In Regards to the Many Threads Lamenting Queue Wait Times (AKA the Return of "Positive Gamers United?")

[Corpsefoot]

I think we should sticky a thread somewhere here that will contain agreed-upon dates and times for us veterans to introduce new players to the community, since some outsiders might (mistakenly) expect this phase of Early Access to only be about enjoying the game, as opposed to its true purpose of bugsplatting, polishing the UI etc.

Think of it as a spiritual successor to the "dev lunch games" we used to plan constantly in the old forums, but this time more as a necessary step to keep the newcomers happy, as opposed some sort of ego-boosting move to earn the favor of "Beta elites."

Steamrollers looking to scalp newbies need definitely not apply; this will be a move specifically to aid the numerous individuals who are keen on jumping into the game, but are also wary of the predatory idiots who chew fresh Steam users up and spit them out for mere cosmetic items on a daily basis.

I'm not sure who will be in charge of the "official" schedule for games (the one who actually suggests each date and time, confirms those in attendance, and so on) but I am confident that the compelling need to address this elephant in the room will motivate many individuals with a charitable constitution to contribute personally to this undertaking.

The way I hope this endeavor develops is thus:

The OP will post a date and time for a Custom Game in the thread, keeping in mind the needs of the majority of players (meaning roughly around afternoon US Eastern time, or something similar.) Below, at least four to six individuals will post their willingness to comply with the schedule, with additional posters being put on standby as backup, in case unforseen circumstances regarding attendance come up for those previously attending. To prevent the thread running from snowballing out of control, all replies confirming attendance by veterans will be deleted once the game has been completed by all parties, and the new date and time will be Edited over the original post, ad nauseam.

Upon finding enough veterans to man each particular game, everyone scours the forums for the typical "I can't find games help me plz" posts that people are slowly swelling this community with, and reaches out to each individual (an easy way to do this is to Copy Paste the URL of the stickied thread as a direct reply to their queries,) preferably resulting in a situation wherein every single spot for the planned game is filled.

Obviously, once all spots are filled and everyone is able to confirm attendance, the group waits for "game day" roughly two or three nights away, and there you go. Happy customers, fulfilled veterans, and (optimistically speaking,) a lot of negative nonsense fortuitously purged from these forums.

There was a member of the old Sins forums way back when named FleurDeMeur, who envisioned the formation of a close-knit community of insiders (he called it "Positive Gamers United," and PGU could still work as a signature for us) whose primary focus was to streamline newcomers' experience to the game. Although I have no idea where Fleur is now, I hope that we can continue in the essence of his original mission, paving the way for the foundation of this community to be built on firm, trustworthy ground, as opposed to the sort of malicious narcissism I see corrupting even some senior members of the player base currently. The group should consist solely of members approved by others in the group, and a "master roster" must be kept to prevent impostors from masquerading as helpful when all they want is fresh meat to devour.

I am definitely not someone to look to in terms of planning all of this (staying organized was one of my pitfalls in school, and remains one today) but I am still reasonably confident that I can win some of the more paranoid novices in the forums over to my side; in the interest of this project not getting too overwhelming, however, I suggest a separately Tagged category in your friends lists to differentiate the temporary acquaintances you make for these games versus your "regular" friends, and you can even remove those names from your list once you feel they've gotten an idea of what Sins is all about, possibly resulting in them committing to this project themselves further down the road.

I have a feeling this post of mine is inevitably going to start drifting from practical advice to rhetorical flourish if I don't shut up now, so in the interest of staying on track, I was hoping people could reply to this thread with Yea or Nay, and we can see who is interested in joining me in this "naturalization campaign," and what sort of criticism opponents of this movement can procure ^^

[RyszartPedru]

Good idea, count me in!

[Corpsefoot]

Originally posted by Pendragon:

Good idea, count me in!

Glad to hear it; are you new to the community?

[RyszartPedru]

Not closed beta veteran, but I play on daily basis 3 weeks already. Also I'm active member of the community(at least I try to be). In game I do rather good if not matched against pure vets party.

[Corpsefoot]

Originally posted by Pendragon:

Not closed beta veteran, but I play on daily basis 3 weeks already. Also I'm active member of the community(at least I try to be). In game I do rather good if not matched against pure vets party.

Ah.

I was asking to see if you were someone who would stand to benefit from the type of play sessions I mentioned above, but you sound like you've got it under control ^^

As for the "pure vet" parties, a recent update from the devs has (temporarily) capped the amount of people in a premade group to three, so no more steamrolling for those sad sacks.

[RyszartPedru]

Well, there is a huge gap between newcomers and vets that is not helping the first ones. This is basicly couse of the low playerbase. I mean not only in terms of in-game skill but gear, points and others. Still this is gonna change after the release when the playerbase will grow.

I got an idea. How about veterans guide new players in-game? I mean if anyone would be interested in schooling new players(that shall be in the interest of vets to not get frustrated later in matchmade games). Let's say we got 2 vets each team up for a custom game with 4 newcomers and guide them through game. Some kind of VoIP would be necessery for that though. I think people learn best by example and experiance.

Regards,
Pendragon

[Corpsefoot]

Originally posted by Pendragon:

Well, there is a huge gap between newcomers and vets that is not helping the first ones. This is basicly couse of the low playerbase. I mean not only in terms of in-game skill but gear, points and others. Still this is gonna change after the release when the playerbase will grow.

I got an idea. How about veterans guide new players in-game? I mean if anyone would be interested in schooling new players(that shall be in the interest of vets to not get frustrated later in matchmade games). Let's say we got 2 vets each team up for a custom game with 4 newcomers and guide them through game. Some kind of VoIP would be necessery for that though. I think people learn best by example and experiance.

Regards,
Pendragon

Mate, you pretty much summarized my original post XD

While it's clearly too early to be sure, I'm confident that my idea will catch on with the right group of people, and we can then finally alleviate one of the most pressing concerns newcomers have regarding this game.

Hopefully you'll be there alongside us, eh?

[RyszartPedru]

If there's a need, I will help as much as possible. Just think there are greater presonas than me here, more experianced at least.

I'm no native english user though, and you are useing some kind of sophisticated language so I didnt understood all of your first post. Thats why I summarized it - mainly for myself, so now I'm sure I understood the idea exacly as it was mentioned.

Regards,
Pendragon

[arakiel]

I'm up for teaching without beating, but...

I hate commitments so wouldn't want to sign up for time slots. However, if I'm logged in to Steam and am not in an in-progress Sins game already, feel free to reach out.