New and Returning Players ...START HERE - Learn whats changed

[SashaSeeks]

Oops we don't have a section like that do we?

I see lots of talk about returning players, and have seen returning players in game. In fact its only been a couple of months since I have returned after being away for a couple of years.

I have noticed its difficult and time consuming to find out what's changed after being gone for a while so I can't even begin to imagine what its like for someone that's been gone for 5 or more years, or have never even played. Took forever to learn about the new armor changes, like the inherent properties to studded leather, or about new bosses like Exodus, or that they changed dungeon Shame. Had a heck of a time trying to find a monster that replaced the Ogres and Ogre Lords where I used to go to start training a new pet.

Would it be possible to add a whole new forum to Stratics, maybe listing in Order from newest to oldest the changes that have been made or things that have been added, and then a link to where to find more detailed info?

For example:
(dates and examples to follow are made up)
Jan 2014 added new boss - Exodus- (link to find more info)

Dec 2013 added new armor attributes :inherent properties-studded armor piece now has 3 lmc built into it (link to find more info)

Oct 2012 added to new skill- throwing for gargoyles:be cool and throw boomarangs! (link to info)

etc
etc
etc

Or is there a spot already like this that I have totally over looked? I've gone back and read thru some of the publishes to find info, (pain in the rear, and a lot of sifting thru descriptions of fixes that I never knew was broke to begin with because I hadn't been playing) and I've gone thru some of the forums, and clicked thru tons of pages to find out info, but it sure seems like it would be helpful to have it all laid out in one spot?

Anyhow... just thought I would throw this out here....

 

[Tazar]

The "Players Corner" forum is intended to provide a place for newer and returning players to get information to bring them up to date - but getting a forum that organized would be very difficult. I know somewhere around uo2.stratics.com you will find publish notes that will give a good bit of detail in sequence.

 

[Winter]

You can find all that information at http://www.uoguide.com/Publish

 

[pacific cruiser]

Yes that's correct. I think what my wife is saying is that if a new player or a returning player that was never been informed of stratics or UO guide gets the game, or returns to the game there is no interface saying to them ,welcome returning player or new player if you need help please check stratics.com or UO Guide for the most comprehensive guides to latest changes in game , Skill training tips and a community of dedicated player's who will gladly help you on you new adventures in the most awesome game ever created so when the player is in haven he is armed with the wealth of information this website has . I know for me, 15 years later it is still The go to Website because it is THE invaluable source of knowledge. The people who have helped me in the past made the difference of me getting frustrated and quitting to staying and wanting to help players with the things I do know to help them enjoy this game as much as my Family does. If all new and returning players have that added to their new game experience I know it would help keep a lot of them interested in this game, just for the fact they now have a database they can go to from the beginning of their experience. most new players get frustrated in the begining, because they have not found the information they was looking for to help them continue in the game or ran , into the "right" person to direct them to this website, or was helpful in answering their questions what ever they might have been. I know bringing back counselors will be a invaluable service to keep new players guided in the right direction and provide them with the tools to continue enjoying this game

 

[Flagg]

You can find all that information at http://www.uoguide.com/Publish

" You can find all the information on net via www.google.com."
OP is longing for accessibility of information. Providing a link to 20 miles long fix listings of Publishes is an antithesis to what OP is asking for. Not a single player considering return has the insight or imagination to construct some sort of valid impression of state-of-the-game by browsing through literally thousands of partially overlapping bug fixes, balance adjustments and feature listings.

Coherent,visible, well written, inspiring paper deciding between an essay and a guide. One a returning player feels is up-to-date and written just for them. Such thing would be very welcome. UO Guide and Stratics forums go a long way. Having a forum where you probably get your questions answered and having accessible, perhaps even inspiring guide/essay written about state of the game are two different things though. Former is great for returning players who have questions. Latter is tempting for old players considering wether or not they should turn into returning players.

