a bit of theory

[2020]

i came up with this earlier in the year
for those who are interested

the learning curve for players
the tactical level of GO
and some thoughts about networks

[compguygene]

Intriguing! You seem to have systematized the process of learning fortress, and the development of the community. You background in the theory of learning vis a vis your training as a teacher really shows here. Most intriguing!

[2020]

second batch...

[compguygene]

It is nice that you expose the theory of how the game is learned. But, I am inherently practical person. To me, this topic is somewhat of a waste, if we don't discuss ways of either mitigating the learning curver, or motivating people to go with it.

So, let's discuss real solutions, not just theory. Even if they are just small ones.

[2020]

i'm always up for discussing new ways to move forward

i've been forthcoming with my ideas
and there was a major explosion of possibilities in spring 09

i'd like to hear if you have anything specific...?
if you think this is the right place to discuss it

[MrsKsr]

I was thinking..

(don't troll me :c)

..That we could make a "noob friendly" fortress server.. Clearly named (not noob friendly but something more acceptable like "New Players Fortress Server" <-- sucks I know, open for suggestion).

The objective would be that new players can go here and non-grind and tk etc (unintentionally of course) without fear of being suspended/kicked without explanation. The more "experienced" players could go here when they feel like helping "newbies" and get them introduced to the game mode.

Also additional "help" in round_console_message maybe and extensive /help topics.

How does that sound?

[Z-Man]

How does that sound?

We tried that already. Nobody played there. Of course, the error may have been in the execution, not the idea, so feel free to try again with more aggressive marketing.

[Word]

we tried that also...but i think experience proved that if you call a server "noob server" you can be sure that nobody goes there

[MrsKsr]

Well, how about taking an already existing server that isn't used so often or making a "normal" fortress server, wherein the players there are not to be kicked unless they are "trolling" (hard to differentiate between a genuine "noob" and a troll at times, but..)

If the problem is the server name, just eliminate the problem and use a normal server? s:

The "education" of new people in fortress is really dependant on the patience of those in the server. I think there should be somewhere that those who are willing to be tk'd once in a while can go and help people.. :c

[Concord]

They won't be going there unless it's crowded all the time. To get it crowded all the time, it either needs to be slowly populated with newb's through a process where experienced players slowly play there less and less, until there is a stable newb population. We could achieve that if there was enough community buy-in. The other way would be to have a code-change where new players are given the option of connecting straight to the server, right alongside local game.

[Word]

lol how about a new map which enforces grinding in a new way?
with some walls that direct players to the center automatically while they dont disturb the defender

[2020]

it's a matter of numbers...

once there are two or three servers full of players at any given time
players will self-select naturally
and there will be a high-ranking server
and a noob server at the bottom

so
it's a matter of promoting the game generally
in order to get beyond this critical mass

[Concord]

In response to Word's question: http://beta.armagetronad.net/resource-b ... .aamap.xml

The deathzones shrink and disappear after the grind, we could add more if needed. Make a literal fortress around the zone, with one initial exit, the grind.

We experimented with invulnerability to start rounds, settings the spawns and zones further apart. It was all good, but there wasn't enough community involvement to sustain efforts. Maybe there is now.

[Word]

oh that's a great map...maybe we'll host such a server again

[Concord]

oh that's a great map...maybe we'll host such a server again

theoretically maybe, but it's never been played on by large teams with newbs. So I really don't know if it's great