Outpost Universe Forums
Outpost Series Games => Outpost 2 Divided Destiny => Topic started by: Simpsonboy77 on May 21, 2010, 11:48:52 PM
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Somewhat a continuation of this thread. (http://forum.outpost2.net/index.php?showtopic=4723) I plan on doing plymouth starship 2 which is a LR map.
I will start out by explaining how to select a good mining beacon, and how to survey it. Then go over basic colony layout, smelters near mines, everything connected to CC.
From there I will then explain each building given to me and why its needed for a basic colony.
Explain how cargo trucks mine.
Explain the building process, SF -> kits -> convecs -> building
Explain research.
Explain why you need to train scientists.
Explain morale, I need help on this one. How do I explain morale correctly? Should I
start abstractly and say its the mood of your colonists, and the happier they are the better they work?
Summary of suggestions from that thread:
Maybe explain why you have to set cargo truck routes the way you do.
Maybe call ConVec's by their full name "Construction Vehicle".
Explain CC, SF, Smelter, Nursery, Agridome, Lab, Tokamak, Mines, university.
Explain Morale
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Was tempted to choose "Don't bother, your first one was terrible.", but thats just mean XD
Any ways, I say several short videos, that cover a good portion each. I.E. one could be about setting up a mine (what cargo trucks, smelters, surveyors are...), other stuff about resources like each type and the proportion of smelters to factories, and maybe even starting build and mining camp setup. This way, you can cover a LARGE amount of information. If you want, I could help.
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I was also thinking something along the lines of several short videos explaining individual aspects. Sort of a fan-made set of tutorials.
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Alright, I'm not going to have much time during the week, so optimally I'll get this done next weekend. This also gives me another week to get some more feedback.
Thanks
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Having several small videos is better, because people can pick one at a time and don't get spammed with information they don't want.
I'd prefer one video for each aspect of the game:
- mining (building mine, cargo routes, smelters, how many smelters?, etc.)
- building structures (having an sf, building kits, loading into convec, etc.)
- research (the labs, how to start research, how to stop research, ...)
- colonists (kids, workers, scientists, what they are good for, how to get them, ...)
- combat
- ...
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Hmm thanks for you feedback so far. I would like the person who voted 10 minute or less to post their reason.
Sadly I don't think I can do it this weekend, as I already have plans for much of the weekend. I'll get to it eventually. I feel a bit better putting it off now that there is one out already.
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I think I voted 10 minutes or less, but I can't really remember why.
However, I will defend my previous decision.
While having all the information spread out over two or three (or even six) ten minute videos is decent, and I DO understand Outpost 2 has a considerably steep learning curve (maybe it's the fact I started playing it when I was SEVEN but...), you have to realize the attention given to a thirteen year old game by someone who probably never really heard about it is not going to last for 20, 30, or even 60 minutes.
That being said, I chose 10 minutes simply because that's about all the attention you are guaranteed. Granted, there are going to be some people who will want to know what's under every rock and over every hill, but that's not enough to cut making a lot of videos if people are going to go "tl;dr" or in this case, "too complex, didn't watch."
Now, to summarize - and I do like the idea of multiple videos, don't get me wrong,
A single ten-minute "Here's the frosting on the cake" is great for your more casual gamer. Give them a basic introduction into the game, show them how some stuff works, but don't feed them too much. On the other hand, if you did only several smaller videos, you'd have people forgetting what's in the first by the time they get to the last, or they'll just give up and, as I said earlier, "tc;dw" the whole thing.
However, what if you did both? You'd have a more casual "here's the tip of the iceberg" video that basically introduces people (and links them here) and then they'll get playing and "I wonder what this button does..." the whole thing to the ME[size=0] [/size]S hall and then come bother us for the complex bothersome stuff, and then you'd also have the obscenely spread-out multi-volume videos that would allow your more dedicated nostalgic person to learn about/get (back) into Outpost 2 without having to use the abhorred Search function.
tl;dr version: Make both one ten minute and several shorter ones.
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I think Simpsons original videos are the ones you were speaking of. I, being a a hard core gamer imo, watch tutorial videos of several games that I want to learn some stuff with. I know, for casual gamers, it won't attract them, but the fact of the mater is, a casual gamer is not likely to walk in here. I think if he made several videos, each covering EVERYTHING related to the topic, a person would learn alot. Hell, I might make a dummy video about mining to demonstrate.
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Yea I see no reason not to do both, other than time. Each of the mini tutorial videos was going to be maybe 1 to 2 minutes a piece. Some like mining will be considerably shorter, some like morale will be much longer.
Also another plus about the 10 minute video is it would probably be more enjoyable to watch as the pace is slower and such.
I'm still confused over that mess hall thing, I don't know what the reference is to.
Post cut short because of dinner, will add to it later.
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It's a ... Doom 3 reference. Message Sirbomber about it, he can explain better.
Anyways, I'd be happy to assist, especially on the longer one. If you want I can edit it to get more content in less time.
And I was unaware your mini-tutorials would be so varied in length, I was expected each one to be a several minute. I guess that could work.
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Sorry, I forgot to add to my post before, so rather than editing it I'll add it to this one also.
I'd make the mini tutorials a playlist and save it to my youtube account. I'd have it go in chronological order. Here are all the items I could think of at the moment (in order)
Base layout (add power here)
Mining (start with surveyed beacon)
Building structures (from SF to ground)
Research
Population growth (probably put agridomes here, and definitely workers -> scientists)
Morale
Combat
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Don't leave something out. Surveying of beacons is an essential part of the game and should be in the mining-video. Also, you should try to keep the videos independent from each other. One can understand mining without the knowledge of how to build structures. The original tutorials are a good reference.
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The Basics: Short Videos ONLY (Do not overwhelm the user)
Definitely go for short videos of say 3-5minutes maximum for different parts of the game: IE, building structures, bulldozing, surveying ore deposits, setting waypoints, setting up mine waypoints, basic defenses (walls/turrets; which weapons can fire over it), metal types, morale, etc...
Advanced: Medium sized Videos (5-8minutes maximum)
IE: bulldozing, setting waypoints, morale, disasters (disaster management)
Expert: 9+ Minutes
IE: Attacking enemy bases, etc
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Also, it is a good idea to stress how to build buildings in this game. It took me the first time 2 hours to figure out how to build 1 building.
Tell people this:
1) Have sufficient common/rare metals
2) Select Structure Factory
3) Scroll down to desired structure
4) Click build at bottom of menu
5) Wait for it to finish building the kit
6) Find and Select a ConVec (Construction Vehicle for short)
7) Move the ConVec to the Structure Factory Bay (Will look sort of like a metallic X inside a square; Your cursor will change to the loading cursor when you are hovering over the correct spot)
8) Click on Storage
9) Select the Structure Kit by clicking on the bay it is stored in (1-6)
10) Move ConVec to desired position and click build
11) While the building is being built, select an Earthworker
12) Take the Earthworker and build tubes connecting the new building to the rest of the base.
FAIRLY complex for newcomers to the game for sure eh? Not like most RTSs!