New players are getting confused about how to leave Haven.
- Thread starter Tuhtram
- Start date
A streamlined 10 minute tutorial where they're alone and just go over the basics wouldn't be so bad, imo. They can have all of the warnings they need without other players interrupting the learning process.
You and I learned the hard way while being slapped around and sniped, that doesn't mean that it's necessarily the best for player retention even with the way the game world is outside of it not guiding them through it after, and nothing that happens in the tutorial is going to stop the world outside of it from being the way it is anyway. Let them be shocked if it gets them ready and keeps more people playing, imo.
NPC cities are important. I think the closed beta and stress tests prove that - communities organize around the cities in an organic way I haven't ever seen in any other mmo.
A tutorial npc city with no guidance makes 0 sense though. An on rails tutorial where players' attributes are homogenized for the tutorial experience (i.e. everyone runs at a reasonable speed, does reasonable damage, etc.) makes so much more sense. Make the tutorial a bandit attack or something - players have to defend their home/village/whatever from bandits. Before they can do that, they have to build a makeshift weapon, cast a spell, make a potion to heal an injury, etc. At the end of the tutorial, the player gets knocked out by these bandits and wakes up in another city (which they would select at the end of the tutorial). When they wake up in the city of their choosing, that's when they get to choose their attribute allocation. This would give new players a fun tutorial experience that doesn't make them quit within 30 minutes of logging in. Ideally, the tutorial would let them know what attributes do so they could make a more intelligent starting allocation than they currently are doing. Also, not a game designer by any means, but this seems so much less resource intensive than constructing a massive tutorial zone.
I think Haven does need a clearer way to direct people to Nave. The portals sound nice. Maybe they could be incorporated into the statues so that they are holding said portals with a faint image of the cities as the destination.
I am not so sure about a guided tutorial. Haven is an area where you can experiment freely what you would in Nave, but with a safety net. I think it's ok for people to give themselves asignements and tasks to complete as they would in Nave. The NPCs giving them instructions and tips on how to do so is good. Rather than the game just outright telling you how to do stuff you have to ask it through an NPC. You have to show agency which is good for a sandbox, and prepares you somewhat for what is to come.
Having the game lead you on by showing you the works and making you feel like you got the hang of it only to be then dumped into an open world with no directions and realizing you have no idea what you are doing when you get beheaded by another player would be a much bigger let down than not knowing how to leave Haven IMO.
I am not so sure about a guided tutorial. Haven is an area where you can experiment freely what you would in Nave, but with a safety net. I think it's ok for people to give themselves asignements and tasks to complete as they would in Nave. The NPCs giving them instructions and tips on how to do so is good. Rather than the game just outright telling you how to do stuff you have to ask it through an NPC. You have to show agency which is good for a sandbox, and prepares you somewhat for what is to come.
Having the game lead you on by showing you the works and making you feel like you got the hang of it only to be then dumped into an open world with no directions and realizing you have no idea what you are doing when you get beheaded by another player would be a much bigger let down than not knowing how to leave Haven IMO.
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I think new players not used to these kind of games are going to be let down after their first couple of deaths regardless. That said, the tutorial should both teach the basics and provoke interest in the game's systems. Experimentation isn't needed in a tutorial. Players need to be shown the game's potential before they're incentivized to do that experimentation.
Right. Which is why I think that improving the NPC tutor dialogues is more of a way to go than a linear tutorial. At least that is how I understood your suggestion. Even having a quest like line to craft a piece of armor I think would be nice, but not with the usual markers above heads. The tutor gives you the instructions and know how. It's up to you then if you wanna follow through with ti.
Agreed, if it guides them to much then they are going to think the game is going to do the same.
At the very least though, I think they should make note of the statues in the part of the tutorials that tell them to stay in haven as long as they need to.
Add something at those points like 'When you do find you are ready to leave, then visit the statues in the center of town'. With a pic of the statues.
Though that still does not address the issue with trying to connect with friends that you are trying to start the game together with.
Honestly there should just be a massive popup when you start, that says this is the tutorial area, you leave with the statues. And then make a basic instructor npc that also tells you how to leave as one of his main things.
Yeah, well, no. I disagree. Because I don't share your opinion of Haven in Mortal Online 2, I will not be sharing your suggestive fantasies. There's a fine line between what's really going on and what you WISH was going on. You have attempted to erase this line.
[[FORM]Fnord
The Haven exit definitely needs a better explanation. Maybe a flashing icon at the side of the player's name plate that, when clicked on, activates a mist trail that leads the player to the statues.
Put a text in the initial tutorial window that explains this so that players know very early on how to leave Haven.
Put a text in the initial tutorial window that explains this so that players know very early on how to leave Haven.
Well, that beats my idea:
When someone in [HELP] Chat types 'How do I get out of Haven' or 'How do I leave Haven', an NPC Bouncer materialises out of the nearest tavern and Troll-thrashes them a little-- then they wake up at a "So, you've decided to leave Haven. Please choose a destination: ..." screen.
[[FORM]Fnord
This is actually a pretty good idea! Should not be the only way but a command to put them on the right path could be useful.
Something like '/leavehaven' could put up a popup to explain what to do, teleport them to the statures or simply bypass the statue and go right to asking them which town they want to be ported too.
At least then when asked in the help chat other players can just give them the command instead of trying to tell them how to get to the statues.
A command like '/findfriend' or '/goinstance' could work the same for the players wanting to find friends in other instances as well.
Henrik should magically appear in front of every new player when they ask how to leave Haven on help chat, and teleport them from way up in the sky and let them freefall into the town they want to go.
If the player has a horse, make it immune to damage from the fall. That way the new player gets a view of the whole world, learns that falling from great heights will kill them, and experience the etherworld. A kind of parting gift when leaving Haven.
If the player has a horse, make it immune to damage from the fall. That way the new player gets a view of the whole world, learns that falling from great heights will kill them, and experience the etherworld. A kind of parting gift when leaving Haven.
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"Henrik should magically appear in front of every new player when they ask how to leave Haven on help chat, and teleport them from way up in the sky and let them freefall into the town they want to go.
If the player has a horse, make it immune to damage from the fall. That way the new player gets a view of the whole world, learns that falling from great heights will kill them, and experience the etherworld. A kind of parting gift when leaving Haven."
...
Perfect.
"Better to reign* on Nave
Than serve in Haven."
* Or 'rain',