PlaneShift & public relations - an analysis

[cdmoreland]

The nice thing is you can leave at any point in the tutorial and even return to it if you chose to.

[iridia]

The nice thing is you can leave at any point in the tutorial and even return to it if you chose to.

That means everyone can go to the tutorial and help out newbies

Also, if you would like to help newbies in another way but don't feel like hanging out in the tutorial, become an advisor (help channel)!

To enable:
/advisor on

To answer a question:
/advice charname answer

[Demagul Riwe]

That means everyone can go to the tutorial and help out newbies

Also, if you would like to help newbies in another way but don't feel like hanging out in the tutorial, become an advisor (help channel)!

To enable:
/advisor on

To answer a question:
/advice charname answer

Oh wow I actually had no idea you could do this! I just activated it a few minutes ago now

Speaking of newbie help, I've had some friends who stopped playing PS in the beginning of their experience because they found it too complicated and overwhelming with a ton of buttons, and they couldn't figure out how to play. Would it be possible to make it so the features in the tutorial (on the first time, at least) are revealed gradually, so that players aren't overwhelmed and have time to figure out each individual one? Or at least to give them the option of this in the tutorial.

[Venalan]

Have you done the new tutorial Demagul Riwe?

I would happily look over any comments you have directed at the new one we have. We tried to get as much feed back as possible when it was first re-made, much of what was suggested to me I added. But I'm still happy to adjust things if someone has a good workable idea after doing the tutorial.

[Tidebringer]

I've done it. It's better than the one I did the first time...
But maybe if you could run around in a loop so once you get to the end you're back at where you started? Instead of having to run back through the entire thing again, that is.
Just saying.

[cdmoreland]

I've done it. It's better than the one I did the first time...
But maybe if you could run around in a loop so once you get to the end you're back at where you started? Instead of having to run back through the entire thing again, that is.
Just saying.

Lazy are we?

[Tidebringer]

I've done it. It's better than the one I did the first time...
But maybe if you could run around in a loop so once you get to the end you're back at where you started? Instead of having to run back through the entire thing again, that is.
Just saying.

Lazy are we?

Perhaps. 
I know some people are, and maybe it could deter newbies, especially if they spent an hour or so going through the whole thing. Maybe.

[Can-ned Food]

If you guys are concerned with making a gameworld that interests a larger diversity group of players while not losing central emphasis on it being an RPG, consider http://www.avalon-rpg.com.  (The thing doesn't get much hype or advertising, so far as I know, yet has been around for 20+ years, is a text-based MUD, and isn't free — though fees are paltry.)
What does RP include to you?  How does PS emulate that?  In other words, how does PS allow you to accomplish what you deem RP in a way which nothing else does?

Well, then there's the idea of living on tiers inside a stalactite, but that's not really evident in the game, and the landscape is rather bland at this point in development.

I will also add that i've had a very frustrating time exploring, even when looking for something which i've been told was there and shouldn't be hidden in any way.
Please pardon a new player, and maybe i simply haven't tried enough, but:  Where are the entrances to the sewers in Hydlaa?  Why can't I find Nyshyn in some ruins somewhere on the pass between Hydlaa and Gugrontid?  When Harnquist wants you to get the experimental blade from Barrin Dhorod, why doesn't Harnquist know where to find him, or who to ask?
In no way am i recommending the stupid HUD map with moron-resistant flags at each point of interest for a quest.  These are just some examples of difficulty a new player has had.
There are also some problems with the GUI which make it resistive to play, but i haven't finished documenting that yet.

[cdmoreland]

The best way to find somethings is to have a player show you.

[Roled]

Can-ned Food made some good points and is clearly not a noob with rp or video games. At some point, with a whopping 11 people on line in my timezone, at some point PS has to do something different to attract and retain players. Can-ned Food's comments show they are exactly the kind of person we need!

imho
RR

[Can-ned Food]

The best way to find somethings is to have a player show you.

Indeed.  And, I can't say there was no-one about, because in my wanderings I saw a few PCs.  However, though Gedundk is friendly kra gets discouraged easily, so kra went exploring the wilderness and got killed by a Consumer (which then ate him...); Malsuon, being go-it-alone as he is, wouldn't ask.  Okay, so maybe I fleshed most of the Kran out based on my mood as I was playing kra- (what's the passive determiner pronoun there?), but you see the dilemma.
On the other hand, I tried asking via IRC but not OOC in-game, d'oh.  The gossip channel?  It looks very OOC most of the time.  I'd try, but my connection isn't co-operating right now.  Come to that, I don't think any of the chat channels besides the main should ever be used IC, but that's just me.
Anyway, I'll probably start a topic sometime regarding a few of my observations.
I apologize if my need for sleep made that too haphazard.

[Demagul Riwe]

Can-ned Food, sometimes, for more private conversations, we use Group Chat ICly, and sometimes even whisper when someone whispers something to another. Especially in larger-scale RPs, they definitely have their IC uses.

EDIT: Pushed submit too soon... Anyway, I completely agree with Can-ned Food about tricky it is to get a general understanding of where stuff is. In my opinion, this is a good way to encourage PR with newer players, but from what I've seen it just leads to people asking OOCly on gossip and whisper. Although I wasn't around at its peak, from what I've heard, the Explorer's Booth sounds like a really good idea for help with this, but that guild would need more members if that's to be effective. Maybe we should have a thread where experienced players who are interested in newbie help RP can post their timezones and some tips to ICly work with them or something. Maybe with the need for players to get directions, and with that offer of help out there, it could cause more effective IC newbie help RP.

[cdmoreland]

Gossip channel is OOC. Main is IC all the time although I am guilty of being OOC when helping new players but I do try to get them on another channel.