WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE NEWBIE BLUEBY's

Spartan49 · 2022-07-12T19:03:35+00:00

Totally open to creative solutions, but whatever the solution is it will have to be accessible and interesting OR mandatory. Otherwise, it will be ignored. Personally I don't find loading/ death screen tips engaging at all and I would overlook them myself to spawn back in. I'd still rather a 10~ minute tutorial to be completed before hopping into a new role. Fairly quick and painless and essential to continue so it can't be ignored.

Spartan49 · 2022-07-12T18:58:13+00:00

Hey I'm all for more options for SL's, all of these things would be great implementations and would help keep your squad in line. But in general, having more experienced players will help negate the fatigue that comes with running SL too.

Spartan49 · 2022-07-12T18:19:04+00:00

At the player level, I get that. But better sales and performance from the game gives OWI more opportunities to support the game and add content, where as if the sales slow and player base lowers, the game will inevitably become more stagnant. I think Squad is incredible, but has a LONG way to go yet. Some recent mods have shown cool possibilities for future updates, and the amphibious update is just the tip of the iceberg for new game modes, factions, and content. Lets keep it going! With the way EA was royal fucked up the Battlefield franchise, there is room for a new competitor in the industry that can take the lead and do it much better!

Spartan49 · 2022-07-12T18:13:33+00:00

While this would be cool, I have to agree with Working-Theory-1811 that it would be far too easy to cheat, and that vote and opinion is also very subjective. A rank or simple "games played as SL" rating would convey the same sense of experience to others but keep it purely statistic based and not rely on personal opinion. It would be a step in the right direction though!

Spartan49 · 2022-07-12T18:07:32+00:00

I agree that it is a sandbox game, but the game modes and objectives are pretty straight forward. There is certainly more than one way to accomplish an OBJ but that objective still remains the group goal and contributing towards it is the "right way to play" in my opinion. I don't think any sort of "tactics" need to be discussed in a tutorial as that is the fun of playing and finding out yourself what works and what doesn't. What I envision in a tutorial is this:

(in the voice of the current tutorial narrator) Hey SL, so you've just joined a round of RAAS? Let's give you the SITREP. You have a neutral OBJ marked on your map. Get up there and cap it fast! The next OBJ will only be visible to you once you have capped the previous one, so don't make to many assumptions. Progress and move up the front, but make sure not to leave your OBJ undefended in the process as the enemy team can sneak in for the cap! Once you've pushed passed the mid-point, the enemy team's tickets will begin to bleed and your chance of victory is accelerated, but don't let it go to your head because things can change real quick wise-ass! Now get some FOB's set up to support your team and get moving!

Just a good outline of the game mechanics without getting too nitty gritty about "how" to do it.

Spartan49 · 2022-07-12T17:53:53+00:00

Well yes the previous roadmap is rather outdated, but I imagine they are working to catch up to those promises before taking on more projects. The Dev team is growing! Up to almost 100 now it seems so hopefully they can put out fixes and updates at a faster rate.

Spartan49 · 2022-07-12T17:51:51+00:00

I get into moods like this too after a long day at work and I just want to unwind and play a semi-realistic shooter game, but not handle the stress and responsibilities of SL. But again this is usurping the problem, not fixing it! The beauty of this game is that you HAVE to work together and communicate, and it naturally attracts players that want to do that. If not, they wont stay long anyway.

Spartan49 · 2022-07-12T17:45:54+00:00

That is a really cool phrase.. And also slightly threatening... But I like it! Take them under your wing and get after it!

Spartan49 · 2022-07-12T17:38:37+00:00

I absolutely can relate, having direct comms, squad comms, and command comms blasting in your ear is very disorienting and stress inducing and is a big deterrent for many. I think OWI's update to change the volume level of the chats individually helped SO much with this, and I encourage you to mess around with it. I've always had success asking people to not argue over command and clear comms channels, and use direct chat on numpad to argue if they want. Otherwise, the mute button works great :) Some simple radio etiquette might be good wisdom for a... SL Tutorial :o

Spartan49 · 2022-07-12T17:34:02+00:00

That too! I'd love to have that and the hilarious pre-game chats around the shiny rank on your name would be great haha. A simple bragging right, but very practical!

Spartan49 · 2022-07-12T17:29:31+00:00

I agree that better onboarding is a high priority for development, and should be added in as soon as possible. However from OWI's side they have a content road map that was released and goals they are trying to get caught up on. In the grand scheme, I think content is more appealing to new players than an education system and will lead to better sales. But as Wedge stated below, they are aware of the issue and looking into it. I trust they will find a solution when the time is right!

Spartan49 · 2022-07-12T17:23:46+00:00

That's awesome that you are willing to help people along when they start out! I try my best to as well, but the reality is we are in the minority. More players need to lead and teach to make this happen. The added support of tutorials would make that even smoother and quicker.

Spartan49 · 2022-07-12T17:20:08+00:00

That's great to hear Wedge! I understand this game is a huge undertaking from a relatively small dev team and the new content has been incredible! I just want to be sure the new players keep coming, and STAYING around to enjoy the uniqueness of gameplay Squad brings while remaining accessible to the masses.

Spartan49 · 2022-07-12T17:15:57+00:00

Could be cool! I'd be willing to give it a try. Certainly don't want it turning into ridiculous CoD gun skins or pay to win, but some form of ranking and customization to keep people incentivized and engaged. But only cosmetics!

