New player support via chat

I don't know if the answer is to make Universal chat free, but I think it's key for new players to be able to chat with people that can help them in-game.

It's been a consistent gripe with new players that they need to put $2 into the game just to get help playing the game. The barrier is a real turn off for someone that's just entered the game and is in the middle of a broken quest, doesn't know where to begin their journey, etc.

It would be good to see a new channel just for these guys. A hospitaller chat channel, for instance. There should be in-game moderators that can manage negative spam, but otherwise help new players as they start figuring out the game.

Other ways to solve this:

1. Auto-join or prompt to join a hospitallers group after character creation. Just ask the user in the chat window, if they want to ask a hospitaller to help with a link that joins them to a party of one more hospitallers.
2. Make universal free OR make universal chat unlockable after completing some quests. Give new players a free option to gain access to ask for help.
3. Hospitaller chat as mentioned above.
4. Thorough in-game tutorials that are bulletproof, but I digress...

Bottom-line: there needs to be a lot more TLC in those first moments for players that want help in-game.

I personally like the idea of a Hospitaller chat channel, because you can get a sense of how many people are asking for help and see new players trickle into the game. Plus new players have a life line immediately after creating a character.

I wouldn't mind even seeing system chats mentioning when a new character has entered a starting zone. For the game population, they can opt into listening to this channel like they do any other.

 

Agreed. I think if they polled the new players that bail on two specific sticking points, "Have to pay for Universal Chat" vs "Cost of things in the store", I think the Universal chat probably drives away many times more new players?

Why? Universal chat is a dollar cost, you have to leave the game to go get it, and it seems like something that should be free. It smacks of cash grab, even if Anti-Spam was the intention.

Meanwhile, the store stuff is NOT necessary, so even if they go in, do the math and go "Wow, expensive", they still don't feel like they are being strong armed by it. It's fluff. Universal chat is not.

Of course, I don't want to be spammed all the time, but now that there are players who can silence people, time for a rethink on charging?

 

I read that Universal chat was only implemented a year or so ago. So back then was their spamming in zone chats, especially zones where new players started? If not, I doubt spamming would automatically spring up because there is global chat rather then just zone chat.

 

I agree in principle. However, without a full time customer service staff to officially moderate it, I don't know that free universal chat is worth the risk. Community moderation is now an option. But, it comes with it's own issue.

 

I don't think it would have been very cost effective for a spammer to bother with any zone except the release dance parties. And I suppose if they did it there, they would have been immediately kicked because it was full of devs.

Supposedly community moderation now exists.

 

Make a new Player Chat room =)

 

I've tried to think of a solution to this also. Remember though as with all games that are free to play with a buy option it comes with a price to not buy of missing some features or perks of the game. Most of us know that from our gaming experience. Still it is a bit difficult to take in this form for a game that does require help. Many players I've talked to don't want the help of group of players like the hospitaller group. They want the option to remain semi-private with the ability to ask a question in chat if they want or need. I don't think giving in is the answer even though I'm sad about it but perhaps a buy into the game that is more exciting than just an orb.

I also don't think we need another chat options but to find a way to make this one available without risks of spamming. I try to encourage players I meet to advise if they have a question I can't answer that I will pass it on to the chat for them.

Also we do not offer enough perks to buy this game anyway to get the chat orb. That needs to be corrected immediately. Other games offer many reasons to buy the game. We should have more of those too. @DarkStarr

And we many priced bundles again with themes attached with an orb included. Free to play does not mean you can't have fun packages to buy. Players liked the bundles. For example a special mount bundle, A pirate bundle, a Home Owners Dream bundle with a special home and furniture set, a Treasure Hunters Dream with surveying kit etc. Prices need to be obtainable and varied and they need to be exciting offers. @Chris

Please devs can we fix this missing too and get our raid system and missing basics implemented?

 

Having a Hospitaller chat channel (/ask ?) would be fine, and if they want universal and trade channels they can spend $1. That's not too much to ask.

That said, they do need to be able to buy this in-game.

 

Agreed. Paywalling chat is illogical. Spam concerns usually center around marketing spam and that's mostly corralled into the Trade spam channel now. Anyone else would be reportable and minimal. Let new people say hi to us ffs.

 

The /help chat is a widespread practice in most MMORPGs, I think it's worth having it here too.

 

Unrestricted chat almost inevitably becomes a cesspool, I think that was the reason we didn't have it (at all) for so very long and why it requires a minimum investment now to get it.
A free /help channel is a fine idea, but then you need to allocate resource to police it, otherwise it just becomes a spam-playground.

Maybe there's a way to create a chat that groups up starting zones, so if you're in highvale/bloodriver/solace bridge or the outskirts, you can send a /zone chat message to all of those zones with questions. Or make a help chat that does that but only to those scenes. That way it wouldn't spam the rest of the game, but would capture most of the legit questions. Then again, if people do decide to be abusive, its the new players that see the worst of it.

Maybe let people flag themselves 'looking for help' and they show up like, I don't know, pink on your social list somewhere so you could choose to engage with them.
Its a hard issue to resolve.

 

Heck, a /Help command that prompts anyone who joins the Hospitaliers official ingame guild, much like the bounty hunters guild, where your account is flagged officially as one (past the title). This way new players can type /help, and someone in game who actively wants to help will receive the notification.

 

You could also limit the help channel to the beginning of the game, so if they leave the Outskirts (and maybe the overworld) they lose access to it. That prevent spamming of anyone other than other newbies, and the Hispitallers who volunteer to answer questions.

Not a perfect solution, but far better than unlimited universal chat.

 

But we already have TWO global chat channels and one is dedicated to trade spam. I don't think that argument holds water anymore.

 

Could be combined to a play time limit, for 2 reasons :

1. If they leave the outskirts too fast, they are doomed.

2. If someone stays there for ever they have access to the channel for ever

 

Right, but I mean they require the orb purchase.

And purpose-made accounts created for the purpose of spamming, advertising cash sales, or simply to spew abuse in anonymity.

---

Believe me, I wish we could just 'add a help chat' and it would be used for purpose, responsibly by all people. But after some of the behavior I've witnessed on open channels - even here in our community, which is for the most part more mature than most, I keep struggling with the idea that the first exposure to the game would be gold-selling-url-spam or equivalent.

The 'chat orb' is a common way to filter out junk accounts from cluttering up the airwaves but leaves us with this problem of what's a new player to do?

 

Okay, but ANYTHING alienating new players is bad. Period. Let people talk. All it seems like is that the publisher of this game is nickel and diming people and they already have a reputation that precedes it in that category.

 

universal chat should be free. Theres not anywhere near enough population to worry about spammers the few that might you can block. SOTA desperately needs people.