why no newbies?

[lh34]

I'd rather have 7 nice clickable maps than 100 mediocre unclickable maps. And I created an account on CC at the same time that I created an account here, and I've stopped playing CC because this is a much more enjoyable experience.

 

[ORBOTRON]

seriously, it's like comparing a large impressive pile of horse crap to a very small number of diamonds.

 

[ghost]

seriously, it's like comparing a large impressive pile of horse crap to a very small number of diamonds.

:five:

 

[Thunderous]

I'd rather have 7 nice clickable maps than 100 mediocre unclickable maps. And I created an account on CC at the same time that I created an account here, and I've stopped playing CC because this is a much more enjoyable experience.

im exatly the same as lh34

 

[soontodie]

i have only played one game here, but i never came back for a couple of reasons. the join game screen is too complex. i don't know what any of those options mean, and I doubt that many do. and fewer still are going to invest the time to learn. if it looks complicated, they will tune out. in the game i was in, i could not figure out the cards. which ones i owned, how to trade in, etc. i am not an idiot, but it was not intuitive to me. it seems as if private messages are on, and this discourages newer players as well. in my game, 2 players kept sending each other messages. and i had no idea what they were saying, but i felt like they were teaming up on me. 2 experienced players here teaming up on someone in their first game does not inspire confidence. Especially since, again, I could not determine how to utilize that system. I also had issues getting a playback to work. so i didn't know what was going on. how did this robin suddenly get enough troops to kill everyone in seemingly one turn. when he/she wasn't even winning the game it appeared (it has been a while, so details are fuzzy) and what are reserve troops?

the site is beautiful and the map i played (the UK) was very well done. but it just does not seem to hit the mark from a user-friendly standpoint. maybe when someone joins you should put them in an automatic tutorial that explains what all this shit means and walks you through a few turns. with the option to skip it of course at their own peril.

i really want to like this site. i really hate CC. but right now, for me at least, LG is far and away the best. I can see this site being better though, just needs a little work. and it seems that you are all willing to put in the effort. in the meantime, i am joining another game.

 

[ORBOTRON]

Thanks for the honest feedback! It gets harder and harder for us players who have been here a while to remember our initial impressions and reaction to the site, we all have gotten caught up in the details and advanced development. Fresh views from new users like this go a long way towards refining the initial user experience. And you're right, the team here is very dedicated and open to suggestion. I'd urge you to make specific suggestions and submit them in separate threads, it's the easiest way for them to be taken care of. Like yourself, I played mostly on LG before coming here, and I actually just went and played a game there the other day, which gave me some more ideas for future suggestions here. I'm glad you came back here, and maybe I'll see you over on LG at some point

 

[RjBeals]

There's a fine line to what's annoying overkill and what's not enough - as far as first time user experience. Just my opinion, but I think the layout is done very well. I mean the new "JOIN GAME" big green buttons are not very pretty, but it's obvious that they are main buttons. But, like with any game, there's got to be a bit of work by the user up front before they are up to speed. I think any new user would be confused to what some of the options are, how to deploy reserve troops, how to use diplomacy.... etc. See, there are more game options here than on CC/LG and if you've come from those sites, you're already comfortable with those rules game play methods.

I just don't think it's as bad as you say. If someone is confused, there are wiki articles, help tabs, HUD help displays on maps, and even screenr videos showing video recorded game play.

 

[soontodie]

well i don't mean the button. i mean the other information. i.e. this - 12, Mercenary, Singles, Sequential, Escalate, Unlimited, Anywhere. I am pretty sure I know what they mean, but like I said, I have played 1500 games at other sites. You want to minimize the learning curve. Draw people in with ease of use and then hook them with complexity and depth of gameplay.

and i don't know about you, but i bet market research would show that very few people read the manuals. they want to dive right in and figure it out as they go along. a way that many companies worked this out is by doing in-game tutorials.

one thing that is confusing, and i did read the wiki, btw. is the card/reserve system. calling them reserves is a bit odd and confusing. sorry. it just is.

again, i know that you all have a lot of time and effort into this and you can tell. please do not take it personally, though i know it is hard not to. feedback was asked for and given.