 

[Ludes]

I think a message upon logging into the game pointing everyone at Stratics and UOGuide would be a wonderful thing.

I can only wonder how many have done the 14 day trial thing to check it out... not knowing anything about the game or Stratics or UOGuide...
and gave up shortly after.?

Anyone used to modern games with the little glowing trail on the ground leading you around is bound to get that "Well what do I do now?" feeling when trying UO for the first time.

 

[Flagg]

^ Hmm I dunno. I'm tempted to claim UO isn't that overwhelming for a complete newbie. Certainly not if he uses Classic Client. Game has tons of depth, complexity and features. Yet, CC does very good job in not rubbing any of them to new players' face. It is easy and natural to learn about game at one's own phase.

Person new to football does't know much about rules of the game and he'd never make it in Team Brazil. Yet, give him a ball, few friends and a goal..and they can start playing football and learning as they go in fashion that isn't frustrating or confusing.

That said, game has precious few genuinely new players. Most all " new players" we meet and speak of are actually returning vets. Returning vet who remembers mechanics and gameplay differing to what he sees on the other hand holds certain little dangerous kind of frustration in it for some.

 

[Lady Storm]

I did make a suguestion to Taylor on having the Stratics link on a plaque in the haven area for new players and telling them what to look for ..but I can see his point its asking too much and Stratics is independant of UO... Perhaps a vendor in each Luna that gives out books of helpfull info andlinks might do ... it would have to be close to the entry and hi lighted as such.

 

[Winter]

^ Hmm I dunno. I'm tempted to claim UO isn't that overwhelming for a complete newbie. Certainly not if he uses Classic Client. Game has tons of depth, complexity and features. Yet, CC does very good job in not rubbing any of them to new players' face. It is easy and natural to learn about game at one's own phase...

The CC is easy to use, but I still think the EC is more intuitive. The CC is horrible with macros, and kinda crippled without UOAssist. Macros are much easier and more powerful in the EC, but it feels crippled without Pinco's UI - hopefully that is being taken care of soon.

The new player experience should be tailored to whichever client is being used, and most definitely needs some Dev love.

 

[a slave girl]

It wasn't easy being a new player in UO in late 2002 when I started with just a Renaissance CD from the clearance bin at Gamestop.

It's part of the fun isn't it?

At some point I did hear about Stratics and it was a big help.

I'd like New Haven to include new player guides.

Set up some buildings with plaques, maps, guide books, life size statues with sound effects.

Maybe allow players to create the guides and win some prizes? Like a 17th anniversary robe in a special sparkly color?

oo

 

[SashaSeeks]

Hi all, I was looking thru the replies here, I went to the Players Corner as was suggested by Tazar which I eventually found under General forum. I looked at the stickies here, the newest one is over a year old and basically says, start in New Haven find a gate and go to Luna and talk to other players. The other posts that are stickies were last updated in 2010. I mean what kind of welcome is that to new or returning players? Certainly a player can eventually figure out how to get around this site and will eventually figure out where to find publishes, and will get some info from other players and eventually find uoguide.com. But does it really need to be so difficult? That's what I did when I came back, and I'm familiar with the sites and where I would need to go, and still found it difficult to get back up to date.

Please don't get me wrong I Love Stratics, it is a wealth of information and it is my go to place to learn what's going on. I'm just trying to point out that there is no obvious starting place in stratics where a new or returning player can go to in order to get up to speed and learn about all the cool changes.

My thought is making it easier and more welcoming for the new/returning player by adding a brand new forum "New/Returning Players"
then go into sub forums such as:
What's New....(list the up to date changes going on in game, from newest to oldest) add links
Bossess....(list bosses and give some links, add dates on when new ones have been added) add links
EC and downloads (Brief description of EC and available downloads like Pincos or maps) Give video or snapshot what EC looks like
CC and downloads (brief description of CC and available downloads like UO assist Maps, uo rudder etc) Give video or snapshot of looks
Armor basics - give brief on what they might be looking for ie. all 70's give link to crafting section about mods and making
Expansion Packs-brief on what they are, when they came out, and how to buy them
etc....

