3. Newbie Guide update
There are many things flawed with the newbie guide. It’s largely based in mechanics, giving the new player little to stand on when they eventually spawn in. There are a few practical improvements that could be made to the existing guide to give new players a general framework to reduce frustration. But first, let me put this into a perspective within the eyes of a newbie, we were all there once and reflecting on the current experience can serve as a benchmark to work over.
Let’s say there is this newbie, I’d call them Sam. Sam has found their way to byond through space station 13 and decided to explore more of the platform. They found Chronicles of Esshar and are fascinated with the idea of a present world, a freeform magic system, and a bunch of other things. They join the discord, check the current guide for advice, and boot up the game. They jump into character creation, make a human called Bob, and choose Osrona as their spawn location.
The first thing Sam sees after character creation is a text crawl of lore that was relevant 65 years ago, not giving them any context for the current state of the world. They then spawns into Osrona in brown garb. They move around and post a red text about adjusting their hair as the limited tutorial tells him to do before setting him loose into the world, surrounded by others who already found their footing. He tries to interact with a few others but they either ignore him or intimate him. They may get someone's attention but due to their character being as compelling as a wet fart he doesn't get very far.
At this point the path of Sam diverges based on his choices.
1. Update the opening text
It’s 65 years out of date and doesn't give players context to the current state of the world. Of course, I don’t suggest unloading everything on them, but just a quick TL;DR of current big events anyone IC would have heard about. This could be on both the guide and in-game but it should be somewhere.
2. Make light of more useful commands
I can count on my hand how many times someone got confused when someone asked to follow them, or when they missed a redtext and didn't know how to pull it up. I’m not saying we overload new players with a textbook of commands but some of the more useful ones should be brought to their attention like follow.
3. Emphasise the importance of character building
To progress in Eternia is to roleplay, this is made clear to everyone, but the how for the new player seems a little lost. To succeed you need a character with personality, flaws, and an illusion of being real, to keep people interested in them so they can continue to roleplay and gain more RPP.
I understand this is more of a broader thing than sharing commands but I think some ideas such as those seen in Tee’s Humble Gude for Better RP should be known by new players to give them a chance. Stuff like having a good hook for a character, constantly expanding your rp circle, joining a faction, and not to lose heart when their efforts are for not could give the new player something to stand on. If they have a hook and know how to use it they can use it as a baseline to build their character, make connections, and eventually lose their newbie status.
There are many things flawed with the newbie guide. It’s largely based in mechanics, giving the new player little to stand on when they eventually spawn in. There are a few practical improvements that could be made to the existing guide to give new players a general framework to reduce frustration. But first, let me put this into a perspective within the eyes of a newbie, we were all there once and reflecting on the current experience can serve as a benchmark to work over.
Let’s say there is this newbie, I’d call them Sam. Sam has found their way to byond through space station 13 and decided to explore more of the platform. They found Chronicles of Esshar and are fascinated with the idea of a present world, a freeform magic system, and a bunch of other things. They join the discord, check the current guide for advice, and boot up the game. They jump into character creation, make a human called Bob, and choose Osrona as their spawn location.
The first thing Sam sees after character creation is a text crawl of lore that was relevant 65 years ago, not giving them any context for the current state of the world. They then spawns into Osrona in brown garb. They move around and post a red text about adjusting their hair as the limited tutorial tells him to do before setting him loose into the world, surrounded by others who already found their footing. He tries to interact with a few others but they either ignore him or intimate him. They may get someone's attention but due to their character being as compelling as a wet fart he doesn't get very far.
At this point the path of Sam diverges based on his choices.
- Sam could continue going at it with no changes, eventually growing frustrated and quitting the game.
- Sam could wander off into the wilderness, either ending up in another settlement, slurped by vampires, or walloped by mutants. They may see this as unfair and report it to admins, they may not.
- Sam could find the academy and try to build up their character there.
- Sam could look more in the discord and find the forums, finding guides, and taking advice to build to improve their roleplay.
- Sam could already have a background in writing and roleplay, figuring out how the world works, and eventually joining the wider community.
1. Update the opening text
It’s 65 years out of date and doesn't give players context to the current state of the world. Of course, I don’t suggest unloading everything on them, but just a quick TL;DR of current big events anyone IC would have heard about. This could be on both the guide and in-game but it should be somewhere.
2. Make light of more useful commands
I can count on my hand how many times someone got confused when someone asked to follow them, or when they missed a redtext and didn't know how to pull it up. I’m not saying we overload new players with a textbook of commands but some of the more useful ones should be brought to their attention like follow.
3. Emphasise the importance of character building
To progress in Eternia is to roleplay, this is made clear to everyone, but the how for the new player seems a little lost. To succeed you need a character with personality, flaws, and an illusion of being real, to keep people interested in them so they can continue to roleplay and gain more RPP.
I understand this is more of a broader thing than sharing commands but I think some ideas such as those seen in Tee’s Humble Gude for Better RP should be known by new players to give them a chance. Stuff like having a good hook for a character, constantly expanding your rp circle, joining a faction, and not to lose heart when their efforts are for not could give the new player something to stand on. If they have a hook and know how to use it they can use it as a baseline to build their character, make connections, and eventually lose their newbie status.
![[Image: download.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/689106524056191042/855990154501685278/download.png)