Friday with Means - February 5th, 2010 - Epeen Epreserved

[Lazuraz]

Question: After the graphics over-haul and balance, what are some counter measures that will be taken to prevent hacking, and the sort. And we all know there are various hacks out there for various games, but what's going to be FC's counter measure on those nasty types out there?

[Megasis]

Two Questions regarding New players to AO:

I made a deal with my wife to that I will finally watch Desparate House Wives with her Every Sunday night if she learns to play AO. (Ya for me that Olymipics are on the channel that plays that show atm)

This being her first MMO ever She rolled an agent jumps in newbie island and then said NOW WHAT?.

If she played an MMO before she would have an idea on what to do. Even with the tips her brain fell out of the side of her head. I had to show her how to open the inventory to equip a weapon. Then she attempted to run into water and got mad that she couldnt drown herself. As shes killing her first Snake she asked " OOOOOOO whats the dramatic music for killing a snake"

Sorry for the long novel but I want you to get an idea what its like for someone new to an MMO.

Q1. What are you doing for new players to the game to spell it out for them on how to play the game on newbie island for the new MMO player.


Q2. When the engine goes live, what are you doing for the new community and not be ruled under RK2's politics, over flood of credits in the economy, over priced items, over come the Noobie fustration that you cant do anything because no one is on to team with, or you buy shop weapons and armor that are usless?

We need new blood to this game but lets face it, it takes a certain kind of person. I find once you get past level level 30 the game really then becomes enjoyable but very discuraging for the new MMO Player to get there.

[ArienSky]

This being her first MMO ever She rolled an agent jumps in newbie island and then said NOW WHAT?.

I would advise a re-roll..
Agent is one of the more complicated professions.. even finding out what nanos you can use, you have to look at a 3rd party tool, and with that you need to take the debuffs into account and (before the balancing comes) ready yourself on only using long lasting buffs, as mid-combat casting is too slow.

For the lowest lvls: go enf, when you have the possibility to get MP pets, do that, they will aid quite a bit..

Adventurer or MA is way easier.. again, in the long run Agent is more fun, but it might scare someone off as a first profession.

Kind Regards
-Ariensky

[Solox]

First

[Iriche]

First

second

http://bayimg.com/image/lakknaach.jpg

[crude4gone]

Kintaii had stated in the past that he wants to get those started again, the thing is they require manpower to do and that's something the AO team is lacking right now.

This sort of stuff require ARKs more than it require AO staff.

[Megasis]

I would advise a re-roll..
Agent is one of the more complicated professions.. even finding out what nanos you can use, you have to look at a 3rd party tool, and with that you need to take the debuffs into account and (before the balancing comes) ready yourself on only using long lasting buffs, as mid-combat casting is too slow.

For the lowest lvls: go enf, when you have the possibility to get MP pets, do that, they will aid quite a bit..

Adventurer or MA is way easier.. again, in the long run Agent is more fun, but it might scare someone off as a first profession.

Kind Regards
-Ariensky

I understand the level of difficulty with the proffession and you are right. I mean just in general. At level 2, agent, Enf, Adv you are all in the save position once you start on the island.

[-Bear-]

Maybe new players could be given this link at startup, to Hahnsoo's newbie guide and also if they are paid to Phxyr's guide - these both helped me enormously as a new player!

[JenShay]

Maybe new players could be given this link at startup, to Hahnsoo's newbie guide and also if they are paid to Phxyr's guide - these both helped me enormously as a new player!

I don't feel up to reviewing Hahnsoo's one but I disagree with Phxyr's for a new player. This is an MMO not a single player game.

[Ayria]

This is an MMO not a single player game.

MMO is a medium not a ruleset.

The multiplayer part about it can just as soon describe a state (ie that of there being multiple single players) as it can a function (multiple people playing as a whole).

[Megasis]

Only if Chuck Norris was here.

[JenShay]

MMO is a medium not a ruleset.