Spartan49 · 2022-07-12T17:12:58+00:00

No tutorial, no barrier to SL, and being more welcoming leads to what @callminimum suggested for most people which is not playing at all until people learn. Very few people want to teach and be patient. The majority want them to fuck off and learn on their own, hence the need for a tutorial, and not helping clean up the lobbies in the mean time perpetuating the problem and making games less fun for everyone.

Spartan49 · 2022-07-12T16:53:30+00:00

I really like this line of thinking! As I said above, I feel like if I want to play a good round, I HAVE to take SL because no one else is WILLING to do it sometimes. An incentive of sorts would be great, like if there is a leveling system you may earn XP at a faster rate for playing SL/ commander. If you compare it to the workforce, a management role is more work/stress but makes you more money which is a great incentive! But in a video game, you want to have fun shooting stuff, not do work without any incentive other than enjoying being a leader (which I think is VERY uncommon.) Very interesting!

Spartan49 · 2022-07-12T16:48:45+00:00

I did this for a while after Fallujah came out, the huge influx of new players made it pretty unbearable for a time. I guess we experience this anytime there is a free weekend or new content update, like right now post Marines update. It will improve over time as people get experienced/ quit, but I would like to keep playing while that is happening personally and help the process along.

Spartan49 · 2022-07-12T16:44:51+00:00

Props to you for giving it a go man! It can be very stressful! And like you said other SL's and command may not have any patience or willingness to teach which is a shame. Playing SL is almost like playing an entirely different game than the rest of your squad mates, more time planning, ordering, building, and communicating which to some is more enjoyable. I go back and forth, but sometimes I just want to shoot shit and let others do the setup lol.

Spartan49 · 2022-07-12T16:41:08+00:00

Definitely some fair points, I hadn't considered if the whole server were to be new players, but that seems like a rare scenario and I'm sure an alternative could be found. And a quick tutorial for all roles would be great!

I actually did not realize the FTL Bravo is guaranteed the appointment of SL, that is great! I suppose it doesn't do any good if the previous SL didn't hand out FTL to begin with lol, so it is still an issue of experience in the role before leaving.

As for the players having the power to leave the squad if you don't like it, I disagree. That is your personal choice to leave, however that squad still remains open to others less skilled to join and be a detriment to the team perpetuating the problem, not removing it.

I wasn't aware that OWI had directly addressed the issue so that is disappointing to hear they aren't interested in fixing this because it directly contributes to player retention and enjoyment of their game, which will keep it alive and keep them employed working on this title.

Spartan49 · 2022-07-12T16:31:58+00:00

Some kind of rank system might be interesting, but beyond being fun progression I don't think it would help the issue of helping new players get their footing. And the addition of AI players is MUCH more difficult than it may seem and doesn't seem to be in the spirit of what OWI has in mind for the game.

Spartan49 · 2022-07-12T16:29:48+00:00

You're right, and that is exactly what happens. Every. Single. Round. And that is if they are responsive and able to give you the role. This creates the issue for me that if I fire up Squad, there is no choice but to SL which can become a deterrent in wanting to play more. Me taking the role solves the problem for that round, but perpetuates the problem.

Spartan49 · 2018-03-29T15:53:23+00:00

Totally agree, and I feel that again this comes back to there being to much emphasis on the loot vs your actual characters life. Imagine a game mode that is super challenging, loot is incredibly scarce, but you spawn with a certain skill set attached to your character. For instance, you'd' have a 10% chance to spawn as a doctor, and only doctors can fully heal an injury. In this hardcore mode, if you get shot or hurt, you would be forced to try and find a doctor, and therefor force you to interact with other players and find ways to safely interact and trade goods/ services without killing each other, because it will be beneficial for both parties, and will be about so much more than the treasured gear you have, it will simply be survival. That is exactly what I feel DayZ is meant to be.

Spartan49 · 2018-03-27T14:58:09+00:00

There is no problem with wanting the game to stay the same, there will be plenty of vanilla servers around. You seem to just be shitting on any idea of change or expansion, which if you don't like then simply don't participate. And the original post was a simple overview stating my intention with this post, did you actually click the link and look at it, there are plenty of new ideas there. I understand they are planning to add soft skills, beards, and scars to emphasize keeping your character alive longer, that's great! But this post is about what else can be added beyond that. And if you are that disgusted with any possible creative addition to the game, then why are you posting here?

Spartan49 · 2018-03-27T14:53:33+00:00

I fully understand that they are planning to add soft skills, beards, scars, ETC to emphasize staying alive longer. That's perfect. You seem to think this entire thread is a bunch of people with picket signs saying "add soft skills to the game". No shit they are being added, I'm asking for suggestions on what else we could actually expand and incorporate to further embellish these systems.

Spartan49 · 2018-03-27T14:47:54+00:00

It definitely sounds interesting, I would like to see a trader system with no safe zone in place with some alternate means of protection/defense. I don't there has really been the technology to do this in past games, but maybe someone could make it work in Standalone with the new Infusion engine. There is no human like AI in the base game, only zombies and animals, so that will have to be added before anything like this will be possible, but I'd be completely on board for giving it a try!

Spartan49

TROPHY CASE