[Suggestion] New Player Experiance

So I've been talking a bit about the NPE recently, and a couple of points I think would make the game more useful/exiting/varied for those newbies.

1. Problem: Koltyr low population/boring for new players. They leave before meeting any/many other low BR players.

Solution: Open Koltyr in a restricted state. Players over BR15 have their weapons locked but they can form squads capture points give motion spotting, pull vehicles (and give them to squadmates) but not run anyone over.

Effect: Produces a small but consistent population of Vets who might otherwise be waiting in VR that would be present as targets, leaders and sources of information for the new players. Should cause them to hang around longer and end up meeting more low BR players.

2. Problem: Some bases stall the battle, new players become meat to the grinder and it stalls.

Solution: Allow OS uplinks to target closer to bases, possibly in them, I've suggested several methods of balancing such a powerful WMD in the post below.

Effect: Break the monotony for new players, help move battles along and allow PMBs to have an impact on the Lattice game. Also what new player doesn't love seeing an orbital strike hit now and again?

[Suggestion] What if Orbital Strike zone around bases would be limited to Sunderers no deploy zone?

https://forums.daybreakgames.com/ps...sunderers-no-deploy-zone.247745/#post-3484934
Thoughts?

Why? I really don't understand the whole concept behind koltyr anyway. Last time i checked a beginners carbine can kill me just as fast as any br 120 veterans carbine would. And with full armor and cert bonus up to lvl 15 even the beginners have all the equipment they need to competitive.
They just don't have the veterans experience.
So instead of throwing noobs to noobs and then letting them hit the hard wall 15 levels later, we need to make the newbies understand how the move around in the game game world efficently.
Beginners need to know how to join and leave squads, how to squad deploy and when to redeploy and not die useless death.
If severe overpopping occurs a hint to redeploy and flank the attackers with vehicles would be great and so on.

Which is exactly what giving them time to interact safely with higher BR players on Koltyr would create, a place to learn the game's mechanics without getting farmed because the only people capable of agro are other newbies.

Honestly, it's been ages since I've used the hints and tips, they may well need some updating as you suggest.

So another thread has brought up the topic of removing (or deemphasizing) the KD stat. I've chosen to add it to this New Player Experience thread as one of the arguments cited for doing so was to limit the negative moral effects on New Players who might find themselves farmed to 0.1 KD for the first hour. Bad enough to feel beaten, worse to know exactly how badly.

There's plausible grounds that people would overestimate their performance if they didn't have obvious access to a stat reminding them of their position.

An alternative I might propose would be to adjust the Tab KD to reveal your KD for the last (10-30 minutes) so a player who was getting creamed early on can recover and see their KD improve rapidly as they learn how not to die.

We're actually looking into improving the New Player Experience quite a bit in the coming year. We've got a few ideas on the board, but are always open to player suggestions - the more we can dig into things, the better.

Suggestions:

(1) No KD tracking for players in Koltyr (they get XP, but the Deaths and Kills counters are not updated).
Rationale --> they won't leave Koltyr with a 0.0001 KDR if farmed mercilessly

(2) Open Koltyr to BR15+ without XP gain for killing (but XP gains as engineer, medic, ...) so they can kill other players and be killed, but without any gain or loss. Make them different by adding for example a different dorito shape
Rationale --> to have more players in Koltyr (e.g. when Hossin is the only open continent), let them gain some certs as engineer and medic, let them kill some lesser skilled player but without gain and penalties. Win win.

(3) Add "observer" mode: a player can enter Koltyr and do not play but observe other players with a chase cam, or a bird eye one.
Rationale --> more skilled player can play observer and be mentor to others via the text or voice chat, telling them what to do etc. Lesser skilled player may observe more skilled ones and learn

I like these ideas. I'd add an interesting caveat, which may be hard to code, but might be worth while: Earning support XP on Koltyr gives you a store of boosted XP, which is decided formulaicly. So you hang out on Koltyr, earn some XP helping out the newbies, and lets you get up to 1 hour of +10% Xp. That value is tweakable to make it more or less attractive.

