Add In-game Text Guide and Tutorial Videos for New Players

[Cosmo]

Add In-game Manual and Tutorial Videos for New Players

Many players who bought ED get frustrated, because they can't figure out how to play. Then they post negative reviews on Steam etc. The in-game tutorial is not enough to teach newcomers.

In-Game Manual

ED really needs an in-game manual so players can read up and learn how to play while staying in-game. Asking questions on the forums or searching for answers online should be a last resort.

The official manual should be readable INSIDE the game. Users could press a button to access it.

The Elite: Dangerous manual can be found at the link below:

http://hosting.zaonce.net/elite/website/assets/ELITE-DANGEROUS-GAME-MANUAL.pdf

Tutorial Videos

Frontier made some tutorial videos which are on youtube. Those videos should be inside the game too. Users should not need to exit ED to watch them.

For example see this new player's comments on Steam:

Bigbrownbeaver

Am I supposed to google everything for this game?

Where does the game even teach you how to earn money.

All the game has done so far is

tell me I cannot refuel
tell me I cannot repair
force me to take out a loan

soooooooooooooooooooo NOT user friendly so far

there are menus, but you secretly are supposed to use W S Q E keys to navigate menus? What happened to arrows?

why couldnt you just make the ESC key exit menus?

 

[Bacon Sarnie]

Got to agree with this, there does need to be some way of teaching new players how to play the game.
I found youtube videos and learned from those before I got the game, otherwise I wouldnt have had a clue.
My friend who no longer plays didnt have a clue, he bought the game and was just left clueless as to what to do.
He had no idea for example you had to face a certain way when landing, had no idea how to navigate the menus in ship.
His list was massive, I knew as I'd watched youtube vids, but I shouldnt have had to, all this should really be explained in game.

 

[Kramster]

There are tutorial videos on the website that can be accessed from the launcher and they cover most of the basics. These have been added since launch and I think are a pretty good intro to ED, of course they don't cater for the gamers who just cannot be bothered to watch them or dare I say read the manual. I remember when I joined the army, all those weeks of reading, watching videos and lectures before they let me loose in a field with a gun

While a better 'ingame' tutorial would be nice I would rather they spent their time making content that adds to the game beyond the first day.

Some items such as insurance, fines, bounties etc could possibly come with better info, maybe in the ship panels as tool tips or something similar.

 

[Cosmo]

There are tutorial videos on the website that can be accessed from the launcher and they cover most of the basics. These have been added since launch and I think are a pretty good intro to ED, of course they don't cater for the gamers who just cannot be bothered to watch them or dare I say read the manual.

The tutorial videos and official manual should be accessible inside the game itself. Because newcomers want help while they're playing. It's not user-friendly to only let players access it via the Launcher or external place.

While a better 'ingame' tutorial would be nice I would rather they spent their time making content that adds to the game beyond the first day.[/SIZE]

The negative user reviews can be alleviated by adding tutorial videos and the manual in-game. The PowerPlay update will likely add a lot of content.

 

[Kramster]

True, if they could find away to allow access to the manual/vids in game then that would be great.
But, I don't think I have played many games that didn't lead me to firing up a wiki or youtube vid so it is not exactly outside the norm for most gamers.

 

[Glasofruix]

Oh god please no, judging by the steam reviews it seems like not having a tutorial is a great idiot filter.

 

[Bacon Sarnie]

Oh god please no, judging by the steam reviews it seems like not having a tutorial is a great idiot filter.

So someone should pay for the game then not be able to play it due to having no idea and thats fine? They should simply uninstall it and move on due to not fitting your desired level of intellect?
Well arent you a shiny bright ray of sunshine

 

[Silent_Star]

It's not like this game is terrible difficult, it took me 1 day to learn and I've never played any similar game.The only other games that I played are Sims and candy crush

 

[Glasofruix]

So someone should pay for the game then not be able to play it due to having no idea and thats fine? They should simply uninstall it and move on due to not fitting your desired level of intellect?
Well arent you a shiny bright ray of sunshine

I didn't say that. Right now people are just seeing the trailer (the one with the insta super cruise) buy the game without researching it, thinking it's some kind of COD in space, and then downvote/complain because it's too difficult to read a few articles or watch some videos on the internet or spend some time configuring and getting used to the controls, i don't want to play with them, by experience i know they're bad news. Don't get me wrong, i'm also easily frustrated by overcomplicated mechanics and would abandon a game without a second thought if it is too difficult for me, but elite is quite easy to understand once you pour some hours in it and don't stop on the "space trucker" aspect.