The multiplayer part about it can just as soon describe a state (ie that of there being multiple single players) as it can a function (multiple people playing as a whole).

I am not going to go far on this one with you and I won't describe myself except suffice to say I am a loner. Yet even I don't think we should be pressing a guide on new people on how to play AO as a single player game.

[Ayria]

I am not going to go far on this one with you and I won't describe myself except suffice to say I am a loner. Yet even I don't think we should be pressing a guide on new people on how to play AO as a single player game.

New players are not mindless drones. At least we should hope they're not. If they don't want to read or follow a guide that teaches them how to do things solo; they don't have to. It's not like we'll create a loner because a loner talks to them about what all they can do. People have to be predisposed to such behaviour.

[Tiralee]

Maybe new players could be given this link at startup, to Hahnsoo's newbie guide and also if they are paid to Phxyr's guide - these both helped me enormously as a new player!

Those are great links. I know that Phyxr's guide in particular has helped me out a lot. Although I do have a lot of interaction with other players, I'm not able to team very often (for a couple of different reasons). Phyxr's guide is great for anyone, whether they typically team and just need something solo once in a while, or, like me, do much of their leveling solo.

[JenShay]

It carries a bad connotation, "Here, read this. The servers are empty, learn to play solo."

[Mastablasta]

And the guide written in green text is pretty bad because it assumes the reader knows what all kinds of things are and that they have a lot of money to get by with from the get go.

[Mikenche]

Phyxr's guide may be a good guide for getting your second or third character up to speed, but I don't think it's suitable for fresh players. The reason being that it doesn't take time to explain anything, especially at the beginning. A few examples:

- "Then I switch to the cripplers on the cliff tops in the same area" It's not obvious how to get up there.
- "Remember to pick up half a dozen of the appropriate insignia on the way." A newcomer can't be expected to know what insignias are used for, and it's possible to run past the Jobe Emissary without triggering the conversation.
- "At this point I generally take a few minutes to get the Nascense garden key for my faction." Said like getting the garden key is the easiest thing in the world. No link to guide, not even mentioning the names of the NPCs to start the quest.
- "Now comes the obligatory trip down TOTW to get whatever I want from down there." A newcomer will have no idea of where ToTW is, much less what to get from there.

I'm sure you get the idea. The guide improves a bit in towards the end, but still expects a lot of knowledge of geography and brushes off quests and instances with just a quick mention about them. There's also no discussion about different equipment options anywhere in the guide, and many important aspects of the game such as nanoprograms and perks are completely missing.

Hahnsoo's guide is much better for a new player. It's length might be a bit overwhelming, but from what I could see in a few minutes, it doesn't have any major omissions at least.

My suggestion would be to collect the best and most relevant guide from each of the profession forums and provide a link to the one matching the newbie's chosen profession. Being centered on a single profession, they tend to be much more concise and yet discuss equipment and skill options in more detail.

[Tiralee]

I still think that one of the best all-around introductory guides is the AO Game Manual, "Getting Started on Rubi-Ka":
http://www.anarchy-online.com/anarch.../gameguide.pdf

It needs to be updated in some places, but other than that it's still a great introduction to AO. It's the first guide I read, and it's what made me decide to play AO. The links in the back are what led me to these forums, to AO Universe, and to other useful sites.

The guide used to be availalbe from the ingame Help, but that link is broken now. Part of the guide -- including information about breed, profession, and how to get started -- used to be prominently displayed on the AO Website. I never did figure out why FC took that off their website and instead buried the guide in a link at the bottom of the website to a link on another page to a PDF.

[JenShay]

... My suggestion would be to ..l.

... stop being lazy, add the caring human touch and mentor them.

General comment, not aimed at you Mik.

[Lazuraz]

Another question - With the new FX-E will there be a new sound engine so my logitech 5.1 can handle your sounds without crackles? But not for jsut me ofc, everyone else with awesome speakers too! :P