A new autohelp feature
themeatshield
Join Date: 2009-01-13 Member: 66078Members
Join Date: 2009-01-13 Member: 66078Members
<div class="IPBDescription">NS2 should display a short hint before player respawns.</div>It is clear that there is a problem with newer players learning some of the finer points of NS1 (such as ambushing, welding each other, phasing to rush a hive - without getting ammo).
The problem is that these players do not read the manual, do not read tutorials, do not ask other players for help, would most likely not bother to complete a (dull) interactive tutorial.
My solution is to include a feature in the game that presents a hint upon the death of a player, which they can then read while respawning. This feature could be turned off (just like cl_autohelp) by players that already knew how to play.
Here are some examples of hints (these are relevant to NS1 - new hints would have to be generated for NS2):
Skulks: Try ambushing the marines from vents, above doorways or other locations that allow you to suprise them.
Lerk: Be careful when biting marines, you're very fragile. Try not to attack more than one marine at once.
Marines: You're stronger as a squad, so support your team.
Gorges: Don't bile mines when skulks are nearby.
Commander: A pack of mines can be used to protect the infantry portal from skulks early in the game.
This would be a very simple feature to implement. It would help newer players to come to grips with the complex gameplay of NS before they get frustrated and give up. It is also less intrusive than a playable tutorial (which are usually dull) and less boring that reading a manual cover-to-cover (I personally read manuals and/or do tutorials, but this idea provides another alternative).
I am willing to personally organise the collection and refinement of hints for NS2 (including updating them as new patches come out).
-Meatshield
Note: Those are only a few examples of hints. There are far more hints that could be included. A couple minutes thinking alone generated almost 40 potential suggestions. So it's likely that (also including impt. sections of the manual), that over 100 hints could be generated.
The problem is that these players do not read the manual, do not read tutorials, do not ask other players for help, would most likely not bother to complete a (dull) interactive tutorial.
My solution is to include a feature in the game that presents a hint upon the death of a player, which they can then read while respawning. This feature could be turned off (just like cl_autohelp) by players that already knew how to play.
Here are some examples of hints (these are relevant to NS1 - new hints would have to be generated for NS2):
Skulks: Try ambushing the marines from vents, above doorways or other locations that allow you to suprise them.
Lerk: Be careful when biting marines, you're very fragile. Try not to attack more than one marine at once.
Marines: You're stronger as a squad, so support your team.
Gorges: Don't bile mines when skulks are nearby.
Commander: A pack of mines can be used to protect the infantry portal from skulks early in the game.
This would be a very simple feature to implement. It would help newer players to come to grips with the complex gameplay of NS before they get frustrated and give up. It is also less intrusive than a playable tutorial (which are usually dull) and less boring that reading a manual cover-to-cover (I personally read manuals and/or do tutorials, but this idea provides another alternative).
I am willing to personally organise the collection and refinement of hints for NS2 (including updating them as new patches come out).
-Meatshield
Note: Those are only a few examples of hints. There are far more hints that could be included. A couple minutes thinking alone generated almost 40 potential suggestions. So it's likely that (also including impt. sections of the manual), that over 100 hints could be generated.
Comments
Oh one other thing, would you only get hints when you die, or at other times as well? (Wouldn't be very useful to new commanders, for example. So I assume there would be autohelp even during gameplay, as long as it isn't distracting.) And would you only get one hint per death? Or would it display for a few seconds, then change to another, etc.
Personally I'm liking a combination of the CoD4 kill camera (server variable), and the hints idea.
Oh one other thing, would you only get hints when you die, or at other times as well? (Wouldn't be very useful to new commanders, for example. So I assume there would be autohelp even during gameplay, as long as it isn't distracting.) And would you only get one hint per death? Or would it display for a few seconds, then change to another, etc.
Personally I'm liking a combination of the CoD4 kill camera (server variable), and the hints idea.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Of course a feature that customizes the hints to the player's death would be ideal, but it might be difficult to get it working (as well as the problem of no commander deaths). It wouldn't be easy to decide that a skulk should have ambushed, or that the lerk faced too many marines at once.
I was just thinking there could be a single file that contains all of the hints (somewhere around 80) and cycles through it from the start to the end. This would mean that there's no repetition of hints and that all players would view all of the hints (assuming they don't turn it off). This would be the simplest solution and take the least quantity of time to program. I'm a fan of the simplest solution possible.
