I have, over time, played new characters on the Island, and I like to train them up so they can be the race that I want to roleplay them as. This has given me some thoughts on the Island experience for newcomers.
It's quite hard to put yourself in somebody else's shoes, so I'd like some feedback from anyone who first arrived here recently. Am I close? Or am I spouting complete bollocks? Let me know!
1) Timed fighting.
When my last but one character arrived, I'd been in NewHome for less than a minute when somebody taught me timed fighting. All I knew about it was the distraction that gets automatically sent, there was no word at all from who ever had taught me this. I can see this being nothing but confusing. If the only reason that somebody is teaching you is so that they can get their teachers medal then, well, it's not that helpful to newcomers. Maybe removing that medal might be an idea?
The last character fared rather better. He lasted about five minutes before he was taught, although he still hadn't said anything anywhere. In this case, it was by somebody who was making an effort to be friendly and welcoming, and who left a few lines in my natter space. So much better, but still a little strange? I don't know.
2) Quests
I'm not sure what to call these, not the Dan quests, but the one offs. Jill. Maiko's frying pan, etc. You get the first one (Jill) upon reaching lvl 2 on your first DK. The second (The watcher is watching you) on your next level up. That's two really quickly. Now I'm sure that I'm not the only one looking forward to more, but there's not that many altogether at the moment, and these things take time. Perhaps it might be an idea to spread these out a little more?
It's quite hard to put yourself in somebody else's shoes, so I'd like some feedback from anyone who first arrived here recently. Am I close? Or am I spouting complete bollocks? Let me know!
1) Timed fighting.
When my last but one character arrived, I'd been in NewHome for less than a minute when somebody taught me timed fighting. All I knew about it was the distraction that gets automatically sent, there was no word at all from who ever had taught me this. I can see this being nothing but confusing. If the only reason that somebody is teaching you is so that they can get their teachers medal then, well, it's not that helpful to newcomers. Maybe removing that medal might be an idea?
2) Quests
I'm not sure what to call these, not the Dan quests, but the one offs. Jill. Maiko's frying pan, etc. You get the first one (Jill) upon reaching lvl 2 on your first DK. The second (The watcher is watching you) on your next level up. That's two really quickly. Now I'm sure that I'm not the only one looking forward to more, but there's not that many altogether at the moment, and these things take time. Perhaps it might be an idea to spread these out a little more?
People always say that there's no penalty to not using Timed Combat, but I was taught it so quickly after signing up that I consistently used it right from the beginning, and consequently whenever I don't used Timed Combat, I feel like I am suffering a penalty. I certainly fail a lot more without it. I don't know if that's the way Timed Combat is supposed to feel.
Maybe people shouldn't be allowed to teach Timed Combat until they've got a few DKs under their belt. That might be better than not letting new folk learn it, since it is a nice skill for those whose internet connections are fast enough.
I can remember my reaction from a year ago: 'Thou shalt not teach Timed Combat without an explanation of online metronomes.' It definitely added to the confusion of the first day or two. I use it all the time now, but it was a bit much to dump on a new player.
I teach a rookie a day timed fighting. I just go to the contestant's list, pick a name, and teach it. I never instigate further contact. Uh, sorry for helping?
I remember being taught Timed Fighting pretty quickly after joining the game. Although I can't remember who taught it to me, I also got a helpful distract explaining what it was for and helpful hints about on line metronomes etc.
I had always assumed that this was a standard distract that went along with teaching someone the skill no? If not maybe it should be?
For those who want to know:
This is the autodistract when you first sign up:
I teach a rookie a day timed fighting. I just go to the contestant's list, pick a name, and teach it. I never instigate further contact. Uh, sorry for helping?
. But seriously, that thing is very annoying--I have an iPod touch, so I'm guaranteed not to be able to use this consistantly (except at four seconds, which apparently is right in the middle, or something). Combining this with targetted attacks was frustrating. I tossed that character, because I wasn't having fun since I couldn't get the thing to work.I didn't get taught the timed combat until several DKs in; at which point it opened up a whole new world of combat to me... Though I might appreciate it more after having trudged through several DKs of normal combat, I would certainly have appreciated learning it sooner!