This has the side benefit of unwittingly gravitating hard-core stat padders into a location where they can easily be tracked, reported, and banned (The logic being that Koltyr is small enough that its easier to notice them).

I'd also suggest changing the "Pull ESF" in the basic training directive to "Pull Valkyrie", as its simpler to train people on, and they don't have the erroneous assumption of being able to own the skies right out of the gate.

Personal opinion, I think that Koltyr is no longer necessary.
It is better for new players to have experienced bonuses and have them learn on the front line.
Also, I heard that poor players who are hunting beginners live in Koltyr...

I have a lot of xp with other fps games, but still a new player to PS2. I startet to play this game ~one month ago, so my two certs towards new player xp (I'll bring concerns and problems only, but do not judge me by them, I love this game with its huge battles with persistent world):

Problem:
Tutorial: well doing it ones is nice, sure. But I believe that even without any fps xp everyone is able to keep in mind how to sprint crouch and what to do at terminal. As a new player I made my TR toon, made the tutorial, killed some enemies, died a lot, and decided to try an NC toon, made the same totorial again... fought some battles, wanted to see how VS weapons feels... but had absolutely no fun making this tutorial again.

Solution:
Make it optional after the first run.

Problem:
There is a Tutorial, it explains some of gameplay, that is a must on new toons, but there is absolutely no hint that there is a cert reset at rang 15... so as a newbe I cert in a medic, because everyone says its THE way to learn the game and to earn the certs (more on this later on) but couple of ranks later I try the LA... and it is THE class for me... but I wasted the certs. So I make a new toon... make the tutorial again... repeat this procedure 3-4 times, and than I reach rank 15 and get my cert reset...
%&)("%&$!

Solution:
Communicate clearly, that there is one cert-reset at rank 15... it is not clear at all. Its a small change but it could help to keep newbes playing...
Furthermore say that the first 15 ranks are special... I thought that those 100 certs per UP are normal... and was quite disapointed that its not the case, it destructed all of my cert-plans from one rank to an other...

Problem:
Koltyr: I am new, but I want to play the actual game, with all of its nuances. So why should I go there? I left it out. And I dont think I miss something...

Solution:
I do not believe that it is needed how it is, make it different (more on this later)

Problem:
The Carrot On A Stick...This game has a progress system. While everyone should play because of the fun, the progression system IS an integral part of PS2... But... it... is... so... painfull... slow... While an BR80 player makes his 100 certs per hour, an newbe has realy limited income. Especially painfull after BR15... I was not quite a pro, was able to make... let me guess... 150 XP per minute... The whole progression stopped at this moment for me letting me with half certed toon... realy unstatisfying and demotivating...

Solution:
While I completely understand why the prices are how they are... speeding up the progress would make the game much more smooth. Keep the costs for weapons, but give every toon at BR15 a free weapon of choice (and communicate it right after the beginning!)
Half the costs of weapon-attachments. This would free up some certs and make the certification at the beginning smooth. Equiping the MSW-R costs more then buying the gun...
Tag costly "pro" skills as such... On one toon I wasted lots of certs on Adrenaline Shield, while I was not even quite able to utilize it propperly...

Problem:
VR and the waiting.
My TR guy is a medic and Inf.
My NC is an HA
My VS is a Lightning Tanker
Today I want to play my Inf: Log In -> Drop in VR -> Choose the continent -> Queue of 80+... If I dont want to play my Tank or HA, I log out...

Solution:
Make Koltyr a fighting VR...
You log in in VR: Choose the continent -> get a waiting number -> get the choice so be teleported on Koltyr, where all the waiting soldiers are mixed up in 2-3 teams, and faction does not matter. If the wait time is over you can be ether teleported back to VR or to the chosen continent... no staying possible.
This makes a small "buffer continent" for waiting players only. So it shouldn't be ever full, because the permission to sty is limited to waiting for the real fight. Sure the frequent fluctuation of players would make objective play difficult, but they could at least shoot things and earn certs while waiting...

