Searched for under "Tutorial", "Tutorial Maps", and "Starting World", found no relevant results.
I was wondering what you guys thought about the idea of a Tutorial Map being added to guide new players. This is kind of how I thought it up:
Contents
1. How to get the map, or how to get rid of it.
2. What the Tutorial Map teaches.
Controls
Inventory
Crafting
Mining
The Furnace
Day/Night Cycle
Combat
Healing and using Chests
Building and Structures
Final Tips
3. Working with Achievements: A Reward Training Exercise
4. Why?
5. TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read) Version
1. How to get the map, or how to get rid of it.
This is an obvious one. When a player plays Minecraft for the first time (IE: The game makes a .minecraft folder), The world is installed as well. It can be deleted by the player if they are experienced, and will only return if they download it again manually or delete their .minecraft folder. This prevents the experienced player from having to deal with it every patch, prevents modders who only change the .jar file from seeing it again, and allows new players to play through.
2. What the Tutorial Map teaches.
The game basics, obviously. It would be set up as a series or rooms made of Bedrock, to prevent players from escaping. It would be well lit (through torches out of reach of the player) to prevent monsters from spawning until a set point. Each room or series of rooms would be like a lesson, with limitations on what the player has at their disposal. This creates a linear, guided experience and retains the "Wow" factor you get from seeing the world for the first time. I will now go over the lessons in detail.
Lesson 1: Introduction and Controls
You start in a small room (all rooms would be sized according to what purpose they serve). You spawn with the introduction sign directly in front of you (signs could be replaced with messages if Notch wanted). The signs nearby explain the basic controls, such as moving, looking, mining, placing blocks, and accessing the Pause menu. The signs guide you to mine a small tower made of 5 logs. You then proceed to the next room.
Lesson 2: Inventory/Crafting/Mining
In the next room, the signs guide you to making planks, then to making the Crafting Bench. After doing so you will be able to make your first tool: The Wood Pickaxe. It explains how to put the pick in your action bar, the action bar controls, and how to mine. You need a pickaxe to proceed, as the next room is blocked off by a 5x1x2 passageway. The first 8 blocks are Stone, and the last two are Coal. This requires you to mine through them, as you can't get past in any other way.
Lesson 3: The Furnace
The next room includes a workbench and a single Sand block. It explains the Cobblestone and Coal. It then explains how to craft the Furnace. Then it teaches you how to use the furnace to turn the Sand into Glass. From there you move to the next room.
Lesson 4: The Day and Night Cycle/Combat
A small room introduces the Day and Night Cycle, explaining how long each section is, that hostile mobs only spawn in the dark, and warns you that you are about to undergo combat training, and the the chance of death is very real in the next room. To help you out, there is a chest with full leather, a stone sword, a bow, and 20 arrows. It explains how to equip armor, use the sword and bow, and then guides you into the next room.
The next room is lit up by torches, but there is a Zombie Spawned in a room above you, with a hole to let zombies through. The passage into the room is 20 blocks long, to prevent the spawner from activating until the player gets closer. Otherwise the room would be full of Zombies. There is only enough space for the spawner to make one Zombie at a time, forcing the Zombie out through the hole before another one can begin spawning. You can do some battle, and once you try out the sword you exit the room.
You then go up some stairs (And with that, a pressure plate that closes a door behind you permanently, to keep you safe from pursuers) to ledge in the same room for testing bow combat. This is mainly because Notch has expressed desire to overhaul how the bow works and make it slower and harder to hit. The ledge is close enough for Zombies to see the player and move towards him, but a fence prevents them from getting to where the player can't target them. The Player can practice a few shots, then proceed to the next room.
Lesson 5: Healing and Using Chests
In the next room, you are congratulated on your victory, and the reward is a chest that contains a few various healing items (Fish, Porkchop, Bread). It explains how healing works, then tells you to put your items in a chest before proceeding to the next room. Upon entering the hallway, you force trigger a lava trap (via an undodgable pressure plate) that kills you. The pressure plate permanently locks that room off to prevent you from dying again by lava. It also opens a door in the room you just died in to the real next room, and a previously locked door in the room you spawn in that leads back to the room you just died in.
