[Suggestion] New Player Forum tutorial.

Many new players who come to EMC Simply join on the website, and after several months finally learn how to use the Forums! It can be a pain to constantly get ear bashed on how to get back from wild (Live map), or other picky questions. The forums is meant to HELP the new player and every EMC player in the data-base, it is an amazing system!

I feel that when the player joins, they have to join through this website, they should then have to go through a little tutorial and run-down on the forums, and at the end, to complete the the signup, it will take them to the "Introduce Yourself" thread, where they must complete there first post, it will also let everyone know that they are new

Any suggestions below!

Hope it gets implemented as it would help everyone

Great idea. This is something I'd love to see. It might not be very easy to do, but it is possible.

The problem with making so many compulsory tutorials when joining is that the more there is, the less likely people are to join at all, and they're more likely to drop off the process and find another server.

Something else that could be done is making it optional once a player has joined, or just a Wiki page that is linked to in-game and in several other processes as a player is trying to join.

It's also not necessarily that a player doesn't know how to use the forums - it's actually pretty basic - but instead the fact that they want to figure out how things work in-game, get hooked on that aspect before being active on the site, sometimes not even intentionally.

Ya i was hooked on the server itself in game first before starting to use the forums. Took me about a month and a half to start using the forums cause i wanted to know the in-game mechanics first. But then again i did come on the website to look at the guide constantly But ya that is what happened to me.

All very true Alex, when I first joined EMC, it was daunting the amount of customization I had to learn. Not the least of which was that there was 10 servers, each with 6 worlds... Town, wild, waste, and two sets of nether/overworld, and exactly what I was able/allowed to do in what worlds, and in what areas of those worlds.... (The forum explanations were very lacking in info, and still are IMO). About 1 hour after joining EMC SMP5, I was on the forums scouring around different threads for all the info I needed (which took me a good 2 hours). Then spent another hour or two jumping between the worlds seeing how things looked and worked. And I never even went to another server until many weeks later when I learned I could even do that! (Nothing anywhere mentioned moving between servers).

Anyway, this is becoming a long blurb, sorry, bare with me.

I wanted to join the game and see things for myself before I wasted too much time reading boring forums. So it should never be compulsory to waste time doing anything you don't want to do. But a link to the information/services that anyone can get anytime they need it would be hugely useful. Such as in /help. Or even as a 'TIP' that pops up in newbies screens

This has got me thinking:

1. We really need to update the in-game command /help - to include full lists of command, especially town commands, and tp commands (/waste, /wild, etc).
2. Include a /help command with links to the forum, livemap, rules, and anything else super important (news?). If the /help command could be made 'intelligent', it could link directly to the livemap for the server the player is currently on.
EG. /help links, /help forum, /help livemap(map), /help wiki - All give a brief description of what it is, and the URL to the page/site, that a player can click and load up.

Also, what about a new /chat channel (tips):
- This channel is by default ON for everyone joining the game
- This channel is solely for displaying random tips generated by the server to your chat window.
- You cannot talk on this channel.
- The new player tutorial and wiki/etc tells players how to turn this off if they do not wish to get the chat messages.
- The automatic messages generated will be common tips that people ask a lot, or will help new players.
EG. "More than 250 blocks outside Wild outposts is never reset, Build in the wild if want."
"The Wastelands are for mining resources, and is reset from time to time, no warning. Do not build here."
"Type /help livemap - to see maps of most of the worlds."
"To find an available residence to claim, tyep /res open - To claim an open residence, type: /res claim"
"There is no PVP anywhere in EMC (Empire MineCraft), and griefing/stealing is bannable in all worlds."

Also, all the information anyone needs for playing EMC is covered somewhere, but the info is spread around. A wiki page is a good idea, or it can be done as a forum thread if wiki staff do not wish to update it. It can be actively updated with links to important threads (like Technical facts of EMC thread), and forums services (like livemap) and player made apps (like EMC shopkeeper, EMC Investigator) and other useful tools. And a very short concise step-by-step tut on how to use these services.
I have maintained a forum thread like this before on other servers, I like to have all info close at hand. I could do this here also, unless staff want to do it as a wiki page or something?

End of rant. Sorry, just had to say it.

Cheers

EDIT: If my suggestions here don't get totally shot down, I'll post the idea in the Suggestions thread.

I'm little working on this right now, all the basic information a new player will need will be in the Getting Started/first Empire Guide page in an easy to read format.

Covers the lack of an updated /help info platform

I'm not sure if you were aware, but we have tips. You can toggle them with /chat tips off/on. This covers making tips smarter and more accessible for those who will need them the most

We have a Wiki Page list, which covers pretty much everything with specific pages, however we need this list to be obvious on the Wiki page (with something like a drop-down menu for specific categories) as the Wiki Navigation is lacking for most sub-pages. Also the Official Empire Guides forum is in the process of being moved to the Wiki. I'm working on a mock-up for a new, easier Wiki Navigation.

Overall, most things are being worked on or are known issues.

Some links for you
http://track.empire.us/issue/EMC-409
http://track.empire.us/issue/EMC-408
http://track.empire.us/issue/EMC-407

As for help on the wiki, well, keep an eye out for that

*EDIT*
All ninja'd lol

Let me go grab my reading glasses hahah, very valid suggestions and ideas by all!

As stated from NZ and alex is doesn't need to be a compulsory thing, it could be at the end a little sidenote saying it is highly suggested! Although I feel everyone should post they are new to the empire on the introduce yourself forums Only cause it's cool to see new people join

lol... I'm pretty good at knowing/learning most things, or remembering informational things... how did I forget there is a /chat tips on/off? I guess i must have turned it of early on. i'll turn it back on to see what it says.

Regarding links to useful things. I think I will begin work on a forum thread with the stuff I find useful/helpful, and see what else people have to add. It will be helpful for me at least. And explain better how I feel the wiki, forums, and in-game help could be improved.

This will take me a while, so may not see it complete for a few weeks. lol

Apparently I already have tips on.. and the only tip i've been getting is to vote for up to 1100 rupees a day.

I take it then the tips chat doesn't have any other tips just yet?

It used to, but I've had it off for ages so I'm not sure

When I started playing here I had to register through the website. I started regularly using the Guide to learn the different commands, voting, and using Live Map to help navigate.

The mandatory signup was removed because it was thought that it was discouraging people from playing here, but we still have three very good reasons to visit the Forums. I think that once someone is drawn to the Forums through one of these, those who are inclined are going to explore anyway.

I had actually come on the forums very little when I first joined. It was because I didn't know everything ingame yet, but when I came back from my first leave it was easier for me, as I wasn't "new" just old but still learning. I found that the forums were pretty cool when I came backed and wrote English ( really I just learned to type) and have been here every since. as for the thread, nah we don't need it, maybe just when they first log in they get the voting sites and such

All dem rupees

A compulsory introduction thread would really not be a good thing. People who really don't want to do it will thing to get back at it later, and leave the forums for the time being, and other people will just make a crappy, short post, just to gain access to everything. Way too many introduction threads will be created and it would be spammy. I think I like the introductions as it is now. A full list of BB codes already exists, I do really like that. And in fact I think the other forum features are pretty straight-forward

This is a good idea, nuff said.

Who's Nuff?

Mr. Enough, from down the road.

Oh, haha. I have never understood that Thanks for explaining that to me