 

[Cosmo]

Thinking it's some kind of COD in space, and then downvote/complain because it's too difficult to read a few articles or watch some videos on the internet or spend some time configuring and getting used to the controls, i don't want to play with them, by experience i know they're bad news. Don't get me wrong, but elite is quite easy to understand once you pour some hours in it and don't stop on the "space trucker" aspect.

That's simplistic stereotyping of new players. They should get sufficient support to learn the ropes. If they can't learn it due to a lack of an in-game manual and such, they'll post negative reviews which is no good for Elite or Frontier.

 

[Glasofruix]

It's not simplistic, it's realistic. Most of the modern "gamers" are looking for instant gratification, to spend more than 5 min in order to grasp the controls flags the game as unplayable for them.

 

[Cosmo]

It's not simplistic, it's realistic. Most of the modern "gamers" are looking for instant gratification, to spend more than 5 min in order to grasp the controls flags the game as unplayable for them.

Many modern gamers do want a decent manual and tutorial to learn how to play complicated games like Elite Dangerous.

 

[Glasofruix]

Ahem

For now, not worth playing. Devs probably think that players like to spend days to learn the game, starting couple times over and over again and having a nice time playing it. Devs, you are wrong. Freaking navigation and landing, no automation for it, even today´s Airplane can do it automatic, why not in your game in year 3300?

This game looks like it had some potential, but the terrible interface and control scheme really screws itself over, I would not get this unless you have special gear and/or a few hours just to learn to move a ship around with slight proficiency,

In other words: "Whaaaaa, i want an easy mode and i don't want to learn anything".

 

[Cosmo]

In other words: "Whaaaaa, i want an easy mode and i don't want to learn anything".

Not an easy mode just a proper in-game manual.

 

[Glasofruix]

Ahem², game's too hard, i made a mistake and got punished, yada, yada, downvote... again, idiot filter.

Spent about 4 hours exploring and charting maps to sell the data, as it's the only thing worth a decent amount of money when you start out. Then I run out of fuel, so I desperately look for a fueling station, find a station that I can refuel at, but it's a gigantic rotating hexagonal "ring" station. So I try to dock, and it tells me you can land in landing 42. I look all around the ring, can't find anything, eventually I press the wrong button while circling the station and end up ramming it by accident, destroying my ship. I respawn at another station, look at all the four hours of work I've gained, and learned that all my of data was destroyed as well, meaning those 4 hours are now used for nought. A+ game.

 

[Cosmo]

Ahem², game's too hard, i made a mistake and got punished, yada, yada, downvote... again, idiot filter.

There are dumb players and also decent new players who would benefit from a full in-game manual. Maybe that guy was new to space sims etc.

 

[Ledhead900]

It's not simplistic, it's realistic. Most of the modern "gamers" are looking for instant gratification, to spend more than 5 min in order to grasp the controls flags the game as unplayable for them.

Is this not what the real gamer's have been been butthurt about modern gamers for the past few years over? This is something which is bad for the gaming community as a whole as it encourages liner development from AAA publishers like EA which continue to push out dumed down content in games and narrow senses of freedom all because it makes more money to feed the vocal minority.

I am not saying Elite doesn't deserve a little bit more in the way of helping you start out, the training missions served me well enough, I do have a lot of er what exactly does all this text mean thoughts at times as I am a new player myself but as for the actual gameplay it was not all that hard to grasp.

Granted I am tech savvy and enjoyed games like X3 and in some ways even EvE Online, the game could do a bit better job explaining how system rep works though and the relation therof between the wars between them and how to influence those. The tool tips provided for outfitting do need some work in my opinion though I still have no idea how the grading system works for example I look at two types of power distribution my current one and the one I want to buy, the one I want to buy shows me some of the stats as the same and some with a down arrow but the values are no different on the text beside the arrow other than the letter (grade) of the equipment I see no real difference other than minor variations to the mass or power consumption required.

Then when I go to buy it it says in the text box that the equipment is worse but it is more expensive than what I currently have. This needs work because I literally have no idea if what I am buying is an improvement or a downgrade unless the stats are noticeably decipherable as better.

 

[emmpeabee]

Not an easy mode just a proper in-game manual.

Agreed.
A soft way in (a specific number of moves or sucesful missions with Invulnerab status) would also be good - like in many of the Build Your Own Empire -er - 'sims' a way to negate the baby murderers who seem to inhabit most OLG's
Em

 

[emmpeabee]

Ahem
,In other words: "Whaaaaa, i want an easy mode and i don't want to learn anything".

You know, that attitude is realy a very good way of getting the game a bad name,
Then no new playes - who might just be better than you,
Then it goes extinct and you have no game to play.
Brilliant thinking BatMan.
Em