Note: That teaches you the importance of storing extra gear, but in a safe way. If you stored the gear in the chest it is still there but if you didn't you get replacement gear in the next room anyways.
Lesson 6: Building And Structures
After apologizing about the cruel trick, the game reiterates the importance of chests, and explains that when you die you can pick your items back up, but if they fall in lava, on fire, or on cacti they are gone for good and too exercise caution when exploring. But your reward for participating is a chest full of materials, including Dirt, Stone, replacement gear for anything you lost by dying, and a few other goodies. You are then encouraged to look at some structures and to try to build your own. Any premade structure is lit so no mobs can spawn. You can exit this room at any time.
Lesson 7: Final Tips
In the last room, there is a thank you sign for doing the tutorial, as well as some final tips. Some of these are:
Never dig straight up or down.
Press Escape to Save often.
Watch your health closely.
Be in a safe spot by sundown, or be ready to fight or run.
Be creative.
If you hear "SSSS", Run. (The player won't understand this until they fight a Creeper for the first time)
Note: I'll add any other tips to the list if they make sense and are helpful.
3. Working with Achievements: A Reward Training Exercise
As you may have noticed, many of the achievements that you gain from normal gameplay would be gained here (such as Getting Wood, Time to Mine, etc.) Many games do this with achievements. You get one at the end of a chapter or level, and it is like a little reward. I think with achievements,this really pounds the message "This is good, do this." home for people. It also allows Notch to add more challenging and fun achievements, as he doesn't need to use them to teach people to play.
4. Why?
"Why not?" is a better question. It in no way affects experienced players, doesn't change any core gameplay elements, could be added in a few hours (I'm making a rough cut of the level tomorrow before work), and (most importantly to some forum dwellers) cuts back on the number of posts we get on here asking stupid noob questions. Anyone who does the tutorial most likely won't ask why they can't get stone when breaking it with their fists, how to fight and heal, basic structures, and how to craft (all common threads on Beta Discussion). Most games, even simpler ones than this have a tutorial. I think it kind of goes without saying that this should be there to guide new players.
5. TL;DR Version.
Basically, it is a map made by Notch that explains a few core aspects of MC. It doesn't affect experienced players, helps noobs, and cuts back on stupid forum questions. If you want a better description, read it please.
Well, that's about it. Please post ideas, thoughts, concerns, comments, and other nonsense. Just try to keep it civil and on topic please.
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Want some advice on how to thrive in the Suggestions section? Check this handy list of guidelines and tips for posting your ideas and responding to the ideas of others!
Want some advice on how to thrive in the Suggestions section? Check this handy list of guidelines and tips for posting your ideas and responding to the ideas of others!
looks like a great write up, indeed this would help, i had no idea about this game when i got it and was directed to a very good set of youtube guides, that helped alot and something official would make this game a lot more appealing to a wider audience.
Maybe Notch could have a competition for people to design an official tutorial level and that person gets the glory of being the designer and a few other perks, if Notch is too busy to undertake this as well, might encourage people to put their skill on show.
looks like a great write up, indeed this would help, i had no idea about this game when i got it and was directed to a very good set of youtube guides, that helped alot and something official would make this game a lot more appealing to a wider audience.
Maybe Notch could have a competition for people to design an official tutorial level and that person gets the glory of being the designer and a few other perks, if Notch is too busy to undertake this as well, might encourage people to put their skill on show.
That would be pretty neat, although I doubt it would happen. The main reason I'm working on one is a kind of demo on here to get more people supporting. I work in about a half hour though so I can't work on it until tonight. Right now I'm researching a few redstone tricks for the one way doors, as redstone is not my area of expertise.
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For the one way door tricks, you may want to try connecting both the button on one side of the door to one input of a RS NOR latch, and a pressure plate to the other input. Connect the out put, which is a Redstone torch on top of one of the blocks and is under the door, to a locking mechanism that will render the first button useless. If you like, I could design a circuit for you.
