The Tutorial – To Add, Please Don't
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There is a great deal of discussion about what is included in the tutorial and items that should be added. The fact is, that we are lucky that there is a tutorial at all. Fractured is designed around the concept of exploration, discovery, and learned knowledge; it is not based on a handout of how-to’s and instruction books.
I personally believe that the very most added to the current tutorial should be limited to a link to the Wiki, with the words “If you have any other questions please consult the Fractured Wiki” or something similar. The further we go with this game the more folks seem to forget how we learned to do things. We explored! We stumbled around in the dark until we bumped into the answer! This is part of the wonder of Fractured. There are resources out there but no one is holding your hand; you are not being spoon fed the answers! Go forth and explore!!!
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I second this.
That being said, upon launch, they could add an instanced tutorial for players to familiarize themselves specifically with controls, since some of them are not intuitive, like seeing the house claim icon show up...it is so easy to miss, and knowing to click on some of the building materials to switch them out for other materials. If you gave people the option to enter a tutorial instance...where nothing you got from that tutorial could translate over to the actual game, some might appreciate it, while others, like you and me, enjoy the whole going around and figuring it out routine.
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Except that the tutorial isn't finished. The presets section needs a few more hints. Like..go to the abilities tab and click on the icons to memorize. All it said was create a preset and memorize these abilites. Didn't say anything about how to do that.
Beyond that, it was fine for what it was. However, NO ONE is going to leave the game to read a wiki that is at best barely even started, let alone actually helpful. They will instead ask the same questions over and over in chat. And because chat scrolled so fast, they'll miss the answer and just ask even more.
Then what happens is the people who are trying to be helpful rightfully get tired of answering those same questions.
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Spoletta, Rainbow and I have made some additions on the wiki, and it is useful for a bunch of things ! There is also tones of info here on the forums and in the creative corner on discord... most just don't take the time to look.
I would also be happy with a minecraft like game setting (no recipe book), where you either discover stuff by chance or look it up on the wiki.
I also recognize that lots of players are not that interested in doing even that much, and for the game to keep a good population the ease of entry is a major factor.
This is why I suggested the 'tutorial island' which you can go to if you want your hand held, or opt out of if you just want to dive in.
So it would be : character creation screen, >> tutorial? y/n >>> tutorial island or "pick your arrival port".
And no starter towns at all, just open wilderness.
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Tbh, I passed the tutorial easily. Don't know why do many people have problem with IT.
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It's not a problem of passing it (... most of the time), it's a problem of what it tells you.
It skips on explaining very important stuff like rest and hunger, or purple health.
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@spoletta said in The Tutorial – To Add, Please Don't:
It's not a problem of passing it (... most of the time), it's a problem of what it tells you.
It skips on explaining very important stuff like rest and hunger, or purple health.
Tutorial tells you to craft bread so it is actually about the hunger
It also ask you to rest at the fireplace so you can see that this recovers yours energy.
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The bread doesn't directly attach to hunger as its never mentioned what the left half of that icon even is. Most games, even MMOs, no longer have a need to eat or drink as that was getting old even when it was required. It's starting to make a comeback again (conan, ark) which im not sure is a good thing.
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I think that OlivePit and GamerSeuss have a great idea, giving folks the ability to opt in or out of a tutorial. As for what the tutorial covers I have a few thoughts on that. Basically it is very good as it is, however, there are a few things that would be helpful to add or adjust.
One, helping the player learn what the hunger and energy bars are as well as what it means to “get purpled” and how to fix it. These are questions that inundate the chat.
Two, much clearer instructions for memorizing spells and such. There are too many people that are left confused and floundering about how to do this.
Three, how to claim property. Perhaps a quest in which there is a single piece of property that the quest directs the player to and they are able to see the house icon. The house icon might register that the property is already owned but at least the player will know what to look for in the future.
Four, small stones, don’t change a thing! Yes chat is overwhelmed with people complaining about not being able to find them, however, this, in my opinion, falls into the category of hand holding. Good grief folks look at the ground for more than half a second! I was walking around in a starter town with folks that were unable to find small stones and found dozens of small stones myself, sheesh!
I may be missing some things but at the moment those are what I remember as the most asked questions in chat. The tutorial should never be a handholding experience but it would help if it covered the basic functions.
At any rate those are my two cents for the moment…
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The only thing i found wrong with the tutorial was the preset section, other than that it was simple, straightforward, and easy to follow.
Presets just need an extra line or two (doing this from memory so might be a bit off)
rest at campsite to memorize abilities
go to presets tab and create new preset
go to abilities tab and click on each ability to add to preset (this is what was missing)
Go back to preset tab, select the new preset, add a name and/or icon if desired and click memorize
Drag the abilities to the hot bar in whatever order you desire.Because it only said go to presets, I spent way to much time trying to figure out how to get the wheel to work. Its really a very simple process, just wasn't properly explained.
I kinda like the idea of a skippable tutorial because after the first time, there's no need to go through it again unless there's something fundamentally different about a new class or something.
I think the bread thing can be simplified simply by adding "bake bread and eat a portion to restore energy" I feel like it wouldn't be necessary to explain where to find the bread after its baked.
Oh, something else that may or may not be obvious (wasn't to me) I bought something at the market and the first time I thought it would either go to my inventory or sent in the mail. Instead it went to storage tab. Should be pretty simple to add a "check this tab for your item" tooltip
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@DarthJafo I do want to "second" this. It would really help to know what various symbols in use actually mean. They are also pretty small. Info on what "presets" actually are and why they are important to me, would help. I can't really see what it does. It looks like a more convoluted way to put skills on your bar. This info could be included on the "controls" screen. Also, info on how to move would help. I am really accustomed to the WASD keys to move. I was very frustrated before I figured out the click to move thing. (I am not a fan of autorun and would like a way to turn it off.). I wouldn't need or want a complicated tutorial but basic info is really important.
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@Jessah you can turn on and off the auto run with a key.
It was left ctrl in the last test, but will be changed for the next one.
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@spoletta ty
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To say or imply that a game doesn't need a tutorial because it's founded on exploration is pretentious and deranged. To add on that the game should itself link players to an official wiki is hypocritical; there is nothing that kills the exploration aspect of a game faster than a walkthrough, and a wiki for a game is just a walkthrough you have to work to read. Altogether such an argument reeks of apologia.
I seem to recall the developers made it clear several alphas ago that the tutorial is a placeholder for a more proper introduction at a later date. It simply isn't a priority to work on it now, but to be honest, I have no idea what is a priority.
