Expand and Update Tutorial
complete
Eric Neigher
The current tutorials miss out a lot of vital information for the player, including base management and troop recruitment in their entirety.
The tutorial also needs to be updated to reflect changes in mechanics (such as return fire).
The current tactical tutorial also teaches "bad practice" - running forwards out of cover and arbitrarily ending turns with AP remaining.
Vit Barta
complete
Phoenix Point v. Polaris 1.9 - December 3 2020
New prologue and tutorial experience.
A sequence of 4 revised and new tactical missions.
Four cinematics.
Two new characters.
Vit Barta
planned
Vit Barta
Merged in a post:
Introduction
C
Christian Hirtzy
It should not be necessary to look at some videos you provide to get to know the basics of the game. A storyline, in which the single parts are introduced seperately would be great. Not all players (especially new ones) are interested in studying the mechanics of the game first and then start a game. This should not be necessary, if a single-player-campain is well balanced and thought-trough.
Ryan R
<< Tutorial Criticisms >>
First tutorial mission isn't terrible, but the end fight with the 3 Arthrons is unnecessary and should be removed. The fact that your soldiers can't die is teaching the wrong lessons right here. People will definitely assume their soldiers are tougher than they really are and you're suggesting that's the case with this tutorial. The first two surprise engagements are limited and heavily controlled enough that it's basically a hands-off tutorial (which is pretty lame imo), but at least effective in teaching some basics.
The second tutorial mission is teaching you to be the worst possible Phoenix Point player. It also breaks game mechanics and things happen in the tutorial that don't ever happen in the game (running to a point and not stopping once spotting an enemy). It forces you to end turn in the open, it doesn't teach you how to position your soldiers to turn a dire situation into a survivable situation. It doesn't teach you anything other than how to open a crate/inventory, how a medkit works, how return fire works (sort of), how a jetpack works, as well as a grenade (that seems 2x as powerful in Legend). All of these things (minus return fire) could've been taught without any enemies being present, or encouraging the player to make stupid moves, or breaking game mechanics.
No effort is put into explaining the strengths and weaknesses of various weapons. No effort into how to position and best utilize cover for even the most basic of situations, and instead taught to stand out in the open and preemptively end your turn.
An example of a tutorial I think could be more helpful in teaching Return Fire: Having a turn begin where one soldier is behind cover (like a wall or destroyed vehicle, something that completely covers but a grenade can still be thrown over) and has a grenade, and a weapon with no ammo, and 2 AP. Another soldier standing out in the open nearby with an assault rifle, and another soldier standing far away with a pistol across a gap but still within LOS. The player isn't told anything other than to kill the enemy, but now can shoot at the enemy with all 3 of those units and see what happens. The pistol doesn't get shot at. The grenade doesn't get shot at. The assault does. Combined, they can kill it, and assault might die if you use him first - and looking around at your options, you can have an opportunity to realize all of that for yourself, since they're your only options really. Obviously got to do some gaming so that no random luck causes everything to miss, and kind of continue to force people to aim at the target instead of a wall obviously --- instead of just showing it shoot at someone, not killing them or seemingly doing any damage. (as for the assault who might die in a tutorial mission, it's a tutorial mission so find some way to just excuse and replace him since no one's gaining xp anyway)
Sheep y
Not to mention that it forces you to take stupid actions. Does not leave a good starting impression.