After accidentally sequence breaking, that orc is immortal until it asks for the PUNCH ORC command, then he folds so fast he could make Employee of the Month at any Gap in the country.
As Dhani said, the journal might be nice, I know a couple of guilds want you to do stuff with it to advance.
Can we have MXP enabled by default? Nitpicky thing, but the web client ignores it, and most other clients have support for it by now, and if they don't it's easy enough to disable.
Can we have MXP enabled by default? Nitpicky thing, but the web client ignores it, and most other clients have support for it by now, and if they don't it's easy enough to disable.
MXP should already be enabled by default. Can you give more details?
I tested the new lamp stuff on a new alt, and I needed to enable MXP. I was not using the web client, I was using mudlet. The only clickable link was the www.lusternia.com/tos.html right after city selection, and that's because Mudlet does www links natively. Later when I was poking the Lamp for stuff, none of the HELP <x> things were clickable. I did CONFIG MXP ON, and they became clickable.
Viravain, Lady of the Thorns shouts, "And You would seize Me? Fool! I am the Glomdoring! I am the Wyrd, and beneath the cloak of Night, the shadows of the Silent stir!"
I was told there was some concern about this before regarding guild scrolls for newbies.
With the new addition of Achievements added to the lamp, if a newbie follows the question order of the lamp and does all that it mentions they will end up with following:
When they finish the Collegium those numbers will be even higher. But I don't have those numbers at the moment. And higher again if they follow the advice to do the Newton quests.
Shouldn't getting the gold give the achievement? If working as intended, why not put a journal in the backpack, or a simple ring. Hell could even be a mercy enchantment on a ring with 15 day decay and a simple obvious lamp enchantment task added.
-rub lamp
You rub a bronze lamp and hear the voice of a magical genie echo from within, "What can I help you
with?"
[1] What's with the backpack I'm holding?
[2] How can I learn more about myself?
[3] How can I change the clothes I'm wearing?
[4] How can I get more help?
[5] What do I do next or go to my collegium?
-1
You say, "What's with the backpack I'm holding?"
The voice of a magical genie echoes from within the lamp, "You can WEAR BACKPACK to keep it on your
person. If you have items that you want to keep but don't need cluttering up your inventory, you can
PUT them in the backpack."
[HINT]: Type WEAR BACKPACK to put it on. Get something from your backpack now and earn an
achievement! See ACHIEVEMENT BACKPACK for more information.
-wear backpack
You slip into a canvas backpack.
Your karma rises in response to your deeds.
Your soul cries out in ecstasy as it reaches new heights of power. You have advanced to level 3.
You have reached the illustrious level of Bright.
You feel the exuberance of youth flood your veins, restoring your vitals.
[ACHIEVEMENT]: You have completed the 'Not A Nudist' Achievement! You have earned Instant Experience.
Suggestion: On the sign color "North - Newton Caverns" to have it stand out from the others. Helps a bit with the 'well does it even matter which way I go' issue.
I would also suggest the lamp on entering Newton reiterate why they're there. It just feels a bit odd to arrive and little feedback.
[3] What are villages and how do I gain the 'What's that?' achievement?
Wow. I really dislike this one being here at this point. So much potential for confusion, expecting either a fair bit of help or knowledge they're not going to have at this point. This I see as a spot where a true newbie would just throw up their hands and log out (especially if no one is about or willing to help them). It is entirely possible for them to get to this stage without having killed a single fink/gnome or doing a single collegium quest.
This should be part of the faction overhaul where each org gains a WHATNOW aka quest master NPC who assigns appropriate quests at certain levels. Village obelisk could be level 20, Kiakoda Nature Reserve could be in there, village quests at level 33 after Newton. This could really help with the whole what to do now that players have trouble with. Could even add in things like the denizen takes corpses, but only so many or stops after the player should have outgrown that area.
I'm going to be really nitpicking. Please don't take this as a slam to any of the effort you have put into this. It really is very appreciated. I'm just hoping my QC and testing skills are of some use to you.
[3] You mentioned quests a few times, what are those?
There's a bit of disparate information here (from having pre-existing quests.
