NS2 Tutorial - Helping the rookies get it right the first time

UncleCrunch

Hi,

I'm thinking the tutorial need something more besides the changes (locking on servers). The approach is "explaining the basics". It's good but maybe something is missing.


Right now the interactive tutorial is:

Marine side : Who you are (ground troops), build armory, kill enemy, kill enemy biting CC, buy welder, weld CC, build Obs, Kill 3 enemies (Gorge, Fade, Skulk), use map, Go Cafet, Find RT nozzle, Build RT & PN, Buy SG, Kill more enemies.

Alien side: Walk on the ceiling, Kill 1 marine, Healing at hive, kill one marine, use vent, kill one marine, evolve as gorge, build 3 clogs, build 3 hydras, Right click for healing, kill one marine with hydras, evolve Lerk, upgrade Regeneration

After this you should know:
As marine

• You have an order to defend CC (but it's not said that it is crucial for a functioning base).
• No PG tech is explained. So the rookie will se it for the first time on a server unless he goes to Sandbox.
• No ARC or TF tech is explained. We can assume that TF2 covered the turret part but not the ARC part.
• No upgrade (A1/W1) tech is explained

As alien

• You can stick on the wall, but no information about wall jumping is given.
• Gorge and Lerk are covered but not Fade and Onos. Which probably leads to rookie = gorge.
• The role played by life forms isn't explained (lerk = early patrol and interceptor)
• No alien view mentioned (ouch!).

General:
No teamwork tactic and general behavior.

IMO it is a combat oriented tutorial. I don't think it was the precise intention but the RTS side is only in the background.

There are the video hints. They provide more tips like "don't engage a horde alone"...
I don't believe the new players usually take a look at it. Maybe playing these videos during loading would be good.

I think that answering to only one question isn't enough. What about identifying the 5 first things a new player should know. What a NS player needs first to avoid being shout at all the time, and survive the first games decently ?

Starting with his/her first questions when connecting a server without going through tutorials can help.

-Where to go ?
It's map knowledge basically. There is no helper right now except for this suggestion : "Any trooper can set a personal WP". So unless the new player wanders in the maps this won't go easy. That will be the one thing a player can't avoid. Maybe the rookies only servers should only run the most simple maps.

-What to do ?
The new player will be comfortable being a Marine as he already played some FPS game. It is rather reductive as he can only aim and shot at the enemy. But in this state the new player has no clue. The interactive tutorial already cover some stuff but not to make choices (ex; save the only CC instead of the Turret).

-What is what ?
This is the typical part where anyone should say : did i miss something ? (like a tutorial). The new player is confronted with new elements like RT, Arms lab, Spur and such. This is probably mistaken with decoration in most case. The AV can help but we must find something to help marines too. This is also a part largely ignored because a lot of people think this is a FPS with no RTS. They can only learn it quick with a tutorial.

-I have a gun vs rack of teeth.
On the alien side nothing is granted. Dodging, selecting target (guerrilla tactics), using upgrades are the basics (and critical things) while they are totally ignored sometimes. This player already has the need to know a little bit of the tech tree in order to enjoy alien side.

-Why is this guy yell at me ? come again... where to ?
A lot of the new player just mute the all other player as an habit coming from other FPS games. The subject have been discussed many times before.

So to sum it up: He can aim but don't act properly as he doesn't understand the mechanics or the goals (and the means to achieve it). Making him do things like a drone will not help this new player as he won't learn either, except "build!".

I believe the interactive tutorial is quite ok for teaching things. Unfortunately we can't create scenarios with mapping and other means. So maybe suggesting the 5 things would be helping the developers improve the tutorial system. At least the scenarios.

dePARA

I had the idea about an new NS2 Trailer wich shows more gamerelevated stuff and more ingame fighting, so players become an better idea of what is awaiting them after they klick the Buy button.

Right know these 2 are on the shoppage:

What can you see there?
Lerks flying around in a manner they would never do in real.
Marines standing around
No real 1st person view
etc

If people would see intense 1st person fights and how skulk ambushing works you can teach them things BEFORE they buying the game.

The trailer could present the abilitys from each class with an short example how they work.
And for the marines something like "positioning is the key win" with an short example.
etc
I had the idea after watching this:

UncleCrunch

I agree that the video are made for showcase and do not help learning the game. It could be less "misguiding".

Another thing
One of the commandments should be:
"Don't evolve Gorge rookie! Wait for someone asks you".

Eclipse_

I agree. That would be a good thing to do.

A lot is missing from the tutorials in-game, too. I have said a number of times that the devs need to address the steep learning curve, especially for the aliens, in order to hope to retain new players. It needed to be done from the start, but better late than never. Good, complete tutorials and meaningful practice outside of getting wrecked in PvP would help a ton. Most new players get wrecked repeatedly, because they are clueless and the aliens play so very differently than anything they are used to. And then they quit forever.

Mephilles

When I was quite new as marine I never used the map key since I had the map on the top left all the time. I used it alot as alien though. I disabled my minimap as marine to force myself teaching to look at the map more often.
Basically that means new marine players will rely on the map top left, but there are no room names written on it and it also doesn't show the whole map. (Unless zoom level changed). Maybe the room names should be visible on top left minimap so rookies can see faster where on the map the room is the comm tells him to go

Nordic

Mephilles wrote: »

When I was quite new as marine I never used the map key since I had the map on the top left all the time. I used it alot as alien though. I disabled my minimap as marine to force myself teaching to look at the map more often.
Basically that means new marine players will rely on the map top left, but there are no room names written on it and it also doesn't show the whole map. (Unless zoom level changed). Maybe the room names should be visible on top left minimap so rookies can see faster where on the map the room is the comm tells him to go

I have had many rookies ask me if there is an equivalent minimap for the aliens because they don't want to have to press C.

deathshroud

a server option to have an alien minimap would be a nice idea

d0ped0g

5 things that I think should be added as tutorials (but not in the mandatory tutorial), and shouldn't be too difficult to design:




1) Skulk walljump tutorial.

