[Project] NS2 Tutorial Map and code modifications
MCMLXXXIV
Join Date: 2010-04-14 Member: 71400Members
Join Date: 2010-04-14 Member: 71400Members
in Squad Five
<div class="IPBDescription">A way to introduce new players to the quirks of the classes etc.</div>A while back (April 2011) I started working on a way to bring the old combat mode functionality<a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/forums/index.php?showtopic=111818&st=140&gopid=1932338&#entry1932338" target="_blank"> to NS2</a> in the form of a mod. Unfortunately with my own travel plans hatching and frequent changes in the game API the first attempt was a fail, but having learned from some of those mistakes I think it'd be possible to try again as the first non-Beta release nears.
I'd like to start a Basecamp project for a tutorial program. I think there is some win in this for NS2, providing a way for new players to get introduced to the combat aspects of the game and the concepts themselves without having to worry about pissing off fellow players or getting ganked in the first five minutes, getting a sucky commander etc... When I tried to show off NS1 at LAN parties a lot of people found that it was a steep learning curve and at the moment NS2 is much better but I still think that more could be done...
The effort required would basically be a quick and dirty map at first (with the hope that a good mapper can flesh out the concept further) with player-activated triggers for spawning bots and buildings etc. at the right times and places. It'd involve a fair amount of custom lua scripting in order to move the player through various 'scenes' that highlight the basic strategy, classes, weapons and items for each team but I think with some storyboarding and map-driven script elements it wouldn't take too long to implement or too much to maintain as NS2 changes. Obviously, it'd need some code updating as the various skills change and at this point would be something of a moving target, but it should be possible to get the underlying code structures ready before the release date and would hopefully be something that UWE could make use of if it was of high enough quality. Becoming a commander would probably be out of scope initially as most players only go there when they feel more comfortable with the competitive aspects of the game and watching Hugh's videos etc. This is more for new players who want to 'dive in' but giving a little prior knowledge first.
Obviously you have the problem that new players aren't going to know about the mod initially so it'd require setting up some well-placed Tutorial servers that are just running through the tutorial script for players to walk through - if server-side mod downloading is available and the mod is small I can't see the fact that it's a mod posing a problem to its usefulness - that is a big if though...
Any thoughts?
I'd like to start a Basecamp project for a tutorial program. I think there is some win in this for NS2, providing a way for new players to get introduced to the combat aspects of the game and the concepts themselves without having to worry about pissing off fellow players or getting ganked in the first five minutes, getting a sucky commander etc... When I tried to show off NS1 at LAN parties a lot of people found that it was a steep learning curve and at the moment NS2 is much better but I still think that more could be done...
The effort required would basically be a quick and dirty map at first (with the hope that a good mapper can flesh out the concept further) with player-activated triggers for spawning bots and buildings etc. at the right times and places. It'd involve a fair amount of custom lua scripting in order to move the player through various 'scenes' that highlight the basic strategy, classes, weapons and items for each team but I think with some storyboarding and map-driven script elements it wouldn't take too long to implement or too much to maintain as NS2 changes. Obviously, it'd need some code updating as the various skills change and at this point would be something of a moving target, but it should be possible to get the underlying code structures ready before the release date and would hopefully be something that UWE could make use of if it was of high enough quality. Becoming a commander would probably be out of scope initially as most players only go there when they feel more comfortable with the competitive aspects of the game and watching Hugh's videos etc. This is more for new players who want to 'dive in' but giving a little prior knowledge first.
Obviously you have the problem that new players aren't going to know about the mod initially so it'd require setting up some well-placed Tutorial servers that are just running through the tutorial script for players to walk through - if server-side mod downloading is available and the mod is small I can't see the fact that it's a mod posing a problem to its usefulness - that is a big if though...
Any thoughts?
Comments
I know of three groups now trying to do something like that. All three have a different target audience, but they somewhat share the same goal. Yours would be the most basic training/tutorial for new players, while RisingSun from Ascension is working on something more advanced. LemonBoy and Bicsum from HBZ are also working on some kind of small training mod for different gameplay situations.
I would suggest you all get in contact with each other and coordinate to create one big mod that provides tutorials and training for all skill levels. You would need proper organization, but I think it has benefits, since you can bounce ideas off each other and basic code changes can benefit everyone. You would have to make some kind of guidelines, especially concerning the code changes, so that everyone is working on their stuff in their own files and only change the common NS2 files if necessary or if the functionality of the code change could be beneficial to all mods. A version control system (e.g. Git + GitHub) and a common place to chat would be absolutely necessary.