Pilot School Tutorials For Newbies

Kannon Fodda

K
So I'm a Noob at this game. I realise it's a beta and that means loads of stuff is in development. But for someone who never played any of the Elite type games before the learning curve is very very steep and frustrating.

If this were real life, you'd go to pilot school and be walked through all sorts of stuff. Elite Dangerous needs a Pilot School.

The in game guidance for a newbie is at present very minimal. About the only useful warning message I have seen so far is when buying a weapon that it isn't added to some list and I need to equip it. There are many many unexplained terms and acronyms as to what controls there might be. It's all very daunting.

The single player combat scenarios at present don't cut the mustard as tutorials. They still assume you know what you are trying to achieve.

Many of the big games out there have a structured tutorial game. This gradually introduces you to the controls with helpful pop up messages hints of "press F" etc, rather than simply suggesting you have to select something (the present ED scenarious seem to assume you know your keyboard /Joystick/Gamepad combinations and what they might mean). Very little seems to explain what the various percentage bar sliders either side of the main radar thingy mean (you work it out when your hull starts melting that 200% isn't good). I've yet to find any meaningful guide that tells you what the radar stuff actually means in terms of who or what is in front / behind, up down, or whatever. It is all currently trial and error. The scenarios only deal with combat, yet a basic training trading run would help to see how to select goods, take off, select destinations and get there, etc.

By all means let people find out some stuff for them selves, but, if the game is to become mass market a structured hands on tutorial mission will be essential.
 

Aleksej

Aleksej
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Kannon Fodda

K
Thanks for the links. But they are not part of the game itself, and that really is the point. It takes a lot of trawling through these forums to locate these links.

For the real newbie, there will be a desire for proper handholding.

By all means allow those who think they have experience to bypass tutorials. But for those who don't have a clue, the game doesn't offer guidance in it's current form.
 

Pon Farr

Pon Farr
The thing is the 'game' in it's current form, isn't a game as such. It's a work in progress.

No doubt when it gets to release status such things as manuals and perhaps training will be added. But for now it seems to me it's a case of "here's what we have, test it" and use other people's experiences to learn how to.

When I joined premium beta I hadn't a clue how it all worked. It took me a fair few hours, and a fair few destroyed freebie sidewinders to get to grips with it all, and frankly I enjoyed that. Working it out for my self, figuring key bindings that worked for me, sussing out how to use what I had. Now I've got a Cobra, half a million credits and I'm loving it, I worked for it!

Sure that's not to everyone's taste, so I would suggest don't get involved with the beta if you don't want a very steep learning curve. Hang on for the full release, where they'll still be a learning curve but (i'm guessing) it'll be a tad easier.
 

Kannon Fodda

K
My opening statement is that I accept it's a beta so it's a development. On that basis my initial post is intended as feedback to help with perhaps that development process, which might make it freindlier for others by the time the game is launched as a standard retail version.

The earlier alpha and prebetas versions of the game will have been enjoyed by the enthusiasts. Now at beta level, which is very much still a test but closer to a finished article, the game will attract people who are new. Just as enthusiasts have given feedback, surely it's time for newbies to provide a different perspective?

I was enticed to the game by the enthusiasm of friends. I'm enjoying the gameplay. I'm just trying to explain where I'm finding areas of difficulty and perhaps an opportunity for improvement. But then if people genuinely want the game to be for the elite few then perhaps the entry bar with lack of instruction should be set frustratingly high so it acts as a deterrent.
 
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Pon Farr

Pon Farr
You have a fair point, for sure. And in my opinion this game - when it truly is a game - won't have a massive appeal, it'll be a bit niche. But at this point in time, for my money I'm glad they (FD) are concentrating on the bulk of the thing and not the niceties. Training tutorials and such like will no doubt follow in time. For now it's kind of jump in and work it out by the seat of your pants! That suited me well, I really enjoyed not having my hand held as I learnt how to fly my ship and what to do, and I feel my experience with PB and now full beta will put me ahead of the game when it goes to full release.

Each to their own. If it doesn't suit you now, be patient, it my well do so later in its development. Or, what the hell, dive in and learn what you can now. You've nothing to lose and you could be surprised. I expect all you ask for - in terms of 'pilot school' will come in time. Or you can figure it out now. Either way, it's your choice and I wish you the best of luck.

Again, for me (and sorry if I'm sounding selfish) I'm loving it. Working it all out with no damn help whatsoever. It's refreshing!
 

Silverware

Silverware
Aren't the single players scenarios the tutorial basically?

