HowTo make Planshift N00b friendly

[xeniac]

Hi Planeshift community.

I never played MMORPGS before but i was (no, i am) very interrested in Planeshift. An OpenSource Roleplaying Game, where everybody - skilled enought - is able to contribute, sounds Great.

Planeshift have great Graphics, a cool Soundtrack an a very original World, but its very difficult for new Players to get into it.

Some Samples:
Your Account Name is your E-Mail, a simple \"usaly your Accountname is you e-Mail Address\" would prevent some silly Questions.

The Interface is nice, but confusing. Buttons are on places where you dont expect them. Also there is no Help for the Interface.
Some of my friens are real harcore roleplayer, they have not understanded the Charactergeneration.

The Onlineworld:
We need Maps. A City Map, where is the Tavern, where is the Blacksmith, and so on. Also we needs Sign.
North: Vertania City
South: Laanx Town
West: Bla....

For N00bs like me a Tutorial Server would be nice, first train your brain, than your character,
The Tutorial form Runescape is more Fun than the Game!

I\'m a bad graphics artist, but maybe i could make some Mockups for a  HIGified Interface for the next Release.

last but not least: sorry for my bad writing English is not my mothertounge.

[acraig]

Yes, polishing touches will be a future focus. Right now we are still working on server stabilty.  At the moment a bad interface is better then no interface

[xeniac]

Yeah, thats right.

If the interfacedesigner has time: The Gnome HIG Guides are very good. I hope i didn\'t start a flameware now.

Ok i going to Play Planeshift now, bye!

[Darakus]

I certainly do not believe so if one of the lead developper answered in a positive way to your post

[davo]

i know how to make it noob friendly.  block the word noob and newb so they wont get harrased lol (this is rare but could happen in the future) eh but anyways.

but im happy with the way it is.  except the boxes are glitchey.  good and carnt complain for me

[Karyuu]

Originally posted by xeniac
The Onlineworld:
We need Maps. A City Map, where is the Tavern, where is the Blacksmith, and so on. Also we needs Sign.
North: Vertania City
South: Laanx Town
West: Bla....

No. Absolutely not, as this would render the (future) cartographer job skill completely useless, not to mention it would take away some of that wonder of exploration.

[Count]

@Karyuu: I disagree with you. Sure this would be the point if there were maps of EVERY region with ALL places of the world in them. But who says the maps MUST be complete? I am sure, maps and signs have not to be banned completely from the game.

I think maps with cities and the roads/ways between them are okay. Off Course, dungeons, witch huts etc. should not be in them. So you would find easily the places important for civilisation as a noob, but you would have enough places to explore and things to find out.

This is also the reason why I think signs (at least in the towns) would be nice that help you find important places like temples, libraries and so on. Special places like, let\'s say, a thieves guild or something like that should only be found by exploration or by asking characters about it.

Another point to maps: think about an NPC selling maps to hidden treasures. But when people arrive at the described place, they realize that it was a trap, and they get ambushed by the companions of the map trader. Perhaps you could even make a quest out of this. That was just an idea I head on my mind.

[Darakus]

Why would some maps for the beginning area (Hydlaa town) render the cartographer job obsolete, it would only do so if all the maps were released at little to no cost.

On a side note I believe that acting as if the cartographer job is a player only job is fundamentaly wrong, I don\'t see why the NPCs inside planeshift shouldn\'t be able to practice it.

Cheers,

Darakus (Syndicate for the working rights of CB\'s NPCs)

P.S. just wait until I get them the rights to work only 35 hours a week with a two week vacation each week and the library only open from 10 to 18 )

[Karyuu]

How does that in any way encourage roleplay, however? Without a map, you\'re going to have to socialize and ask other characters where the tavern is, or the library, or temple. Maybe make a friend along the way. That\'s roleplay. Looking at an automatic map of an area that your character immediately \"knows\" doesn\'t cut it. You\'re new to Yliakum, so is your character. Both should learn along the way.

Besides, no doubt character-made maps will be shared between people in-game once the Cartographer job comes into play. But again, you\'re going to have to roleplay to get them.

[Count]

It is also my opinion that there should be no automaps, at least not for characters without a map making skill. I like the idea of PCs making maps and selling/giving them to others.
But I think, at least in the starting town there should be a FEW signs to help the newbies.

[Silverthorne]

Problem with having to ask is the fact that I was on for two hours asking for information and was ignored.  I am sorry but That is what I see.

[Karyuu]

I hope you weren\'t using the /shout channel for this? There also exists an advisor system, where if you are desperate and dying, you can ask a GM or GM-apprentices, almost, for help. Look at the menu in-game, you should figure this out.

Or, there is always exploring by yourself. I guarantee that in those two hours, instead of waiting around for answers, you could have found whatever you wanted by yourself.

[leinir]

Now, as a HIG for a complete desktop environment, the GNOME HIG really is very well done. However, since Planeshift is not one such, this particular HIG would work very differently. As such I believe we definitely do need a HIG, but the GNOME one is maybe a good point to start looking, as in how to actually write one, but as for the content, a game ui can allow itself to bend the rules. It needs only be consistent with itself, and specifically designed for one single purpose.

This is a good start, though, here we go with some ideas (ok, one from me and it\'s not even my own ):

A friend (Lavana) came up with a very good idea for how to handle the popup menus. Circular menus, more or less like what we have now. Again, as we have now each item would be in the same place.

Ideas, however, are important Brainstorm, people! And watch this thread expand like no other on the forum (believe me, ain\'t no more flamebatey subject than usability and user interface design ).

[Sisilam_Takero]

maps and signs don\'t bother role playing .. the fact is .. if i tell someone \"go to the north tower to meet xxx\" then everybody ask .. \"where is the north tower ?\" .. \"where is north ?\" .. role playing should not the part of spending 100 hours of telling rookys where something is, or even went there with them in fact that are no signs ..

I am happy that some guys showed me the right way to some places and I showed some others what I know .. but sometimes it would be helpfull to even give a hint with a sign like a sign for a street name or a sign pointing to well knon places like the north gate .. even if you have your way through the rest of the city it would help a bit ..

I agree with the always available automap function will kill the map skill .. but even in real live you have signs to show even where the railway station or the city hall is!

maybe what\'s with a infopoint next to the spawn point with a little city map .. a map which could not be draged but something like an overview like tha map in the library to sho \"you are here, this is the approximate overview of the city\" than you have even to interpret it by yourself and manage your way through the city (was the tavern left to that or rigth to that street ...) ..

one point about that also .. at that info point there could be also shown the name of the city .. it took me a long time to find out if I finaly was in Ojaveda or if I have to find another way to another City .. so if you head up in a city .. the first way is up to look for the info point .. which might also be a good meeting place

just my 2 triads :-)

[Karyuu]

A sign stating the name of the city may be good, but you can still find your way around with sings saying \"This is such and such\" and \"so and so.\" You don\'t have to know which way is north or west to find landmarks. There may be a building with a specific roof down a street and near another building with a unique poster of some kind. Or a boulder. Or a wall. Things in Planeshift right now are not so generic as to make finding your own signs completely tedious.