[HINT]: Newton has quite a few quests for you to get your feet wet in. Within Newton there is a
colony of finks and a colony of gnomes you can help. See HELP NEWTON HONOURS to get started! You can
always look at your tracked quests using the QUESTS command. For example: QUEST KIAKODABABIES. Head
out on a quest to gain ACHIEVEMENT QUESTING. Once you finish your first quest, you will also gain
ACHIEVEMENT QUESTCOMPLETE.
HELP NEWTON HONORS probably should list HELP GNOMEHONOUR and HELP MASSFINKWEAPON ( I think those are the correct one).
Likewise, if they try to do HELP KIAKODABABIES this is returned:
Search results for "kiakodababies":
1) File: reserve
Title: THE KIAKODAN NATURE RESERVE
...ed a helping hand to learn how to interact with the world. See the
information on QUEST KIAKODABABIES for more details!...
2) File: lampquests
Title: Lamp answer about Quesacts
...You can always look at your Tracked quests using the QUESTS
command. For example: QUEST KIAKODABABIES...
Which is problematic as HELP LAMPQUEST nor HELP LAMP ANSWER ABOUT QUESTS returns the file.
Back to the Kia babies quest:
-quest KIAKODABABIES
Name: The Kiakoda Nature Reserve Baby Animal Daycare (KIAKODABABIES)
.....
Once standing before Quillion Jones, go IN to enter the nurseries.
Suggest adding to GREET TOFDELLY [Once standing before Quillion Jones, go IN to enter the nurseries. Where you will find Tofdelly, GREET TOFDELLY and accept the QUEST.
Tofdelly Barrel says, "Can you get them for me, please?"
[1] How would we get them back? Snakes are slippery - we'd need something to use to catch them.
You say, "How would we get them back? Snakes are slippery - we'd need something to use to catch them.
"
Tofdelly Barrel says, "Oh, here! Use this net when you see a baby cobra to catch it."
Tofdelly Barrel hands you a short-handled snake net.
-
Pricking up his ears in alarm, a baby fox quickly darts out to the southwest.
-use net
Using a short-handled snake net, you quickly scoop up a baby sand cobra.
-use net
You cannot use a short-handled snake net when it is full! Deliver your catch to Tofdelly first.
Really seems like there should be hints on how to do this. They'll quickly enough get to quests without any, this should be the stage where they're learning how to do quests.
Tofdelly Barrel says, "Some baby cobras escaped the den. They're probably wandering the desert in the Reserve. I'd go after them, but I have to make sure the others don't escape too."
Is this correct? I've never seen baby cobras in the dessert area.
Tofdelly Barrel exclaims, "Wow, you found a baby cobra! Thanks so much, Charlene!"
Tofdelly Barrel eases a baby sand cobra behind the metal fence of the enclosure, returning her to
the company of the other snakes.
Would like Tofdelly to indicate they want more cobras.
You give a marked-up slip of paper to Quillion Jones.
Quillion Jones says, "Ah, I see you have been helping the young volunteers. Sometimes they really do
need it. Well, here you go - compensation."
Quillion Jones hands you a small bag of gold for your troubles.
Your karma rises in response to your deeds.
Would like Quillion to indicate who the newbie still needs to help. Also, having to greet the denizens multiple times at this stage seems like a barrier. I don't know if that was explained anywhere. Perhaps an on entrance message to greet them?
I feel like the 'Reserve - Kiakoda Nature Reserve' should be listed at top under "Here are landmarks useful for young adventurers:'
The Kiakoda Babies quest gives both hints and mob dialogue prompts. It is possible that you have turned HINTS OFF and so are not seeing them, but we promise they are there (if you definitely have HINTS ON and are still not seeing them, please BUG it).
HELP KIAKODABABIES now redirects to HELP RESERVE.
Tofdelly now asks where the rest of the cobras are when you return one.
QUEST KIAKODABABIES now notes to greet the denizens to find out what they need.
@Steingrim Thank you very much for your feedback, it's really appreciated. The village achievement has been removed from the early questions, and the score achievement is now more clear.
[3] Where can I find gnomes or finks to slay for my Achievement?
I think a reminder here that they can TELEPORT NEWTON or likely still use PORTALS to get there would be helpful. Also, doesn't tell them how to track the achivement. Perhaps they could get a countdown for the first achievement? Or at least a pointer to which achievements they're working on.
