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PTS feedback for the FTUE - thank you


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(initially posted on the PTS forums, oops)
 

Thank you everyone who played the PTS version of the new FTUE and gave your feedback.    It really helps to have fresh eyes on this.

The new FTUE has been over a year in the making, so some of us Level Designers have tunnel vision when playing through it for the thousandth time  :)

 

A few of you ran into two big bugs:

  • Those of you that spawned in the middle of nowhere with no lander obviously did not experience the intended onboarding.   That you continued to play and took detailed notes was appreciated, however clearly this is not the path a new player should take.  
    • This happened due to problems with the server, and always requires CS intervention to rectify. 
    • Since server hiccups do happen, I may add a backup step that if players get stuck on the "interact with the pilot's seat" step, after a certain time Aphelia will recommend the Help chat.   That, or another backup.
  • Many of you ran into an issue trying to deploy the Speeder, getting an error message "speeder too far".   This was a bug that has been fixed in the latest update (released today).

Aside from that, the rest of you successfully played the golden path of the new FTUE and provided great feedback.

 

Here are fixes we have already implemented. They are live on Athena. (this list is not exhaustive):

  • Lander section: now no build mode possible, no suicide/force respawn possible
  • Flatten/Blueprint deploy section: added "you can walk around using maneuver keys"
  • F4 map section: added a step to unlock HUD at the end
  • Objective Screen section: added a step to remove currently active tool (skipped if no tool active)
  • Objective Screen section: Added a recommendation to take the Talent mini-tutorial
  • Objective Screen: fixed crash when triggering mini-Construction
  • Lander: infobutton removed
  • Tutorial skip buttons (Shift-PgUp and Shift-PgDn) now have a confirmation popup, to avoid accidental skips

Here are our next steps (this list is not exhaustive):

  • Golden Path: encourage players to join an organisation
  • Golden Path: teach "H" button in screen lock mode and inventory
  • Investigate if "playing with friends" is convenient enough, now that the bugs are fixed
  • Outposts: balance outpost constructs and provide more information on the Outpost Picker page
  • Objective Screen: create the missing mini-tutorials
  • Objective Screen: make the objective screen persistent
  • (hopefully) make the objective screen reactive to the player completing mini-tutorials
  • Tutorials: sort tutorials in the VR Surrogate Station tutorials tab
  • Tutorials: do a polish pass of tutorials in the VR Surrogate Station as many are out of date

(btw Golden Path = all the steps from "player spawns in the lander" to the end where Aphelia hands the player off to the Objective screen)

 

The principle goal of the new FTUE is to avoid bloat of the "forced tutorial" by getting a new player to a point where they can have few hours of fun tinkering and exploring before they would need to learn more.  Some people will choose more tutorials right away, but that is their choice, others might visit a bunch of places using VR Surrogate instead, or harvest ore.   This is roughly the blanket answer to the feedback "you really need to teach the player XYZ".    The golden path ignores some DU features by design, hoping that the Objective screen and player discovery fills the gap.
I do agree, however, that getting a player to have a look at organisations as soon as possible is a great suggestion, which is why I'm planning on adding that to the golden path.

 

If your comment or feedback is not listed above, I haven't missed it.  All feedback has been collected and is being considered.

Thanks everyone again for your help.
Cheers,
NQ-AntiGravitas

 

PS. For those who pointed it out, the lander -always- lands safely.  Its geometry and light weight slows it down in atmosphere and it has an autobrake at the very end.  it's impossible to crash (I tried many times).  Well, I'll say "nearly" impossible to crash because I'm sure someone will find a way one day (and no, that is not a challenge to you, dear players).  

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I posted my feedback on the FTUE -HERE- and feel it is still mostyly relevant

 

As it is, it feels like an introduction more than a FTUE. It certainly does not set up the player for their journey in game, it just explains a few things and then goes away

 

Especially adding in the start of training talents in such a way that players see the benefits from that wile still in the FTUE, to mee seems very important. Once you let a player go, the opportunity to drive such things also goes away.

Overall, as mentioned in the post I quoted above, the FTUE is better than the previous but it still feels like it is designed by devs (and based on what they think is important) and not by someone who understands the psyche of a new player very well. I do not meean that to be negative towards the designers but it is IMO why the FTUE really misses the mark in many ways and could/should be more focussed around the players perspective and progress whil eon the journey, not around the journey itself.

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6 hours ago, blazemonger said:

I posted my feedback on the FTUE -HERE- and feel it is still mostyly relevant

 

As it is, it feels like an introduction more than a FTUE. It certainly does not set up the player for their journey in game, it just explains a few things and then goes away

 

Especially adding in the start of training talents in such a way that players see the benefits from that wile still in the FTUE, to mee seems very important. Once you let a player go, the opportunity to drive such things also goes away.

Overall, as mentioned in the post I quoted above, the FTUE is better than the previous but it still feels like it is designed by devs (and based on what they think is important) and not by someone who understands the psyche of a new player very well. I do not meean that to be negative towards the designers but it is IMO why the FTUE really misses the mark in many ways and could/should be more focussed around the players perspective and progress whil eon the journey, not around the journey itself.

I don’t really get what you think the devs missed with it? Personally I don’t want to have my hand held too much, I like to learn the game myself where possible and resort to tutorials only when absolutely required.

 

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4 minutes ago, Shredder said:

I don’t really get what you think the devs missed with it? Personally I don’t want to have my hand held too much, I like to learn the game myself where possible and resort to tutorials only when absolutely required.

 

While I can see that point, my point is that for instance talents could and really should be addressed and the player shown how to start training eearly on to allow them to see progression "while still there"..

