Soooo... It has been noted on these forums that this game tends to struggle with recruiting and retaining new players. I believe I have the solution, achieved through changes to the tutorial new players experience. Having played through this recently while syncing my account to a phone, I realized that this tutorial is incredibly dull, and while introducing the game's core mechanics, it is extremely bad at "hooking" you, catching your interest. (I'm not saying it's utter rubbish, just that it could be doing a way better job than it is.) So how do we fix this?
Firstly, we need to promote Battle Bay's biggest draws. These are:
- A large lineup of modes.
- Heavy loadout customization, with 7 ships and 40 items currently present in-game.
- Team-based, collaborative gameplay and strategy.
The current tutorial doesn't do squat about the first two, and barely makes an effort for the third one. This NEEDS to change. Here's how I outline the tutorial, with instances of core element promotion highlighted in a corresponding color:
Upon starting the game for the first time, a player is immediately thrown into a game of
5v5 Team Elimination against bots, in a Shooter loaded with a gray Standard Cannon, Standard Mortar, Standard Torpedo, and Standard Shield to introduce controls and item diversity. This plays out much like the first game already in the tutorial.
After that, the player levels up and is given a box containing gold, sugar, a standard shield, a Gatling gun, and a turbo. (all uncommon.) Here, they are shown the basics of
leveling, ship upgrades, talent training scrapping (the gray small shield), and loadout customization. Questing is also introduced via a quest to win 3 games, with the reward being a prize box.
Now, they are returned to a botted
Team Elim, after which they are
introduced to TDM (3v3 with 6 kills to win) and
CTF, both against bots, and
learn skills like capturing the point, and guarding or taking a flag, as well as being placed into situations where either they or the enemy are outnumbered, and learning basic tips for those scenarios. After this, the 3-win quest is done, and the player receives the prize box, which contains a Defender ship, a big shield, a bandage, and a cleanse pulse (uncommon again), and are
introduced to swapping items between ships. They also have a chance to do
more leveling, this time choosing what item(s) and ship to upgrade.
Now, they go back into
Team Elim, against more advanced bots, and are
shown the benefits of staying together with their team, helping a medic, and the basics of dodging torps/mortars and shot leading. After finishing that game, the player is told that they will now be given free rein, the tutorial is complete, and they will now face real players like themselves. As a "parting gift from Bhurt," they are presented with a rare sniper cannon, rare long range mortar, and rare swift torpedo, and
allowed to choose one of them that they think will help them the most. The same thing happens for blue items, but with a standard shield, turbo, and bandage. The player is also instructed in
buying new ships, via Bhurt giving them one last present: Gold for a Speeder and a choice of rare nitro, overboost, and Tesla bolt. After this, the player knows everything they need to know, and are ready for whatever the Bay brings. (and hopefully interested enough to continue their journey).
Whew! my fingers are sore lol... Any feedback/suggestions, please let me know
@Zeus
@The Grim RepairClick to expand...