Completed 'Mucka's Terror' but not the other one as it advanced me and I want to know the least a player has when they start collegium if they delay it until after the other lamp tasks (which is what I'll be advising them).
At this stage Level : 14 20.88% lessons: 318 (13 extra spent in elementalism). I don't think I mentioned it, but I was level 12 after the Kiakoda Babies quest.
[3] How do I attack monsters?
There should probably be a task to learn and use your first attack (aka blast) and first defense (even if one has to be added to each guilds main skillset). Leaving this to be addressed in the college seems like just asking to the player to kick things until they're out of newton.
[3] What is influencing?
I really wish they had to beg the LAMP off of an NPC at the beginning. The entirety of the Gaudiguch college is gated behind the influence quest. At the very least, can HELP INFLUENCE give an example?
[3] Are there ways of becoming stronger without using specific abilities?
You say, "Are there ways of becoming stronger without using specific abilities?"
The voice of a magical genie echoes from within the lamp, "Oh yes, there are many many ways to
improve your vitals, or resistance or even the effectiveness of your attacks. A person with adequate
DISCERNMENT can do a quick BODYSCAN to see what various effects are currently affecting them. Most
of these will come from abilities, but you can also buy special foods, drinks, perfumes, oils, or
have special curios, or origami, or enchantments, or even some furniture can affect you as well."
[HINT]: The details of how some buffs work can be found in HELP BUFFS, and you can see what is
currently affecting you with BODYSCAN found in the DISCERNMENT Skillset. In addition, most trade
skills create unique item to ts which can give you unique abilities and benefits which you can purchase
from player run shops.
They haven't learned this skill yet. Nor do guilds generally require it. Wording should reflect it is a skill they don't have and I don't know given how precious lessons are if we should as a guild/city require it (though the more I think about it...maybe).
[3] What do I need to know when I go hunting?
I would like it if CONSIDER <denizen> showed loyalty.
[3] How do I communicate with others?
I hope there are hints for when a new player receives tells?
[3] How do I get power?
The voice of a magical genie echoes from within the lamp, "There are a few ways to get power, but
the one you will use the majority of the time is linking with your city or commune's nexus. If you
LINK to the nexus, you can draw power from it over a short time. Each draw provides you with a
single percent of your reserves, which is equal to two active power. You can draw dross power from
your nexus for free, but any amount beyond dross will draw from the nexus directly and requires that
you not be blocked from using the nexus. You will be blocked by default, but a member of your city
or commune's power ministry can unblock you based on their laws."
I suggest adding how to use AIDES POWER to the last line.
HELP INFLUENCE now gives an example of begging. The Attack question in the lamp no longer makes a direct reference to punching and kicking and reminds newbies to wield any relevant equipment. The question about Gnomes and Finks now gives a hint about ACHIEVEMENT STATS and reminds them about the portal and teleportation options.
The extra LAMP questions are nice, but that's a ton of reading and I'm not sure that new players need to know what things like ikons, cartels, and envoys are. Eventually, I'd like to see some of this split off into another item given in the college.
[3] How can I get gold?
Perhaps add a line about how they'll usually gain more gold in Newton than elsewhere?
Gaudi's had several players who seem new to Lusternia and some even MUDs in general lately. I have noticed some repeated trends.
First, the lamp either is forgotten, stops working or doesn't give the information in a way that novices are retaining it. New players are getting halfway through the Collegium without realizing the lamp has information and tasks (and rewards) for them. Maybe there is a bug, maybe there is a design flow that's not delivering information properly, maybe the information isn't presented in a way that is retained as well, maybe something else, but the lamp doesn't seem to be guiding new players very well.
Second, basic commands and concepts that used to be taught in the intro are painfully lacking now. For example, I have sat and taught three different novices this week alone the concept of what lessons are. A fourth I was just speaking with was halfway through the Collegium and hadn't learned a lesson yet and was confused why he couldn't get to ethereal. Information like this used to be taught in the intro and in a memorable, learn by doing way.
