Help Section

Shouldn't there be a Help Section for newcomers to come and ask questions, and have tutorials/guides.

[bobdaduck]

I feel like bitfighter is fairly self explanatory... A tutorial isn't really necessary.

I think questions and stuff can be posted just fine in the general discussion section.

[raptor]

This is exactly what the Wiki is for - it lets anyone add helpful pages about the game or certain aspects of it.

(so the developers can get back to coding... )

[karamazovapy]

There's also Technical Support if you can't get something to work.

I feel like bitfighter is fairly self explanatory... A tutorial isn't really necessary.

I think questions and stuff can be posted just fine in the general discussion section.

Wouldn't it be annoying to have a bunch of questions in the general discussion...?
I guess we need more newcomers for that...
SPAM QUESTIONS

[Little_Apple]

Ever hear of the Irc channel?

The thread should be locked cuz meta forum is like a help section.

Listen man just ask sam686 he knows all there is to know about bitfighter

[karamazovapy]

The thread should be locked cuz meta forum is like a help section. Too bad blackbird .

The MetaForum is for talk about the forums themselves.

The MetaForum is for talk about the forums themselves.

How come it says "Questions? Complaints? Discuss this forum here!"
It even has questions within the section, talk is pretty vague...

[karamazovapy]

"Discuss this forum here!"

Then we need a help section or we depend on the newcomers to search information themselves or will the questions all just be in General Discussion?

[karamazovapy]

Here, as in most of the world, people are expected to make a little effort on their own.

There is an extensive FAQ for the forums, and an extremely useful help section included in the game itself. If players have more complicated gameplay questions, yes, General Discussion is appropriate.

You'll notice that General Discussion is not currently flooded with players asking how to use the keyboard and mouse properly.

Here, as in most of the world, people are expected to make a little effort on their own.

There is an extensive FAQ for the forums, and an extremely useful help section included in the game itself. If players have more complicated gameplay questions, yes, General Discussion is appropriate.

You'll notice that General Discussion is not currently flooded with players asking how to use the keyboard and mouse properly.

LOL

Heck I wouldn't be surprise if it did happen man.
K...Lock it? This thread is useless...

I don't use a computer for forum posting. I do 99% of all my forums posting on my iPod touch. Soooo.....

[sam686]

There is an extensive FAQ for the forums

Pretty much that same FAQ are found everywhere. https://www.google.com/search?q=Login+and+Registration+Issues...

I did find some topics in "Meta Forums" that have nothing to do with forums.

You'll notice that General Discussion is not currently flooded with players asking how to use the keyboard and mouse properly.

Maybe the reason you don't see it on forums is they don't know how to register, log in, or don't know how to use or get email needed to register. I have seen some new players with in-game chat that said they don't know how to change loadout or use shield or turbo, or change weapons.

There is an extensive FAQ for the forums

Pretty much that same FAQ are found everywhere. https://www.google.com/search?q=Login+and+Registration+Issues...

I did find some topics in "Meta Forums" that have nothing to do with forums.

You'll notice that General Discussion is not currently flooded with players asking how to use the keyboard and mouse properly.

Maybe the reason you don't see it on forums is they don't know how to register, log in, or don't know how to use or get email needed to register. I have seen some new players with in-game chat that said they don't know how to change loadout or use shield or turbo, or change weapons.

Yeah but there is a help button or instruction page that shows the controls in the game. Using a forum is harder than a game in my opinion. Kids will likely be attracted to BF than teenagers/adults.

Maybe having instructions to make an account and login in the forums in the game, bitfighter, is a good idea to support kids.
(having forum instructions in the game BF)

[karamazovapy]

If they can't click on INSTRUCTIONS from the main menu of the game they've just downloaded, registering and posting on an internet forum probably isn't in their skill set either.

...and if they're incapable of using forums, a dedicated Help forum won't do much good either.

I would agree that fixing up the Wiki Section dedicated to playing instructions might be worthwhile, but how much written help is actually going to help someone who refuses to read?

If they can't click on INSTRUCTIONS from the main menu of the game they've just downloaded, registering and posting on an internet forum probably isn't in their skill set either.

...and if they're incapable of using forums, a dedicated Help forum won't do much good either.

