Issues from a New Player's Perspective

haxorr wrote: »

Heya,
The Leveling animation happens so fast that I sometimes didn't even notice. It should be more dramatic or at least slower.

haxorr wrote: »

Below is my list of the top bugs & issues facing new players. They are not in any particular order:

* Quests - Too Many Unusable - As a new player, I was overwhelmed by the number of quests that I could not really complete because they were for high level or expert players. I suggest - hide any quest that is not part of early character development. This includes the banker, the boutique, the gem merchant, the sages, etc, ... Either a) leave the quests, but don't put yellow arrows on the NPC's or b) hide the quests until level 15ish.

Enjoy the quests now....you will get less and less as you grow in level. To the point have having virtually none. This is not to discourage you, but the quests early in the game are meant to familiarize yourself to your character and the "world"

* Quests - Hidden - At low levels, the quests should be more obvious. They are there, but there are distributed on a number of NPCs. Low level quests should come from 1 or 2 NPC's, in an obvious place.

Once again see above. Also, in your Quest log, if you use "Find Quest" and click on the quest giver, auto-path will take you there.

* Skills - Trainer - In some cities, the trainers are hard to find or spread out (ex Humans). It was a long time before we even realized we could train skills. Skill trainers should exist for the other classes (see below).

There are skill trainers in all the cities for the specific class that you are. This is because you will not be venturing far for a little while. Once you do, the major cities (Arch and 1k) have all the skill trainers for you to use and see. If you have a hard time, you can use the coordinates assistant and click on that NPC and a light blue arrow will lead you to the NPC you are looking for.

* Skills - Tree is Confusing - The Skill tree is very confusing. At first, I thought I was supposed to click on them to train. Eventually, I realized it was just for information. Also, the tree should be correctly organized based on what level you get the first level of a skill. Currently, it's very haphazard and confusing.

This was one of the more confusing things for me to learn. Especially since you do not nor need to learn every skill that comes avaliable. Many can wait till later in your levels. Etacomb is a great site where you can look at each individual skill and see the levels. Also the new PWI Wiki has some good skill guides.

* UI - NPC Menu - 'Quest Related' - This should ALWAYS be the first item in any NPC menu. It's the most important and most frequently used option by new players. Also, change the name from 'Quest Related' to 'Quests'. If the NPC has no quests right now, gray out/disable the option - don't make them click the item just to get a 'sorry' message.

If there is a quest, it will have a yellow sheild over its head. You will begin to learn which NPC's however have repeatable quests or manufacturing quests (Gem Merchant for making mirage stones and Guards that have the One-Man Army quests ...as examples).

* UI - NPC Menu - Hide unused features - Many features are not really available until higher level (ex manufacturing). At a minimum, remove ALL menu items that are unusable because of level/class/skill. Also, consider removing menu items that are not relevant until much higher level (ex purify, etc...). The NPC menus are very intimidating to new players. It makes the game very overwhelming and made us want to quit.

These should give you something to look forward too not quit. And since the early levels are for learning more and more about the game you should consider these as a helpful tool to what you have to look forward too.

* UI - Scrolling Text - The hit numbers, XP, spirit, and level up messages scroll up about 10X too fast. It took me about 10 kills before I figured out what the info was flying over my head. It goes so fast that I didn't even notice the first time I dinged a level! SLOW IT DOWN A LOT. If needed, make it an option for advanced players to speed it up.

There is a tool bar on the right that also displays the exp and sp that you get from each kill. You can scroll this up and down to see what you are getting. At the low levels you Level very fast and as such may miss leveling up a time or two.

* Leveling - Needs more flash - The Leveling animation happens so fast that I sometimes didn't even notice. It should be more dramatic or at least slower.

I like to think that this is because you are very into the game which is good...see above comment.

* UI - Help - The help messages are actually very helpful, but there are too many of them, too early in the game. New players won't read them. You need to space them out. Max of 1 or 2 per level. Even if players should get help about stuff, just postpone it until later. Spread it out from level 1-10. That way, they feel inclined to click the question mark, instead of ignore the 10 entries there.