Third, unrelated to the intro, but some food for thought - every CGHELP for Gaudi's guilds mentions learning and has suggested lesson investments and we do direct new players to read these. In my anecdotal experience recently the truenewbies have been unaware any of the Collegium scrolls even exist or if they are aware of them they don't really remember anything inside. Information overload is what I suspect is happening, so maybe it's worth brainstorming ways to better parcel out information to a newcomer. Perhaps staggered hints throughout the collegium time to read CGHELPs or a suggestion to browse the related CGHELP when a newbie begins work on one of the collegium tasks?
Fourth, most of the newbies don't really understand the concept of roleplay and in-character, while their understanding of Lusternia as a world is vague at best. New players aren't being primed to play characters by the introduction. They are simply being primed to play a game. Gently introducing the concepts of characterization and lore during the intro will make it easier for these ideas to stick later as the new player interacts with the world.
This is tiring for those of us helping novices and frustrating for novices when they end up confused and lost in an already very complex game. I know it was brought up a few days ago in another thread that the lamp should be guiding kids to learning lessons and getting achievements...but something is failing because I am repeatedly observing this not happening. New players are going straight from the portal to wandering around the collegium and doing tasks, which means they are being afflicted and don't know how to cure and don't have curatives, trying to get to other planes and failing without knowing why, dying to planar damage, etc. I know it's not the end of the world, but the early gameplay experience is a huge factor in retention. I think there are some things I can experiment with on my side as a Collegium professor, but I think the intro and breadcrumbs are failing in certain ways which could possibly be improved.
Gaudi's had several players who seem new to Lusternia and some even MUDs in general lately. I have noticed some repeated trends.
This has been happening in Halli too. I'm not sure if it's just people alting, or stubborn previous other IRE players who just want to bruteforce their way through, but I've had some novices completely ignore any help I've tried to offer or simply acknowledge with a 'Hi, I'm fine thanks' or talk whatsoever. Then they get lost of course, and remember this is getting lost in Hallifax, so combining a pile of information with the map that is Hallifax can be extremely brainmeltingly frustrating for the very new. I've had novices before think Orv was just a tutorial NPC, so that might also be a possibility of what's happening. But overall, the intro needs some tweaking, and I do think adding some of the old lore if that version of the tour is still available would be good.
One idea I had would be have the Portal deliver them directly to the collegium. Maybe the lamp turns into an org appropriate guide dog/ silken windhound puppy/ guide falcon from the Canine Ministry. And said guide can take care of Org specific questions about CGHELP scrolls, and prompt them to read them in a specific order, even if it has to be that whole click 1 NEXT>> kind of thing. Mainly so novices can self start in instance where there aren't people around in that guild. The could maybe even function like the new puppy curios where they can drag you back to 'start' or herd/tug you if you're going off course. Outside of the city in Newton, the guide turns back into the lamp.
I'm a consent-based roleplayer! Kindly ask first, and I will return the favour. Open to developing tinyplots. Atlantis is my client of choice! (Guide)
I'd also suggest considering changing the Collegium mobs to afflict things other than blindness and paralysis. Each of those is rather debilitating without cures. Both together is pretty unfun (I remember flailing around stuck with those when I first started).
1
EveriineWise Old Swordsbird / BrontaurIndianapolis, IN, USA
Every time the intro changes, I'm reminded of Montgomery Scott: "The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain."
Everiine is a man, and is very manly. This MAN before you is so manly you might as well just gender bend right now, cause he's the manliest man that you ever did see. His manly shape has spurned many women and girlyer men to boughs of fainting. He stands before you in a manly manerific typical man-like outfit which is covered in his manly motto: "I am a man!"
Daraius said: You gotta risk it for the biscuit.
Pony power all the way, yo. The more Brontaurs the better.
I did notice our ranking on top muds is pretty low compared to the middle of last year. I wonder if theres any stats on if the intro is attracting folks into the game more or less than the old one. Not sure if these stats would be privileged info though.
Comments
As Dhani said, the journal might be nice, I know a couple of guilds want you to do stuff with it to advance.
Can we have MXP enabled by default? Nitpicky thing, but the web client ignores it, and most other clients have support for it by now, and if they don't it's easy enough to disable.
Estarra the Eternal says, "Give Shevat the floor please."
>---------------------------[ Changelog Entry #586 ]--------------------------<
Entered by: The Oneiroi, Administrators of Fate Date: 2016-11-02 19:05:13
- Newbies will now be prompted to ask the genie in the lamp why they
look human directly after learning about how to get to newton caverns.
