Tutorial level for the newer players

[GizmoGomez]

Hey all,

I read a thread a bit ago that suggested a tutorial to teach new-to-the-genre players how to play the game. I was thinking it could be either activated anytime from the main menu through a "Tutorial" tab (or something, whatever works), or it could be a checkbox when you start a new game (similar to the Iron Man checkbox) that you could select to have the tutorial start before you start your game.

Personally, I like the checkbox idea, it's kind of like a commander training that you can go through before you take control of the organization.

Going with the checkbox idea, I think that it should be selected by default (though still uncheckable) on the easiest difficulty, and totally disabled on the highest difficulty. This would make newer players (who'd pick easy more often than not, perhaps) guaranteed to get the tutorial unless they opted out by unchecking the box, and it'd make the masochists who want to play the insane difficulty have to know about the game before they play, unless they enjoy failing miserably.

Anyway, it's not really a priority, and would/should be done after all the mechanics and UI changes and everything is smoothed out, and all we have left is balancing.

EDIT:

Since Gauddlike asked nicely, I'll edit this post to include ideas of perhaps less-than-intuative things that newer players should be taught in the tutorial. If anyone has any ideas, please share them in this post so I can add them to the tutorial list.

Thanks!

Geoscape:

-Explain Radar ranges, how (unless I'm embarrassingly mistaken) the inner ring is the detection range, and the outer ring is how far away they can get before they are lost. (That is right, right?)

-

Ground Combat:

-Grenade quickslot mechanics (L-click to use grenade, R-click to select grenade, esc to esc)

-Change aim levels with R-click or scroll wheel.

-Switching fire mode using the weapon image icons and hotkeys.

-

Air Combat:

(Perhaps a simple still-image with clickable help boxes would do for this one)

-Throttle

-Fuel Level

-Evasive maneuvers

-Missile locking behavior

-

Edited May 29, 2013 by GizmoGomez
Adding the List

[Commissar Pancakes]

Hey all,

...and it'd make the masochists who want to play the insane difficulty have to know about the game before they play, unless they enjoy failing miserably...

Pretty much, you'd have to be a masochist to know what you are truly getting into. Besides, how can we be masochists if we weren't slaughtered by the tutorial level?

[Gauddlike]

Are you thinking of a tutorial ground mission or a full tutorial, including research, manufacturing, base building,

I think it would be advantageous to make a list of things that should be in a tutorial mission.

If anyone has a mechanic that they use that escaped their notice for a while or works in a way that they feel is not obvious then list it, maybe Gizmo will add the list to his first post if we get a few ideas together?

I would say the obvious things for me (ground combat) are:

- Switching fire modes with the icons or hotkeys (i.e. burst and single on the assault rifle)

- Changing aim levels using mouse wheel or right clicking

- Use of the grenade hotkey, i.e right clicking to select grenade, left click to fire, escape to cancel