New Player Experience: Other Players

[ForgemasterHD]

Hello, all. I recently created an account for testing out NPE, or New Player Experience.

 

Now, this issue has been around since my main account (that is, this one) was an unranked Excalibur, and I havent seen this appear a lot, so this might just be my feelings alone. Without further ado:

 

Please note: Matchmaking will not occur until at least the Comms Module is installed, that seems to be the time one can start actively matchmaking.

 

New Player Experience has an issue with its matchmaking. The issue is that New players ca be thrown into a game with people who have all max-rank gear, sentinals, Syandanas, etc. You know, the whole enchilada. Now, this is a great thing for showing off what the New player could be, but the problem arises of the new player being left behind while the other players rush (has happened 9/10 times) to either the objective or a boss. Now, this is where the issues come in:

 

1. The New player is pushed aside while the other players go and 1 hit kill everything. (This denies the new player the freedom to experiment with combat, using parkour and different tactics.)

 

2. The New Player is not free to explore or get a feeling for the tileset, as the other players are running ahead and will probably be waiting at extraction taunting the new player, or staying completely silent. (This makes the player feel rushed, which s/he is.)

 

3. New players cannot open crates for valuable Experience/Affinity. (This prevents them from reaching a rank where they will be able to experience what Warframe has to offer faster, in turn making it seem like that cool stuff is even further away than presented.)

 

4. The new player learns that the etiquette for this game is silence and rushing, which may be detrimental to other new players in the future.

 

5. (Warning: Possible but not guaranteed.) Because the new player is not aware of grind, nor is s/he aware of what it is like to be grinding for hours, this might communicate to them that the environments and map have nothing special put in to them that is worth looking at, which is absolutely incorrect.

 

My solution is simple. Match-make lower-leveled players together instead of high and low level players. I'm not even saying Mastery Rank or even Warframe level. I'm thinking more in the vein of time played, where players who haven't played for more than say..2 hours, are put together in a game. This allows the players to leisurely play the game without worry of every kill being taken by high-leveled rushers, and gives the players the chance to take in the environment they are moving through.This game has some really awesome environmental art, and I'd hate to not be able to experience it because I'm getting pushed through a mission. Hopefully, this will allow players a chance to communicate with people, and hopefully meet some new friends who have most likely not experienced the game yet.  his will allow players to go into this game with people similar to them, that way almost every experience they have is a bit magical.

 

After, around 2-hours, then I think the new players will know enough about the game, and have experienced enough, to where when the start meeting the rest of the community they won't be immediately turned away by what they see.

 

Alas, no solution is perfect, so I leave the discussion to my fellow tenno now.

 

Thank you for your time.

Edited July 22, 2014 by ForgemasterHD

[Senketsu_]

You do know the the silent rushers, and trash talkers are only about 2/5ths of the vet population, the other is players that run these low level mission and help the new player, and the other are vets that dont even run low level mission and arent relevant to this at all.

[Zarbain]

They did say something about removing matchmaking entirely from the tutorial quests. 

[ForgemasterHD]

You do know the the silent rushers, and trash talkers are only about 2/5ths of the vet population, the other is players that run these low level mission and help the new player, and the other are vets that dont even run low level mission and arent relevant to this at all.

 

Yes, but on my main account as well as this one, the majority of players I've met through matchmaking on lower levels as a new player have been the silent rushing community. Even now, this is still around 60% of the public matchmaking experience I have.

 

They did say something about removing matchmaking entirely from the tutorial quests. 

 

This is more for right after the tutorial quests, where the player is free to spread their wings a bit, I believe it's right after the Comms module is introduced. I met a group of 2 silent rushing players who rushed Vor and killed him before I had a chance to even see the guy.

[Syzodia]

I believe that the entirety of Vor's Prize (prologue quest line) should be solo-only, because only after that are you "truly free", and to me it makes more sense for it to be solo only.

 

Plus it's actually fun (but a tad hard) to do it solo.

[Doom_Bunny]

Match making for low-level players was mentioned in a dev stream ages ago it's yet to happen. Though the number new players matching with vets should be going down as new players can no longer unlock maps from the "taxi". Counter to that everything kubrow is on earth so there are going to be many vets (no pun intended) around earth for a while.

 

They did say something about removing matchmaking entirely from the tutorial quests. 

It should be matching a tutorial player with some one not in the tutorial causes many problems. Keeping the match making in tutorial to tutorial players only should help this or they can run the whole thing solo.

[ForgemasterHD]

vets (no pun intended) 

Hue.

 

I'm updating the OP to clarify that tutorial missions currently do not allow coop until the comms module is activated. That seemed to be when I started finding players in matchmaking. I hope this clears up confusion.

Edited July 22, 2014 by ForgemasterHD

[Loswaith]

Match making is likely the biggest new player tool DE can work on (especially needed for the lower level planets).  The downside is it may result in many new players not able to group up much at all as well.  Its rather hard thing to balance. 

 

The coms module is kind of something I think they give out too eairly.  Giving players the market to buy things with mostly real money (as the market highlights the platinum purchases) before the foundry or mod system, leads to the implication that the game is much more about pay to play/win, which in all honesty I think actually give's Warframe the wrong light on how the pay model actually works.

 

For new players they really arent going to need or want to buy anything until all the the tutorial is completed, and potentially not for a while after that either.

 

Calling it a coms module implies its about communication as well, which it actually has nothing to do with as chat and the mail service arent connected to it at all.

 

Realistically to make the most sence the market shouldnt come up until ...

after you have rescued Darvo and used the foundry to promote that the main way for gaining gear is from crafting it.

Edited July 22, 2014 by Loswaith

[ForgemasterHD]

Match making is likely the biggest new player tool DE can work on (especially needed for the lower level planets).  The downside is it may result in many new players not able to group up much at all as well.  Its rather hard thing to balance. 

 

Of course, but I feel (if properly done) it could go a long way to help the player base rather than hinder it.