New Player Experience - Let's Discuss This

[robocpf1]

This is a fairly long post. Skim it if you wish, you should be able to get the gist. I have tried to format it like so:

#) Perceived problem

-Brief explanation

[Example]

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We all know the new player experience could use some work. We don't know what the devs have in store, exactly, to help combat this, but we know that we all have those moments in PS2 where we think "I wish someone would have told me about this" or "I could have used this information days ago."

I have tried to identify some major problems and suggested solutions. If anyone, devs especially, have anything they can tell us about upcoming changes to this system, I think we'd all rest a little easier. In addition to the below suggestions, I also recommend an in-game, searchable info resource like a glossary or wiki.

1) "There's no time to explain! Get in this small, cramped drop pod, you'll know what to do - we're over the drop zone now, good luck soldier! #YOLO!"

-Dropping you into the middle of the fight isn't necessarily a bad thing. It certainly does stop you from running around in the warpgate wondering what to do and aimlessly wandering around dead territory. For me, this could be solved by not actually shooting you into combat via drop pod. Spawning on a hard spawn near the action would be far superior, in my opinion, especially with some other changes (read below).

2) Certs, resources, vehicles, items, map - it can be overwhelming.

-A "training mission" system would be fantastic.

[Mission 1: Open your map interface. You can see territory each faction controls in their standard color. You can switch continental maps by clicking on this icon in the top right of the screen. You can use the Instant Action deploy button every 30 minutes to drop pod directly into a fight. REWARD! 200 experience points]

[Mission 2: Congratulations soldier, you've earned a certification point. Cert points can be used to unlock additional weapons and attachments for your equipment, or to upgrade the equipment you already have. REWARD! 200 exp]

[Mission 3: Upgrade your medic and engineer tools using the certification interface (don't just give them the 0 cert purchases, make them do it via the mission system). REWARD! 200 exp]

[Mission 4: Open the Depot Interface. This is where you can purchase different camo patterns, permanently unlock weapons for both infantry and vehicle use, and try out weapons for a short time. Unlock the Planetside 2 New Player camo in the Depot (just add a new camo for free, don't make it anything special, the point is they easily learn the store interface.) REWARD! 200 exp]

Eventually, you get the feel for what it is you're doing.

3) What is Battle Rank? Why do I need it?

-Most people figure these out over the course of a few hours of play. At DreamHack in Sweden, I was able to sit down with T.Ray, and he told me they were hoping to include a boatload of new things that would be tied to Battle Rank. So I figure this is on the way already. You could put a very simple dialog box up the first time you level, or use that nifty notification system! People always hate it in video games when a pop-up or dialog box appears at the most inopportune moment and gets them killed or blocks their view for a great shot. The notification system is already built in!

Press [K] to view notifications

[Congratulations, soldier! You've been promoted to Battle Rank 2! Increasing your Battle Rank gives you access to additional loadouts, clears you to access higher rank badges and titles, and unlocks higher cert upgrades.]

Boom. Done deal. Now I know what Battle Rank does.

4) "I don't know what these symbols mean on the minimap."

-This was a big one for me. The teleporters are the cylinder with the arrows pointing up and down, the different shield generators actually have shield icons with a hint inside the shield for what it does (tank, vertical lines, horizontal lines) and the shields themselves have the matching symbol. That's FANTASTIC and a great way to tie it all together. How about a dialog box telling us that the generators are killed by overloading them, and the gen will explode pretty forcefully, and you can kill the generator without any special equipment but you need to actually repair it as an engineer? Bring up a little dialog box the first time you walk near a generator. Use the notification system so you don't interrupt a player's actions.

[This is a teleporter. It allows soldiers to transport themselves instantly from one teleporter to another. Each teleporter is bound to another - when you enter a teleporter, you will always exit the same one. You may only use a teleporter if it is controlled by your empire, shown by your empire's standard color on the minimap].

[This is a jump pad. The jump pad allows you to quickly, easily, and safely traverse distances outside, usually from one structure to another. Unlike a teleporter, it is possible to be shot in-transit. Like a teleporter, each jump pad has a receiver - you will always land on the same receiver when you jump from the same pad.]

[You are in one of this facility's satellite camps, marked by the arrow logo on your HUD. While these outposts do not have hexes of their own, they act as outer spawn points for major facilities. Any empire can capture these, and only the empire controlling it can spawn at it. Capturing a satellite camp does not directly contribute to the base capture nor provide influence or adjacency.]

5) There are no explanations of anything anywhere, really.

-Dialog boxes / notification updates for all the things. When you get near something new, it should send you a notification to brief you about what it is and what it does.

[This is a Sunderer troop transport. It is usually used to carry up to an entire squad from one point to another, but can be modified to act as a mobile spawn for infantry, dispense ammunition, repair nearby vehicles, or penetrate the gate shields protecting facilities.]

[You have entered an Amp Station. These facilities are surrounded by walls brimming with fortifications and gun turrets. Generator-powered Gate Shields and metal barricades prevent vehicles from entering its courtyard. A further array of twin generators power shields that protect the vehicle bay and spawn control unit from harm.]

[This is a Spawn Control Unit. This is a specialized generator that powers the respawning mechanism of the facility. As long as it is operational, soldiers will be able to respawn in the main spawn room of the facility. Should it be destroyed, players will only be able to spawn at other nearby spawn points.]

6) How did I just die?

-Sometimes all we see or hear is an explosion or a muffled thump, and we're looking at a respawn screen. Perhaps the first time we die to any particular weapon (or at least some, see the examples) we should get a longer explanation instead of a single sentence telling us what the weapon is used for.

[Ouch, you stepped on a proximity mine. These anti-personnel explosvies can be deployed by Infiltrators and can often be hard to spot. Exercise caution in crowded spaces.]

[Your vehicle has been destroyed by a tank mine. Engineers place these mines on roads, bridges, and entrances to destroy enemy vehicles. Watch where you drive!]

That's all I've got for now. Add your own! I'll try to add them in here.

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Addition List:

-Explaining loadouts, equipping weapons and attachments on both vehicles and infantry. Also, it is suggested to streamline the loadout selection screens themselves. Three separate layouts for selecting class and loadout seems excessive.

-Using terminals to swap loadouts, change classes, resupply, and pull vehicles.

-Using the warpgate terminals to move between continents.

-Navigation needs an overhaul - a UI compass rose (in addition to the rotating one on the top of the minimap) might be helpful.

-"Highlight" system for new characters, toggleable. The UI highlights objectives nearby that you have not seen or read the explanation of yet.

-Virtual training area to allow players to test weapons in a no-risk environment. The 30-minute trial for weapons is great to test in actual combat, but it would be nice to have a virtual reality area to mess around with all of the different weapons at once just to test handling and learn firing discipline.

-Cert tree explanation. An entire certification section of the tutorial.

-Squads and Platoons could have a more detailed system, like what kind of tasks the squad is trying to accomplish and what squad members need to be doing.