Observing

JHazard

<div class="IPBDescription">n00bs should listen and watch...</div> First off, this is the first post of a forum lurker which actually brings me to the reason of my post.

I have had NS on my system since the day it became public but I only have 3 or 4 games under my belt. Why? Because I spend A LOT of time observing. It was obvious from the beginning hype that this game was not going to be your typical FPS - running, hiding and gibbing. It was obvious to me that there was going to be a learning curve... so I observe. What have I learned?

Well, first off I understand teamplay better than anyone else who just jumps in and plays 15 games in a row wasting resources for their team or kicking out CCs left and right. I also understand how Lerks are underrated and Ohnos are overrated. I know that when you charge with an Ohnos you press ONCE and aim straight. I know that HA can be a serious hinderance. I also understand that the game is WAAAY more balanced than many recent people give it credit for.

My suggestions to people who just want to jump in and play:

1) RTFM to get an idea what is going on
2) Observe, observe and observe
3) Read the forum boards (particularly all the pinned FAQs)

When you do start playing:

1) As a Marine, stay put and defend your base from the inevitable skulk rush, listen to your CC and don't beg for things.
2) As an Alien... follow that mad Skulk rush into the Marine base and learn the path, ASK how many gorges there already are and if there ARE more than two - stay Skulk and upgrade, and always listen to whoever seems as though they know what they are talking about.

I think I am now FINALLY ready to start playing the game.

Ravlin

Yes, you are right.
The best way to learn what is Natural Selection and how to play it, is watching some games. AND after observing some games should try to play it. We play NS in a internet cafe and often people ask me what it is (NS) and how to play it. I just say to them observe a while and then ask your questions. Sometimes it is really hard to explain what is NS abou and how to play it whitout seeing it in action.

Does the record game function in NS. If yes, then it would be good to record some tutorial game and add it to NS installation, so people could see the game in action with some explanation.

Immacolata

Really depend on what kind of person you are. Some people learn best by messing around with stuff. They're the kind of people who disassemble an old fashioned coil and bell alarm clock to see how it's innards are like. They're also the kind of people who program on a hunch and test their builds frequently to get a feel for how the proggy is running. You can learn in several ways. A game like NS shoudl be a pick up and go thing. I am that kind of mind, I love reading manuals, but I always always have this urge to get my fingers dirty and when I encounter something I don't understand, THEN I go RTFM a bit.

Now, the manual for this game is good, not perfect since you are still "HUH?" the first time you play kharaa, less so as marine but still somewhat. I did read some of the manual before I tried NS first time, the slide show one that is. But I just joined a game and did my best to play good, earning my experience and wisdom as I made my mistakes.

After that, I sat down and read the entire manual, since it's pretty well written and I love the little "short stories" connected with the kharaa descriptions. Some talented persons wrote this stuff, including the history that was put up on the homepage a bit before ns launched.

It's a game, not a nuclear bomb you're trying to defuse - in that case I'd definitely RTFM a lot <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='wink.gif'><!--endemo-->

Ravlin

Yes, RTFM is very important with NS.
But it has one flaw. There are also people who can not read in english good. I am from Slovakia (Middle Europe if you don't know) and most people in our country are not very good in english. They can learn what some words mean in the game, but reading the manuals is for them impossible. We have english in our school but most pupils will learn only some basic things (not enough to understand the manual).
So for them the only way is to watch someone other who plays it or try it out (most people I know are not that type who is trying everything on everything).

Sigh

I could have never learned the things I learned if I watched, it may have taken me a couple hours of gameplay but I at least know what I'm doing and know the maps well enough. I have the hudfastswitch on since I already know the buttons.

If your a total newbie to RTS or First-Person communities then its probably best to observe but if you've played either one or both then you should be fine, also depends on the type of person you are.