tinfang
Stableboy
You done with Elvie?
Posts: 18
|
Post by tinfang on Mar 30, 2005 18:40:20 GMT
Recently introduced my brother to AA. Completely new player, never before played MUDs or anything similar with the exception of a sierra/king’s quest game back in the day on an ibm-xt with an amber screen.
I forgot how terribly strange territory this text-based stuff is for the uninitiated. Simple things like how to move around, wtf to do, then remembering what to type to do those seemingly simple things. It was an almost painful teaching experience. But, being the patient one, I endured and after an hour or so I had a possible utter novice/ranger to hang with on the game. Interest perked as soon as I got him to kill a couple of critters and raise a stat or two.
The momentum continued to build when the next night we met in the game and killed a few more things. He’s starting to pick up on it and genuinely having fun. I don’t want to overwhelm the guy and scare him off, the plan is for him to obsess like the rest of us. Looking for any similar experiences, tips, or ideas how to introduce little bro to aa the RIGHT way.
|
|
|
Post by Pillar on Mar 30, 2005 19:32:23 GMT
'help newbie' 'help newbie2'
riiiiiiiiiiiiiight. ok, seriously... one of my first suggestions would be to get him hooked up with a newbie carving, 2s from login. that way, in case he wants to play without you, he can have an information source ready and available to fall back on (that is, if anyone else is ACTUALLY logged in).
next, make sure you teach him about stats (help stats) and how they relate to each other. ie, which are most important to each class/race combo, etc. peblo's page has a nice stat chart for the different combinations.
third, make known the skill system. inform him the quickest and easiest way to raise his skills. personally, i think this is the most frustrating thing for a new person to aa. what weapon do i wield for this skill? what str is required to wield it? where can i get that weapon? etc. once again, peblo's item pages are something your brother can fall back upon for info. the pages have not been updated lately, but they still give him plenty of options.
last and most important, teach him mud customs and courtesies. show him the proper way to interact with other players. show him how a mud differs from a console game. encourage him to be familiar rules so that he cannot claim ignorancy when law busts him for kill-stealing, corpse-looting, etc.
ah, one more thing: introduce him to other players that you know well. other players with viewpoints different from you can often help out more than you can. that way, he can begin to establish himself with his own identity, not just 'tinfang's bro'.
|
|
|
Post by CalviN on Mar 30, 2005 20:41:46 GMT
Another thing. Fighter. Yep. Easiest class for an utter novice to raise, simplest to learn, and a big factor with the skill system....... they go up fast!!!
Like the pregnant dog said, skills are frustrating when they don't move, and you're not sure why. And fighters move fastest. And it's fun to see something happening, and being able to hit "skills" and actually see that you've accomplished something. You can also evaluate how well a weapon works, so it takes a little bit of the guesswork out of it.
Second thing..... Knigglets. I've always been a firm believer that every new player to AA should have to join the Knigglets. They are the most helpful guild for newbies, and have players that generally enjoy helping people learn. That way, if he decides to play without you holding his hand, he has other people to ask questions that aren't going to bite his head off, or lead him down the wrong path. (And for God's sake, don't have him join Scythe until he knows wtf he's doing!!! )
|
|
|
Post by Aurac on Mar 31, 2005 15:53:12 GMT
Good thoughts thus far. If he has chosen the right races, he might join Eldar so long as you introduce him to the bitches that troll the guild line there. They might even help him out a bunch if they know he's genuinely new. Also that'd help since you're in Eldar (right?) and you can use etell for free, etc.
I second Calvin on fighter, but ranger is also a fun newbie class. Once he gets to where he doesn't die once a day (I did that for at least a year when I started), he might could try mage.
In all, I hope he has fun! And you too!
