorial took too long and/or was dreadfully boring, I would uninstall it and never come back.

I completely agree.

You'd definitely want to limit the mandatory part to just what is necessary to get wheels up, find a target on dar, close and shoot something down.  If you can't do that, there is no point logging in.  If you're experienced, that should take a minimal amount of time.

I mean, you don't want THIS to be their first experience   [language warning] :

[Oldman731]

I think the trick is to keep the mandatory training stripped down to the absolute minimum necessary to get wheels up and have a reasonable chance to at least land some rounds on someone.  People are chomping at the bit, so it is a trade-off.  You have to define what is the absolute bare minimum to know to make it worth logging in, but keep the forced training lightweight.

Agreed.  But guiding the noobs through joystick setup, plane selection and load-out, auto takeoff, and how to do a lead turn wouldn't take too long.  Then a quick video of someone doing that, and a link to the help section. 

- oldman

[DmonSlyr]

If very few people go into the Training Arena,  why do you think they would go there? 

I think it is very hard to get anyone to do anything but click on the Melee.  Would you force them?

No one goes into the training arena because there is typically no trainers in there. There's is no push to get people into the TA. Also, you can't shoot anyone down. It's not designed in a team death match approach. People want to hop in and fight and die, not learn ACM in their first week. Perhaps putting them in the New arena after their tutorial, would at least be a feeder for 2 weekers. Then there would be an arena message that says,  "this is a new players only, and explain that they are still welcome to play in the MA for 2 weeks. In reality, the MA is just too big for most new players and their 2 week experience.

[Volron]

I completely agree.

You'd definitely want to limit the mandatory part to just what is necessary to get wheels up, find a target on dar, close and shoot something down.  If you can't do that, there is no point logging in.  If you're experienced, that should take a minimal amount of time.

I mean, you don't want THIS to be their first experience   [language warning] :

In his defense in the beginning after he crashed; it wasn't very easy to notice the little green text saying "Press the QUOTE Key for to enable mouse cursor".  Move that off the map and have that text in a box with a black background, and possibly create an option to turn that off once it's figured out.

[LilMak]

I think working on the basic interface would pay big dividends as well. Remember when I was a noob thinking the basic clipboard setup was clunky as hell. (Not for flight but in the hangar)  Things like the runway layouts as blocks didn’t make any sense. Also stuff like the MOTD showing up on the clipboard leaf and so small that you can barely read it or get the cursor over the X to close it. And why isn’t there a 360 drag so you can see the plane as loaded in the hangar? (That would’ve pretty awesome with all the available skins).

Not really about eye candy but mostly about the intuitive nature or lack thereof.

[Shuffler]

[Snip]
One of Sam's issues was flying 15 min to a base, only to did in 3 seconds. This is a big problem for many newbs who just don't have the time to learn this way.
[/Snip]

His main issue was he thought he was top 10 in the world but was actually just another noob. He spent most of his time telling everyone how good he was.....

Training will not help someone who thinks they are the best there is. He blamed the game for his lack of training yet he was not interested in learning anything.

[Easyscor]

Planetside 2 has a training tutorial that you have to go through or it doesnt let you in the arenas.

I liked the idea as I worked my way through it to figure out how things work, but a number of guys I know just want to blow through it and get to the game.
...

I've noticed that most of the games on Oculus have tutorials built in. When I've been away from a game for awhile, I restart the tutorial to remember what controller does what. It's pretty handy for someone like me that rarely gets to play.

[Puma44]

His main issue was he thought he was top 10 in the world but was actually just another noob. He spent most of his time telling everyone how good he was.....

Training will not help someone who thinks they are the best there is. He blamed the game for his lack of training yet he was not interested in learning anything.

Spot on.  It’s one thing to have multiple people state how amazing you are.  Being the only one telling people how amazing you are is a whole other thing.  The learning curve as a newb in this game is nearly vertical, even if you’re, or think you are, in the world’s top ten.