That was first thing I fired up when I got the game. It explains the obvious stuff like how to turn the ship and shoot I think? Eventually how to dock I think?
 

FoxTwo

FoxTwo
Silverware said:
Aren't the single players scenarios the tutorial basically?

That was first thing I fired up when I got the game. It explains the obvious stuff like how to turn the ship and shoot I think? Eventually how to dock I think?
Click to expand...

The OP is coming from the point of someone completely new to Elite. Modern games have "tutorials" built into them. We never used to have them until around 2001 or so, when games started to have in-game tutorials. Previously we had to read the game manuals that came with the game.

Single player combat scenarios aren't really "tutorials" per se, in my opinion. Well they could be thought of as combat training but not really a "Welcome to Elite Dangerous" tutorial.

So modern gamers EXPECT a tutorial and not to have to read any sort of manuals anymore. They expect to see "PRESS E TO START ENGINE" kind of popups.

As noted, this game is beta and the devs are busy making the "game" part work first, before putting in tutorials. I mean, what is the point of a tutorial now if things are going to change later which might render the tutorial incorrect/useless?
 

tangiblecoffee

T
if only

It would be kind of cool if when you first started playing you had to earn your pilots license. Fly thru a basic obstacle course to learn how to control your ship. Fly to another station to learn how to use suprecruise properly. Then finally a "docking" final exam. Complete with in cockpit computer gently telling you how bad your doing.
 

Hydrino

Hydrino
tangiblecoffee said:
It would be kind of cool if when you first started playing you had to earn your pilots license. Fly thru a basic obstacle course to learn how to control your ship. Fly to another station to learn how to use suprecruise properly. Then finally a "docking" final exam. Complete with in cockpit computer gently telling you how bad your doing.
Click to expand...

Like the idea.

There are multiple posts about this so it is valid. Many games, and especially the more complex ones where muscle memory has to be formed to be successful, have some walkthrough of controls at launch to ease the player into it.

I think we will see this, as FD put in the latest newsletter, there will now start to be some work on getting new players up to speed in the game when first launching.
 

Silverware

Silverware
FoxTwo said:
The OP is coming from the point of someone completely new to Elite.
Click to expand...

I came to ED having never heard of the Elite series in my life :p But then again I'm from the US which apparently was never really into Elite I guess.

But yea.. The single player seemed like a tutorial to me. Perhaps not to the crazy hand holding degree of games these days. I played through the first 3 missions or so and was like "Okay tired of this.. throw me into the deep end" and learned how to dock by myself.. with my bare hands!..

..going uphill both ways
 

Janeway

Janeway
Its still very early days but yes a tutorial has to be done. If not then you will loss so many players. We want a bit of fresh young blood coming to the elite experience.
 

Kannon Fodda

K
It may be that modern games do hand hold people a bit, but as some have pointed out it's what we have come to expect. Yes ED may not be a really mass appeal game hence the manner in which it has been funded, but it should still have those aspirations. Again I know that Frontier are working on all sorts of stuff and as things in game have been changing a proper tutorial system could be a problem if written and then something alters.

At present the combat scenarios are only combat. Nothing about docking, trading etc. That actually creates a misbalanced introduction to the game and you initially think this is all about pew pew stuff.

In some respects there seems to be some criticism that I have been openly admitting my novice status to this game, or indeed any of this game's genre. In practice, had it not been for guidance from experienced friends I would long ago have downed tools, as posters have suggested here. Difficulty shoud be welcomed?

tangiblecoffee said:
It would be kind of cool if when you first started playing you had to earn your pilots license. Fly thru a basic obstacle course to learn how to control your ship. Fly to another station to learn how to use suprecruise properly. Then finally a "docking" final exam. Complete with in cockpit computer gently telling you how bad your doing.
Click to expand...

A succinct concept that could work well :)
 
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Veljex

Veljex
I though this was a bit of a problem as well. The scenarios helped with flight and combat however when I jumped online there were a few things I wasn't sure about.. Like docking. I have seen a few of the videos when I started and these did help but once the game is fully released it would be a nice idea to have some more in-depth voice over coms from the radio tower talking you though the online side.

So for example the first time you log are sat in your ship in a dock and are talked through the HUD and using the market. Then you're talked through take off, flying out of the dock and then re-requesting and landing. Something like.

