#419 Better newbie experience and re-added tutorial1 map
Edited the old tutorial1 map to fix typos and add a little more descriptive text. Set the sage to "no_damage" as he killed himself with his own fireball one time, disallowing a newbie to be able to further talk to him and discover the gate password. Reset exit to 'beginners_entry' rather than 'beginners' as a better exit point.
Added tutorial1 map to Nexus map in the same way tutorial2 (newbieshouse) was added.
Added tutorial1 to system/maps.arc so it's a new choice in the "start map" for new characters.
Changed the name of newbieshouse to tutorial2 in various places to prepare for additional separated tutorials. (this also fixes the issue of newbieshouse map being called "Starter House", "Beginners' House" and "newbieshouse" all in different places.
Here's an updated patch that works with today's code for re-implementing 'tutorial1' map.
Patch applied as 5e9a05853e050a8ec1b8316d5d185e8814a2ad20, thanks!
As per chat in IRC/Discord ... I think you're saying just this last patch in the comment, right?
But the ones involving Nexus and map.arc now have some issues and have to be redone, correct?
Correct, patches for Nexus and map.arc are not valid right now with latest changes :)
Minor update to "General Info" sign in Scorn to be more Newbie-Friendly
Last edit: rock808 2021-09-01
I wonder, any specific reason why you replaced the general location of (some) maps by "new quests" or similar comments?
And why remove the prison?
This patch adds "tutorial 1" teleporter to the Nexus map in the same way "newbiehouse" is already added/linked on it.
The "tutorial1" map is really similar to the other "beginner" map, no? Isn't this redundant? I think players will only be able to do one.
And if we really want to keep tutorial1, maybe a sign would nice, like the other maps.
I don't think "tutorial1" and "newbieshouse" are all that similar, no. Yes, a character (not a player) will only be able to do one of them (not both), and a character can only do it once. And yes, there are mostly similar lessons to learn in each.
However, have you played through each of them recently? The biggest and most important difference is the Player Experience. In "newbieshouse" the player is dropped in a rather open map, where they can wander off to whatever sections they want in any order, even skipping some sections. When I've questioned some brand new players, they have said they didn't know what they should be doing in there, and felt confused already with the lack of guidance (as a brand new player).
With "tutorial1" ... there is a single narrow path the Player is guided along, with more obvious lessons in a more planned, controlled, and organized manner. There are a couple sections that can be skipped if the player chooses, and those are readily marked.
Personally, I wouldn't mind setting these Initial Tutorials so they can be played through more than once. I honestly don't see anything in either of them that would harm game play, as long as those maps did end up resetting so we're not giving players a free "apartment" of sorts. Although, I also feel it's easy enough for a player to spin up a new character just to run through either of those initial tutorials again (the same one a second time, or the one they didn't choose the first time).
I also think we could add another (3rd) "Beginners House" to the Scorn map which can be a multiplayer normal map and teaches these same lessons again in case a player doesn't want to (or think to) spin up a new character just to get a second look at those initial game lessons.
A majority of new players I have asked about "tutorial1" vs "newbieshouse" when I first brought back tutorial1 on Darlantus server, was that most everyone said they preferred tutorial1 as an initial teaching map for brand new players. So, on my server, I have been recommending that one as THE first one to choose. However, I also feel that as a game designer I wouldn't want to take away player options, unless they were actually bad... and instead, just give them another choice or two if someone does want to play around or experiment.
You say "maybe a sign would be nice" ? I'm not sure I understand. Do we have a sign for "newbieshouse"? Certainly that has not been a map that a character can return to once they get past it.
Attached are 2 patches, one on arch the other on maps, which build on (and include) your original patches:
- the character creation dialog will show 2 tutorials, with an explanation of their form ("step-by-step" versus "free-form")
- the Nexus (only used for players using an old client) has a passage leading to the 2 tutorials, with a sign explaining their difference
None of those patches include the changes to the sign in Scorn though.
Last edit: Nicolas Weeger 2021-10-03
Map and arch patches committed, sign changes not committed, see https://sourceforge.net/p/crossfire/patches/419/#06c6/a170