Tutorial Changes

Started by ruddthree, January 16, 2017, 07:53:55 PM

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ruddthree

What should be done with the tutorial?

Should there be an option to continue, with some of the more advanced mechanics? What do you think should be done? A complete overhaul, a tweak here and there, or nothing at all? Is something already in progress? This is a question for the devs, and for the community, hence why I put this under "General Discussion" and not under "Suggestions" because this is just a discussion to get other people involved, not just a long list of what I think should be done.

I got nothing, and I don't want this to be a long post about my thoughts, so I want to hear what other people think.

Let me repeat: this is a question for both the community, and for the devs.

Sola

I skipped the tutorial entirely, although I recommend actually playing the tutorial to everybody I recommend this game to.  I remember the biggest discovery I made was "how to make a freezer" and being a bit surprised.

You might want to include "what's in the tutorial presently" to garner more of a response.
Two tiers of construction jobs.  One for expensive/quality items, and one for walls/floors/etc.

https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=28669.0

RolanDecoy

When I started playing (only a month ago or so) I found it very helpful. It is short enough to want to do it, and it explains more than enough to get you going. Everything more advanced than what is currently in in my view diminishes the flexibility and puts the player in a preconceived mindset, at it already does that a little.

For example, the tutorial teaches one how to create a freezer, assuming any weather. I started playing in the forest, and later the tundra, and the colder the climate became, the less sense it made to me to use a conditioner, and I made the transition to a simple vent, experimenting as I went on.

Now granted, everybody has their own play style, and I feel developers can motivate that by not providing more information than the basic game mechanics, and not get into how to survive too much. If people still struggle, they will eventually look things up online, and let's face it, there are more than enough resources for people to draw from.

I'd say leave it be, it's good as is. It explains basic survival, how to pull oneself beyond basic survival, and the rest falls into place real easy afterwards; Learn by playing, and don't be afraid to mess up.

Listen1

What is advanced play? My wife and friend played a whole lot of the tutorial, she suceeded in the first try (built the ship and escaped, idk how) and he died because of a manhunting boar event. In both situations I didn't say much, other than "Sandbags with walls in between are the best defense for a ranged battle" and "You can use the dogs and pigs to haul".

They discovered turrents on their own, geothermal power too, And even as their bases looked wonky, they managed to play and play and play.

I think the tutorial is as good as it can be right now. Later I would like a change of tone in the tutorial, to make it look more old west.

Mossy piglet

I remember when I started playing there was no tutorial. I couldn't figure out how to butcher the monkeys I killed and it led to the downfall of my colony. D:
Tardigrades are superior to all other life forms in every way.

Ps I secretly am one I am the king of their civilization.

RolanDecoy

QuoteWhat is advanced play?
To the level where you are explained the controls, are shown how to interact with the world and where to find the information you need to decide how to progress, not to mention information on more information. Not even the tutorial covers every text in the Learning Helper.

And of course there will be people that will feel right at home with the interface and the gameplay, and there are people that die the first day by a monkey (I was killed by a rabbit while reading Learning Helper topics on my first try).

And yes the tutorial will (probably) see some changes, but I really hope they keep the tone as it is; Neutral and to the point. It's not part of a storyline and it's not being forced as part of a linear story. Besides, the 'old west' doesn't make a whole lot of sense when landing on an ice sheet ;-)

DanielCoffey

I played the Tutorial today after having watched a fair number of YouTube videos and I still got something useful out of it.

I felt it covered the basics reasonably although the "you *must* do this task next" restriction was a little awkward at one point. I wanted to tell a second colonist to assist with construction of the fueled stove but could not bring up the Work panel because the only permitted next task was to wait and prepare the ten meals.

On the other hand, some of the things it didn't explicitly cover were still apparent. For example I needed to remove some trees and bushes from inside the sleeping building since they remained after the walls were constructed but I worked that out myself. I even added wooden flooring.

Two extra items I would have liked added were "How about we train your pet now?" and "Perhaps we should do something about the dead body of the poor soul who attacked you?" I actually managed to find a colonist who didn't mind handling the dead and got him to deal with that but it would have been a good introduction to the negative thoughts associated with certain tasks.
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milon

Quote from: Listen1 on January 17, 2017, 05:06:27 AM
I think the tutorial is as good as it can be right now. Later I would like a change of tone in the tutorial, to make it look more old west.

+1

I really like that RimWorld has a good tutorial system.  It's kind of spoiled me for learning many other games, lol.  But an Old West vibe would be a great addition!