"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.

Quote:

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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 ^^

Well, yeah they could do a little more to explain about gear, carrying over class skills and whatnot, only reason I knew about it is because I read everything i could about it before I started playing.

I mean its hardly "pick-up and play" but hey they are working on it.

Yoshi is listening, threads like this are necessary though, because although tutorials are pretty obvious, without telling them our suggestions they won't know what they are. Right?

Even if the game had a lot of tutorials in-game, this section of the forum would still be needed. Some people would rather just ask someone here, especially if they are a regular forum go'er. And most of the time, an answer to a question is just one question away, instead of trying to find it in an in-game help program or something.

For my part.. I don't like it if we're getting all the informations on hand already. The little theorycrafting in terms on skills, recipes and technique's is usually fun to observe.

SE would just need a little explanation on movement and small "How to's". The 1st day in beta I wanted to craft and I was like "wooot wtf, how does this shit work?" but I figured it out myself and that wasn't that bad.

Imagine logging in and those pop-ups are spamming your screen.. like "Have you known yzx... blablabla"
1st. Movement
2nd. Accepting Quests
3rd. Equipping Gear
4th. Talking to people in different Chat Modes
5th. Travelling through the world.
.
.
.

I want to play and not read about stuff I'm not using in the 1st 5mins xD. But if they implement it right, they'll have it designed properly for beginners.

At least a lot of basic basic stuff is in the game in the form of stuff you can read from the Aetheryte. Not that anybody is going to notice that.

This forum is definitely needed, but it would be nice if they added some tutorial sidequests, too. And pointed you at them >_>

As a new player myself, I have had some difficulty with very basic things, but eventually figured them out. Unfortunately for most, however, tinkering with a game to figure it out is not fun. I am an exception to the norm and I look forward to when SE will release in-game tutorials. With the game undergoing a massive, long-term overhaul, it will be interesting to see how much we all have to learn!

I prefer learning from other people in active situations, but I'm shy in a lot of places, including MMOs. So I like reading as much as I can about the basics before I jump in -- on forums, websites, whatever comes up when I search. It's just another option for people like me. I think it's pretty accommodating.

(For the record, I do think there should be better in-game tutorials for starters -- and not just "spoonfeeding", but fun things that don't feel like tutorials while incorporating useful information. Game developers are getting better about those as time goes by, and I hope they get really creative.)

Hopefully what is discussed in this forum will direct SE's own tutorials.

An in-game tutorial section would be great, by default it should be on. And could easily be checked off and refer you to where you can find more information.

Playing the open beta, I recall having some difficulties trying to get out of the starting area in Ul'dah (the instance boomerangs you back and the dialogue choice makes it sound like there's some freedom for exploration), the emote related quest, and general direction of what I should do after those starting missions. My first death was met with "how do I come back to life?"

I learned through wanting to enjoy the game and if I didn't have such high hopes for Final Fantasy 14, I personally don't believe I would have had the patience to stick this out.

Things are getting better, true. But this is coming from someone who has been exposed from the game for a few months and not a new player perspective. I agree that a majority of the Beginner Guide articles should be available in the game, where the Ask the Devs not necessarily be.

I completely agree with you. I played 2 weeks in the beta and then started with my collector's edition, and honestly I didn't feel that I was accomplishing much until around november or so. More of the issue for me was just getting the hang of playing, well actually I would have to put it, understanding much of anything in-game. But I will say while most of it was incredibly frustrating, it wasn't because the game was bad at all, it was because i understood next to nothing about it.

I will say that it took me a good two good months of self exploration to really understand what it was i was trying to do, but though i struggled with it it was incredibly fun. I can still remember making my first hempen shirt and how happy i was that I pulled it off. Which around that time hempen dye's were selling for 10k and cotton gear was epic, and I was still wondering what that shiny orb was xD

I guess what i'm trying to say is that though the learning curve is pretty extreme, anyone needing help can find it in about half a dozen different places now. I'm glad for that since this has been probably the most silent game i've really played before. Since this forum is here maybe people will actually be sociable outside thier linkshells ;3

Do what every game in the world does.

Put hints/info on idle screens;
- Loading
- Maintenance
- Patch download

etc

My biggest gripe was the crappy game manual. The majority of it was setting up payment and that crysta stuff, which is moot now anyway since it's indefinitely free. The XI manual was crazy detailed, at least at NA release with RoZ.