I saw where Taylor the President and CEO of Stratics and others have done a couple of guides and videos, they are awesome, we could really use some more of this!!! Problem is that I only stumbled on them while looking for the Players Corner, and I never would have thought to look for them where I found them.

Everyone "talks" about getting new players and returning players, but it hard for them to figure out where to go once they are in game. Isn't the idea to keep them in once they do straggle in?

 

[a slave girl]

I think a message upon logging into the game pointing everyone at Stratics and UOGuide would be a wonderful thing.

I can only wonder how many have done the 14 day trial thing to check it out... not knowing anything about the game or Stratics or UOGuide...
and gave up shortly after.?

Anyone used to modern games with the little glowing trail on the ground leading you around is bound to get that "Well what do I do now?" feeling when trying UO for the first time.

I'm generally against advertising websites that have ads not related directly to UO itself, but if done do not forget Tower of Roses for it's awesome bod reward charts and resource enhancement guide.

Despite the fact that it hasn't been updated since 2005, it has some very good basic info for new crafters to start with.

Teaching new players know how to get into general chat or help chat and how to use it should be blasted across their screen for the first few log ins for sure.

Doesn't UO have some Tool Tips option now or was I just dreaming?

 

[SashaSeeks]

It seems that some are missing my point. I'm NOT talking about adding stuff in the game of UO, sooner or later people will tell the players to check out uoguide.com or stratics.com. What I'm talking about is what they see once they finally make it here to Stratics. I would certainly love to put out a challenge for someone to actually video tape someone going to www.stratics.com for the very 1st time and see what happens. See how long it takes a new player to find some good stuff, with no one helping or couching them.

 

[Taylor]

Our resource manager would be absolutely perfect for this. Anyone could submit it, a correlated discussion thread would be automatically created, and as it was updated, a dated/versionized change log would be kept automatically in both the resource and the correlated discussion thread.

http://stratics.com/community/resources/

 

[Spiritless]

tbh, the player's guide at uo.com isn't that bad:

http://uo.com/Players-Guide

New players don't care what's changed over the past X years. They never knew the old systems and there's little reason to know them. What is relevant to them is the current systems.

Old players returning probably already know about Stratics/UOGuide so would know where to look... or just find out for themselves I guess. There's nothing stopping someone creating a new Wiki page highlighting the key changes or something like that anyway.

 

[SashaSeeks]

Thanks Taylor, that would certainly work. If I can figure out how that site works maybe I could try to start something in there. I'm certainly not great at writing but maybe I could at least figure out how to get some useful info in there for returning players. Does anyone have experience with creating a guide section in resources? Main thing I would need to know is can I start trying to make a guide, and save it with it not being posted until I can research the info that needs to go in? Or do I need to add it in all at once, and then just continue to go back and edit?

 

[Aurelius]

Thanks Taylor, that would certainly work. If I can figure out how that site works maybe I could try to start something in there. I'm certainly not great at writing but maybe I could at least figure out how to get some useful info in there for returning players. Does anyone have experience with creating a guide section in resources? Main thing I would need to know is can I start trying to make a guide, and save it with it not being posted until I can research the info that needs to go in? Or do I need to add it in all at once, and then just continue to go back and edit?

I'd suggest maybe your 'first draft' is put in a post on the general forums so people can add, correct, discuss and enhance.... and then when you have a 'final' version you are happy with, add that to the resources section?

 

[Taylor]

A community draft is a great idea. But yes, you can edit over and over for small changes. For major changes, you “update" the resource, change the version number, a indicate what changed. A post will automatically be made in the linked discussion thread.

Also, if someone disagrees, they can release a similar resource. The community can rate them, which will make the best ones rise to the top.

It's really kind of a cool, but underutilized system.