Tutorials!

[Phytotron]

We could have a quiz you have to pass before you're allowed to go online....

[madmax]

Awesome job Z-Man!

[Flex]

Are the tutorials still up for work/comment? How easy is it to create my own or customize? I had a go and it's really good. I used some of the ideas and improved on them. I think there should be a basic tutorial and then all the rest can be set as challenges. (As I mean, nothing needs to be deleted, just moved around.)

Also I think the challenges should be separate from the basic tutorial. The basic tutorial should, as it suggestions, teach the basics and then move them onto the multi-player. That way we really show them Fortress as it truly is.

Tutorial
1. Controls
2. Capture an enemy Zone - level 1.
3. Capture an enemy Zone - level 2.
4. Learn to Grind - level 1.
5. Learn to Grind - level 2.
6. Learn to Grind - level 3.
7. Capture an enemy Zone - level 3.

1. Controls
First thing first; learning to move. Press left, press right, then finally fully brake. We've removed the oponents and the zones, just stay alive for 30 seconds!

This would be an empty arena with a simple count down.

2. Capture the enemy Zone - level 1.
In order to win the round, you need to capture the enemy zone. Drive into the enemy zone to win.

This would be a simple Fortress arena, but a little larger and the spawn is just where the teams meet up for the split.

2. Capture the enemy Zone - level 2.
This time there is an enemy opponent defending it. Do the same, but wait for the gap!

Same concept as 'Conquest', but this time a real Fortress arena and maybe a more wider gap.

- Grind - Level 1
Drive close to the walls to gain a speed advantage. The closer you are the more speed you can gain from the wall. When you drive beside a wall and you see sparks, then you'll know you're grinding it.

Same concept as the grinding exercises, but a wall in the middle of a map.

- Grind - Level 2
You can also grind cycle walls, which are called trails to gain similar, if not more of a speed increase - whether it's friendly or not.

Same concept as the grinding exercises, but a team mate is far ahead building a straight line.

- Grind - Level 3
This time we've given you a team! Link up on the player in front of you till you're all grinding together! The speed advantage is much more vast than driving alone or grinding with only one other player. Becareful not to team kill by being too slow.

The team grind set up was great, definitely keep that.

- Capture the enemy Zone! Level 3
This time, same as before, but you're against a defender and two of his teammates. We've given you a teammate too, just grind and split then maneuver around the enemies and attack the zone. Also the zone will be harder to conqure and you will need to stay inside it for about 2 seconds.

- You've completed the basic tutorial! Look for an online fortress server and see how you do against real opponents!

And this is the final, a zone being defended, a team mate to purposely grind to get closer and faster to the zone and a zombie sweeper who drives a straight line so the trainee has to go around him, then the AI purposely dies, with the next message saying "Now go for the zone!". All of this prepares him as close to as Fortress online is.


So, any thoughts? How easy is it to create my own or customize? I know the tutorials are in the textures, and some text in the language files, with the maps in the resource folder under z-man, but how can I make it all so it appears on the menu and in the order I want it? etc.

[Z-Man]

Are the tutorials still up for work/comment? How easy is it to create my own or customize?

Yes and not very easy. The tutorials are hardcoded, each one is implemented as a class that simply temporarily overrides the regular local game settings and some extra fluff (AIs following paths, victory/failure conditions).

I think there should be a basic tutorial and then all the rest can be set as challenges. (As I mean, nothing needs to be deleted, just moved around.)

I get and like the intention, but that would make the regular menu more complex (two menu entries instead of one) or the tutorial menu nested one layer deeper.

Also I think the challenges should be separate from the basic tutorial. The basic tutorial should, as it suggestions, teach the basics and then move them onto the multi-player. That way we really show them Fortress as it truly is.

And that's the problem with the rest of the suggestions right there: too fortress centric. Should we branch the tutorials out with a deeper menu structure (top level: Tutorials and Challenges, lower level: Basic Tutorials, <game mode x> Tutorials, Challenges (easy, medium, hard, impossible)), we could do it the way you suggest, provided we can manage the AIs. As you may have noticed, the turorial AIs are not actually reacting to the player.

[Flex]

too fortress centric.

I also thought it was too Fortress centric, but thought that's was the idea..

Should we branch the tutorials out with a deeper menu structure (top level: Tutorials and Challenges, lower level: Basic Tutorials, <game mode x> Tutorials, Challenges (easy, medium, hard, impossible)), we could do it the way you suggest, provided we can manage the AIs. As you may have noticed, the turorial AIs are not actually reacting to the player.

I think that's much better, but rather "How to play" instead of "tutorials" then under that, it could be Fortress, Sumo and then Deathmatch. Each with it's own guide? Also when you're in a server, you can press escape and "How to play" is right there in front of you, too.

Or also, more like:

Multiplayer
Local Game :Game Setup, Challenges
How to Play :Fortress, Sumo, Deathmatch (guides)

With "Game Setup" having a "Start" at the end of the menu, that starts the local game and also saves your settings.