Luckless newbies

[farbekrieg]

Just thought Id comment that Zenobi passed by the mud last nite, a newbie, with no one around to newbie him he wandered in the zoo for quite some time without being able to kill anything.

My guess this is not a unique case, while I wouldnt say jedimud is difficult by any stretch, for a newbie to start and move through the newbie zones naked and as a novice to mudding is damn near impossible.

Yes you can create a casting class get a damage spell and SLOWLY move through the newbie areas, but even the newbie kit is generally worthless and in my opinion needs revision.

How about the newbie kit all be max level 10

newbie weapons be 2d3/4 +1 hitr
newbie jacket be +1 con decent ac
newbie shield be +1 str or something

not sayin that is the answer because losing everything you have at level 10 isnt a fun thing, but having a baby spider chew you up and spit you out and not having them make it past level 1 isnt better.

[Wamphryi]

I would like to see an auto newbie but this provides a concern about recreating just for cash. Yeah it would take alot to abuse to build a signifcant amount of cash but you know someone would do it. Maybe if auto newbie then lower the amount of cash in the newbie kit but increase the amount of cash in the newbie zone a little.

[Pink]

What about lowering the rent on the basic newbie kit and the stuff in the newbie areas with max level so that even with the tiniest bit of gold in the area they still will be able to rent... and with that a machine that might be able to redistribute the tiny newbie kit (without gold)?

Also, ran a few newbies the other day with just the newbie kit and it was way harder than I remember it being, so I'm all for improving the newbie eq.

[Wildly]

Why not have something like a newbie token. When you enter the game automatically get a map and token. The map can be of your hometown and/or the newbie areas. Place a "newbie" store in the newbie areas, showing how to get there on the map. Then when you give the shopkeeper the token you get the newbie kit. Thus not making it necessary for a higher up to give newbie gear out.
And I agree that money should be increased in newbie areas or rent lowered on newbie gear. I also like the idea of increasing the stats of the newbie gear.

[Arizhel]

Heh, ya know, these aren't bad ideas.

I've thought for a long time that our newbie kit needed work. It's even pretty bad if you're an experienced player. I can't imagine what it's like for a real honest to goodness newbie.

[farbekrieg]

I know Ive idead a few items for Zoo (my newbie land of choice)

Alligator Skin boots 5 hp ac 6
Polar Bear Cloak 4 Ac
Dog Collar 1 hitr 2 ac
Gorilla Hide Pants 1 dex ac 5

etc

[Tam]

Well, since I whine a lot about our poor newbie friends, I'll toss another idea into the mix.

What about having some basic eq available in the newbie room. The eq can be 0 value (so it cant be sold over and over by some bot), 0 rent (so a newbie would only have to forage 100 coins to rent for a day) but can be available every time a newbie enters the game.

Now, having the eq load would present 2 problems. 1) If you have a very limited load (to avoid spamming), a newbie might get killed in the hometown, leave the gear on the ground, and block the load. 2) If you have a nearly limitless load, this spams a pile of gear in the newbie room.

So, maybe we could have a newbie package vending machine. (Note: this idea avoids the "autonewbie" gear spamage for people recreating for stats) If the machine stands in each newbie room, you could pull the lever to get your newbie gear. Granted, we probably don't want to give out cash in this way, but gear would be helpful to someone who logs in when nobody is available to newbie them.

Just a thought:)
-Tam

[DanLeopold]

Tam said:

So, maybe we could have a newbie package vending machine. (Note: this idea avoids the "autonewbie" gear spamage for people recreating for stats) If the machine stands in each newbie room, you could pull the lever to get your newbie gear. Granted, we probably don't want to give out cash in this way, but gear would be helpful to someone who logs in when nobody is available to newbie them.

Just a thought:)
-Tam

hmmmm... i could see myself running a bot that would get equipment and junk it for days on end to raise cash ...

[Pink]

I said that about the newbie eq dispensing machine! Just not as completely and go ahead, sit there and junk.. doubt you'd find the character when you came back tho.

[farbekrieg]

There already exist several infinite loading objects you can junk all day, adding another one shouldnt be that big a problem.

[Arizhel]

Simple solution, make it worth 0. Then you get like 1 coin for junking it, if I'm not mistaken.

And yes, someone has already been frozen for writing a script to make money this way. I can totally see myself freezing and slapping a newbie ban on anyone that abused the newbie gear this way.


Not giving out the 15k would not be a big deal if you didn't have to pay rent on the newbie gear. I think the coin in the newbie zones could use a slight boost, as well.

Making the newbie gear maxlevel 8 is also somewhat problematic. Since you level out of the newbie zone at 8, all of a sudden, you have 1) no equipment, and 2) no place to really kill things that are your size, especially now that you have no equipment. I personally would like to give a few extra levels, say to 12, to give people time to find some other gear. But that's just me.

[Dank]

of course, it's unrealistic to be prepared for newbies 24/7... unless you establish a schedule for imms, which is a bit over-the-top.

enter the seasoned adventurer...

true newbies will always require the patience and tutelage of an experienced player. it may be enough to familiarize yourself with the game through a little solo work in the newbie zones, but in my experience, there is no replacement for a few hours with a newbie helper.

so if you see a newbie of your class wandering around at a reasonable time of day, with a name you don't recognize, send a quick tell, as they can't gos until lev 3, and ask them if they need an assist. most of them will have played on other muds, and will be interested in locating better eq and zones that are <10 lev friendly.

a little newbie help now will lay the groundwork for a devoted player in the future.

