Forums » Suggestions
Game is too hard!
Hi,
I find vendetta online (especially in the beginning) to be too hard.
It should be possible to buy extra armor for example as it is no fun trying to do a simple delivery mission and everytime going through ION storms with ApuTech whatevers outgunning my peashooter and knocking through my armor.
There is no way you are going to keep customers if they find the game frustrating.
Another major criticism I have is that it is unclear how as a beginner to gain higher levels 1/1/1/1 whatever -- are training missions the only way to increase combat ratings.
Very frustrated.
Endlos
I find vendetta online (especially in the beginning) to be too hard.
It should be possible to buy extra armor for example as it is no fun trying to do a simple delivery mission and everytime going through ION storms with ApuTech whatevers outgunning my peashooter and knocking through my armor.
There is no way you are going to keep customers if they find the game frustrating.
Another major criticism I have is that it is unclear how as a beginner to gain higher levels 1/1/1/1 whatever -- are training missions the only way to increase combat ratings.
Very frustrated.
Endlos
It's true that ION = death trappe for newbies
The Free battery is not enought in a EC-88 too escape ION's bots.
The Free battery is not enought in a EC-88 too escape ION's bots.
Depends where you are. An Ion storm in Divinia or Itan will have collectors in it- easy to escape. If you're in a harder system, like Jallik or gray space, well, it's going to be harder in an Ion storm.
You could always plot courses around the ion storms. Use shift click to set waypoints to make a nav path.
Both Lonestar and Rogue's comments are good and valid if you've been playing for a while, but as a beginner, who may not know HOW to plot a course or what systems are more difficult, it's very hard to do. The mentor system is a good way to train a beginner in the art of VO but there needs to be more documentation on beginner tactics and pitfalls so that they do not get frustrated and leave as Endlos has stated.
For brand new players, even storms with just collectors can be a challenge. And, also in nation central systems like Divinia & Itan, there's a fair chance there will be Aputech-5 Guardians, which for new players in freebuses can be very scary, much more so than just collectors.
I see two problems with Ion Storms: they are backwards in difficulty, meaning they are far more difficult for new players with lower level equipment and less experience. Once the player gets better equipment & more skill, all the sudden Ion Storms stop being terrifying - but they are still annoying, which is the other problem I have with Ion Storms. The only thing they really add to the game is annoyance.
As far as improving those, I really can't think of a good way to change the first one. The best I can think is to make it more obvious that Ion Storms can be avoided by going around asteroid sectors. I know there is the loading screen tip, but for a lot of people sectors load so fast that they can't read the tips. Maybe we could have a game option to show the tips in the mission computer after each jump/warp, so that there'd be more time to read it.
On the other hand, I can think of a lot of things that could help with making Ion Storms more useful, rather than only being a frustration. My favorite idea about it so far has been to make ore mined in Ion Storms "Ionized", and more valuable than the "Premium" ore that is usually mined.
I see two problems with Ion Storms: they are backwards in difficulty, meaning they are far more difficult for new players with lower level equipment and less experience. Once the player gets better equipment & more skill, all the sudden Ion Storms stop being terrifying - but they are still annoying, which is the other problem I have with Ion Storms. The only thing they really add to the game is annoyance.
As far as improving those, I really can't think of a good way to change the first one. The best I can think is to make it more obvious that Ion Storms can be avoided by going around asteroid sectors. I know there is the loading screen tip, but for a lot of people sectors load so fast that they can't read the tips. Maybe we could have a game option to show the tips in the mission computer after each jump/warp, so that there'd be more time to read it.
On the other hand, I can think of a lot of things that could help with making Ion Storms more useful, rather than only being a frustration. My favorite idea about it so far has been to make ore mined in Ion Storms "Ionized", and more valuable than the "Premium" ore that is usually mined.
[On the other hand, I can think of a lot of things that could help with making Ion Storms more useful, rather than only being a frustration. My favorite idea about it so far has been to make ore mined in Ion Storms "Ionized", and more valuable than the "Premium" ore that is usually mined.]
This is a great idea…
This is a great idea…
"My favorite idea about it so far has been to make ore mined in Ion Storms "Ionized", and more valuable than the "Premium" ore that is usually mined."
Now *that* is an awesome idea. :D
Now *that* is an awesome idea. :D
How about having ion storms show up on the nav map once they have been 'sighted' by a player...
It still boggles me why the Itani and Serco tolerate the presence of a huge number of hostile craft in their space. Personally I would think that a self-replicating robot horde sitting on your doorstep and bent on destruction would be more of a threat than some guys several systems away who happen to be pissed off at you.
@Endlos, learn to strafe and suddenly the low level combat becomes horribly easy.
It still boggles me why the Itani and Serco tolerate the presence of a huge number of hostile craft in their space. Personally I would think that a self-replicating robot horde sitting on your doorstep and bent on destruction would be more of a threat than some guys several systems away who happen to be pissed off at you.