- The genie in the lamp now gives customised directions on how to reach
the appropriate collegium.
>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------<
Woo!
I picked up bookbinding partially so I can ply newbs with journals
Estarra the Eternal says, "Give Shevat the floor please."
With the new addition of Achievements added to the lamp, if a newbie follows the question order of the lamp and does all that it mentions they will end up with following:
level: 7
Lessons: ~ 244 lessons
Bound Credits: 4
Additional Skills: Rift, Firstaid, Curing.
When they finish the Collegium those numbers will be even higher. But I don't have those numbers at the moment.
And higher again if they follow the advice to do the Newton quests.
@Lamp backpack achievement
Shouldn't getting the gold give the achievement? If working as intended, why not put a journal in the backpack, or a simple ring. Hell could even be a mercy enchantment on a ring with 15 day decay and a simple obvious lamp enchantment task added.
Neither QSCORE or QSC gave me the achievement.
[2] How do I get to Newton Caverns?
Suggestion: On the sign color "North - Newton Caverns" to have it stand out from the others. Helps a bit with the 'well does it even matter which way I go' issue.
I would also suggest the lamp on entering Newton reiterate why they're there. It just feels a bit odd to arrive and little feedback.
Wow. I really dislike this one being here at this point. So much potential for confusion, expecting either a fair bit of help or knowledge they're not going to have at this point. This I see as a spot where a true newbie would just throw up their hands and log out (especially if no one is about or willing to help them). It is entirely possible for them to get to this stage without having killed a single fink/gnome or doing a single collegium quest.
This should be part of the faction overhaul where each org gains a WHATNOW aka quest master NPC who assigns appropriate quests at certain levels. Village obelisk could be level 20, Kiakoda Nature Reserve could be in there, village quests at level 33 after Newton. This could really help with the whole what to do now that players have trouble with. Could even add in things like the denizen takes corpses, but only so many or stops after the player should have outgrown that area.
I'm going to be really nitpicking. Please don't take this as a slam to any of the effort you have put into this. It really is very appreciated. I'm just hoping my QC and testing skills are of some use to you.
[3] You mentioned quests a few times, what are those?
There's a bit of disparate information here (from having pre-existing quests.
HELP NEWTON HONORS probably should list HELP GNOMEHONOUR and HELP MASSFINKWEAPON ( I think those are the correct one).
Likewise, if they try to do HELP KIAKODABABIES this is returned:
Which is problematic as HELP LAMPQUEST nor HELP LAMP ANSWER ABOUT QUESTS returns the file.
Back to the Kia babies quest:
Suggest adding to GREET TOFDELLY [Once standing before Quillion Jones, go IN to enter the nurseries. Where you will find Tofdelly, GREET TOFDELLY and accept the QUEST.
Tofdelly Barrel says, "Can you get them for me, please?"
Tofdelly Barrel says, "Some baby cobras escaped the den. They're probably wandering the desert in the Reserve. I'd go after them, but I have to make sure the others don't escape too."
Is this correct? I've never seen baby cobras in the dessert area.
Would like Tofdelly to indicate they want more cobras.
Would like Quillion to indicate who the newbie still needs to help. Also, having to greet the denizens multiple times at this stage seems like a barrier. I don't know if that was explained anywhere. Perhaps an on entrance message to greet them?
I feel like the 'Reserve - Kiakoda Nature Reserve' should be listed at top under "Here are landmarks useful for young adventurers:'
WHEW
HELP KIAKODABABIES now redirects to HELP RESERVE.
Tofdelly now asks where the rest of the cobras are when you return one.
QUEST KIAKODABABIES now notes to greet the denizens to find out what they need.
I think a reminder here that they can TELEPORT NEWTON or likely still use PORTALS to get there would be helpful. Also, doesn't tell them how to track the achivement. Perhaps they could get a countdown for the first achievement? Or at least a pointer to which achievements they're working on.
Completed 'Mucka's Terror' but not the other one as it advanced me and I want to know the least a player has when they start collegium if they delay it until after the other lamp tasks (which is what I'll be advising them).
At this stage Level : 14 20.88% lessons: 318 (13 extra spent in elementalism). I don't think I mentioned it, but I was level 12 after the Kiakoda Babies quest.
