So I'm currently in a small legion attempting to nab the Eureka medal and it's safe to say that individuals who join GL without the help of a seasoned player or the luck of getting into a decent legion end up making poor decisions or simply lose interest in the game (I'd argue because they haven't done their homework or simply aren't aware of the beneficial information that's available to them regarding he game)

I'd like to suggest a starter pack for brand new ships entering the galaxy. Perhaps 2 - 3 planets (1 of each resource) that are at least rich and large. I'd also leave the GP alone.

Furthermore, while it's improbable, I think it'd be cool for the seasoned players of GL to maybe start up and build a tutorial legion that would be able to steer these players towards playing the game effectively and not making beginner mistakes. Example: when my brother first joined GL he spent his GP on a sub space seeker and sent it to me as a gift!
---perhaps Dan could provide some sort of incentive to those who volunteer to run the tutorial legion, but the individuals running the legion would be cycled (again I'm just spitballing ideas)

Either way I like this game and would like to see it perpetuated for as long as possible. One way or another we should collectively find a way to retain the interest and development of new players to ensure the game is ever growing.

With all this said....Dan why haven't you made some GL t-shirts xD I think that should be a 5 year gift signed by Dan the man himself lol. (I'm joking of course or am I )What do you think guys? Yay? Nay? Ideas?

+1

I suggested something like list after starting up a trainer legion for Infinity. Someone like this help new players stay longer. +1

I think this is a great idea. There is a lot to this game and I know from experience that it's very easy to make mistakes and have no idea what you're doing

You know how in sone games where they force you to do task at the start for an tutorial,dont rember if gl does this been a while. But i think more information would help.

This is an interesting idea, and it would certainly help keep the game going. +1.

And I'd love a Galaxy Legion T-Shirt.

with an option to bypass would be perfect.
I've played many many games, and I tend to learn from forum as opposed to tutorial. Tutorial tend to be, for me, rather useless as it's just the simple mechanics which I can grasp quickly. The more complex "life choice" matter can only be learned through interacting with other players. As such, I'd probably take a pass on tutorials. If anything, I'd rather take a manual and read it. I'm sure there are others like me out there.
On the other hand, players who haven't played much game might need to go through the full tutorial, it'd certainly help them.

A good idea to a good start ( HA!!!! Puns ) but to offer a suggestion to the original the. Planets is a good ide. but if we are going to give starting pplanets, it would be easier for each new player to get the same type/richness.

1 Very massive rich gas
1 very large rich toxic
1 very terraensures terra

ensures everyone starts off on equal footing,

Agreed! A new tutorial could make more players interested considering I've had a few players not wanting to play just because the tutorial was so boring.

i know... i know.. crazy thought but had they consider skipping the tutorial? The interface is well laid out and rather self explanatory, play the game for roughly 10 minutes and you've got the hang of what you actually do in the game.

could just be me though i was the person who would get a transformer or legos as a present and trash the instructions before playing with the toy.

Eh, I'm not sold on the starting planets idea. For one thing, won't it mess with the colonized planets/rank equation? I think it's likely that established players would be (rightfully) upset if their colonization caps were lower but relative colonization costs were higher than the players who would benefit from starting planets. Also, I suspect that this would be open to exploitation unless these starter planets were made invincible/uncolonizable in the same way mission exotics/dysons/rifts are - and then we'd end up with potentially a lot of planets that can be scanned but not colonized/occupied, again creating more of a headache for all of the players who won't benefit from a starter planet system.

Some really good points, things i didn't consider. As far as making them invincible, maybe put a time limit on it somehow? Say they stay invincible for 6 months? Long enough for a new player to get a grasp of the game but not so long that they will just be useless invincible planets if said player quits?

We all started the game with what new players start with and are just fine. If it's too difficult for someone they can go play the farming games.

yes we all did start with what we started with, and look how many of us are left, less than 10K a month daily users, if the game started up alittle easyer made it alittle more addictive, we would have more players (which means more planets, which means more dysons...) and that leads to more money for dan and THAT gives us more/better content.

We don't want to exclude people Arbiter, that'll lead to the dwindling of GL. The majority of successful players that continue to play are those who were lucky enough to have mentors guide them. Which is a crucial point.

Farmville is always a good option

You're going to say something make absolutely no sense whatsoever? Literally I can't tell what your comment is addressing...

How about Dan simply creates a POPUP notice each a newbie ranks up to go this forum and check out all the previous threads on how to play the game.
I mean a POPUP notice for the first 30 or so rank ups.
ie telling the player to slow down and read before proceeding.
if a new player came into my legion and asked for planet's - I give them a boat load of rejected planets that would be good for a new player.

Agreed. If they really like the game they will take the time to learn like all the people before them had to.

Generally, people find things (games, arts, academic fields, etc) easier to like if the learning curve is easier and/or they have help learning, so early assistance (informational and relational rather than material) would probably increase retention.

On the other hand, I do not see a starter pack really helping new player as much as education would, so once refined, Bonny's apprentice program (http://galaxylegion.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=40501) or, even better, ODragon's Homeworlds Tutorial (http://galaxylegion.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=38615) are the type of things we should really be pushing to educate and retain new players. The OP did alluded to apprenticeship, and the Homeworlds Tutorial does incorporates a starter pack, which means these ideas do kind of mesh together. In any case, I do not know why the Homeworlds Tutorial is not implemented in some way, shape, or form. Perhaps Dan hates money.