Every now and then, I'll hunt through the failboated contestants at the end of my day and look for someone to teach. I've been dropping a comment on their natters wishing them success with their new skill, though I might start sending them distractions now...
Hah. I didn't even know until reading this thread that timed combat wasn't something I automatically knew. I thought it was odd that I was supposed to be able to "teach people" once I figured out how to do it.(What, does it make it easier?)
I didn't even know it was a thing that was possible and not just a funny little information bar until after my first drive kill, when I started relying on the windows sidebar clock and got into the 20s. There was NO auto-distraction for it(I still have my welcome message) and I now rely on it for just about every fight since otherwise I wouldn't be able to survive 
That said....I have no complaints. I thought it was neat that I had to figure it out for myself.
Maybe people shouldn't be allowed to teach Timed Combat until they've got a few DKs under their belt. That might be better than not letting new folk learn it, since it is a nice skill for those whose internet connections are fast enough.
re: 3-4 days for timed combat: During those 3-4 days, did you once post in the story or banter channels, or do anything whatsoever to make your presence known to islanders? You can't learn if nobody knows you exist. Most people do not go searching through the contestants list for those who don't know it, and those who do search can only teach one person a day, so that's not reliable. Personally, I didn't learn until I'd applied for GERM (which I did before posting anywhere).
I learned Timed Combat after I'd posted in NewHome banter saying something along the lines of "...hello and help?" To me, it felt like a really nice gesture from an older player welcoming a newbie into the fold, as it were. I didn't really understand how to use it for a while, though. Now when I send somebody Timed Combat, I either give them tips in Banter or send them a Distraction. (Also, when I can, I try to do it in-character, but that's neither here nor there.)
I agree with Iriana: it might not be a bad idea to require a player to have had at least one DK in addition to getting the 4x combo before they're able to teach Timed Combat to a rookie. That way, it has more of that experienced-player-passing-down-their-knowledge vibe, maybe?
As for quests, front-loading 'em isn't too overwhelming, and when done in a way that introduces the player to all the different aspects of the Island (which the Mr. Stern, Jill and Watcher bits do, in my opinion), it probably helps with player retention. Makes you want to keep playing and racking up the DKs in order to find out what happens next, you know?
re: 3-4 days for timed combat: During those 3-4 days, did you once post in the story or banter channels, or do anything whatsoever to make your presence known to islanders? You can't learn if nobody knows you exist. Most people do not go searching through the contestants list for those who don't know it, and those who do search can only teach one person a day, so that's not reliable. Personally, I didn't learn until I'd applied for GERM (which I did before posting anywhere).
I don't often teach timed combat, but when I do, I usually leave a message in their natter, sometimes a distraction. I worry about using a natter, as I wonder how soon the rookies manage to spot and use it. Because, maybe a friendly hand early on would encourage more rookies to stay, but if they can't see it soon enough, they might leave. Pity, is all.
re: 3-4 days for timed combat: During those 3-4 days, did you once post in the story or banter channels, or do anything whatsoever to make your presence known to islanders? You can't learn if nobody knows you exist. Most people do not go searching through the contestants list for those who don't know it, and those who do search can only teach one person a day, so that's not reliable. Personally, I didn't learn until I'd applied for GERM (which I did before posting anywhere).
Combat is boring. I hate the fuck out of it. Timed combat gets ignored, except for when I'm fighting titans, because it's boring. Not only is combat boring, but puzzles are boring, so puzzle combat is super-duper extra boring, and thusly is ignored. I continue fighting because I want to be measurably better than you. Yes, you personally. I can never understand the talk of sprucing up combat, because none of the suggestions ever include "and then we can run it on the Unreal Engine", because that is the only way to make it even a smidge interesting.
And, uh, I don't mean to sound snotty here, but if you already think combat is repetitive, imagine the days before the new target system for people who have been through a few (or, like Dizzy and Boud, a lot of) DKs. But people still find ways to keep themselves entertained. It's necessary in all games like this.
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