"New Player Guidances" should be in-game, not on obscure web pages

Hi,

sorry for that offensive subject ^^

But that thought haunts me since I read the very first beginner guides on the lodestone. Same mistake which was done in FF XI, but this time it seems to happen on purpose ... at least I can not find another explanation. The account registration process is painful enough for new customers, so please stop expecting them to research the important basics on the internet themselves - starting FF XIV must be fun, not work. And each new beginner's article on the Lodestone made me feel worse.

FF XIV (and of course SE) require the guides and information in the game, and not hidden in the depths of tacked-on websites like the Lodestone or now the forums. And "in-game" does not just mean tons of text where players have to read through, but a funny tutorial sidequests with cutscenes (as an example).

As game designers, you did not have trouble to incorporate the emotes into the main storyline ... do the same with the game fundamentals please; but please in a series of sidequests, not the main quests where it would be plainly annoying.

It should be both, if i were to suggest, that way when ppl are still downloading such a huge patchs and stuff, they can read in the lodestone and get more the idea when they start the tutorial in-game.

The tutorials are going to be implemented into the game. SE already said that :)

Aye, they are going to be implemented ingame, but hey, atleast they are somewhere....

Im sort off a new player, and a lot of the games mechanics are still a puzzle to me. Square Enix should make better tutorial quests.

Is there really a problem with having detailed tutorials/explanations on the Lodestone?

Sure, the explanations for some things could be better in the starting quests, but there is something to be said for working out how to play a game for yourself (at least, I enjoy that part). As long as you are shown how to operate the basics and how things generally work, isn't that enough? Does every new player really have to be spoon fed?

Heh, while I understand your point, the lodestone is hardly obscure.

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Originally Posted by Arya

Sure, the explanations for some things could be better in the starting quests, but there is something to be said for working out how to play a game for yourself (at least, I enjoy that part). As long as you are shown how to operate the basics and how things generally work, isn't that enough? Does every new player really have to be spoon fed?

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As has been stated in developer interviews, a new player cannot decide if they like a game or not until they understand how to play it, so the learning curve should be as user-friendly as possible to ensure that new players are able to get to the meat of the game and start enjoying themselves as quickly as possible, and not have to waste inordinate amounts of time with little piddly stuff like how to walk, how to open the menus, or where to get quests.

Also, research has shown that most people generally pass their final judgment on a game's quality within the first 15 minutes of playtime, and so no game can afford to waste any time frustrating the player by making him figure things out on his own.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shawn_Wanamaker

Heh, while I understand your point, the lodestone is hardly obscure.

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You would be surprised how few people know of the Lodestone or who visit it infrequently. Especially a lot of the high levels.

All you need is to be friendly to others, get a nice Linkshell, and then ask ALL the questions you have about anything that the LS can answer. Thats what I did when I first started, I'm doing well now ^^