Sharing experience guide
I've explored T2 for myself, so I do not have any idea how newb brain works, and do not remember my first attempt to play tribes. I'll try to give some guidence for new players soon, so I'd like to know how and what to teach them, also what information is important and wich could be ommited. I mean how to break through first difficulties to stay them longer in game.
Comments
Go through the basics like that guide I posted on Goon Haven. Then go from there. Once they think they're good, get them in a PU.
1. Ignore what everyone says about how you're supposed to play.
2. Explore the game and have fun.
The first difficulty new players face before being driven out is people telling them how they're supposed to play.
Think about anything else in life and consider whether or not you would apply this advice.
If you had a friend that wanted to come play basketball with you, would you throw him on a team, offer no help, and tell him to "explore" how he wants to play?
No because your friend would hate you and quit.
You would take your friend and explain the mechanics of dribbling, passing, and shooting. Then you would explain more advanced topics like defensive formations, setting picks, and various set pieces.
Your friend would become a valuable addition to your weekly game and have fun. If you taught your friend to only shoot underhanded with one arm or wouldn't explain the defense to him, he would quit playing either on his own or because no one would pick him to be on their team.
You're on the right track xionic - don't be discouraged by trolls like Purest.
People play games for fun.
What makes Tribes 2 fun for so many players is the openness of the game - you can do all kinds of things in game and play whatever role you like. That exploration is part of the fun.
What doesn't make Tribes 2 fun is having told that your way of having fun is retarded, and being forced to conform to the grid-like rules of competitive play, robbing you of the joy of exploring the game at a pace that's enjoyable to you.
If they get to a point where they're good enough that they want to play competitively, they'll do it on their own accord.
Comparing it to real-life, it's as if you're telling somebody that the only reason why you're playing basketball or playing guitar is to become a professional. You have no other reason to play. And when you do things wrong, you're a retarded noob who needs to GTFO or learn to play properly.
Most people, play anything, for fun, and to enjoy their time with others. The serious competitive world is always a minority, and produces people like you. With you trying to tell people how to play, who doesn't want to GTFO?
And you're still here, aren't you? And last time I checked you were a decent player. You must've done something right.
In your opinion.
You are instructing people to ignore advice from others because you think they will have more fun if they do. We give advice to others because we think they will have more fun if they listen. The only difference between what you are doing and what we are doing is: If they agree with you, then they would be playing for fun the way they want without needing your permission first. On the other hand, if they agree with us, then they would need to listen to our advice if they want to have fun.
So basically, your posts are never helpful to anyone, and ours sometimes are.
For the majority, fun is playing the game in the way they want and at their own pace.
For the minority, fun is high level competition.
The majority doesn't want anything to do with competition, and the minority doesn't want anything to do with non-competition.
Thus, if you want the new players to stick around, which is what this thread is about, let them explore the game at their own pace first. Then, give them opportunities to try competition (pickups or tournaments) if they want to, which some will, and most won't.
Tribes 2 will never become a competition haven. Live with it.
Regarding to the discussion, it is better to show how the game works than show just how to play, eg. SL mentioned above. If new player would be interested, he will ask how to play then. But, how to interest him in a good way?
Unbiased, objective descriptions of how the game works. The weapons, the items, concepts, and whatnot.
NOT how to play the game "properly."
The majority of players will find it far more enjoyable to have a manual that shows them how the "system" of the game works, and then exploring what they can do in the game given all the possibilities at their disposal.
That's the first step.
AFTER that, you can write guides on strategies in each game type. CTF for instance. But not until new players get to know how the "system" of the game works so they can explore the game at their own pace and have fun.
That's the natural sequence that the vast majority of players go through. Hardly anyone gets into a game solely to play competitively and bash n00bs for sucking.
Which is exactly why the number of Goon/Rebel/EWO players will always dwarf TWL.
Exactly how it should be, and always will. Give it up, kid.
Kids these days.
But then, that's beside the point too, as usual. The point was your ridiculous opinion that someone who starts playing a 10-year-old game would rather experiment on his own than accept advice from people who have been playing for 10 years. In reality, if you actually ask potential new players what they think, most of them don't want to start because they think vets won't give them advice. You learn these things when you actually do research rather than sit there on a forum making up theories.