I somewhat agree with this, but I think this is to assume that many have not read any of the beginner guides nor acquainted themselves to the controls or a portion of the game before playing. In all honesty, I ignored them all and learned on my own.

* UI - Question Mark - The question on the character page has no tooltip. I'm still not exactly sure what it does, but I think it randomly assigns a skill.

Not sure on this one...may be a blank for me...lol

* UI - Overlaps - There are several windows which overlap by default. The F1 keys and # keys overlap with the System menu. This resets everytime you make a new character. Note - this effectively HIDES the 'exit game' button. Also, the Genie window overlaps the squad window.

The Genie window you can move and is a pain for all of us. I would love to see this fixed. And when you make a new character it is just that. I have a few and have the windows set differently on each.

* UI - How to Exit Game - It took me about 5 minutes to figure out how to quit the game. Ouchers!!! The system menu on the bottom right should be at the top left, above the character portrait.

Maybe, but this might cause some to "accidentally" exit the game without knowing since there are a few features in that corner that are used later on.

* UI - Add an 'Escape' menu - Most games have a menu that comes up by hitting 'Escape'. It has stuff like 'Exit Game', 'Settings', 'Character Info', and the like. It's easy to add and is user friendly.

There is a help section...Press "H"

* Keyboard - Arrow keys - Left handed players are pretty much hosed because you don't use arrow keys. This is a 15 minute code fix that would open up gameplay for thousands of players. Arrow keys should == WASD keys.

I am not affected by this, but many have requested this.

* UI - Arrows to group members - When group members go outside your mini-map circle, a little arrow should point toward them. Also, the way you create arrows to points of interest is very complex. Not user friendly at all.

If in a squad, the green arrow points to the squad leader. Others you will have to find or click on there name to follow if they are not too far.

* UI - Wierd Text Lables - There are tons of little buttons and stuff that have very wierd labels like W, N, AE, etc... I think I figured out some of them, but it's crazy! At a minimum, put full names for these things!

Mind Blank again.

* UI - Confusing - Too many buttons - There are dozens of tiny little buttons everywhere. Get rid of them! Put an 'advanced UI' option that allows making them visible. I have NEVER seen such an intimidating UI. Ever.

Once you learn it, super easy. I was sooo frustrated in the beginning (although this is my first online game) but once you get to know them they are great.

* UI - Chat Needs Resize - The chat windows need to be resizble. Enough said.

You can resize to 3 (i think 4) different sizes. There is a button on the bottom left that you can click.

* Quests - Other Races - Allow other races to do quests in the new areas (ie < level 20). Players want to travel to other places and hunt with friends & family. This game basically makes that impossible until level 20. There is no reason why new characters should be prevented from doing quests for the other 2 races. Gameplay trumps lore - always!

This will come at about level 19 when you travel to Arch. You need to know your home city for later quests and levels.

* UI - English - Have someone take a few minutes to use more commonly understand terms. Nomenclature is a burden, but words have connotation. People don't wield 'magical instruments'. An instrument makes music. 'Squad' should be 'group'. Etc...

These are just different words that mean the same thing. If it was the other way around others might want the current options. Either way....

* Races - Gender - allow male Veno's and female Barbarians. People want them. Player choice trumps game lore.

No....it is not game lore, many of these things are based on mythology and culture.

* UI - Confusing - General - New gamers, especially in the US, expect game interfaces to be simple and approachable. First impressions are VERY POWERFUL and in Perfect World, the UI says, 'my game sucks'. The UI is a terrible disservice to the quality of the graphics and game play as well as the depth of this game. Based on my own experiences watching my family get frustrated, I expect Perfect World probably looses about 30-40% of its target audience due to people logging in for the first time and assuming the game is bad because the UI.

I do not agree with this. I have since tried other games and think this every time I start a new one until I learn about it and play for a little while.


PS - Quick background. I have played probably 2 dozen MMO's including [names removed], and many more over the past 10 years. Me, my wife, and our 2 kids often play together, so we have had a lot of accounts on lots of MMOs, some pay, some not. Also, for what it's worth, I'm in the game industry.

haxorr wrote: »

Heya,

I recently started playing Perfect World, but am a long time veteran of MMO's. Based on what I see so far, PWI is an incredibly deep and fun game that I'm likely to continue playing for a while. However, although the gameplay itself is solid, there are a number of REAL issues that confront new players. I have created a thorough list - hopefully the devs will see this and address as many as they can.

