Helping Newbies

[Sephiroto]

I got this idea from reading the post about implementing a newbie zone.  Rather than that I'd prefer to have most players flagged as mentors.  When a new character logs in they'll then have the option in the Hall of Kings to ask for a mentor.  When selecting a mentor they'll also include what city.  Then when that selection is made all characters in that zone are given an echo.  Something along the lines of "Would you like to mentor <sdesc>?"  And you either reply yes or no based on availability and the overall manner of your character, because nobles or magickers wouldn't be good for guiding newbie commoners even if they are great players.  Or maybe an echo "<sdesc> needs a mentor."  At which point you could enter "Mentor <sdesc>".  At that point the new character would get an echo to the like of "You overhear a passerby talking about a <scdesc of the mentor> who is offering their help to anyone who needs it." or something like that. . .   Anyway, I'd say that Allanak and Tuluk are the most common points of entrance for new players.  The mentor would automatically know to go to the Gaj or the Sanctuary in those areas or wherever the point of insertion is for the respective zone.  The new player would have seen that description and be looking for him or her while the mentor also saw the description and could augment their routine to look for this new player at the starting point.  A lot of times new players can't distinguish between npc's and pc's so maybe it would be good to note that they should stick around for a little while after choosing to have a mentor, rather than start running around town.  The idea is still a bit sketchy to me but it seems better than running a newbie camp.

[Cuusardo]

I thought that's what the helpers were for?

[sarahjc]

I love informative posting.. :roll:  Anyways, there was a long discussion on this a while back.

Here is what I said.

Supercool SarahJC Said This

Some other super cool people had this to say as well

I am a huge supporter of Mentorship for players who would like it, though I think having people floating around the game with a flag on them, could disturb RP. It's my personal preference that Q&A time be kept out of the game unless it's a really lost person.

[JollyGreenGiant]

I'd prefer to steer away from using in-game mechanisms to help people.  In fact, IM or email is my preferred method for such things simply because it keeps things nice and neat instead of adding more spam to my MUD window.  A nice flashing (and separate) window that isn't going to get lost in scrollback if I don't answer right away is a good thing.  So, while we're just rattling off ideas... since some new players might never find the Helpers page on the website, what about having some way for the information on that page to be presented in game?  A 'help helpers' file or something like that.

[WarriorPoet]

I wouldn't like a system that paired you with a newb to babysit. This isn't a hand-holding kind of place. The learning curve is steep here, and if you can't figure out most things on your own, you probably won't have a good time here anyway.

I would just like a system like the helpers. Only awarded by staff upon request, and possibly with a command for the new players to hit if they would like a bit of help/interaction in their first moments ingame. For the first two-four hours of play on a brand new account, not character, logging in would send you, the experienced player,  something like 'Mentor Notice: A first-time player, the confused, cross-eyed newb, has entered the game in :: Allanak : The Gladiator and the Gaj tavern.'

This is a minor thing, and would allow those of us with the time to hurry to the Gaj and interact with them. Show them our flowery emotes. Get them involved in a discussion about the damn elf problem, the storms that's been blowing, or the amount of piss in the ale. Just to give them the -feel- of the world. Helpers are all well and good, and I think their presence is a great thing, but I also remember a few times as a newb when I could simply never get an available helper, and I frustrated the hell out of me.

I know I already go out of my way to spend a little time Roleplaying with new players, and offer brief OOC's to point out things they seem to be consistantly having problems with, like emoting, world knowledge, and just confusion overall. This helps ease the steep curve here at Armageddon, and can give a new -player- some sense of fellowship with what can be a faceless, seemingly arrogant playerbase, while still giving my character the freedom to rob/cheat him if necessary.

I think having mentors would be a great idea, so long as it doesn't devolve into adopt-a-newb.

-WP

[EvilRoeSlade]

I personally would probably not mentor character's very often under this proposed system, because I'm not willing to drop my role-play and break off interactions with other characters just to go search out a newbie that I might never even see.

Truth be told, this idea seems like it's trying to force newbies to get help.  If a new player wants help, it's readily available to them by anyone's standards.  All they have to do is take initiative.  It might seem cruel, but trying to help someone who isn't willing to be helped is frusturating and unproductive.  Our efforts should go to making sure that new players know where to get help and how to ask for it.

I would much rather have a newbie E-mail, PM, or IM me than for me to search for them in-game where the help I can offer is far more limited.

[Larrath]

Helping a new player outside of the game is considerably easier than helping a player inside the game, for several reasons.

First of all, there are answers I could answer OOCly but never ICly, like who is the Dragon, or what the story of the world is, or what magickers are.
Second, I have my own character with her own interest.  If I was playing some selfish bastard who only thinks with his dick and some charming, naive young woman continually kept talking to him, I'd have to bend over backwards to still keep my own roleplay intact without taking this woman to the nearest alley, ask for consent and then loot her corpse.
Third, when you help a new player in game, they tend to feel more comfortable playing around your character, which is a good thing until they start getting clingy.  And it's natural that they would, I know I did it as a new player.  But the fact is that they do, and I believe it keeps them from really diving into the game and making other friends.