Problem:
Aircraft controlls are awfull for newbes (I know the work great but still, learning how to fly for 2 hours and the beeing shot by a pro in matter of secounds is still no fun). Beeing unable to map yaw to x-axis makes it problematical for new player...

Solution:
I know there will be no official solution. So I made me some fun and experimented with possible workarounds. Ended up with self-written filter driver that cuts mouse raw-inputs x-axis, calculates the avg mousemovement over some ticks and sends key strokes. What I achieved: If enabled, only Y-Axis is registert, No X movement possible. But while the mouse is physicaly moved right or left, the avg movement direction in timespan of some ticks is translated to keystokes. Result: If I move mouse Left or Right, only Key-Left or Key-Right is pressed or released (Yaw is mapped on them). Roll is mapped to A and D so it kinda simulates an "remapping". My Problem: While it works in simulated environment, it is not tested in PS2 because technicaly it is a cheat... or could be made to one... My Hope: A permission from DGB to make further development and tests ingame, to see if It is practicable solution... It it works, I would write a propper solution based on well tested lib (not own half-baked one) and offer it to the rest of community.

So that were my 2 certs to the new player problematic as a new player.
EDIT: Please, excuse my poor English.

Improve the tutorial and split it in multiple parts, so people who doesn't want to do ALL the tutorial can select the tutorial part for what they want to improve. (aim for a tutorial as good as starcraft tutorial & training).

What tutorial should look like, and I'm pretty sure I've miss a lot of things :
Note : the player can actually DIE in the tutorial.
1 The Basics (move, shot, jump, crouch, redeploy)
2 Capture a base (disable generator + IFF gate, capture point + one way gate [put an enemy spitfire here]
3 Class and enemy (inform of player's faction traits, classes tutorial, show enemy faction different infantry)
4 Fighting [new] (let the player fight against spitfire turret with enemy infantry skin. The map have cover and sneaky spitfire placement, frag grenade tutorial)
5 Ground Vehicles (inform of player's faction traits, basic vehicle tutorial & when to use them, show enemy vehicles, destroy an automated turret [with a lightning], burning state, repair your vehicle, etc)
6 Air vehicle (inform of player's faction traits, basic vehicle tutorial & when to use them, show enemy vehicles, avoid tree, landing without crashing, destroy an abandoned lightning, repair your vehicle)
7 Player Made Base (basic info about PMB, Mining, Building PMB [how to build and extra info about what every module do], destroy an enemy PMB [and avoiding the detonation])
8 General tactic and how to counter that thing ? (actually not an IG tutorial, but a wall of text / list of information about weapons and tactics that the player should use to counter said infantry class or vehicle/airplane. ; include tactics against a zerg and some basic from sun tsu)

Agree, it's probably one of the greatest problem IG.
There are ton of things that aren't notified to new player and that should be.

The most important part about entering the game world is the community.
You basically need a veteran that invites you to a squad and spares at least half an hour to answer dumb questions.
You guys need to talk to people more and be more friendly.

You can give as many bonues to new players as you wish, i will not change the fact that they are absolutely clueless and will run into every common trap and into every meatgrinder. All those situations that veterans either exploit to their full capacity ore leave the fight for good because they know how it is gonna end soon.

My standard advise for newbies, go engineer and sit in a gunner seat. Shoot when the driver shoots and what he shoots, if he gets out you get out, he repairs you repair. Play mirror and you will have a great time and the driver an OK gunner.

Opening Koltyr for veterans is a solid idea.

Noobs wandering aimlessly with other noobs on a barren continent does not a learning opportunity make.

Let the veterans go there, but do not allow them to earn certs.

A vet pulling together a squad and running them around will be a huge leap forward in preparation for new players.

I know we all get a bit jumpy about introducing veterans to the "safe space" of new players, but I think this concern is unfounded. Have some faith in human nature.... veterans will go there with a great willingness to help others.

