New Player Intro

[Tolomon]

I am a new player to FK. I've logged less than 50 hours (as of this writing) with no character over level 10 (maybe even 7). I'm not new to role playing games (both tabletop and video games). In fact, I beta-tested The Lord of the Rings Online and only role played my characters. After a few years of playing LOTRO, the RP community slowly died out. Mostly to players "taking a break" and never returning. I, too, got burnt out dealing with players who would ask my character, "u can halp me killz 5 more orcs plz" (at least pretend you can spell). *sigh* Anywho, I've read nearly all of R.A. Salvatore's books featuring Drizzt and Cadderly and absolutely loved them! I love the Forgotten Realms world, in fact!

I've played MUDs before, but never a Forgotten Realms-based MUD. I played a Star Trek MUD and a Star Wars MUD, but never really felt like I fit in so I left them both. I think FK will be good fit for me as the community appears to be strong and inviting. In fact, I've listed some issues below and I'm even going to volunteer to help fix them. That's something I could never have done with the other MUDs I've played. The staff weren't willing to accept new help until you'd been around for a few centuries.

Here are some minor issues/things that I'd like to point out:

• Newbie Area - The newbie training area is great. Showing new players what commands do what, how game mechanics work, etc. One of the best I've ever seen. Leaving the Newbie Training area; however wasn't very pleasant. I spoke to the priest and listened to what he had to say and even selected a god to follow. After that, I felt like I had been dumped in the middle of a foreign country with a small amount of money and told, "Make your way in the world." I didn't know where I could get quests, who to talk to, how to properly greet PCs. I was totally lost. I didn't even find the Express Deliveries quests until I started digging through the forums and found many people had referenced them when talking about newbies. I think giving new players some direction early on is good. Having the priest (or some other NPC guide) suggest they visit this place or that place to look for employment (READ: quests). By suggesting it, the new player can decide if they want to wander around for a bit or dive right into some interesting quests the builders have created for us. In fact, I'd like to volunteer to help better the Newbie Experience as well as the next item.
• I found this quote in another thread that I thought covered what I wanted to say:

  Difficulty finding the right way to complete some tasks. I need to use object X to complete task Y. I go to the right place with the right object but can't complete it. Gets a little annoying. Turns out I held object X in right hand instead of left. (OK, not a real example, but hopefully you get the idea.)

  During the Express Deliveries quests, there were OOC comments made that helped you figure out how to get NPCs to react to what you were trying to accomplish, but as quests got harder so too did the NPC interaction (or so it seems to me). I'd like to help make the NPCs a bit more friendly or least a bit more talkative. If you greet some NPCs currently, they typically don't even respond. Vendors on the other hand seem to be a bit better about speaking (probably because they're trying to make a living). I've read in other threads about faith manager problems. This could help with that. Have some NPCs that wander cities near their respective temples that will know what your faith setting is (enquirer, hopeful, etc.) and attempt to speak with you accordingly. If you are an enquirer, let them ask if you want to learn more. If yes, they tell you things about their god (history, nick-names, dogma, etc.). If no, then they wish you a good day and go back to their business. As a hopeful, they'll quiz you on your knowledge of their god and help you find the answers should you not know much about their god. I think this will help ease the waiting game that has been mentioned regarding joining faiths. Let the NPCs do some of the grunt work until a PC can actually come along and RP the situation out. Perhaps an NPC could even refer an enquirer/hopeful to a faith manager that's currently online, but somewhere else in-game. Why can't the NPCs have amulets, too?
• (This one's a good one) You guys rock! This game rocks! I hadn't seen/experienced a community like this for quite some time. I plan on sticking around for a while. The community is open enough that as a newbie I could fit right in without having to be around for centuries. Also the RP experiences I have had so far have been outstanding. Once I managed to figure out how the greet thing is supposed to work, I've been talking with any and every PC I can find! (For those of you who were talking with a funny little Gnome that sort of rambled on about nothing, I'm sorry. )

Okay, I think that's it for a while. Thanks for reading all the way to the bottom.

[Harroghty]

Welcome aboard! I appreciate that you took the time to write comments like this because this kind of feedback is helpful for staff and builders alike.

I'd like to confirm though and make sure that I am getting the right messages. Basically:

• -You like newbie friendly quests with OOC comments.
  -You would like more "color" programs in the game, particularly for faiths. (There are already some programs like this, but just not in every single temple - typically in one per Power.)

Please remember that other players are your best resource in the game if you feel lost or are looking for what to do next. That is, I believe, one of our biggest strengths; that our veteran players are extremely helpful to new players.

[Tolomon]

I'd say you got the gist of what I was trying to say. I wasn't aware that the "color" programs existed for NPCs (mostly because I simply haven't encountered them yet). I think I had just assumed the "color" was there for certain NPCs that actually had a function (quest giver, vendor, NPC-turn-MOB, etc.) To me, having the "color" + excellent RP from players = a living world. Reminds of that movie Pleasantville, the more color they added the more lively the characters became.

And I agree, the player-base is absolutely helpful! I even had a PC escort me from Waterdeep to the School of Wonder and all I did was ask him how to get there.


EDIT: I originally named the wrong film. It's correct now.

[Selveem]

Hello and welcome, Tolomon.

I believe one of the reasons why the NPC interaction grew more difficult as you continued to progress through the Express Deliveries quest is because you'll find there are some quests it is REALLY difficult to figure out what to do/say to them to get them to appropriately respond to you. You'll find words like 'no' are a BIG NEGATIVE influence on your interactions with NPCs. Sometimes, your character can even be inadvertantly denied a quest simply by saying this in front of an NPC who may not have even offered you the quest yet.

This is not to say the quest writers were short-sighted, lazy, or inconsiderate - sometimes it's just difficult to keep the mystery AND make NPCs responsive.

With regards to quest help, you'll find sometimes that hints on what to do or say to your target NPC may be in your quest log. Honestly, even as a veteran I have difficulty remembering what I was supposed to do with NPCs. Logs are (sadly) my best friends in this capacity as there is limited assistance other players are able to give sometimes to preserve said mystery (I believe Help Quest Info [or something like it] speaks on that matter). These things, though, are generally not very applicable to newbie quests as low levels aren't able to go to some of the more difficult puzzles, riddles, and the like. When in doubt, I'd suggest trying ASK; if that fails, perhaps even a friendly email to the builders to inform them that the quest might be a bit confusing for the newer folk.

This turned out to be far more lengthy than I thought, but I hope this information helps you!

[Brar]

Simply Welcome to your doom..err dream of a FR RP game
See you in-game

Brar