 

[Badorties]

Soontodie, each option has explanatory info display to the right of it, see here.

I think a good idea would be to label this box as "Info" and perhaps include links to relevant wiki posts.

We can't call the cards, cards, for legal reasons.

Thanks for the feedback, certainly not taking it personal, its what we need.

 

[soontodie]

the join game screen i see does not look like that at all. that looks like a game create screen. which doesn't help people looking to join games.

 

[coolname]

well i don't mean the button. i mean the other information. i.e. this - 12, Mercenary, Singles, Sequential, Escalate, Unlimited, Anywhere.

I think it should be possible to make a simple cheat sheet (or an infographic, some people here seem to be quite adept at that...). For example, Flat rate is basically 6,6,6,6 Escalite is 4,5,6,7,8 en Escalate is 4,6,8,10,12 etc.

Other point: I don't think UK or South America are the maps to start with (I still steer clear of those). Classic standard is probably the best to start with. For me at least it was, it is closest to what I knew from the board game. Perhaps in WIki or in start there could be the suggestion: start with a 4 player game with standard rules (i.e. winner takes all) on a Classic evolved board.

 

[Thunderous]

It would just be like riding a bike, you can't pick up a bike and ride properly without practice, same as you can't jump on a computer and play majcom and expect to be awesome without first practice. when i first came here i din'y know what any of those terms ment, but after playing a few games i quickly became ucustomed to the terms and now i could easly explain it to anyone. soontodie, in ghost's welcome message where you asked if you would like to pared up with an experienced player and play a few learning games?

on another note, an idea that could be impelemted is every new player is istantly pared up with an experienced player and put into a standard classic game, where that player teachs them the baic statagey, the terms, and any questions they have?

 

[ORBOTRON]

I'd go along with the idea of maybe only letting noobs play on a couple maps like usa, classic until they finish a handful of games. If they are going to leave after a game or two anyway, it might as well not be because the map was too complicated. Let them see the map, but not play on it. Gives them an easy "first accomplishment" type reward for playing a few games on the site.

 

[Badorties]

good ideas, but it may be as easy as giving noobs a link like this one

http://bit.ly/NewbieGames

Which gives results of awaiting games with 'regular' settings.

 

[soontodie]

i don't remember if I got a message from ghost when i joined, and/or what it said. and the map wasn't the problem. It is a nice map, but it is not complicated. And I am not blaming my loss on the map just so you know. I am well-versed in losing on my own accord

and anyway...I am playing another game, and will probably play a few more. And I am sure when I figure everything out it will be great. But I am trying to take the position of a complete newb and what their perspective might be and what might help them.

 

[ORBOTRON]

i don't remember if I got a message from ghost when i joined, and/or what it said. and the map wasn't the problem. It is a nice map, but it is not complicated. And I am not blaming my loss on the map just so you know. I am well-versed in losing on my own accord

and anyway...I am playing another game, and will probably play a few more. And I am sure when I figure everything out it will be great. But I am trying to take the position of a complete newb and what their perspective might be and what might help them.

I think that's some of the most important input that can be had, keep it coming. Just try to be precise, and like I said, don't be scared to start suggestion threads. The suggs and buggs forum is where I've found the most progress gets made with user input.

 

[ghost]

i don't remember if I got a message from ghost when i joined, and/or what it said. and the map wasn't the problem. It is a nice map, but it is not complicated. And I am not blaming my loss on the map just so you know. I am well-versed in losing on my own accord

and anyway...I am playing another game, and will probably play a few more. And I am sure when I figure everything out it will be great. But I am trying to take the position of a complete newb and what their perspective might be and what might help them.

i did note you, i checked..
and it said something along the lines of "if you need anything at all, feel free to let me know and if i cannot help you, i'll direct your question/inquiry to someone on staff that can".. and it also said, if you'd like to play a few games with someone more seasoned, that can teach you more about the game, let me know, and i can arrange that for you.

it still applies, just so you know.
note me if you're interested.

 

[soontodie]

sure why not. thx

 

[ghost]

sure why not. thx

does that mean you'd like a few games set up?
sorry my vague-dar is off today. lol.

 

[soontodie]

how about a doubles game. show me the interface, etc. and i should be good to go.