--Aurac
|
|
|
Post by Pillar on Mar 31, 2005 19:15:49 GMT
mage is the first class that i played and you can see how well that turned out.. i suggest fighters.
|
|
|
Post by killcrazy on Mar 31, 2005 19:33:26 GMT
Getting a newbie to join eldar would be so painful. The first impression from that guild is um. Intense. if you're trying to not overwhelm someone, staying away from eldar would be a good idea.
I never really got into knights, but bears were very helpful to me. Back in uh. 1995. It's probably different now. The guild is still chock full of newbies, but there are fewer experienced players to answer questions. Knights seems (for the, I dunno, six times I've logged on a knight alt) very helpful and the racks or whatever have good stuff for newbies usually.
Whenever I show newbies around I get an urge to show off a bit. So I rush through some areas or show them in-depth tricks to some things and they go in way over their head and stop playing after all the handholding is over. So, my main tip: Don't be a gamewanker.
|
|
|
Post by Pillar on Mar 31, 2005 21:21:36 GMT
You tell Webster: gamewanker
Webster tells you: That sounds dirty. Leave me alone.
|
|
tinfang
Stableboy
You done with Elvie?
Posts: 18
|
Post by tinfang on Apr 1, 2005 14:42:58 GMT
Yep been taking a Herculean effort to keep the inner gamewanker at bay. Its like raising children, you just have to let them discover the world on their own.
Thanks for the feedback guys, much appreciated. I was gonna take Calvin’s idea about fighters mostly because its easier to get to and the skills are smoother running, but since baby bro bought his first car trapping and skinning raccoons (yes, I come from a family of rednecks) the rangers are something he can relate to in a literary sense. So far it was an ingenious move. You should see the grin on his face when he gets to skin-carve-gut a fuzzy.
Knights was also on the list, but I think it’s too soon. When it was suggested, the reply was “join the knights?! I already joined the rangers.” –so I may have to explain the dif between guild and class. Like I said before, almost painful.
Eldar is a pain because noobs fall through the bridge until past level 5-6. That and there isn’t a lot there as far as eq and such. And the social culture on the eline is somewhat distracting. I’ve been playing a level 5 pally-knigget just for these occasions, makes for a decent mini-tank and fair partner. Now to get him a wolf, this may be diffacult.
|
|
|
Post by Aurac on Apr 1, 2005 23:53:20 GMT
Sounds like fun!
A year/year and a half ago, I tried teaching my cousin Nick to play. I got him started as a ranger and then ended up wizzing so I couldn't really spend much time with him. He basically taught himself the basics and just came to me for map-related stuff (really just how to get to ranger camp, good fuzzy-killing areas, ravel, etc.). After a while, he got bored and went back to his consoles. =)~ Just recently he asked me what his AA password was (he hadn't logged in in over a year), so he might be looking to take a break from Halo 2 sometime soon.
--Aurac
|
|
tinfang
Stableboy
You done with Elvie?
Posts: 18
|
Post by tinfang on May 6, 2005 12:10:00 GMT
update on the new recruit
now I’ thinking oh crap what have I done! –every night the bastard calls me up and says ‘hey you gonna get in the game?’ then proceeds to harangue on me until I give in, then keeps me up nigh to midnight. besides gladly forking over the 30 bucks for zmud his wife and family are complaining of not being able to use the computer, behavior bordering on compulsive-addictive...
If you see a h-elf ranger/kniggget name ‘peire’ please kill him ;D
|
|
|
Post by Pillar on May 6, 2005 12:32:01 GMT
will do.
|
|
|
Post by popeye on May 6, 2005 23:08:42 GMT
I'm on most every day, all day, 9a-5p, at work. If your brother is on in this time period, I'll be happy to answer questions. Eldar isn't bad if he can embrace the nutcases there. Tigerprawn's golden showers can be...unnerving.
|
|
|
Post by CalviN on May 7, 2005 1:46:25 GMT
The one thing that would vastly improve the Eldar Experience for me....... is if the eline remembered what your line was set at when you log back in. Cuz I hate having to turn it off every stinkin time I log in....
|
|