Thoughts on Koltyr, and Why it is Turning New Players Away...

The title is clickbait & has no basis or evidence behind it.



The post is filled with personal feels & is being used to push someones personal popularity/status.

Koltyr is just a smaller Amerish for me. nothing special and rather boring.

if they had actually made the Urban Map available for new players, THAT would have been amazing!! but they just seem to have recycled old Amerish assets/textures to create this "noob island". not really an effort in my eyes.

This should be the solution. If your directive score is higher than 50 then you can't go there.
Since directive score is account wide only new accounts could go there.

if the game design lets experienced players in, Koltyr will always be a farming ground.

Don't let players in who are have another character over BR 16.
If a player's KDR indicates that they're farming, boot them out into the real world. Even a new PS2 player who is experienced in some other FPS should be booted out if they've got a 20/1 KDR.
No weapons bought with DBC, just the basic weapons that a newbie has to use. Allow all attachments to be used.

Koltyr is one of those ideas that's good in theory but not in reality.

Thats just a whole lot of bad ideas.

Koltyr is good.


The lack of new player influx isn't.

I understand what you mean, but you're not totally right. The fact is that there are still a lot of 2012 or later players. Those people had time to train, to improve, to learn the game mechanics and to fully cert their classes. What can a clueless BR1-16 do against a fully certed 2012 player ? Nothing but dying and having to respawn, in most of the cases.

Same thing as a 2013 and a 2014 player. I just don't buy into the coddling newbie deal. I get the idea and understand the point you're making. But anyone getting into PS2 now falls into one of these categories:

1. Know someone who plays.
2. Just got a rig together that can handle it.

Those in the first group likely would likely skip Koltyr and play with their friends and learn the hoops from them. Those in the second group... well they put together that rig and have been waiting 3 years to play.. I think they're likely to suck it up and play it out.

Those not in those two groups.. I don't see many people falling into that. I mean think about it, the game has been out for 3 years. anyone who could have played and would have wanted to play PS2 already have by now. I find it weird that there would be a steady stream of brand new players coming to the game. There's some.. sure.. but I doubt they make a noticeable number.

Then there's the whole thing of do we really want the sort of player who's going to get stomped and quit without sucking it up and trying to get better? Reason I say this is quitters probably don't have much to spend and won't be looking to spend on a 3 year old game. There's the whole quality over quantity thing to consider. And lets be honest.. anyone coming into PS2 now and then ups and quits because they lose is a quitter. Some of the most effective weapons are the default ones. And the advantages certs give outside of vehicles are not going to make or break most encounters. Experience will but not equipment.

I just think the sad reality of Planetside is that the game asks for more participation from the players than the players are wanting. People want the game to, in its own interactive way, at least 50 percent play itself. No sensible human being comes home from a long day of work and says "oh boy I can't wait to grind certs and XP for 10 hours just to get that one gun that MAY be good or ****** on Planetside!"

Stop separating new players and just compress the skill gap to industry standards already. Boohoo to you veterans who think this will be less fun, your money doesn't matter if it's outweighed by 3 people who prefer an easier game. And I have multiple friends who won't play Planetside with me cause of how much of a grind fest and skill gapped crapper it is.

I took a stroll around Koltyr yesterday, and I can back the OP's claims that it's a total n00b farmfest. Lots of obvious vets, many using purchased equipment. I don't get why people here would be arguing that this is a "clickbait" thread. All one needs do is visit Koltyr for 5min to see what's happening. If I were a new player, I would have been extremely turned off.

I agree with all of the above except one, which are the K/D scores. It is very easy to get a K/D higher than 0.5, (for instance, hopping in a tank and spamming explosives like nobody's business), though what I will say is that maybe if the player reaches a certain kill limit which, when pitted against their deaths, is high, (like saying that if you have 20 kills and then your K/D is above 0.75, perchance), and then players will be gently kicked from Koltyr and stuck straight into the main continents. I think that a 0.5 K/D is too low, and is very easy to overcome even for newer players, (who will ideally be facing players of a similar skill level). I think that there should be a kill cap of 20, and then K/D can be analysed. If it reaches above 0.75, they can be kicked gently from Koltyr.

Very good ideas, though, and simple solutions to a growing problem.

Sounds like a good idea. This will really help newer players find their feet in this game, and should they choose to invest some money into it, select a new weapon of preference that they feel suits them. Of course, new players may find all the weapons being thrown in their face a little overwhelming, or find it disappointing when they discover that they do not have all weapons unlocked from the start when they leave Koltyr and enter the bigger fights, though maybe if there was an integrated tutorial that said something along the lines of...

"Here is your customisation area. You can change weapons and attachments on your guns to make them more effective in battle. We've unlocked everything for you here, though remember that when you leave this place for the bigger continents, these will no longer be open to you for free. You will have to buy them. Take some time to try out different weapons, and see what fits your playing style and preference..."

Something like this might not go amiss; maybe introducing an integrated tutorial as well to really help newer players get settled in.

Agreed. Though the biggest obstacle this idea will face is determining the parameters: maybe a newer player will get lucky, and have scores that hint that they might not be a newcomer, although they actually are. Moreover, there should be restraints depending on class - Combat Medics, for instance, earn a shed ton more XP than other classes, and consequently their score per hour goes through the roof very quickly.

This is my concern. I'm worried that veterans will not get bored of the novelty aspect of Koltyr and will instead use it to SealClub, (it happens in every game I play where there's a tier system, for example). Of course, inevitably the only thing that, at present, can determine whether this will be the case is time, and to wait and see what happens. While many veterans will most likely get bored and stop playing on their new, low battle rank character on Koltyr - likewise, veterans may exceed the battle rank limit, think to themselves: "That was fun!", then stop - I am almost certain that some experienced players will still be intent on ruining the game for newer players, and trolling them into oblivion to the extent that they no longer wish to play at all.

Only time will tell...

I would, though my TL;DRs often end up becoming longer than my actual post.

A lot has changed since 2012: suffice to say that the player-base has expanded. There's a lot more for a newer player to take on board. I for one think that it's great that the developers are showing a concern for the newbies. Though it needs a few tweaks to stop it from continuing as a blood farm for veterans.

No, my post is to express a concern of mine that, while DBG's intentions with Koltyr are good, they have left the job half-finished, which has resulted in an unwanted influx of veterans migrating their to annihilate the newcomers. I'm sorry that you feel like my post is a way to boost my ego and improve my self image, likewise, I am also sorry to hear that you feel like the title of my thread is "clickbait". Though rest assured that it is not. The points I am making are to voice my concern with this new training continent in the hope that the developers actually read their own forum from time to time, and act accordingly. Furthermore, it is to raise awareness of this idea throughout the Community and to see if they will take it further. I am not doing this to boost anything, I am doing this because Koltyr has issues that urgently need to be addressed in some way.

Nobody forced you to open this topic, and if you aren't going to contribute anything worthwhile to it, then please don't post in it.

At the moment...

It could easily be improved, though it's just a case of whether the developers want to.

***

Thanks for the replies and the contribution, everyone. It's interesting to see your views on this topic, and how the issues with Koltyr can be addressed and acted upon in the best possible way.

Happy hunting,
Cyn.