Newbie direction.

[Vejuz]

What we have here is a failure to communicate.

What ozzie is saying is that he newbies lack direction. This is something I can relate to. Sundren is a HUGE mod, and, especially for the uniformed, labyrinthian in complexity. This can be overwhelming for newbies, especially ones who haven't found the player locater yet. He suggested a quest, unaware that such a system was already in the making, and a hot-button issue on the forums.

What the team is saying is that many tools already exist which aid newbies in finding their way. The Traveler's Guide and the player locator. Read the Traveler's Guide. It helps. (Trust me.)

Now we can stop arguing over nothing.

For my own suggestion, I suggest turning the Traveler's Guide, or a truncated version there-of, into a journal entry ending with "Read the Traveler's Guide in inventory for more info" if the second. Not only are journal entries more easy on the eyes but also more likely to be read.

-V

[ozziewolf]

One final response... What Vejuz is saying about journal entries is true as they are highly likely to be read over items in the inventory. Even if its just an entry that says read the journal for helpful information.

[Jaeram]

When I first came here I read the traveller's guide and it was helpful. I honestly have to say if people didn't just ignore the ONE book they are given, which isn't even very long, for direction then they wouldn't have a problem. If I'm on a new server and I start with like five items and one of the items says Traveller's Guide to Sundren, and one of my journal entries says hey, read the book, I don't think I would throw it away, I would read it. In fact all of my characters still carry their traveller's guides even though I've been here for a few months lol.

[Kangleton]

It is the eventual intention of the Sundren Development team to implement a quest system, though the details of this system are somewhat still undescribed to the player community. However, it is probably likely that these quests will include one or two for newbies, and would be geared towards an introduction into the server.

Until, and including then, you can still always use the Sundren menu, while online. Right click your character and you'll see an option that says "Sundren", and upon entering that new pop-up, you should see an option that says "Find Players" or something similar. If you select that, you'll recieve a list of which areas have the most players, and you can use that to find a few people to RP with, and recieve direction from.

Your search will almost always lead you to the Exigo Trading Camp though, where most people will be located around the campfire near the area entrance. Some of the PC's that have been known to reside there will even give quests to you much like an NPC would. There was a person who had RP'ed putting a bounty on the head of any goblin, and would pay ten gold for each piece of meat you'd bring back to them, as proof of the task being completed. I've seen another person direct a newbie to a place to find a book for them, and would eventually pay the newbie for the services of a delivery boy. These people didn't actually need goblin meat or books, as these items are pretty much worthless, and easily findable if the requirement for them ever did arise, but it provided nice direction for new folks, and provided some extra gold as well.

My quests were the best though. Oh yes.

Go to le' Exigo, I say.

What was wrong with this? I hope that didn't come off as hostile... I sure didn't intend it.

I thought it was helpful.

[ozziewolf]

What was wrong with this? I hope that didn't come off as hostile... I sure didn't intend it.

I thought it was helpful.

Sorry Kangleton it was a generalization and I didn't mean to direct it at your post.

[rustediron]

I think what caused the misunderstanding, ozziewolf, was the repeated reference to a 'small quest' you make. Since they're completely redoing the quest system right now, a quest is out of the question (I think), so dropping the idea earlier may have helped. Though obviously, you have only been here for a short time, so there is no way you could have known that.

LOL, Silas, is that Dr J in your avatar?

[Kangleton]

Sorry Kangleton it was a generalization and I didn't mean to direct it at your post.

I WIN!

But seriously, don't take any hostility too hard. Afterall, this is the internet, where emotions and intentions don't translate well.

We have a good community here, and I'm sure that nobody is intentionally being offensive or rude, or hostile in any way.

[Silas North]

Kang is correct. I am sorry if I made you believe that YOU were among the definition of "impatient" I was referring to. The fact that you had these matters bothering you Oz and did not flee right away proves that you are actually NOT impatient. I just brought up an odd question that was perhaps best not being brought up in the first place.

Also, I agree with you. I think there is some disagreement about what is useful to beginners and what is not journal-wise yadda yadda. However, some kind of little start-up quest is not a bad idea, but more than likely in the making.

As for npcs pointing you in a certain direction, I can understand there being some concern of the trend changing. Sure, the Exigo campfire is a popular hot spot now (no pun intended), but that could change any moment and the next thing you know, a certain talented bard is causing a great congregation in a tavern in Sundren City and a new trend is born. Plus the campfire is not ALWYAS populated. Altering npc text may be easy. It may not be. I am not a programmer so I will assume it to be a headache the Sundevs would rather avoid. Npcs pointing you toward quests when they are added in is certainly a good idea. I would not be surprised if they DO plan to add those in though.

[Kangleton]

Therefore, the best thing you can do, probably, is use the Find Players feature. Again, just click on your character and open up the menu, and there are additional features exclusive to Sundren. Find Players will tell you where people are at any given moment, and it kinda simulates the idea that you heard it as a rumor from a passing NPC.

"A lot of folks down at the trading post tonight."

"Adventurers in the hills again... crazy bastards."

Etc. Etc.

With that, you might just find the direction you need?

[rustediron]

That's an interesting idea, actually, Kangleton

Replacing the 'Find Players' with a feat like 'Listen to rumours' or something, and then putting a cooldown of a minute or so on it... perhaps giving you information on one populated area only?

Actually, the 'Find Players' is one of the reasons I like this server so much, but the change could be interesting.