First, a video tooltip explains how to do it. Then you have go from point A to point B in less than x seconds where x is a time slightly shorter than it would take if you did no walljumping at all. Rinse and repeat until you get it right.

Either that or get the player to build and maintain a certain speed for more than x seconds. Building and maintaining that speed will require walljumping. A sound plays when you reach that speed and a countdown will begin on screen. A sound will play if you dip below that speed. Maybe also have a numerical value of speed on screen so the player knows exactly what the target is.

Could use a standard map, but a blank map that's just a long hallway would make it less daunting for the players.


2) Fade movement tutorial.

Same thing. X is a time slightly shorter than if you blinked/walked but never hopped to conserve momentum.

Likewise, either do that or get the player to maintain a certain speed for more than x seconds that can only be achieved by conserving energy/blink momentum.


3) Lerk movement tutorial

I think this is designed off what somebody else said in another thread.

Just explain that you press space to flap your wings, hold space to glide. Make the player do both. Explain that you just need to look in the direction you want to go, hold W and flap your wings/glide. Then make the player fly through a sequence of hoops in under x seconds.

Explain that "Lerks die easily and should move around a lot to be evasive. A stationary lerk is a dead lerk."

Maybe also have the lerk encounter a bot with a shotgun. Give the lerk regen and tell them that while you can technically engage shotgunners with bite, it might be unwise to do as you are still new and shotguns can kill you in one shot if you get too close. Ask the player to keep their distance spike down the player.


4) Onos survivability tutorial.

This is also designed off what somebody else said in another thread. Start the tutorial by stating that "All lifeforms with the exception of the skulk, which is free, have one thing job they must do above everything else: Don't die. This is because lifeforms cost precious resources and you don't get them back when you die. This is most important for the onos, as it is the most expensive lifeform in the game. This tutorial is to teach you how to keep that onos alive".

Explain that holding shift is charge and uses energy to give a burst of speed (also explain that the commander has to research this). Have an onos take on 2 parasited bot marines in a room first explaining "this is a typical scenario where an onos can survive". Generate 5 parasited marines around the corner. Rotate the player view towards these players or foce open the map. Pause the game and play a sound clip stating "5 marines are coming. You are wounded and won't survive if you try to fight them. Even if your health was full you probably wouldn't survive. So run away". Tutorial ends afterwards.

Could even ask the player to boneshield the bullets, but would probably make the tutorial too complicated.


5) Medpacking tutorial. Probably a bit more difficult/time-consuming to implement.

Start off with a video tooltips explain what the necessary hotkeys do: that E opens the support menu (pausing the video and pointing out that the menu has changed from one area to another so the player understands this), and then from there you can press S or A to select medpack or ammo respectively. Point out where the health and ammo bars are. Maybe even point out that the menu hotkeys correspond to their physical location on the keyboard.

Now, set stationary bots around the map. First have one call out for a medpack. The commander has as much time as he needs to give it to him. Perhaps this is the time to mention through a sound clip that "this marine has on 75 health left which means a single bite will kill him. Then have somebody call out for ammo. The commander has as much time as he needs to give it to him.

For both of these, maybe even disable manual clicking on the menu, if possible (or instead, easy to work out how to do without taking up too much dev time), and have a sound clip explaining this. Perhaps repeat the above section twice, one where you have to click manually and have one where you use your hotkeys (disable manual clicking in one and hotkeys in another).

Then another have a scripted sequence the marines around the map call out for medpacks at certain times in a sequence, and when they do their health drains slowly until they have recieved at least one medpack. Have a soundclip that explains what's going to happen:

"Now a bunch of marines all around the map are going to ask for a medpack in relatively quick succession. This is to illustrate the typical pressure a marine commander faces in an actual game. Try to make sure too many of your marines don't die. Don't panic. Remember your hotkeys - SPACE, E and S. You will need to use them to do this quickly enough. Once you have pressed E you won't need to press it again because the support menu will already be open."

Don't make it too difficult - but just difficult enough to make the use of hotkeys mandatory. Point is they don't have to leave the tutorial being able to med at a vet level. Point is to drill those hotkeys into them and that they can learn what they need to do outside of the pressures of an actual game. They can leave knowing that medpacking isn't beyond their ability to learn, which they might get the wrong idea about if they try and comm a game on a pub server with a bunch of vets who are screaming at them for meds/ammo.

At a later date, a beaconing tutorial could be added where the same medpacking sequence is repeated, but at a random point a skulk rush will happen and you have to beacon before the obs dies. This will teach the concept of awareness under pressure.


These tutorials don't have to be mandatory and shouldn't be. However, it would be a good idea to create incentives in completing them. These incentives might either be pointed out at the end of the mandatory tutorial, or in the text of the tutorial menu next to the tutorial name. These incentives could be the reduction of time that your name appears green (for movement tutorials) and the reduction of the amount of time required to earn your commanding badge.

Cannon_FodderAUS

Would you be interested in linking "my take on an NS2 manual" to the menu or advertise it? I know reading is so last century, but it is a helpful digest on many things. The wiki is great, but it doesn't give context.
@WasabiOne @IronHorse are you guys interested in linking this?