Newbie game
Want to practice your basic flight control skills? Not sure if you have figured out the controls? Want to get more familiar with various ship tech, weapons and equipment available in the game? Practice navigation? Don't want to be yelled at by angry veteran players on the main server? Then newbie games are the place just for you!
In a newbie game, any player with a rank higher than 4 is automatically banned when they play on them. The first ban lasts for 1 hour, but subsequent offenses extend the ban time exponentially.
Note The system does not recognize the offense until the game is completed and the game-stats recorded, so a "veteran" player can play on a newbie game, but to their own downfall.
Warning! Any game with the word "Newbie" contained anywhere in the game name is monitored by Community Security System just like official newbie games. If you are above rank (4) and create a game with "newbie" in the game name you will be subjected to the autoban.
Something else to watch out for: sometimes a new player will progress from rank 4 to 5 while actually playing a newbie game. However your in-game displayed rank does not update until the next time you log in. Thus there is a danger that you could - for example - log in as rank 4, play a game and win, and gain rank 5. Yet as far as you know in-game you are still rank 4 and thus decide to start a second game. The system sees this second game as a "veteran" (rank 5) on a newbie server (rank 4 or lower) and so bans you for one hour.
As it is strongly encouraged that once you have played for a bit and gained a few ranks that you avoid newbie servers to avoid picking up bad habits, it is a sacrifice we are willing for you to make.
What can you expect from newbie games?
Newbie games have very little in common with how "real" games are played elsewhere.
You can expect money settings maxed out, excessive use of capital ships, commanders getting any and all tech (they are rolling in cash due to the maxed settings). Deathmatch games are also not uncommon. In comparison, 'mainstream' games are Conquest matches on moderate or low money settings, where capital ships are rarely seen.
On the other hand the outrageous money settings help you explore technology trees, try out all the different ships etc. Not having a very competitive environment allows you to grasp basic navigation and ship control skills without getting podded by every vet flying by.
Before you think "Wow, newbie games seem like a newbie utopia! I think I'll stay here for as long as possible!" we will have to curb some of that enthusiasm, sorry!
Newbie games are NOT the right place to learn to play the game. It's good to get accustomed to the in-game environment and... that's about it. If you spend all your time on newbie games and none on the main games then you are bound to acquire some really bad habits that are quite hard to root out later on.
Another important point is you won't learn much by playing with and against people whose knowledge of the game is as low as yours! Improvement (in anything in life) comes from competing with tougher opponents, watching how they perform and asking them questions.
We strongly recommend that you stop playing newbie games after half a dozen games at most. You are entitled to play there until your rank is 4 (Novice), but you really shouldn't be playing there after you are familiar with the basic controls, navigation and loadouts. @Alleg staff, who are exempt from autobans, will appear on occasion in newbie games to answer your questions.
In conclusion: fly a bit on newbie games to get a grasp of how various ships handle and get some "feel" of the game mechanics, then hit the big games! Don't be afraid, most of the veteran players here are very helpful. See you there!
Finding or creating a newbie game
There is a newbie game up permanently for just about every server. They can be easily recognized in the games list by the blue 'Zone Game' symbol on the left of their name, as well as the title "Newbies".
Alternatively you can create a new game and put "Newbie" in the title, as indicated in the warning above.
Finally you can limit the game to ranks (7) and down by creating a normal game and setting the rank limit to 'Novices only'. However, games set up in this manner are not automatically monitored by Community Security System like the normal newbie servers.
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