To be fair, as nice as this would be. Once you get use to the basics there is only so much that a tutorial can do. The one thing that I have noticed with Elite is that experience is key to everything.
 

forger

forger
it all comes down to what we want, i wouldn't mind a tutorial but i would mind if that would be obligatory, as i like to learn things on my own.
that's just part of my gaming experience to figure out all and most guys i know are same, they never read/watch any guides tutorials unless they got stuck, that's the true beauty of the game - you use your brains and figure things that probably nobody else even found out.

so it comes down to dedication, you can call it natural selection for gamers - the ones who really want to play this game will never turn away because there is no tutorial and most of the rest won't play it even with tutorials, also FD never will give us specifics but just a guidelines so you just need to know flight principles and rest comes intuitively, but i bet in gamma there will be MUCH more help, maybe there be some pop-ups showing what does what in your hud when you are new player :)

and the fun fact - developers are good at making the game and almost never good at playing their own creation ;)
 

Gelbrock

Gelbrock
No tutorial is going to help you play this game better.

Practice is your only option.

For those that need a tutorial, here it is.

TUTORIAL

TRADING

Buy low, sell high (it even gives you average price so you know if your buying low....) But what keys do I press? See CONTROLS below

DOCKING

Aim for the hole in the space station..... HINT, don't hit anything bigger than you. But what keys do I press? See CONTROLS.

COMBAT

Maybe best to avoid this if you cant even dock yet. Keep practicing docking. Once you can dock well. In combat, turn to face your foe and press fire button till you see a big firework followed by their bloated dead body bounce off your windshield.... But what keys do I press? See CONTROLS

CONTROLS

Click on options. Click on Controls. You can choose whatever keys or method you like. Once you have set keys (yes it takes a long time) you will then know what to press to Hyperspace or do anything else.... because you would have already set a key for it)

GOOD NEWS

Its a VERY simple game if your the type of person who does not need to be told what to do to progress.

BAD NEWS

If you need someone to tell you what to do all the time to level up.... your out of luck, unless you choose a mission. Oh and there are no 'levels' either. No, Mostly Harmless to Elite are not levels, they make no difference to how good you are.

If you go multi player online and not Solo, remember there are players who have been using the exact same controls to fly a ship in the same way as Elite Dangerous for 30 years. Plenty of people out there can fly full speed at a space station, curve around and fly safely through the space station entrance, still at full speed and be docked 10 seconds later.... whilst holding a beer... Yes docking is a lot easier in this game than in Elite 1. Probably best to avoid getting in a dog fight with them straight away...

VERY BAD NEWS

The developers have stated that there will be no 3 breasted women aliens in this game....
 

Lanatir

Lanatir
Gelbrock said:
No tutorial is going to help you play this game better.

Practice is your only option.

For those that need a tutorial, here it is.

TUTORIAL

TRADING

Buy low, sell high (it even gives you average price so you know if your buying low....) But what keys do I press? See CONTROLS below

DOCKING

Aim for the hole in the space station..... HINT, don't hit anything bigger than you. But what keys do I press? See CONTROLS.

COMBAT

Maybe best to avoid this if you cant even dock yet. Keep practicing docking. Once you can dock well. In combat, turn to face your foe and press fire button till you see a big firework followed by their bloated dead body bounce off your windshield.... But what keys do I press? See CONTROLS

CONTROLS

Click on options. Click on Controls. You can choose whatever keys or method you like. Once you have set keys (yes it takes a long time) you will then know what to press to Hyperspace or do anything else.... because you would have already set a key for it)

GOOD NEWS

Its a VERY simple game if your the type of person who does not need to be told what to do to progress.

BAD NEWS

If you need someone to tell you what to do all the time to level up.... your out of luck, unless you choose a mission. Oh and there are no 'levels' either. No, Mostly Harmless to Elite are not levels, they make no difference to how good you are.

If you go multi player online and not Solo, remember there are players who have been using the exact same controls to fly a ship in the same way as Elite Dangerous for 30 years. Plenty of people out there can fly full speed at a space station, curve around and fly safely through the space station entrance, still at full speed and be docked 10 seconds later.... whilst holding a beer... Yes docking is a lot easier in this game than in Elite 1. Probably best to avoid getting in a dog fight with them straight away...

VERY BAD NEWS

The developers have stated that there will be no 3 breasted women aliens in this game....
Click to expand...

Not really helpful at all.
 

Veljex

Veljex
Wow wow.. We're a friendly community here. Be happy!

I agree with this idea and like I say.. You can't be taught experience.. But I myself had to look into a lot of things before I was able to start enjoying the game. For example I had no idea how to get to the 'Contacts' tab when requesting to dock (which you also forgot in your guide). It shouldn't be mandatory but it would be a nice option to get you to a level where you have a fighting chance in a dangerous galaxy.
 
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