Ways to get newbies to stay

raumvogel · Post by **raumvogel** » Sat Jan 28, 2012 2:48 am

No, integrate the VC.

fuzzylunkin1 · Post by **fuzzylunkin1** » Sat Jan 28, 2012 6:37 am

girlyboy wrote:QUOTE (girlyboy @ Jan 27 2012, 09:19 PM) You know what would be incredibly awesome for R7, and easier than integrated voice? Fully customizable quickchat functions, including the ability to group them any way you like. I'm sure this was suggested some time in the past, though... It could be a little stand-alone program that edits the relevant file (quickchat.mdl, I believe?), though if this program could be integrated into Allegiance itself and easy to find in the menus, it'd be even better...

It'd help solve the newbies-being-overwhelmed-by-the-VC problem, since a newbie could just choose a few of the voice chats they are likely to use most often, and assign them to whatever key combos they find intuitive to remember. (And by newbies I mean "me, this would be so awesome, oh god I keep forgetting everything".) They could also move all the voice chats they probably won't use into a "leftover" menu somewhere at the bottom of the list, so that they won't get in the way and make more useful chats easier to find. If the player later discovers one of those "leftover" voice chats is useful after all, they could quickly move it back to somewhere more accessible. Because each player could tailor the voice chats to their personal needs, there won't be a need to re-memorize new chat packs (like TE's, etc.,) which can just add more confusion and more things to remember. The stand-alone program could also provide, naturally, a quick and complete list of the keys and VCs, making them easier to remember...

I wonder how complex this would be? Would it need to edit any other files, or would playing around with quickchat.mdl be enough? Anyway, if it were possible, it could be a quick way for new pilots (also voobs like me) to improve their communication ability to tide us over until someone finds a way to code in integrated voice.

I would use that, especially since I don't know 99% of the VCs. I only learn the ones I need . . . the rest are mostly fluff. Chat and especially voice works very well. But I still think integrated voip would be easier... nothing extra to open, download or anything.

Elephanthead · Post by **Elephanthead** » Sat Feb 11, 2012 9:38 pm

What makes the game great is teamwork and the sense of motion. From a marketing standpoint you need to simplify the game and get rid of all the gimmicks introduced to keep vets entertained. I would go back to 4 factions and simplify the game to its basic components. There is more then enough in four factions to keep new player entertained without overload. Less is often more. Right now it looks like Allegiance is a car that has been modded so much by a teenage boy that it is laughable to anyone that isn't that boy. Casual gaming is better then focusing on the hard core player which isn't going to want such a small pool of competitors. Remove two slots from interceptors cargo also so it is harder to grief newbies.

raumvogel · Post by **raumvogel** » Sat Feb 11, 2012 9:41 pm

Yes, you have to wonder what is going through the head of a newbie when the game claims to have a missile lock then the missile goes flying off into space without damaging the target.

fuzzylunkin1 · Post by **fuzzylunkin1** » Sat Feb 11, 2012 9:58 pm

Elephanthead wrote:QUOTE (Elephanthead @ Feb 11 2012, 04:38 PM) What makes the game great is teamwork and the sense of motion. From a marketing standpoint you need to simplify the game and get rid of all the gimmicks introduced to keep vets entertained. I would go back to 4 factions and simplify the game to its basic components. There is more then enough in four factions to keep new player entertained without overload. Less is often more. Right now it looks like Allegiance is a car that has been modded so much by a teenage boy that it is laughable to anyone that isn't that boy. Casual gaming is better then focusing on the hard core player which isn't going to want such a small pool of competitors. Remove two slots from interceptors cargo also so it is harder to grief newbies.

If you think it's worth it, go for it, get it started. I mean this in the most respectful way -- if you actually think it a good idea, go for it and organize it, because I doubt it will happen otherwise.

EDIT:
PS We have a volunteer forum.

Makida · Post by **Makida** » Sun Feb 12, 2012 12:49 am

It would certainly be possible to make a "Back to Basics Core" by playing around with ICE... the hard part would be convincing people to play it, but if it was fun and balanced, perhaps that would happen naturally over time.

HSharp · Post by **HSharp** » Sun Feb 12, 2012 10:09 am

girlyboy wrote:QUOTE (girlyboy @ Jan 28 2012, 02:19 AM) You know what would be incredibly awesome for R7, and easier than integrated voice? Fully customizable quickchat functions, including the ability to group them any way you like. I'm sure this was suggested some time in the past, though... It could be a little stand-alone program that edits the relevant file (quickchat.mdl, I believe?), though if this program could be integrated into Allegiance itself and easy to find in the menus, it'd be even better...

It'd help solve the newbies-being-overwhelmed-by-the-VC problem, since a newbie could just choose a few of the voice chats they are likely to use most often, and assign them to whatever key combos they find intuitive to remember. (And by newbies I mean "me, this would be so awesome, oh god I keep forgetting everything".) They could also move all the voice chats they probably won't use into a "leftover" menu somewhere at the bottom of the list, so that they won't get in the way and make more useful chats easier to find. If the player later discovers one of those "leftover" voice chats is useful after all, they could quickly move it back to somewhere more accessible. Because each player could tailor the voice chats to their personal needs, there won't be a need to re-memorize new chat packs (like TE's, etc.,) which can just add more confusion and more things to remember. The stand-alone program could also provide, naturally, a quick and complete list of the keys and VCs, making them easier to remember...

I wonder how complex this would be? Would it need to edit any other files, or would playing around with quickchat.mdl be enough? Anyway, if it were possible, it could be a quick way for new pilots (also voobs like me) to improve their communication ability to tide us over until someone finds a way to code in integrated voice.

Hmm, I actually had an idea very similar to that where not only can you customise how the VC's are displayed and activated but you can make your own custom VC's and even give them your own command parameters and it is easy to upload your VC's for other people to download. However there is a problem in that sounddef and quickchat MDL's get over-ridden during various updates like new cores so hopefully for R7 the sound files will be split so various core files and game sound effects are in one location and vc's are in another seperate location so they won't be constantly over-written and then I can make this program.

Nobu · Post by **Nobu** » Sun Feb 12, 2012 10:24 am

5. Get more people to try it.

Makida · Post by **Makida** » Sun Feb 12, 2012 4:43 pm

HSharp wrote:QUOTE (HSharp @ Feb 12 2012, 05:09 AM) Hmm, I actually had an idea very similar to that where not only can you customise how the VC's are displayed and activated but you can make your own custom VC's and even give them your own command parameters and it is easy to upload your VC's for other people to download. However there is a problem in that sounddef and quickchat MDL's get over-ridden during various updates like new cores so hopefully for R7 the sound files will be split so various core files and game sound effects are in one location and vc's are in another seperate location so they won't be constantly over-written and then I can make this program.

Oooh. That sounds awesome. As a MacGyver, what if the program created a backup of the relevant files somewhere (a separate directory, or just copied them and gave them a new name) and then gave the user the option to "restore from backup" after every update? (It could also use the same approach to save multiple VC "layouts" if for some reason the user wanted to switch from one to another, or temporarily revert to the defaults or whatever). The program could automatically detect whether an update over-wrote the files, and then prompt the user to ask if they want to restore...

Spunkmeyer · Post by **Spunkmeyer** » Sun Feb 12, 2012 5:18 pm

Restore from backup solution is a lot more feasible - we can't remove the capability to update VCs.

If you write it and it's stable, I don't see why we can't bundle it with the installer.