Below is my list of the top bugs & issues facing new players. They are not in any particular order:

* Quests - Too Many Unusable - As a new player, I was overwhelmed by the number of quests that I could not really complete because they were for high level or expert players. I suggest - hide any quest that is not part of early character development. This includes the banker, the boutique, the gem merchant, the sages, etc, ... Either a) leave the quests, but don't put yellow arrows on the NPC's or b) hide the quests until level 15ish.

~As a player, you might as well learn to avoid them. Dont complain about it cuz it's not what you thought it'd be.

* Quests - Hidden - At low levels, the quests should be more obvious. They are there, but there are distributed on a number of NPCs. Low level quests should come from 1 or 2 NPC's, in an obvious place.

~You hafta learn to venture out to get used to the game.

* Skills - Trainer - In some cities, the trainers are hard to find or spread out (ex Humans). It was a long time before we even realized we could train skills. Skill trainers should exist for the other classes (see below).

~:P There's always find coordinates, you can ask players, so don't make it sound like it's impossible to find.

* Skills - Tree is Confusing - The Skill tree is very confusing. At first, I thought I was supposed to click on them to train. Eventually, I realized it was just for information. Also, the tree should be correctly organized based on what level you get the first level of a skill. Currently, it's very haphazard and confusing.

~Get used to it, dont think it's all in one line. Actually take the time to look at it. -_-

* UI - NPC Menu - 'Quest Related' - This should ALWAYS be the first item in any NPC menu. It's the most important and most frequently used option by new players. Also, change the name from 'Quest Related' to 'Quests'. If the NPC has no quests right now, gray out/disable the option - don't make them click the item just to get a 'sorry' message.

~Well, if you don't want to get a 'sorry' message, learn to look at the Q button on your keyboard and look at the names of the NPC. If the name's green than double click it, it'll autopath you there.

* UI - NPC Menu - Hide unused features - Many features are not really available until higher level (ex manufacturing). At a minimum, remove ALL menu items that are unusable because of level/class/skill. Also, consider removing menu items that are not relevant until much higher level (ex purify, etc...). The NPC menus are very intimidating to new players. It makes the game very overwhelming and made us want to quit.

~Us? Are you sure it's not just you? Speak for yourself, hun. If you can't take the heat of a new game then I suggest you get some more experience before filing a complaint.

* UI - Scrolling Text - The hit numbers, XP, spirit, and level up messages scroll up about 10X too fast. It took me about 10 kills before I figured out what the info was flying over my head. It goes so fast that I didn't even notice the first time I dinged a level! SLOW IT DOWN A LOT. If needed, make it an option for advanced players to speed it up.

~Psh don't be a baby because it's not totally obvious. If you don't like looking at your char info upper left hand corner, it's not anyone's problem but your own.

* Leveling - Needs more flash - The Leveling animation happens so fast that I sometimes didn't even notice. It should be more dramatic or at least slower.

~Haha, you can't see the huge circle of white sparking light around you? It's not gonna wait up and keep flashin until you click a button because you only see it then.

* UI - Help - The help messages are actually very helpful, but there are too many of them, too early in the game. New players won't read them. You need to space them out. Max of 1 or 2 per level. Even if players should get help about stuff, just postpone it until later. Spread it out from level 1-10. That way, they feel inclined to click the question mark, instead of ignore the 10 entries there.

~Be happy you're even gettin them.

* UI - Question Mark - The question on the character page has no tooltip. I'm still not exactly sure what it does, but I think it randomly assigns a skill.

* UI - Overlaps - There are several windows which overlap by default. The F1 keys and # keys overlap with the System menu. This resets everytime you make a new character. Note - this effectively HIDES the 'exit game' button. Also, the Genie window overlaps the squad window.

~You can move the windows, genius.