>>Players would get one hint (of 1-2 sentences) per death. These would vanish within a few seconds (so as not to distract players).
but an easier thing would be to have strategies - e.g. if a lerk gets blasted in the face with a SG, you'd have a strategy tip come up and say the lerk is a support class
but then again you don't want the game to sound like its paying you out or stating the obvious
I was just thinking there could be a single file that contains all of the hints (somewhere around 80) and cycles through it from the start to the end. This would mean that there's no repetition of hints and that all players would view all of the hints (assuming they don't turn it off). This would be the simplest solution and take the least quantity of time to program. I'm a fan of the simplest solution possible.
>>Players would get one hint (of 1-2 sentences) per death. These would vanish within a few seconds (so as not to distract players).<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Hmm... If the text file was customizable. At least I'd like to have res costs, hp amounts, damage ratings and teching times rolling on my screen whenever I'm on spawn queue.
A simple text file would be the easiest option. As you mentioned, customizing the contents would be easy for any player to do, so player designed hint files may be used.
For example, a competitive community (or clan) may produce their own hint file for newer players.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->well you could have hints
but an easier thing would be to have strategies - e.g. if a lerk gets blasted in the face with a SG, you'd have a strategy tip come up and say the lerk is a support class<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The problem with this example, is that swooping on a sger *may* have been a good idea (for example, if you have carapace and the marine is on half hp and low ammo from fighting a skulk). I personally attack sgers and hmgers all the time as a lerk.
To be honest, I don't think it's worth the effort making a feature that can interpret the actions of players accurately enough to give them relevant hints. Besides, within about 80 deaths (probably a reasonable number of hints), the players would have cycled through all of the hints anyway!
The way I see it, a complicated strategy system that has to analyse the actions of players prior to death would take a long time to program. A hint function would take two minutes to program into the game. I don't think that the more complex system is really all that much better.
Not completely true. The manner of death (death by OC for example, or spores) can be a useful trigger for specific hints. See CoD4
I didn't say it was impossible, I just said that it would probably not be worth the effort.
The main issue (apart from the extra effort), would be the system giving players inaccurate advice.
For example:
If a player dies of spore, the hints may say "stay out of lerks gas or call for meds". However, the player may have taken the final 10 damage from spore after being gored by an onos.
If a player dies from an OC, it may tell marines to avoid ocs. However, the marine may have been jp rushing a hive with some ocs in it.
Besides, how would you trigger some certain hints on death, such as "don't stray away from your teammates", when your team may have all died shortly before you?
Would it be worth the effort to specify within the maps which areas are considered safe for gestating in, so that the help could say "try to gestate in vents or on top of hives"?
Anyway, I've made my point perfectly clear. I'm not interested in getting into a long, unnecessary discussion regarding a simple, effective and uncontroversial idea. If it's wanted in the game, it'll be included. If not, it's no huge issue to me.
ex.
Cornhower saw Lt. Packle on the ground, trying to shuffle his guts back into what had been his midsection.
"Ah ######, what got you!?" asked Pv. Cornhower as he started letting the nanites from his medpack work their magic on Packle,
"Tha-that damned Fade...they're..so fast.... I never had a clean shot",
Immediately behind him, Cornhower heard what he had thought was a strangely human-like chuckle, then everything went dark.
Totally made up (the "exerpt"), but adding a backstory example to basic gameplay elements I believe heightens the mood for overall gameplay.
This has been done in L4D and is really effective (jumped into every infested role and knew what to do, as i came up to interactive objects it showed me how to interact and after wouldn't display the hint again).
And make sure the hints concise and precise.
Hints should vary in thier complexity.
Maybe you could also link hints to a kind of "Achievements" thing.
Then people would learn how to play by completing the achievments.
So for example good stratergies for lerks are.
Glide towards a marine, Primal scream, bite to death, fly off.
Achievement would be: Bite to death 10 marines whilst primal scream is active.
Umbra other team mates.
Achievement would be: Umbra a team mate under fire.
Use glide instead of flight to sustain energy.
Achievement would be: Fly 300 meters using only three wing flaps.
Use spore cloud without stopping
Achievement would be: Use spore cloud whilst in mid air and continue flying.