Please allow us the option to have an XP bar on main screen

~WASD OMG Was I Pissed, But Why~?'


On the opening of R31 when we had that mouse glitch and finding myself having to use those WASD keys just to move, "I was so pissed" as many were. Since that time (and thank god it was straitened out) it started me thinking of how that first experience could become a better one. It's also heightened my concerns of what the player make up is within those "someone's" that could be having so much influence on all our changes. It's my feeling that those "someone's" are advanced players of the tech kind, that may not have the right mindset in order to take a look at our game from a truly beginner's perspective. I'm not saying that only beginners would want such a basic play style, I'm saying that a duffer like me, may want an easier way of making their way through their normal play time. The fewer the buttons to be the better. Where some may prefer a game more elite within it's tech ability, I personally don't want to have to deal with a jet aircraft amount of buttons to go "whack a mole'ing on"... which sort of clued me in on why I was so pissed when having to revert to those WASD.

I had a lot of self examination to do because of that moment of being pissed, which began me thinking about "what I really need to fit my play style?"

~Pre-Game Option Tutorial~
@RichardGarriott is a super star, a fact of which he could never escape when it comes to building our new game. His persona is all over this project and drives the bulk of why anyone would take initial notice of our game.

Before our opening scene, it may be best for a tutorial which walks any new player through all the options which our game provides. Stark differences create impact, our world is a medieval steampunk styled world, yet still very medieval, and so this idea begins...

The Avatar of Richard greets the new player, yet dressed out in his space suite while he introduces himself. Then he takes the new player through a very short "option by option" tour, allowing the new player to choose what best suites their desire along the way. There's also a "SKIP" option to allow players that are just creating a new Avatar just to proceed past that encounter and on to entering the game. It's a short tour, which can be quickly done and achieve a better more personal relationship with the game, because it's sort of like shaking hands between he and the new player through the options of the deal they just bought into. Then when completed, Richard's space suite clad Avatar can kick a small representation of an avatar like a football, punting the player down into our world.


I think you all get the general jest of all that... From the modern present launched into a future past... It's personable and you can't get that pissed as I was at when someone is actually standing in front of you. Those styles of pissed are more associated with road rage and internet forums slams.

Richard's a valuable asset, and an asset we really should be using to the betterment of becoming more personable with our new player's first arrivals.
New Player; "Hey, I'm playing that new game by that space guy!"
Friend; "What space guy?"
New Player; "That guy who spent a crazy amount of cash to shoot himself up to the international space station."
Friend; "He sounds like Tony Starks."
New Player; "Yea, it turns out that he's like the father of all online games."
Friend; "Amazing, I'll have to try that"

Old Player; "I already knew all that and it's old news, I've been ragging on him every chance I get on the internet and he doesn't know jack# about how to make a video game the way I want it!"
*The old player evidently didn't get the memo that younger players that have never even heard of Richard's very cool accomplishments... (pissst, that old player also hasn't noticed that they've been getting more cranky the older they get)...

We do need our exp pool bar back up within an option... but we also need all our options introduced and not discovered or having to be messed with that much after entering our game, which takes the player away from becoming more immersed within it.
I believe this makes a very helpful brain connection within the new player...
of a personal travel from a here... to a there...

Adding more options doesn't have to be so painful in their employment and I want my exp bar back... *please*
~Time Lord~

 

The only part of the bar that had any significance, was the mouse over display of your current xp pool - which is what Portalarium understood.

Which is also why they just kept the xp pool numeric value - and chose to display it in the lower right of the skill tree window.

What we're asking for is for here, is for them to put our xp pool value on the game screen (under the options bar, top right -would be fine) so we can see what we're doing - without having to open/close a large window.

 

I really wish there was some way to see my pooled experience on the main UI. Make it default on so new players can see that killing monsters is doing something and have the option to toggle it off for people who find it annoying. It doesn't need to be the XP bar, but something that's easy to see and on the main UI.

 

I just heard a commercial for something on TV and it made me think of this game Shroud and this thread...

"We should fit into your life, not the other way around"

That is one of the best sales pitch any company can have no matter what they offer people... a company that wants to serve as many people as possible.

With that in mind, why would you program game features to either only serve the opinions of a select few or how that companies employee's "think" their customers should receive features.

Supply the masses not the few, with optional UI features that they can turn on and off... I'm not asking for Shroud dev's to program IN anything... I'm simply asking... WHY are you taking away something I like and want and I'm by no means the only person that feels the same way, in fact I believe the large majority agrees with me.

Put the XP bar back as it was or leave it an optional bar or optional numeric/graphic... put it in skills and/or main screen per our choice. But if you're going to do nothing then put it BACK where it was and go start programming more important things like give us our horses... (I'm still confuzzled why you are spending time programming OUT a wanted feature instead of programming IN a wanted feature)

Prioritization Failure. IMO

 

I like knowing how my current XP availability stands without having to open another screen to find out - but if that's not enough justification, surely in the name of consistency, if you are going to have indicator bars on every skill icon, why not have something similarly subtle on show if we want it for the XP pools?