If during a FTUE you get notifications that training is complete/achievements are achieved, you create a positive reinforcement for the player. And that goees a long way, especially if you could get at least a good handful of those done during the FTUE.

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First I would like to say big thank you AntiGravitas for reaching out. It does mean a lot to everyone when NQ talks about feedback, plans and ideas with the community direct. Keep it coming! 😁

 

There was a fair bit of concern prior to Athena on how NQ would tackle the FTUE because this for sure is one vital part to making Dual Universe successful.

 

Once tested I can say from my personal point of view there was a fair amount of relief. The new FTUE path and design is hands down far, far better than what it was previously and also from players I personaly talk too they also overall felt very positive towards the new version. For the work and effort put in to the FTUE so far it's a job well done! 👍 

 

Blaze in his way has raised a good point I also agree with in that Talent selection should be part of the golden path. 

 

Because the FTUE is so important for player retention I do also have some nit picking thoughts but they are not related to the golden path it's self.

 

You will always be limited on haven to your personal tile so easy access and progression to Alioth should be a smooth transition as possible. Some newbie tiles are a fair distance away from that Alioth access. We want to avoid new players having them moments of stalling and thinking what they can do next as much as possible. 

 

Not just related to FTUE the surface rocks on Alioth once a player has reached there should have larger rock clusters to hunt and explore for on their hovercrafts. 20L surface rocks everywhere is a very boring way to gain initial resources. The thrill is in the hunt and discovery! This method of surface harvesting should be on all planets imo and offer a chance to find all tiers of rock clusters in their respective rarity. 

 

 

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Hi

I find that the new FTUE is good.

I imagine piloting , starting shipbuilding and basic tool usage should be the first things new players should go threw .Which starting shipbuilding involves also money making , nanocrafting or industry, trading , ship building knowledge - stats , pilot scripts ,(or ship buy) tools (maneuver , refuel , repair ) and more piloting !

Hope that helps .

Edited by Habitant
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22 hours ago, blazemonger said:

I posted my feedback on the FTUE -HERE- and feel it is still mostyly relevant

 

As it is, it feels like an introduction more than a FTUE. It certainly does not set up the player for their journey in game, it just explains a few things and then goes away

 

Especially adding in the start of training talents in such a way that players see the benefits from that wile still in the FTUE, to mee seems very important. Once you let a player go, the opportunity to drive such things also goes away.

Overall, as mentioned in the post I quoted above, the FTUE is better than the previous but it still feels like it is designed by devs (and based on what they think is important) and not by someone who understands the psyche of a new player very well. I do not meean that to be negative towards the designers but it is IMO why the FTUE really misses the mark in many ways and could/should be more focused around the players perspective and progress whil eon the journey, not around the journey itself.

Everyone has an opinion, and those opinions are almost always guided by that individuals interactions and ability to comprehend their surroundings. That's the case with literally every experience every person has, ever. As far as "training" goes, some people need their hand held to such an insane degree that they need help understanding that they can press 2 buttons on the keyboard at once. Other are nothing but hindered by any semblance of "training" because its so far beyond their general experience that its a complete waste of time and energy. Those recommending more target training are typically those that don't pick things up easily. those that say its easy are on the other side of the spectrum. It doesn't make one right or wrong, it simply insures us all that some are more capable than others.

And most people dont need participation trophies to clarify their success

 

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8 hours ago, SMooreace said:

Everyone has an opinion, and those opinions are almost always guided by that individuals interactions 

And most people dont need participation trophies to clarify their success

 

 

Regarding your last sentence, see the first one.

lso, studies and extensive teesting done by game studios  in collboration with experts in behavioral science provide actual data and results, not just opinion and expectation. And the reaearch done shows that reinforcement of achievement and direct signals of progress will in general promote engagement and desire to "stick with it". Maybe that's not true for you and that is fine, for the general public though, it is very much a factor.
 

There is reasons why studios who take this seriously will generally have a behavioral scientist on the payroll or have ties with institutions which can provide research and result in this regard. While I can see how NQ does not have the resources to have this as part of their process, there is a lot of documentation and information onthe subject they can use.

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i remenber that on some speeder the fuel container is behind a fuel trap .

And so for a new comer it is not that easy to understand that he have to open it to perform the refuel

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Question: Has anyone made a video showing the entire new FTUE experience? If so, I would appreciate a link. Thanks!

 

I'm also curious about the stuff you get from the new FTUE, it used to be some random voxels, a simple speeder and a Sancturary Territory Unit. Has any of this changed, if so, how?

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I like the FTUE. I noticed some of the achievements wouldn't trigger or don't work. And the number of talent points the achievements give out are peanuts, they should give out maybe 500 at the very least, or enough to train one basic talent to lvl 1.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 4/30/2022 at 4:41 PM, blazemonger said:

 

Regarding your last sentence, see the first one.

lso, studies and extensive teesting done by game studios  in collboration with experts in behavioral science provide actual data and results, not just opinion and expectation. And the reaearch done shows that reinforcement of achievement and direct signals of progress will in general promote engagement and desire to "stick with it". Maybe that's not true for you and that is fine, for the general public though, it is very much a factor.
 

There is reasons why studios who take this seriously will generally have a behavioral scientist on the payroll or have ties with institutions which can provide research and result in this regard. While I can see how NQ does not have the resources to have this as part of their process, there is a lot of documentation and information onthe subject they can use.

Jump in the go-back-bus and read my first sentence that you so boldly referenced! "Experts", in any field, are nothing but people paid to apply their opinions. That in no way makes them right. It simply means some moron paid them for their individual take on a given subject. 

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