New players arriving when full game is launched

[Durron]

I posted this in the RSI forums as well, but I feel like you guys will have a more mature conversation about it

With the release of the dog fighting module in December, everyone here will begin to learn the flight control systems and dog fighting styles of SC. Over the course of a year, we will be honing our skills in the simulator and eventually the PU with the different ships our pledges have earned us.

Come December 2014 (hopefully) the game will be released to the General Public for purchase, and they will be showing up in their brand new Auroras', learning the ins and outs of their ship, practicing flying, etc.

Meanwhile, all the backers have been flying in SC for about a year and have gained experience with the twitch style of the game, and we will be in bigger and better ships than the Aurora from our pledges, as well as any new ships we've earned while in beta.

Do people think new players will be discouraged coming in at the start of a game, and finding themselves extremely under experienced?

An argument for this can be this has happened with all MMO's and the new players just catch up, but this is a bit different. With something like WoW or GW2, you learn a set of buttons to hit so you make the right attacks at the right time (not a lot of skill) and there are areas for new players. Whereas with SC there is no starting zone, and the fighting is completely skill based.

I'm not arguing that the backers shouldn't get in early. We pledged our hard earned money to help develop this game and we earned our spot in the alpha and betas, I'm just curious to what people think about the scenario.

**CSC PART ONLY**

I personally plan on helping out newer players when I see them in a state where they are just learning things and have older players attacking them, whether or not they're in the guild. If they're doing something stupid, that's their fault and they'll learn but if two cutlasses are bearing down on a new Aurora ship transporting some goods, I'll definitely jump in and help the poor guy out to try and get the pirates off his tail. Flying in a flight or squadron though, I wouldn't be only risking my ship, so I'm curious to what others plan on doing (if whoever I'm flying with doesn't want to risk it I'd either do it on my own or leave it be)

[Magnet]

Sure there is a certain risk that existing backers have more flight experience and seem to be almighty compared to the newbies but I guess it also depends on how often existing backers play, how well they adapt to the game's mechanics and personal strengths and weaknesses.

I will also support newbies as I have always experienced such mentors in other MMOs and appreciated them! It is nice to find someone willing to lend me a hand and support me during the beginning. But I guess RSI will develop the game in that direction that even newbies will be able to get into the game quite quickly and find their way! And as the universe will be so huge that an encounter of two players (not npcs) won't be that often with 200.000 to 400.000 players so you won't be wasted by veteran players every 5 minutes or so

We should mainly try support our new members and as "secondary objective" support others perhaps to get new members, to show that we are a respective and fair corporation and to make some advertisment

[Durron]

[Siycle]

I was gona be one of the pirates

But in all honesty i would help so long as the risk is not too high. As far as backers having a "huge" edge over new guys; that is a skill based issues and in my opinion there will be a certain point at which our skill tops off given the physics of the game (another words sooner or later we will only progress with the support of our guild mates/alliances). But thats just my prediction; the hanger will be a good representation of "skill dependence" vs "group dependence" vs "gear dependence".

[Mattheus]

Veteran players will be doing higher end content. Fighting in the edges of space, fighting vanduul etc. Newbies like in any game will be doing baser lvl stuff, running lower profit materials in safe space.

But the argument could be made that new players could be a valuable commodity. Since there is no skilling up to help contribute bigger guilds will just throw cheap ships at them because they need pilots.

[Solar]

People usually don't have problems when starting an MMO, the general feel when starting an MMO is there is obviously always going to be people much better than you, so people shouldn't be discouraged. Maybe we should dedicate a small section of the corp to introducing players to the game when they join up. Like you said, the game will be based on skill, so new players could easily surpass a backer that's bad at the flight mechanics.