And let's face it, I enjoy helping players and I don't mind spending so much time each day explaining things and answering questions, but I also like playing my own characters using their own true and full personalities - and sometimes this goes directly against helping a new character.
If I played a paranoid, tribeless elven Nilazi who'd hurt or right-out kill anyone who tries to get too close to him and this character suddenly ran into a clueless newbie elf, I'd be stuck between completely contorting my elf's personality and driving a new player out of the game - after all, the newbie would be trying their hardest, get good responses, and out of the blue somebody kills them.
Most would get discouraged.

I would sooner see a global newbie channel open to newbies, Helpers and staff members before I saw a mentoring system.  I believe that new players do need to be stranded and be allowed to branch out and meet more people than just Helpers' characters, for everyone's sake.

"Help Helpers", by the way, sounds like a terrific idea.  And while we're here, putting a link to the Helper page on the main armageddon.org page would also be good.  Come on, new players need this.

[Cale_Knight]

This is why we need a newbie help zone. Hell, imagine this. Anyone who wants to volunteer can be toggled with a nice little option that does two things. First:

Code Select Expand

>who

There are 0 immortals visible.

There are 69 (heehee!) mortals visible, including yourself.

There are two newbies in the newbie help zone.

So you wander yourself down to a quit point and type, for the sake of silliness, "poopypants," which pops you up to the newbie help area the same way you can pop yourself up to the scar addition room.

Upon doing this, you're "cloaked" in a generic "the plain-featured newbie helper" sdesc, with maybe ten or twelve variables to prevent a newbie from seeing

Code Select Expand

The plain-featured newbie helper is standing here.
The plain-featured newbie helper is standing here.
The plain-featured newbie helper is standing here.
The plain-featured newbie helper is standing here.

if a lot of people feel like being helpful today. Then said newbie helper can spend as much or as little time as he likes introducing someone to the game in a friendly and OOC enviornment without the risk of him getting all clingy.

[Larrath]

Newbies want to play, not sit in a waiting room until a Helper graciously leaves the game to babysit them.  Nobody would use this, and if they did they'd get bored rather quickly.
Not to mention that even a new player can figure out who someone plays based on typing patterns.

I seriously do not see what good an area like this could do.  There is a Helper list. I personally try to be as encouraging towards new players as I'm able (except when I go to sleep and leave all my instant messengers on, heh).
And I don't want to have to quit the game or have it weigh on me as I keep playing whenever there's a new player needing help.  Using AIM, I can help a newbie while spam-crafting, or spam-hunting, or spam-mudsexing or spam-stealing, and everyone is satisfied.  I don't have to interrupt my play, and I like it that way.

[Rindan]

Personally, I try and help n00bs in game when I can.  I just try and do it in the context of my character.  Even my conniving elven pick pocket and bastardly mercenary can be a helpful in their own way.  Don't break character, but look for excuses to explain how the world works.  Some times I see characters berating obvious n00bs too harshly without even suggesting to them how to fix their behavior.  

I recall one time I was sitting at the bar, Tek become a topic of discussion, and a obviously complete n00b asked who Tek was.  One character said nothing and utterly ignored him and another told him that he was an idiot and didn't elaborate any farther.  I played to my character's personality, assumed it was a joke, and explained who Tek was while dismissing it as a joke.

The clueless noob asks in Sirhish,
"Who is this Highlord?"

The ugly mercenary laughs and says in Sirhish,
"Krath, you kidder.  I bet there isn't a person in the world who doesn't know that Highlord Tektolnes is the God king and protector of Allanak."

The ugly mercenary says in Sirhish,
"Krath, that reminds me of a rumor I heard.  Some templar found an ungemmed magiker the other day.  Shoulda seen it, that scary fucking templar called the power of the highlord down on that bastard..."

And so on.  Don't break character, but don't be afraid to bend a little and explain more then you normally would why you do what you do.  Walking into a tavern and having everyone berate you just comes off as people acting like elitist shit heads.  Is every n00b going to be a winner?  No, but I can think of at least one total n00b that I sat down and spent a little extra time with and a couple characters and six months later I found him playing the same character, but role playing him like a pro.

[Cale_Knight]

Newbies want to play, not sit in a waiting room until a Helper graciously leaves the game to babysit them.  Nobody would use this, and if they did they'd get bored rather quickly.

No, you misunderstand. The newbie area would be a self-contained, entirely optional area for newly-created characters. It would have mobprogs that explain basic concepts, point out important help files, give links to important pages on the main site, and do other neat things.

Players who choose to be in-game helpers would be able, through the who list, to see if anyone is currently working their way through the area and be given the option of popping up there to offer some advice from a player rather than a mobprog.

[jmordetsky]

I leave any mud the minute I smell a n00b school.

Plus, I kill n00bs.