Not every Vet is able to understand the problem of a new player. Or has the time help. Nor will anyone stop shooting or give up an advantage only because the enemy is clueless.
Not every Newbe wants his hand to be hold. Me for example: I make an error and try to avoid it next time. If I squad up, I stick to the team and contribute bei logical consequence... Stick to the squad, do my role, contribute at best will. I do not want beeing a burden for anyone. Im new, but Im able to learn by my self.
While running in a meatgrinder costs a newbe one death = 5 minutes of time to enage again.
Deleting a "bad certed" toon at BR14 because of not knowing of respecc at BR15 costs him a lot of hours.

But if I do not enjoy beeing gunner? Shall I still do so because I learn most about the vehicle gameplay by beeing a gunner. Its the same as beeing sniper... I learn a lot about the game by trying to snipe a pro. Even if I fail, I learn about positioning about correct movement and avoiding beeing hit simply by trying to snipe hin. Same could be said about every class in the game...

Some valuable insights there, quite a few I'd not ahve considered.

One other alteration I'd suggest to the VR/Koltyr hybrid/alternative while it's getting reworked is make sure there is cortium there and the option to let new players learn base building.

If there is no XP gain, what would a vet get from killing new players?

I suspect we would find that only vets actually interested in helping (or perhaps *briefly* curious) would show up.

While I agree that removing xp for Veterans would mitigate the amount of farming done against new players you have to account for people doing it just for kicks.

That's why I suggest complete weapon lock on veterans, they can still support by using side tools lie detection and Hardlight barriers. But they cannot actually engage an enemy only getting passive xp from captures/points/spotting etc.

I said it is ADVICE. If you want to do what you want and when you want fine, but don't expect help then anytime soon.
Being a tank gunner has a lot going for newbies and that is a longer lifespan, thus more seeing of the game world.
It helps to get around a bit. Also the cert gain is not that bad.

It is also the same with the question how to gain the most certs "fast" and then if you tell them to go ant farming, revive medic or max repair engineer, then soon after they will complain that it is boring and that they don't get enough certs.
And then you tell them to do what they want and soon after they will complain that they only die and that they get even less certs than before.
A big part of this game is grind (at least as a f2p player) and if you cannot stand this, then this game, or more precisely any f2p game concept, is not for you.

The main problem is that some newbies never learn that there are other methods to "choose" a spawn themselves than instant action and quick deploy.
If you ask me, delete those functions.
I can't count the times where i had a squad full of people that did not know how to squad deploy. You can literally have a sunderer or valk next to the capure point and nobody spawns. All "e" autospawn and mindlessly run into the typical bottelneck situation.
Thanks to the new deployment blocking for sunderers, one cannot control the flow of zerglings anylonger. (Great Job DBG btw....NOT)
So squad deploy is somewhat of a necessity now. Still the zerglings will not use it and prefer running the lemming way.

So teaching the newbies the squad deploy mechanic is a must, and sadly this is basically not part of any tutorial ingame.

I share your concerns. There's always that one dick.

Weapons lock sounds a bit extreme though. I might try just the no-XP route as a start, then add the weapons lock if our concerns manifest.

While it may be extreme, I admit that, I still feel that it would be the wiser course of action. There are many updates to many games where a half measure is implemented and it ends up being nearly as broken as before. But because the company has recently 'fixed' it becomes the back of the queue for future updates.

I'd rather they take a decisive stance.

However, I am willing to concede ground on the issue. Perhaps some system where there is 0 xp AND if a vet's KD surpassed a certain point eg. 2 then their weapons would be locked? As a method to prevent excessive farming by those who might be that way inclined.

Although this system could, of course, be gamed by someone letting themselves die 20-30 times then coming in to farm. So it might need an additional rule that prevented them from stacking up a queue of people they could kill. Perhaps limited to 8-10 in a row before weapons lock.

Something I forgot to add earlier was that another reason for a simple weapons lock is that my limited programming knowledge suggests that it would be simpler to implement than some of the more nuanced options.