I enjoyed many, many aspects of the new welcome area - thank you, devs, for your hard work!
likes:overall, i think the mood is set really well, the dialogue and information natural and relevant - everything comes together to position a character and a world - and a character in a world - adeptly. at last! a reason for picking up and honing those combat skills (besides that the law mandates self-protection or that the beasts and the trainers "are there").
dislikes - and it might just be me:
- yes the OOC information at the end of NPC dialogue seems long and obtrusive. i favour the 'golden man' icon (or some other icon that when clicked opens the information in a separate small window).
- Ibhaar wants the rats killed just because his mount is skittish? well, okaaay, but perhaps if he mentioned the threat of disease or plague it would tie in better with a couple of in-game quests ...
- I'm not sure the roleplaying discussion works, but I understand where Telzanna is coming from and it's certainly a creative way to make such a discussion IC. It felt like a character might respond by not being interested in discussing acting ("cos that's just for thesps and i'm a war-war-warrior"), or by looking to join a drama troupe in game. I'd be happy if Telzanna simply raved about the many choices and paths open to the newcomer - sure, even more so than she already does - because this makes a player think about the kind of character they could have. On that note, might I suggest encouraging the writing of a description, however basic. (Sorry if it's already there and I missed it.) OOC roleplaying instructions could be covered by the clickable icon. This might also help with the last thing, which is
- Xenak's line of dialogue, referring to staying in character, seems OOC: "Try and stick as closely as possible to that as people here are very welcoming to those who stick to their character."
But yes, these are small concerns. Overall it's such a good experience that I'm considering having a character permanently live in the tutorial.
just kidding.