@Endlos, learn to strafe and suddenly the low level combat becomes horribly easy.
If a space is "Monitored" by a nation, then they have to have monitoring equipment, couldn't part of that equipment be storm watch sensors. We watch the sun for flares, and to keep an eye on weather patterns over the ocean, why can't they see these storms coming????
It is nice to see so many people concerned about the experience of n00bs. I can remember the game was a lot more frustrating when I was a noob, and the catastrophies, like dying in an Ion Storm on the last leg of a 3 system trade mission, were much more discouraging... because it took so much more work to build back your money, or to get anywhere.
Now with my fancy ships I can make 100,000 without breaking a sweat, and the Ions are really harmless.
Now with my fancy ships I can make 100,000 without breaking a sweat, and the Ions are really harmless.
Endlos, I understand your frustration. When I was new to this game I made the same comments. The learning curve for new players is too steep, and the early game needs quite a lot of work.
For the time being, though, here are some tricks to surviving:
1. Politely ask for a mentor on Channel 100. You'll probably get a number of eager respondants. (If nobody responds, it's nothing to do with you -- probably there just aren't any mentoring types online at the time.) A mentor will help you get "over the hump" of learning how to be a VO pilot.
2. Avoid crossing sectors that have asteroids or planets in them. That's where you'll meet nasty bots and ion storms.
3. Dig back in these forums for threads about mastering basic combat techniques, and practice the advice that's given. (You really do need to practice, and be willing to die 10-20 times, before you find a technique and rhythm that works for you.)
4. Abandon your fear of death. There's no consequence, really. If you run short of cash, just ask politely in your nation's channel (Channel 11) and surely someone will give you a pile of credits.
Hopefully your experience will improve! Good luck!
For the time being, though, here are some tricks to surviving:
1. Politely ask for a mentor on Channel 100. You'll probably get a number of eager respondants. (If nobody responds, it's nothing to do with you -- probably there just aren't any mentoring types online at the time.) A mentor will help you get "over the hump" of learning how to be a VO pilot.
2. Avoid crossing sectors that have asteroids or planets in them. That's where you'll meet nasty bots and ion storms.
3. Dig back in these forums for threads about mastering basic combat techniques, and practice the advice that's given. (You really do need to practice, and be willing to die 10-20 times, before you find a technique and rhythm that works for you.)
4. Abandon your fear of death. There's no consequence, really. If you run short of cash, just ask politely in your nation's channel (Channel 11) and surely someone will give you a pile of credits.
Hopefully your experience will improve! Good luck!
Here's a thought on possibly breaking new players into Ion Storms more easily: Why don't we have Ion Storms in Station sectors? They are full of roids and stuff just as much as the other sectors that storms occur in. And if a new players first experience with an Ion Storm was in a station sector, where they can handle figuring out what's going on & why they can't jump without worrying about being shot up by bots, then I think they'd be less surprised when they get caught in one out in the wild.
Thanks for the advice. Will check out info on straf-ing.
I am not afraid to "die" and certainly not afraid to read up on things. But that's another problem I have with this game the docs suck!
WIll apply for a mentor later in the day.
Cheers,
Endlos
I am not afraid to "die" and certainly not afraid to read up on things. But that's another problem I have with this game the docs suck!
WIll apply for a mentor later in the day.
Cheers,
Endlos
"How about having ion storms show up on the nav map once they have been 'sighted' by a player..."
good idea, but let's make the process player-driven, not automatic.
in a suggestion i made earlier:
http://www.vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/3/8489#98280
i proposed the idea of a bot that would maintain a database of ion storm sightings reported by players. a guild of "weathermen" (so to speak) would be able to submit reports to the bot via /msg, and any player would be able to query the bot for information about a given system. the bot would take care of automatically aging and expiring database entries as time passed.
to my mind, the advantages of this are twofold: first, my hope is that this solution would be relatively easy to implement and would not require changes to many other parts of the game, and second, it would give players something else to do.
good idea, but let's make the process player-driven, not automatic.
in a suggestion i made earlier:
http://www.vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/3/8489#98280
i proposed the idea of a bot that would maintain a database of ion storm sightings reported by players. a guild of "weathermen" (so to speak) would be able to submit reports to the bot via /msg, and any player would be able to query the bot for information about a given system. the bot would take care of automatically aging and expiring database entries as time passed.
to my mind, the advantages of this are twofold: first, my hope is that this solution would be relatively easy to implement and would not require changes to many other parts of the game, and second, it would give players something else to do.
The doc seems alright for me. The tutorial is lacking though. Flight is not learned, just interface. i.e. press w to move forward, try it now. good!...press d to strafe right, try it now as the bot shoots. you dodged the shot!....does anyone feel like making a tutorial video?