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My (Long)Open Letter to Muse

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HamsterIV:
The "How I got started" thing is similar to my own experience. In order to raise the next generation of pilots there needs to be a large enough population of noobs for the moderately good to train on in order to become excellent. I was lucky in that my learning days were back when the game had a much larger low skilled population.

I have stated in the past that Guns of Icarus can never have as large a following as other mainstream games:
https://gunsoficarus.com/community/forum/index.php/topic,4367.msg73497.html#msg73497
So even with the changes you propose the I doubt the game will ever achieve large sustainable numbers.

The occasional big sale weekends Muse has been holding seems to be doing their job. Periodic large influxes of players will allow a new players to have the same learning experiences we had for a few weeks before the game reverts back to a dozen lobbies populated by vets.

I am hoping Alliance will offer a smoother transition in to learning the GOI game mechanics so new players can pick up the basics before it is time to swim with the sharks. However with the new Alliance only mechanics I worry Alliance trained players are going to be too dependent on special class abilities and Alliance only ships to be useful in PvP.

Spud Nick:

--- Quote from: Narayan on January 27, 2017, 12:14:31 pm ---Scrims and scs aren't going to help new pilots learn to fly, they aren't going to save the game from its declining pop, and they aren't an option for me all the time. I think you guys are missing the broader picture, this is about saving the game for everyone, not just getting a few good hours of gameplay a week for the high level few who are in clans and well connected.

--- End quote ---

Calling players trolls and kicking them off your ship because they didn't accept your loadout won't help the game. Complaining about unbalanced matches and blaming it on your noob ally won't help either. To be honest I don't think you really care about saving the game or helping new players. It sounds to me like you just want to play the game with experienced players because it is more fun for you.

Narayan:
It sounds like you didn't read the full post. What I've said all along is the key to fixing the majority of the problems is more people.

I would say that kicking an engineer who won't take a loadout from my ship who has buff extinguisher mallet and a Phoenix claw would help at the very least my game yes. It would also hopefully make their person who got kicked realize that they will need to adjust fire and become a team player. None of these reforms are meant to be tyrannical and they were recommended specifically to have checks. If a vote kick was successful it would be so not only because I wanted it but because a majority felt it would impact their game.

Giving a new player a responsible loadout to choose will help them to have more fun, most harpoon spire crews usually don't last more than 2 games. It will also help you the vet because they might be able to apply some pressure instead of just being ignored while you are 2v1'd.

The point that's been made on the forums, and that I wholeheartedly agree with is that vets are willing to play with new players who want to play as part of a team, want to learn, and do communicate. When we run into problems is when players are unwilling to do anything but gun, unwilling to take a loadout if theirs is completely nonsensical, or insist on piloting in a lobby that is to far above their level with inappropriate ship loadouts. These are issues caused in part by low population, and in part because there will always be trolls. Again what I've said is population is the answer, and the tools I've proposed are meant to ensure quality of gameplay for all players, except trolls.
 
Do you often play pub matches spud nick? Do you often have brand new players on your crew who won't take loadout, or do you prefer to play with friends? Has anyone ever joined your ship mid match that you did not invite or know?

Unarmed Civilian:
I'm the only one who has addressed the second post's proposals here and that makes me sad.

NyarIathotep:
Talking about helping new people to fly:

Hi! I am inactive since about a year. I am a vet player and even played a bit competitive stuff, but I'm not involved in the community so much since I am a shoddy socializer, mostly quiet in voice chat unless I know the people really well and nobody can pronounce or remember my name  :D

Aaanyhow, I DID play some times during this year. If there was a sale I went active for a day or three to train novices and help them get into the game. I have trainer status , so I can join novice matches. Basically a bit like CA, but without fancy name color, title, special badges, regulative powers, dev contact or people noticing that you even exist  :D Which suits my needs, I am that worker bee type. Novices who have a great time and come back are all the reward I need.
Like many people here I think a larger player base is the only way to keep the game alive. Or revive it. I loved playing the game and I really want to see it flourish and hope that this also makes it interesting for me again.

I rarely saw CAs there in the novice matches, they were always more busy playing with their friends. In fact, I saw some of them AVOIDING flying with new players. One ex-CA even insulted them for being "worthless" and deserving to be stomped. They did nothing aside of being too slow learners for his taste.  I too have the impression some of them see CA as a club rather than something else. The only CA I encountered more than once in novice matches was Steffen. There was one other I saw once, but I don't remember the name. (Of course there are also other friendly CAs who actively support novices in regular lobbies, but I rarely saw that too.)

Novices quickly get frustrated after firing at each other for an hour without even so much as scratching each others perma health. Or after being stomped without even understanding why. The new tutorial is better, but still it is difficult to get into the game. That would be no problem if many people would be derping around too. But as it is, it is very difficult to join the active group of players, since it mainly consists of vets or experienced players on regular days, who are not very patient with new people.
The elitist attitude some people have does not help. Elitist behavior might be OK and even motivate people if a small group of pros does it. But if nearly everybody but you is a pro and looks down on you, it just sucks. Some of the novices ARE extremely terrible people, but not many. Mostly I enjoy novice matches immensely and it is the only thing that comes close to the "old feel".

Oh, and I have to say I am deeply unhappy with the new design and the Alliance stuff I have seen so far. It did not help to rekindle my interest in the game. I preordered it from humble bundle ages ago, full of hopes. The graphics I have seen so far are more anime than steampunk and seem lower quality at least to my untrained eye.


My take on what to do:

- I would like some new content, true. But that content should not be new ugly artwork or the de-steampunked new UI. (Sorry, to whoever made it. I am sure you worked hard on it. But it does not reach the quality of the old artwork. It looks blurry / confusing and the style is entirely different).

- I would want some active support of novice players. This is basically why I stepped forward after all the silent novice teaching. I think that is the only way to revive the game. And that mainly requires us veteran people (who else is left?) to be extremely patient, welcoming and proactively supportive towards new players. It is a group effort, folks. And maybe, if you see or know some people who think being salty is cool, do not reinforce their misconception  :) Balance matches! Always! Even if that means one ship of your friends has to play as your opponent.

- Reward community building work even more. Like I said, I am a worker bee, I do not need rewards, I have my own motivation. Non-weird people do need them, though. Once a friend pointed out my work to a dev and said I should get a fun title for all my work (some people afaik did get titles for joke reasons etc.). The reaction was... disinterested, to say the least. Like I said, I do not mind. But it might discourage others if they work more on the community growing front line than most CAs and their work would get dismissed like that. It is no easy work indeed.

- Delay the whole game of thrones "climb the social ladder in guns of icarus" stuff until there are enough people again to HAVE an actual ladder worth climbing. No elitism until there are enough peons again   ;)

- Do not use popular hyperactive let's-play youtubers as advertisement again. They give people wrong impressions about the game and the wrong people bought it with the wrong expectations. Those people do not stay. That helps nobody in the long run.


That's all. I hope to see you all in the skies again one day!
Nyar

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