teaching new players, the academy

Concord · Post by **Concord** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 3:43 pm

I mentioned it in this post
http://playfortress.wordpress.com/2009/ ... ext-level/
I'd (selfishly, perhaps?) like to keep discussion there, if you could oblige

Its page is here
http://wiki.armagetronad.net/index.php?title=Academy

I think we need to get brand new players playing fortress. I write of some ways to do so in that post.

DDMJ · Post by **DDMJ** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 7:16 pm

Wow. 256 players? That's over double how many we had in the last ladle. I love your optimism of introducing 100 new players to fortress, but the hardest part would be coordinating it so all 256 players would show up at the same time. And, that's not including subs, but that would be awesome.

However, I think we should not try and take a giant leap from 9 teams (the most in any ladle) all the way to 32 teams. I say we try 16 teams first.

Concord · Post by **Concord** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 10:58 pm

yes, I agree, that's why I've set the date in June.

I imagine maybe 12 teams for Ladle 18 (february), 16 for 19 (march), 22 for 20 April, 27 for may, 32 for june's bowl.

It's optimistic, but we've never really tried to recruit outside the community.

Post by **Tank Program** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 12:03 am

At that many players, wouldn't it not be a ladle anymore, but the next size designation up? (I forget what that is at the moment.)

Concord · Post by **Concord** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 1:11 am

yeah it would be a Bowl, then Cup.

DDMJ · Post by **DDMJ** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 4:53 am

Concord wrote:yeah it would be a Bowl, then Cup.

isn't a bowl bigger than a cup?

I thought this was all based on kitchen utensils (spoon, ladle, etc)

Concord · Post by **Concord** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 4:07 pm

yes, I suppose we could change the order of the titles

for reference http://wiki.armagetronad.net/index.php?title=Tronic

we can call it the Durka for all I care

Post by **Lucifer** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 4:46 pm

It's not a cup like you drink out of, it's a cup like you'd win in the World Cup.

So, I'd suggest not changing the order of the titles.

Big Blue Box · Post by **Big Blue Box** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 11:51 pm

Well as far as I'm concerned, where does the spork come in?

SageLord · Post by **SageLord** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 2:11 am

I was thinking of another idea, and sort of was thinking along the same lines.

What if we had weekly sessions, sort of like classes that people could attend if they want to learn more about fortress.

-------------

This is just a general outline, but it could go something like this...

Week 1:

Tuesday (at some predetermined time) - Dr. Concord will be giving a lecture on how to properly grind at the start, and how to split.

Thursday - Dr. Flex will be giving a lecture on how to properly double grind, and how to use the speed to your advantage.

Saturday - Lab, play some fortress with some good teachers spectating and watching the players and giving them pointers.

Week 2:

Tuesday - Dr. Sage will be giving a lecture on how to sweep without getting in the defense's way, and how to block incoming attackers.

Thursday - Dr. Durka will be giving a lecture on how to use speed to your advantage when attacking, and how to pick off opponent sweepers.

Saturday - Lab, play some fortress with some good teachers spectating and watching the players and giving them pointers.

-------------

I just arbitrarily chose some random fortress names, but anyone could give a class. There could be a forum or website made dedicated to this. It could be called something like Fortress University or anything like that.

The reason I bring this up, is because there have been a lot of American players that have been wanting to get better at fortress, but don't really have anyone teaching them. They seem interested in fortress, and this might be a way to get them right in the thick of it.

These are obviously some preliminary ideas, but what do you guys think? It would have to be a joint effort by some solid fortress players.

Some other topics could be:
-How to cope with lag, and how to use the lagometer.
-A defense, how to not let anyone in.
-Midfielding, how to properly harass opponents.

This could be one way to get a lot more people in time for the fortress bowl.

Desolate · Post by **Desolate** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 2:21 am

Sage, I like the idea but the problem is we'd have to get the newer players to look at the schedule in the first place and show up when they're supposed to. If someone misses the first lesson on grinding, how will they do the more advanced techniques?

Concord, you also have some good ideas.

Concord · Post by **Concord** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 3:47 am

Sage, its a good idea, add it to the academy page for starters, and we'll start referring to it. Let's keep it American nights for now, when attracting 1 million people we're going to get used to not meeting everyone's needs.

Misery · Post by **Misery** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 3:09 pm

Small suggestion. Maybe having some sort of teamspeak ability would make these classes a little easier for everyone?" Just a thought...

nara · Post by **nara** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 1:57 am

I like the idea of weekly sessions, been wanting for something like this to kick off :) Desolate had a good point though, if each session is dedicated to a different skill set each time, people who have missed a lesson or two may not be able to catch up with other players and learn the more advance techniques (I hope I interpreted it right :P) imho it makes more sense to group the "students" by what they already know in fort (aka their level), and have each "teacher" stick with the group he/she has. Advantages of doing it this way...

1. "students" will be able to play with others who have approximately the same skills as them, instead of with players that are way above or way under their level who'll either kill them or get killed instantly
2. by sticking with a particular group of players, "teachers" will be able to learn their style and see the flaws that need to be corrected

Of course this idea is based on the assumption that the experienced players know most if not all of the fort techniques, but from what I've seen in fort matches that should not be a problem ;) I doubt it'll be hard to advertise this thing, just let the word out in various fort servers. It's crucial to find experienced players who are willing to dedicate a little of their time though :<

compguygene · Post by **compguygene** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 9:28 am

I have had a fair amount of success recruiting CTF players. Ones that have played in tourneys, or at least have shown a mature level of team play.

One of these players played on the as a Sweeper for Ww after only 5 days of training in fortress servers and limited sumo experience. Yet, in the ladle, she proved to be crucial toward the first round victory!

Ww has been doing a lot of internal recruiting in our clan in this way. And a lot of internal training. Perhaps you could go into CTF servers and actively recruit?

Just a thought....