Ever played America's Army? It's training takes at least a half hour, and you are required to complete it before playing online.
No, I didn't and I don't care about some unpopular game. MW2/Black ops/CS takes around what 1 minute to figure out and around 1 hour to play comfortably.
Empires needs an optional <EMBEDDED> video with a MANDATORY "Click here for a quick-start guide" button that is required to be opened before "Find Servers" or whatever becomes available.
Why would you try and force someone to do something in a game? If I feel forced to do something a certain way to enjoy a game, i don't play that game. The teamwork is all fine and dandy, but it has to be rewarding for me to continue to play.
Read these both slowly. How do you solve someone not 'wanting' to do anything? You force them. You contradicted yourself in these two. B'sides, my suggestion forces them to click a button that opens a quick-start menu, and forces them to click the X so they can play. That's about it.
I don't care about the game either, but it's a good model, training wise. MW2/Black ops/CS are first person shooters. Last I checked, Empires was a little more complex than that...
Face it: there will be some people who will jump into the game just to jump right out without trying to understand gameplay or have fun. Forcing people to watch a video or play a tutorial won't prevent people from just ignoring everything and being total noobs in-game. The best thing to do is offer newbies easily accessible information and the opportunity to have a fun game. That way everyone can have an enjoyable time.
well, anyway, there is a tutorial map, and as of tonight it is fully functional. Thanks to Beerdude for fixing the spawning problem, no more gimmicks to get through the tutorial map. Its spiffy as it stands, though honestly I'd like scardybob to show back up and do audio recordings to replace mine. I'm not really for mandatory forcing people through the tutorial, I mean having a box that comes up and says "Hey I see its your first time playing empires you should go through the tutorial" would be alright but never force someone to do it.
How about: We suggest that you watch this tutorial carefully. Failing to do so will most likely get you banned. No, we aren't kidding. It might cut down on the number of times admins will have to slay and ungrief.
How about we just give them only 3 pages to read. 3, non-text-wall pages, full of the vital essentials of Empiresmod. Make it cute, make it pretty, and make it informational. Above all else, make sure they understand the command vehicle.