In-Game Help
Radix
Join Date: 2005-01-10 Member: 34654Members, Constellation
Join Date: 2005-01-10 Member: 34654Members, Constellation
Here's a thread to discuss expansions on autohelp. Please don't think that by autohelp I'm referring to simply creating nicer hints, I'm speaking of a total revamp of the system that gives a much more dynamic feel.
I'm thinking along the lines of these elements:
+ Contextual help, for example, if you pick up a welder and the player with a welder could see another player's armor was low, a bubble appears above the low-armor character directing the newbie with a welder to his prospective target, and perhaps a hudhint explains what this bubble means
+ Directional "GPS" help, ie, if a player has not completed any objectives (ie killing a structure or building a structure) the director would lay down a very simplistic waypoint at the nearest node or other building, and would (as has been discussed in other threads) paint a path along the level geometry toward that building
+ Overview assistance - by far the most important and undernoticed feature of NS lies in the fact that it is, at its heart, a strategy game. Because it's virtually impossible to win with frags alone (and no resources capped), a player who is new (you could tie this into the stats system) could be told the major objectives of the current situation, ie "A siege is taking place! Move to this building and press E to teleport there." I realize heuristics to sense a phase gate near a siege are slightly complex but I think it would be fairly dramatic and would engage new players who were just starting out, making the experience far less painful.
+ Commanding assistance - This will probably be the most controversial suggestion, as it could theoretically be used in competitive play, even though it would be very suboptimal. What I would suggest is that every time a commander has floating resources > about what NS would see at 40, each upgradeable structure be checked on the client side, and somewhere between 10-30 seconds after a structure was first inactive while res was floating, a hint pop up, perhaps with a blinking "go to upgrade" button would show what might help the team in the situation.
+ Dual commanding - This isn't so much an automated help feature, but would let players learn to comm better especially in large (pub) games. For example, if a team contained less than 5 or more than 8 players, a second seat might open up in the comm chair for a teammate to drop medpacks and research upgrades, kind of like a co-pilot who could watch the primary commander playing, and perhaps the primary comm could unlock the secondary comm's hud at times when he thought the other guy was ready to do at least a portion of the real work.
Feel free to attack these ideas or add more.
I'm thinking along the lines of these elements:
+ Contextual help, for example, if you pick up a welder and the player with a welder could see another player's armor was low, a bubble appears above the low-armor character directing the newbie with a welder to his prospective target, and perhaps a hudhint explains what this bubble means
+ Directional "GPS" help, ie, if a player has not completed any objectives (ie killing a structure or building a structure) the director would lay down a very simplistic waypoint at the nearest node or other building, and would (as has been discussed in other threads) paint a path along the level geometry toward that building
+ Overview assistance - by far the most important and undernoticed feature of NS lies in the fact that it is, at its heart, a strategy game. Because it's virtually impossible to win with frags alone (and no resources capped), a player who is new (you could tie this into the stats system) could be told the major objectives of the current situation, ie "A siege is taking place! Move to this building and press E to teleport there." I realize heuristics to sense a phase gate near a siege are slightly complex but I think it would be fairly dramatic and would engage new players who were just starting out, making the experience far less painful.
+ Commanding assistance - This will probably be the most controversial suggestion, as it could theoretically be used in competitive play, even though it would be very suboptimal. What I would suggest is that every time a commander has floating resources > about what NS would see at 40, each upgradeable structure be checked on the client side, and somewhere between 10-30 seconds after a structure was first inactive while res was floating, a hint pop up, perhaps with a blinking "go to upgrade" button would show what might help the team in the situation.
+ Dual commanding - This isn't so much an automated help feature, but would let players learn to comm better especially in large (pub) games. For example, if a team contained less than 5 or more than 8 players, a second seat might open up in the comm chair for a teammate to drop medpacks and research upgrades, kind of like a co-pilot who could watch the primary commander playing, and perhaps the primary comm could unlock the secondary comm's hud at times when he thought the other guy was ready to do at least a portion of the real work.
Feel free to attack these ideas or add more.
Comments
I believe the dual commanding idea was suggested in the stickied Commander Experience thread in the I&S forum, along with many other good suggestions.
But I don't understand how commanding assistance could be exploited in competitive play. Since it just seems to be <b>more information</b>. Or am I missing something?