I am the bone of my sword
Steel is my body, and fire is my blood
I have created over a thousand blades
Unknown to death, Nor known to life
Have withstood pain to create many weapons
Yet, those hands will never hold anything
So as I pray, Unlimited Blade Works
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ModeratorI was wondering what you guys thought about the idea of a Tutorial Map being added to guide new players. This is kind of how I thought it up:
Contents
1. How to get the map, or how to get rid of it.
2. What the Tutorial Map teaches.
- Controls
- Inventory
- Crafting
- Mining
- The Furnace
- Day/Night Cycle
- Combat
- Healing and using Chests
- Building and Structures
- Final Tips
3. Working with Achievements: A Reward Training Exercise4. Why?
5. TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read) Version
1. How to get the map, or how to get rid of it.
This is an obvious one. When a player plays Minecraft for the first time (IE: The game makes a .minecraft folder), The world is installed as well. It can be deleted by the player if they are experienced, and will only return if they download it again manually or delete their .minecraft folder. This prevents the experienced player from having to deal with it every patch, prevents modders who only change the .jar file from seeing it again, and allows new players to play through.
2. What the Tutorial Map teaches.
The game basics, obviously. It would be set up as a series or rooms made of Bedrock, to prevent players from escaping. It would be well lit (through torches out of reach of the player) to prevent monsters from spawning until a set point. Each room or series of rooms would be like a lesson, with limitations on what the player has at their disposal. This creates a linear, guided experience and retains the "Wow" factor you get from seeing the world for the first time. I will now go over the lessons in detail.
Lesson 1: Introduction and Controls
You start in a small room (all rooms would be sized according to what purpose they serve). You spawn with the introduction sign directly in front of you (signs could be replaced with messages if Notch wanted). The signs nearby explain the basic controls, such as moving, looking, mining, placing blocks, and accessing the Pause menu. The signs guide you to mine a small tower made of 5 logs. You then proceed to the next room.
Lesson 2: Inventory/Crafting/Mining
In the next room, the signs guide you to making planks, then to making the Crafting Bench. After doing so you will be able to make your first tool: The Wood Pickaxe. It explains how to put the pick in your action bar, the action bar controls, and how to mine. You need a pickaxe to proceed, as the next room is blocked off by a 5x1x2 passageway. The first 8 blocks are Stone, and the last two are Coal. This requires you to mine through them, as you can't get past in any other way.
Lesson 3: The Furnace
The next room includes a workbench and a single Sand block. It explains the Cobblestone and Coal. It then explains how to craft the Furnace. Then it teaches you how to use the furnace to turn the Sand into Glass. From there you move to the next room.
Lesson 4: The Day and Night Cycle/Combat
A small room introduces the Day and Night Cycle, explaining how long each section is, that hostile mobs only spawn in the dark, and warns you that you are about to undergo combat training, and the the chance of death is very real in the next room. To help you out, there is a chest with full leather, a stone sword, a bow, and 20 arrows. It explains how to equip armor, use the sword and bow, and then guides you into the next room.
The next room is lit up by torches, but there is a Zombie Spawned in a room above you, with a hole to let zombies through. The passage into the room is 20 blocks long, to prevent the spawner from activating until the player gets closer. Otherwise the room would be full of Zombies. There is only enough space for the spawner to make one Zombie at a time, forcing the Zombie out through the hole before another one can begin spawning. You can do some battle, and once you try out the sword you exit the room.
You then go up some stairs (And with that, a pressure plate that closes a door behind you permanently, to keep you safe from pursuers) to ledge in the same room for testing bow combat. This is mainly because Notch has expressed desire to overhaul how the bow works and make it slower and harder to hit. The ledge is close enough for Zombies to see the player and move towards him, but a fence prevents them from getting to where the player can't target them. The Player can practice a few shots, then proceed to the next room.
Lesson 5: Healing and Using Chests
In the next room, you are congratulated on your victory, and the reward is a chest that contains a few various healing items (Fish, Porkchop, Bread). It explains how healing works, then tells you to put your items in a chest before proceeding to the next room. Upon entering the hallway, you force trigger a lava trap (via an undodgable pressure plate) that kills you. The pressure plate permanently locks that room off to prevent you from dying again by lava. It also opens a door in the room you just died in to the real next room, and a previously locked door in the room you spawn in that leads back to the room you just died in.