[Ciara]

Dank said:

of course, it's unrealistic to be prepared for newbies 24/7... unless you establish a schedule for imms, which is a bit over-the-top.

enter the seasoned adventurer...

true newbies will always require the patience and tutelage of an experienced player. it may be enough to familiarize yourself with the game through a little solo work in the newbie zones, but in my experience, there is no replacement for a few hours with a newbie helper.

so if you see a newbie of your class wandering around at a reasonable time of day, with a name you don't recognize, send a quick tell, as they can't gos until lev 3, and ask them if they need an assist. alot of them will have played on other muds, and will be interested in locating better eq and zones that are <10 lev friendly. you'll be surprised sometimes about how little direct intervention they'll require.

a little newbie help now might lay the groundwork for a devoted player in the future.

And Dank has it right on. This really is the crux of what needs to happen. I can make all the changes in the world to make the newbie zones easier, but if the general populace of Jedi isn't "newbie friendly" then what I do won't keep them. It's something we *all* have to work on.

I've read the suggestions posted here and I agree with some of them, others I don't and I will be implementing them over time (some of them require code assistance from Unicorn.) But what each and every player of Jedi can do is proactively help newbies and get rid of the mentality that new people are, to use a phrase I really hate, "taters."

[Silverking]

Since when were newbies called "taters"?

[siolfir]

I've read the suggestions posted here and I agree with some of them, others I don't and I will be implementing them over time (some of them require code assistance from Unicorn.) But what each and every player of Jedi can do is proactively help newbies and get rid of the mentality that new people are, to use a phrase I really hate, "taters."

Since when were newbies called "taters"?

I forget who coined the term, or where it came from. But most newbies aren't referred to as taters until they've found a way to show themselves to be a) clueless; b) annoying; c) unwilling to listen; or d) all of the above. How does this make them different from long-time players? Good question. ;D But, quite often, newbies are helped until they are identified as taters, whereupon they're hit over the head with a shovel and buried in the hopes that they stop asking you for directions to the receptionist for that 20th time today.

Me, I'm just a spud, and hopefully I'll grow up into a tater soon so I can move on to the french-fry stage.

[Arizhel]

I believe the quote was "He's got the IQ of a tater tot."

And I think it was Amadea that originally said it, though don't quote me.

[Ciara]

siolfir said:

Me, I'm just a spud, and hopefully I'll grow up into a tater soon so I can move on to the french-fry stage.

The real question is: Are you a regular fry or a curly fry? Seasoned? with Cheese ( or Cheez if you're from Philly) or gravy?

[Arizhel]

What's taters, precious?

[Antessima]

I think some of the frustration with infusing a clue into the heads of some newbies would be a device already in use in the game: talking mobs. It might prove to take some of the strain off of the anti-social populace if there were teachers located in various parts of the newbie zones (like the three mostly-inept guildmasters already in existence) that would start giving clues or lessons on various aspects of the mud. I wouldn't doubt, either, that if you asked the general populace about what the teachers should say, that you would quickly receive responses from many players who want to appear knowledgeable and skilled

Just an idea...or an attempt to appear knowledgeable and skilled...

[Dank]

well, in my humble opinion, it may be time to implement a newbie channel that could be monitored by newbie helpers and other newbies at Jedi.

i've seen this on other muds (gasp!) and it works pretty well. i realize that the gos ban until 3 was implemented to stifle asswipes as they recreate, but the benefits of opening a newbie channel far outweigh the potential for abuse by a few miscreants.

when you're monitoring the newbie channel, a <NH> automatically appears on your title, thus alleviating the need for newbie helper title monitoring after level gains.

<100/100 100/100 100/100>nonewbie
You are now monitoring the newbie channel. We appreciate your help!

<100/100 100/100 100/100>nonewbie
You are no longer monitoring the newbie channel. Thanks again!

[Drowloft]

on the whole newbie, i like the idea with the machine to give out eq, and uping the gold in the newbie zone (gotta buy an analysis somehow right). i also have acouple things to add in, make the eq so it get purged when you drop it, that way the mud dosn't get spammed with newbie eq. to go along wih the map of their hometown we should give them directions to some simple newbie zones, the phernologist, recep, bank, food, water things like that just to help out. i've tried other muds before and they had some of these things and it helped me alot since nobody wanted to help me personally. as ppl have said before this would help with the anti-social jedimud ppl:)
thanks
Tony A.K.A. Drowloft

[Arizhel]

Actually, 'melt-drop' equipment isn't a bad idea. I've seen it on quite a few other muds, and it seems to avoid a lot of spam.

Then again, I can't think of any other MUD where the citizens of Midgaard routinely carry around 250 firebreathers.

[Ciara]

We all know the citizens of Midgaard are lushes... No point in hiding the fact...

[Arizhel]

I've figured it out!

The mobile known as 'The drunk' is merely a later interation of the mobile known as 'a citizen of Midgaard'. The citizen merely has to consume 4.35 x 10^25 firebreathers, before the code magically metamorphoses him into a Drunk.

It's all shades of difference, you see..... ;D

[Drowloft]

hey i was just sitting and had a thought, maybe ppl could post stuff on the boards for newbies to help them out instead of making a guide. i was thinking it might be easier to make it so the mud gives newbies a link to the board sites or maybe just toss in a small helpfile maybe telling them were the site is and ppl could put like basic newbie eq for all the classes and some basic directions on the board for newbies, or even just stick a message board in the newbie room and have them read it.newayz just acouple thoughts i figured i'd toss out there for you admin to play with. just tryin to be helpful:)
Tony