[3] How do I attack monsters?
There should probably be a task to learn and use your first attack (aka blast) and first defense (even if one has to be added to each guilds main skillset). Leaving this to be addressed in the college seems like just asking to the player to kick things until they're out of newton.
[3] What is influencing?
I really wish they had to beg the LAMP off of an NPC at the beginning. The entirety of the Gaudiguch college is gated behind the influence quest. At the very least, can HELP INFLUENCE give an example?
They haven't learned this skill yet. Nor do guilds generally require it. Wording should reflect it is a skill they don't have and I don't know given how precious lessons are if we should as a guild/city require it (though the more I think about it...maybe).
[3] What do I need to know when I go hunting?
I would like it if CONSIDER <denizen> showed loyalty.
[3] How do I communicate with others?
I hope there are hints for when a new player receives tells?
I suggest adding how to use AIDES POWER to the last line.
The Attack question in the lamp no longer makes a direct reference to punching and kicking and reminds newbies to wield any relevant equipment.
The question about Gnomes and Finks now gives a hint about ACHIEVEMENT STATS and reminds them about the portal and teleportation options.
[3] How can I get gold?
Perhaps add a line about how they'll usually gain more gold in Newton than elsewhere?
First, the lamp either is forgotten, stops working or doesn't give the information in a way that novices are retaining it. New players are getting halfway through the Collegium without realizing the lamp has information and tasks (and rewards) for them. Maybe there is a bug, maybe there is a design flow that's not delivering information properly, maybe the information isn't presented in a way that is retained as well, maybe something else, but the lamp doesn't seem to be guiding new players very well.
Second, basic commands and concepts that used to be taught in the intro are painfully lacking now. For example, I have sat and taught three different novices this week alone the concept of what lessons are. A fourth I was just speaking with was halfway through the Collegium and hadn't learned a lesson yet and was confused why he couldn't get to ethereal. Information like this used to be taught in the intro and in a memorable, learn by doing way.
Third, unrelated to the intro, but some food for thought - every CGHELP for Gaudi's guilds mentions learning and has suggested lesson investments and we do direct new players to read these. In my anecdotal experience recently the truenewbies have been unaware any of the Collegium scrolls even exist or if they are aware of them they don't really remember anything inside. Information overload is what I suspect is happening, so maybe it's worth brainstorming ways to better parcel out information to a newcomer. Perhaps staggered hints throughout the collegium time to read CGHELPs or a suggestion to browse the related CGHELP when a newbie begins work on one of the collegium tasks?
Fourth, most of the newbies don't really understand the concept of roleplay and in-character, while their understanding of Lusternia as a world is vague at best. New players aren't being primed to play characters by the introduction. They are simply being primed to play a game. Gently introducing the concepts of characterization and lore during the intro will make it easier for these ideas to stick later as the new player interacts with the world.
This is tiring for those of us helping novices and frustrating for novices when they end up confused and lost in an already very complex game. I know it was brought up a few days ago in another thread that the lamp should be guiding kids to learning lessons and getting achievements...but something is failing because I am repeatedly observing this not happening. New players are going straight from the portal to wandering around the collegium and doing tasks, which means they are being afflicted and don't know how to cure and don't have curatives, trying to get to other planes and failing without knowing why, dying to planar damage, etc. I know it's not the end of the world, but the early gameplay experience is a huge factor in retention. I think there are some things I can experiment with on my side as a Collegium professor, but I think the intro and breadcrumbs are failing in certain ways which could possibly be improved.
One idea I had would be have the Portal deliver them directly to the collegium. Maybe the lamp turns into an org appropriate guide dog/ silken windhound puppy/ guide falcon from the Canine Ministry. And said guide can take care of Org specific questions about CGHELP scrolls, and prompt them to read them in a specific order, even if it has to be that whole click 1 NEXT>> kind of thing. Mainly so novices can self start in instance where there aren't people around in that guild. The could maybe even function like the new puppy curios where they can drag you back to 'start' or herd/tug you if you're going off course. Outside of the city in Newton, the guide turns back into the lamp.
I'm a consent-based roleplayer! Kindly ask first, and I will return the favour. Open to developing tinyplots.
Atlantis is my client of choice! (Guide)