Improve Marine and Skulk Accuracy

Deck_

I think this game needs to help players see a path for improving their accuracy so people enjoy the game more and continue playing it. The latest tutorials have done a good job on teaching the objective of the game, but there is not much help out there to teach people to shoot better or hit more bites. I think this should be a major focus if you want to increase the player base or keep newer players playing the game. I think tutorials might be the best route as there is a lot of things that go into shooting well or hitting a high accuracy in this game. Do people think this is an issue with the game? I think no matter what new things you add, if you don't improve this aspect of the game, you're left with a game that can be hard for people to take the time to get better at.

coolitic

I think any kind of advanced interactive tutorial should be saved for NS3.

Deck_

Why wait till NS3? You don't know if NS3 is happening. Also, why not help players enjoy the game now/keep players playing or what is the point to the updates?

RevanCorana

Health bars kind of do that.

For melee accuracy maybe add bite aid to the vanilla alien vision.

Deck_

^ It doesn't change the fact that it is very difficult for people in the game to shoot a high enough accuracy to do well. Just cause you can see a health bar doesn't mean you know how to shoot better. That is why people have said health bars actually end up helping good shots even more. I'm not saying it can't help at all, but the point is there's a lot of things that go into it where seeing a health bar isn't going to help. I bring this up because I don't think it would be fun for someone to die round after round and not know what they could do to get better.

For aliens, your idea is decent. Knowing what to do in certain situations still would help players that wanted to improve or wondered why they aren't doing well. I think you have to break this game down for people to see how they can improve. Most people aren't going to know where to start or stay long enough after enough painful rounds.

Stark

Deck_ wrote: »

Knowing what to do in certain situations still would help players that wanted to improve or wondered why they aren't doing well. I think you have to break this game down for people to see how they can improve. Most people aren't going to know where to start or stay long enough after enough painful rounds.

+1 to this part, especially. I remember when I started truly trying to break down and analyze my own game play and the game play of those much better. I was always thinking "what I am doing, what are THEY doing, and how can I do that". Maybe we can't get rookies thinking THAT much at first, but helping them to see where they went wrong to begin with makes it easier for them to start thinking critically. Those that stick around 100+ hours are more likely to figure things out on their own like I, and everyone else here, did. But too many people lose motivation far earlier because they feel overwhelmed.

Bike_Man

The Hive challenges helped a bit, but it seems as if they are more of a challenge for more experienced players rather than a learning tool. Personally, I still cant play fade very much at all, and get disoriented as a skulk against some more experienced marines. My lerk skill has become tolerable, and Onos gore was always more forgiving. Some experienced skulks can still give me a run for my money as a marine, but it's usually the veteran fades and lerks that leave me constantly dizzy and/or dead.

The worst thing that a rookie player can do to a team is be completely oblivious to the commander, their teammates, and the enemy team's behavior. This can be caused by a lack of game knowledge, but if rookies have gone through the tutorials, it's more of just their inability to communicate and keep up with the pressure of a fast paced game. A commander tutorial would be much appreciated. New commanders can be slow at best, with teammates telling them how to do better. At worst, a rookie decides to jump in the hive/chair because the actual commander temporarily jumped out, or jumps in the chair before teams are organized and has no clue how to communicate. Commanding is optional in the game, but having some experience commanding teams helps you know how it feels when your commander is watching you on the field.

I know that this doesn't directly pertain to improving accuracy, but I've made the following statement in-game before: A rookie only needs to be where they are needed. I don't care if they shoot the ceiling and bite the floor. They just need to be cooperative, responsive, and knowledgeable of the basic game. The third criteria was fulfilled by the tutorials, but teamwork and reacting rapidly to the game state isn't covered. Accuracy drills would be a godsend, but commanding, teamwork, and communication tutorials are needed as well. I'm not sure how you can teach a rookie how important a good mic/fast typing/voice commands/pings are, but emphasizing passive skills like watching the map while playing and being attentive to teammates (welding/healing/assists/recycling weapons) could also be covered in an advanced tutorial.

Once a player learns to consistently enter the right engagements, it is then that they need to work on accuracy. That is what determines the difference between the flashed fade, the fade on the bottom half of the scoreboard, and the Nominous fade. In conclusion, I would most definitely like to see aim drills added to the game, but advanced tutorials are the next step for learning players. NS2 has a complicated main game mode, one that doesn't conform to team deathmatch, king of the hill, capture the flag, payload, or anything else you see in popular FPS titles today. Something like CS:GO is fine with just one tutorial and one accuracy drill, but NS2 needs much more.

Frozen

I really like the "Situations" as they used them in R6 Siege. Would be good inspiration for NS2 advanced tutorials