How to better aid the new player.

[Under the moon]

Call them Sheeples.

The newbie guild/group/chat idea has been around for longer than I have been here, so don't fight over a chewed bone.

[Liadan]

Ok, we've reached a common point, Marq. The only difference between our points now is that I want the word 'newbie' floating under users of that tab. Walking in the outer bd and running into that label would be easier than that newbie typing, 'Help! I'm lost' into the tab. These two things will probably be facing each other in the poll that's coming.

If you're going to use that idea, please use a different word than newbie. Try to think of something that falls under medieval/fantasy...like the rest of the guilds. Might as well have it written on their forehead in sharpies. And what a way to welcome them!

*coughs* you know the "i'm lost" thing will get easier once we have coordinates...or a reference point.

Sheeples?

[Marqsaynt]

Well, with the whole label system being changed, this may not even end up being an issue.

*makes a mental note to ask what happens to visible guild tags under the new invisible name system*

On a different note...

PS-HIS 200: Modern PlaneShift History

Chapter 7: "The Sheeples"

The Sheeple Foundation ---> http://hydlaa.com/smf/index.php?topic=15528.0

The Sheeples ---> http://hydlaa.com/smf/index.php?topic=28009.0
---

I actually still have a Sheeple hiding somewhere, maybe I should dust him off and see if I can successfully get him killed this time.

[Zwenze]

Most newcomer questions I get belong to a specific question like:
* what do I have to do to learn casting magics
* how do I craft (weapons/armor)
* how/where do I mine

I try to explain how to do that with my limited english skills and every time I think that a youtube video might explain that more precise in less time. So making a few videos covering the most common tasks and make the available to newcomers might help a lot.

[Tolol]

[off topic]

Well, sorry for beeing off topic now, but ...

There is a Kran on my list who is totally afraid of stones and gems and things ...

and ... err ... I wonder if those sheeples still exist !?

[totally off topic]

I wonder if I will ever get my Internet-Connection back, but if so ... it could be fun to be a sheeples sometimes

[/totally off topic]

* Tolol hides

[/off topic]

[Leama]

I remember being new. It seems to me I was embraced by the players pretty quickly and felt like a ‘member of the family.’ Somehow that has been lost and I do not know if it this new generation of players or not. One thing I did not like was each time I met a player I was asked, ‘Do you want to join my guild?’ In order to keep the new players the older players must try to remember what it was like when they started. For me it was how I was so welcomed. Maybe for someone else it would be how they received the help they needed. Or maybe it was just the way people ignored them and with sheer determination they succeeded in understanding the game play anyway.

I think a newbie guild is not going to work because it puts people together in one place and gives them a title, ‘New.’ That can cause embarrassment. My suggestion is to have players volunteer to help the new player that looks lost. ‘Hello, my name is ______, can I help you with anything this fine day?’ Not only will you be helping someone, but also I am pretty sure you might even learn something new yourself. Even if it is how to better help the new player the next time. One piece of advice I received from Grroow was to stay on the ‘well traveled paths’ and that helped me a lot in the beginning. So you never know what you might say to help or hinder the new player so I say that you should tread carefully.

Another suggestion is the books. It would be great to have books that better explain how to do things without giving all the information out so they still have to work it out their selves. I would love to see books written about the players themselves that can also have little hints in them as to how something can be done, may it be mining, making weapons or role playing. Again I think the library is a good source for information. It always is, right?

This might not have the complete answer but it may help. So we do not put a tag on the new player in a ‘guild’ that would possibly embarrass them and yet give them the chance to be the next best player this game has ever seen because we can all be that person if we want to. That is the beauty of this game, you can be anything you wish as long it is in character, the possibilities are endless!

[theirah]

I like the help channel, and I find it helpful, but only when people answer. quite often, people get replies of all the advisors being busy. I went to be an advisor for a while, but what annoyed me most was actually the advisor option being turned off every single time I log out. maybe just a choice of leaving the advisor option on until you turn it off again, regardless of whether you log off or not, would get more advisors into helping. also, I remember not being sure how to use the help channel. we need something in the tutorial on that.

[Jeraphon]

In order to keep the new players the older players must try to remember what it was like when they started.

Are you suggesting a playerwipe? 

[SerqFeht]

GAH NO!

[Pandar]

In order to keep the new players the older players must try to remember what it was like when they started.

Are you suggesting a playerwipe? 

If you did that, many veterans would sleep like babies-wake up crying every two hours!

[zarre]

Updating the Players Guide might be helpful.

I hear the following plea from new arrivals to the game repeatedly: "Isn't there anything else I can kill besides rats or do to get points?" (Killing rat after rat after rat didn't thrill me either. PS was my first intro to online gaming and roleplay. I thought magic was the only skill my character would need to survive. My character's mental stats were higher than the physical stats for that very reason.)

Quests are a possible alternative. Is it possible to have a short, detailed list of NPC's that give out quests for beginners? Maybe even station one NPC in each city devoted to newbs with hints on who to go see if they are new to the area?

Maps are often requested and I realize there is a simple map in the library and many can be found online. "North" and "East Gate" are common answers I hear when people are giving directions. A compass in the game and on the map would be very useful.

Frustration when a newb can influence the way seasoned players are approached or spoken to. A little time and patience with them goes a long way...normally. Roleplaying may be the least of their worries at the moment.

[Rongar Elani]

I very much liked the tips that were given during my first hour or so. Like when I got hurt, a window popped up telling me about the health bar and to watch it. These tips were very helpful and have greatly expanded since I joined, just yesterday I created a new char and saw how it turned for the better. So, my suggestion is: Have those tips cover all the basics of PS and let them appear occasionally, until the player turns "tips: off" in the option window, or alternatively with /tips off. If they open the furnace, they should get a pop up saying what to do, if they target a char, another pop up saying how to trade and so on. I like the tutorial, but those pop ups would be less of a procedure to finish, but more of a guardian angel that aids you when the need arises.

Thoughts?

*Edit*

Perhaps that way, the tutorial would then only need tell about how to roleplay and less about game mechanics. It is a bit overwhelming for the common newb to read everything at once, methinks.

[Zan]

1) Update the information on the website and the player manuals:

Like people have said before me here, a lot of the info on there is seriously outdated and parts are just no longer right. Also a lot of newer features, like crafting, are hardly mentioned. I'd also suggest making the actual player guide easier to access. Right now you need to click on several links before you come to the guide that helps you in the game.

2) Keep closer watch over the 'Advisors' who talk in the Help channel.

I've spent some time advising people in the past, but I basically gave up because often I was beaten to the response by someone else giving a rude, halfassed or sometimes even completely wrong answer. I suggest not letting everyone become an advisor and at least have some sort of control over who helps new players. Secondly, get rid of the system that only allows one advisor to help a person and let others pitch in as well, even after one person already helped. This will prevent people getting away with giving wrong answers and boost the quality of the service alltogether. Thirdly, allow help requests to be stored in a database similar to the petition database. That way even when no advisors are online, a player can still hope for an answer in a day or so.

3) http://hydlaa.com/smf/index.php?topic=30831.msg353816#msg353816

[Xillix Queen of Fools]

It will not be long before every npc gives out a quest so the idea of a quest guide will be moot.

[neko kyouran]

Nah. Then the quest guides will just be "if you want to level this faction, do these quests.  If you want to level this other faction, do these quests....."