I would agree that fixing up the Wiki Section dedicated to playing instructions might be worthwhile, but how much written help is actually going to help someone who refuses to read?

OHHHH man...dude don't you remember when you were a kid...I do. When I was a kid...I don't read junk from a game. It had to be simple or have a simple tutorial. The tutorial forced me to read in order to keep progressing the game, like a teacher almost. Then later on if I want to know more specifics about a game, I research it somehow.

A tutorial button is what we need in the menu. In the tutorial there is a list of tutorial maps and the player picks all/some of them to start playing the game.

We already have some maps that are tutorials.

[karamazovapy]

I read Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park from start to finish when I was still seven.

But I don't think attracting illiterate children is our top goal.

[Little_Apple]

When I was seven I could count to seven. That's pretty good.

I read Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park from start to finish when I was still seven.

But I don't think attracting illiterate children is our top goal.

Oh my gosh...don't yall know american children are too lazy to read them boring books, they aren't illiterate. I see no harm in having a tutorial button in the menu of BF.

[Little_Apple]

If they are illiterate, how do they download the game in the first place?

[karamazovapy]

A number of people have made tutorial levels, but it's unclear how useful they have been.

A tutorial *might* be hard coded at some point. It's come up in the past. If you think we should add a separate tutorial to the game and not a help section to the site, bring it up in the features section.

[Santiago ZAP]

Ever hear of the Irc channel?

use it

[ZoombeR]

Ever hear of the Irc channel?

use it

The irc channel is a great place to ask questions about bitfighter!. Just please do not spam it while the developers are trying to do work. This has happened multiple times before, slowing down work, and it just isn't cool. Join another room or private message someone if you want to spam-chat.

Setting that aside, almost everyone who frequently joins the chat-room will have plenty of knowledge about the game and how all of it works. Think about it, you're talking directly to the ones who make the game possible. If you want to discuss an idea, shoot for it in the channel; see what other people think about it. Then post the idea on the forums if it's generally liked by others in the chat room.

While all this is helpful, please remember as a general rule to be patient when waiting for a reply, as most of us in the chat-room have a chance of being idle or away from the keyboard at that second. however, there is a chat log, and (yes it is read) we will answer the question, just keep up with us.

For those who are too lazy to follow the forum thread, you can find the chat-room here:



and join
#bitfighter

[watusimoto]

I do have ideas for an intro mode that would display messages when a new object is first encountered to tell users what they are and how to deal with them, and perhaps how to control the ship a bit. I haven't really developed the idea very much, but maybe we could have a special level that comes packaged with the game, along with some special coding, that walked players through a brief level initially.

None of the tutorial levels proposed to date really worked for me, but maybe we need to think about a level or series of levels that introduced new concepts/skills.

We've always hosted tutorial levels on a server somewhere, where others could join, but maybe we just host them locally with a locked server.

I haven't really developed the idea very much, but maybe we could have a special level that comes packaged with the game, along with some special coding, that walked players through a brief level initially.

Agreed! If you want an effective tutorial, I think it would need to use elements outside of normal gameplay, and be available offline. You'd need to have:

- Triggered text that appears and disappears after your ship has completed a certain task.
- Animated NPC ship that could demonstrate various game features.
- Ability to "freeze" the player while the NPC demonstrates a task.
etc.

These features would not need to be written for use by everyone, just for the tutorial.

In other words, I think the tutorial would need to be written into the game. It'd be an option in the main menu.

I haven't really developed the idea very much, but maybe we could have a special level that comes packaged with the game, along with some special coding, that walked players through a brief level initially.

Agreed! If you want an effective tutorial, I think it would need to use elements outside of normal gameplay, and be available offline. You'd need to have:

- Triggered text that appears and disappears after your ship has completed a certain task.
- Animated NPC ship that could demonstrate various game features.
- Ability to "freeze" the player while the NPC demonstrates a task.
etc.

These features would not need to be written for use by everyone, just for the tutorial.

In other words, I think the tutorial would need to be written into the game. It'd be an option in the main menu.

The things you listed seems a lot of work, programming wise...rather be glad for that core...
I think having a map with directions is good enough and then the player plays with other people to learn more complex features.