Note: That teaches you the importance of storing extra gear, but in a safe way. If you stored the gear in the chest it is still there but if you didn't you get replacement gear in the next room anyways.
Lesson 6: Building And Structures
After apologizing about the cruel trick, the game reiterates the importance of chests, and explains that when you die you can pick your items back up, but if they fall in lava, on fire, or on cacti they are gone for good and too exercise caution when exploring. But your reward for participating is a chest full of materials, including Dirt, Stone, replacement gear for anything you lost by dying, and a few other goodies. You are then encouraged to look at some structures and to try to build your own. Any premade structure is lit so no mobs can spawn. You can exit this room at any time.
Lesson 7: Final Tips
In the last room, there is a thank you sign for doing the tutorial, as well as some final tips. Some of these are:
Never dig straight up or down.
Press Escape to Save often.
Watch your health closely.
Be in a safe spot by sundown, or be ready to fight or run.
Be creative.
If you hear "SSSS", Run. (The player won't understand this until they fight a Creeper for the first time)
Note: I'll add any other tips to the list if they make sense and are helpful.
3. Working with Achievements: A Reward Training Exercise
As you may have noticed, many of the achievements that you gain from normal gameplay would be gained here (such as Getting Wood, Time to Mine, etc.) Many games do this with achievements. You get one at the end of a chapter or level, and it is like a little reward. I think with achievements,this really pounds the message "This is good, do this." home for people. It also allows Notch to add more challenging and fun achievements, as he doesn't need to use them to teach people to play.
4. Why?
"Why not?" is a better question. It in no way affects experienced players, doesn't change any core gameplay elements, could be added in a few hours (I'm making a rough cut of the level tomorrow before work), and (most importantly to some forum dwellers) cuts back on the number of posts we get on here asking stupid noob questions. Anyone who does the tutorial most likely won't ask why they can't get stone when breaking it with their fists, how to fight and heal, basic structures, and how to craft (all common threads on Beta Discussion). Most games, even simpler ones than this have a tutorial. I think it kind of goes without saying that this should be there to guide new players.
5. TL;DR Version.
Basically, it is a map made by Notch that explains a few core aspects of MC. It doesn't affect experienced players, helps noobs, and cuts back on stupid forum questions. If you want a better description, read it please.
Well, that's about it. Please post ideas, thoughts, concerns, comments, and other nonsense. Just try to keep it civil and on topic please.
Want some advice on how to thrive in the Suggestions section? Check this handy list of guidelines and tips for posting your ideas and responding to the ideas of others!
http://www.minecraftforum.net/forums/minecraft-discussion/suggestions/2775557-guidelines-for-the-suggestions-forum
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ModeratorWant some advice on how to thrive in the Suggestions section? Check this handy list of guidelines and tips for posting your ideas and responding to the ideas of others!
http://www.minecraftforum.net/forums/minecraft-discussion/suggestions/2775557-guidelines-for-the-suggestions-forum
*Sniff*
Maybe Notch could have a competition for people to design an official tutorial level and that person gets the glory of being the designer and a few other perks, if Notch is too busy to undertake this as well, might encourage people to put their skill on show.
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ModeratorThat would be pretty neat, although I doubt it would happen. The main reason I'm working on one is a kind of demo on here to get more people supporting. I work in about a half hour though so I can't work on it until tonight. Right now I'm researching a few redstone tricks for the one way doors, as redstone is not my area of expertise.
Want some advice on how to thrive in the Suggestions section? Check this handy list of guidelines and tips for posting your ideas and responding to the ideas of others!
http://www.minecraftforum.net/forums/minecraft-discussion/suggestions/2775557-guidelines-for-the-suggestions-forum
'Book of Basic Survival for Dummys' That you start with when you spawn on a new world.
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Retired StaffI am the bone of my sword
Steel is my body, and fire is my blood
I have created over a thousand blades
Unknown to death, Nor known to life
Have withstood pain to create many weapons
Yet, those hands will never hold anything
So as I pray, Unlimited Blade Works
The Sun rises in the North!Now these points of data make a beautiful line...