Friggz
Caldari Provisions
Caldari State
176
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Posted - 2015.07.02 17:06:17 -
[1] - Quote
I think work certainly needs to be done on the NPE side of things and it's good to see CCP finally realize that.
If there is one huge problem with the NPE in EvE it's that it encourages waiting, not playing. This creates a disconnect between player knowledge and character knowledge. The new player can go out and fly around and learn things, but it doesn't help his character. Or he can sit and wait for his character to gain skill points, but that doesn't teach him anything. This is a jarring disconnect not seen in other MMOs, and while EvE in unique and can't really follow the mold of traditional Theme Park MMOs too closely, the general idea of intertwining character progression with player knowledge is certainly something CCP should look into.
New players want to play, and if you tell them "Hey, you can go out and do X and earn skill points/skills." They will do it. If you give them a bunch of SPs at the start they'll spent it all, make mistakes, and then be stuck right back where they were before, waiting to play the game.
Or you can pre-assign everything but then they have no idea why core skills are so important in the first place, and they'll still need to train up the specific skills for the specific things they want to do.
For example, lets assume we just start every player with CPU Management V. It's better than now because we don't saddle new players with a skill basically everyone needs to train anyway, but at the same time there is no experience for a new player, they haven't learned anything.
Now instead imagine there is a mission that tells you "Hey, here's a t1 frigate of your race, and here is how you fit it. Oh wait, you are just under the CPU you need to fit it. See how important CPU is? Well, here is an alternate fit for now, go do some chores for me and I'll grant you CPU management V."
What that does is actually educate the new player and keep them engaged. It gives them information about the game and how fitting works and why it's not just about jumping into a hull, but being able to fit and fly it right.
You can do similar scenarios like a mission where the NPC says "Hey, you are going to encounter a lot of neuting enemies in this mission, lets talk about your capacitor, neuts, cap warfare, all of that stuff. Okay, now do some chores and I'll grant you Capacitor Systems Operation IV and Capacitor Management IV. Now you have more cap, and ready to handle those neuts!"
Granted, this a lot more work on CCP's part, but new players are important and worth the effort. We need an NPE that keeps players engaged and rewards them from playing. It needs to allow the player to learn as their character does. This gives them guidance and a sense of progression as they become deeper and deeper evolved, so that once they finish all these tutorials they have hours of actual experience and knowledge and are ready to put it to use in the wider Eve Universe.
The Evolution of the Stealth Bomber, and the story of the first Black Ops Capital Kill in EvE.
https://truestories.eveonline.com/ideas/969
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