* UI - How to Exit Game - It took me about 5 minutes to figure out how to quit the game. Ouchers!!! The system menu on the bottom right should be at the top left, above the character portrait.

~It should be? Not everything to your liking, get used to it~

* UI - Add an 'Escape' menu - Most games have a menu that comes up by hitting 'Escape'. It has stuff like 'Exit Game', 'Settings', 'Character Info', and the like. It's easy to add and is user friendly.

~This game isn't most games. Ive played MANY MANY MANY MMORPGs and this is by far the most impressive.

* Keyboard - Arrow keys - Left handed players are pretty much hosed because you don't use arrow keys. This is a 15 minute code fix that would open up gameplay for thousands of players. Arrow keys should == WASD keys.

~You can use your right hand on the MOUSE to CLICK where you want to GO. Easy enough for you?

* Keyboard - Key Bindings - Allow players to map keys as they see fit instead of the default bindings.

~It gets really easy after a few levels, try gettin past level 15 first.

* Keyboard - Add mappings to allow both strafe AND turn keys, not just 'either-or'.

~ Not much of a comment. Just get used to it.

* UI - Arrows to group members - When group members go outside your mini-map circle, a little arrow should point toward them. Also, the way you create arrows to points of interest is very complex. Not user friendly at all.

~Complex? LOL. There's a larger map. Learn to use it.

* UI - Wierd Text Lables - There are tons of little buttons and stuff that have very wierd labels like W, N, AE, etc... I think I figured out some of them, but it's crazy! At a minimum, put full names for these things!

~Yeah, and expand the space of the chat area. There's a bar with buttons on top. Scroll over it to see full name.

* UI - Confusing - Too many buttons - There are dozens of tiny little buttons everywhere. Get rid of them! Put an 'advanced UI' option that allows making them visible. I have NEVER seen such an intimidating UI. Ever.

~If it's too scary for you and too complex, then IGNORE the buttons. Nobody told you to click them.

* UI - Chat Needs Resize - The chat windows need to be resizble. Enough said.

~You can do that already. This pisses me off right here because apparently you didn't go damn **** to find out of it's possible.

* Skills - Grant Level 1 - Except for quested skills, new players should be given the first level of new skills. Or, make it more obvious in some way. Or maybe just up until level 10 or something.

~The whole point is to strive for all new skills, for example: Mods arent gonna give new players level 1 of Parasitic Nova because it's a higher level thing.

* Quests - Other Races - Allow other races to do quests in the new areas (ie < level 20). Players want to travel to other places and hunt with friends & family. This game basically makes that impossible until level 20. There is no reason why new characters should be prevented from doing quests for the other 2 races. Gameplay trumps lore - always!

~It's so you can purposely get used to your home town and the area around it. Do you wanna go from Plume to Etherblade? I don't think so. Youll get killed first.

* UI - English - Have someone take a few minutes to use more commonly understand terms. Nomenclature is a burden, but words have connotation. People don't wield 'magical instruments'. An instrument makes music. 'Squad' should be 'group'. Etc...

~If it's not what youre used to, then boo hoo. Group and Squad mean the same thing. If it's not logic enough for you, I suggest PLAYING THE GAME MORE AND GETTIN USED TO IT!

* Races - Gender - allow male Veno's and female Barbarians. People want them. Player choice trumps game lore.

~A male using Blazing Scarab.. With ears and a tail, looking like a female fox? A female going into tiger form looking like a male? I don't think so.

* UI - Confusing - General - New gamers, especially in the US, expect game interfaces to be simple and approachable. First impressions are VERY POWERFUL and in Perfect World, the UI says, 'my game sucks'. The UI is a terrible disservice to the quality of the graphics and game play as well as the depth of this game. Based on my own experiences watching my family get frustrated, I expect Perfect World probably looses about 30-40% of its target audience due to people logging in for the first time and assuming the game is bad because the UI.

~That where actually playing the game long enough comes in, hun.


PS - Quick background. I have played probably 2 dozen MMO's including [names removed], and many more over the past 10 years. Me, my wife, and our 2 kids often play together, so we have had a lot of accounts on lots of MMOs, some pay, some not. Also, for what it's worth, I'm in the game industry.