Originally Posted by Malorn
The AFKing is a resource/auraxium issue, not a foothold issue. Even if there was a sanctuary people would still AFK in the warpgates or somewhere remote on the continent. The problem is Auraxium gain, not the foothold system.
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Agreed. Auraxium should not be gained from land rent like other resources.
Originally Posted by Malorn
If you want a sanctuary back there should be a reason why the sanctuary should be its own continent. The only real problem that I believe a Sanctuary addresses uniquely is population distribution and allowing people into the game when the continents are locked so they can at least socialize or get into a continent queue like in PS1. Effectively it becomes a lobby in the game, though it could serve multiple purposes. There are other possibilities like having zero resource costs in the sanctuary so you can always pull vehicles or having a super fast resource recharge rate while there so you can use it for staging / recovery purposes, or just to learn how to drive vehicles without having to wait for the resources (a way to get the same result as VR training).
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Good points again.
Originally Posted by Malorn
The downside to sanctuaries (and the reason why I believe they do not like them) is that it's another layer removed from the action. I've already seen several videos and testimonials from friends that they get into the game in this warpgate and have no idea where to go or what to do. Sanctuary can't be something people start out in or get easily transported to - we really need new players to start out in the action as soon as possible. The game is boring until they see the massive combat. Sanctuaries are another way for a player to end up in a place without action and not being able to figure out how to get out of that situation because they need to understand how warpgates work. Warpgates are bad enough for a new player to get stuck, if they happen to end up in a sanctuary chances are that is a player that will get lost, bored, and quickly grow tired of the game.
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The million dollar question: what assumptions should be taken for the IQ level and attention span of SOE's target average PS2 player ?
I introduced a friend's 14 y-o brother to PS2 by getting him a beta key. When I visited his family 3 days later, his brother still had not figured out there was an "Instant Action" system (and that's back when it was not limited by a 30 minutes timer).
What they did manage to find is the sniper class. The younger brother rolled VS first because they looked "cool" but then he found sniping sucked. I told him to go NC and with the OSOK headshot, he was much happier. He still stopped playing the game after a few weeks though.
For my friend, he plays very casually but still gets confused about choosing where to go and what to fight. He basically goes where the action is to shoot at targets and that's about it. He is not at all concerned about what's happening on the map. If he sees a point to capture, he does get that it's useful to capture but that's about it. He would rather stand still and shooting at targets of opportunity than try taking a point. I think it's because he does not understand the interest of points: as long as he can spawn with his rifle and get cert points to upgrade his character, there is no problem.
He did manage to go straight to the x12 zoom !
In short, noobs and short attention span people need a lot more help to understand the game. When you come from small maps games, there is a set of understanding you do not have when you switch to a game like PS2. A new game will always be too complex to learn for a new player. What's important is to keep the new players interested as they learn and better understand all the aspects of the game.
Also, not playing alone is super important.
2012-10-08, 03:53 AM
Hybrid Mode
