A newbie FAQ ?

[aneeshm]

After looking at the recently resurrected thread about reviews and newbie negative reactions , I thought it would be best to open another to deal with the ideas of a newbie FAQ , so that at least the gaps in the manual and the basic game mechanics (along with the appendices with the formulae) are clear to newcomers who otherwise might have had no idea as to what they are and might otherwise be hopelessly lost . Many times , only newcomers come to fansites and stay on ofter reading the fora , and the excellent strategy advice . Thus , a well-organised newbie guide might go a long way in encouraging more members to join (and , as an unrelated by-product , might even increase the number of subscriptions and so help support Apolyton) and stay .

First , a vote on whether this is really feasible , and if so , a list of the names of people who might want to help out . This is a serious poll , so no banana option .

[Goethe80]

Well, an updated one at least. There's this AU .pdf file somewhere with a guide to doing well in civ3. I think it's somewhere on the sticky, must read threads. But I don't think it's updated to take into account c3c.

[Cerbykins]

Perhaps. But none of these huge lists of acronyms you guys use and technical terms, they are newbs after all
It's certainly feasible, but I want to see the work locations, conditions, quality (might be above me ) and so on before I personally sign up to anything

So, tell me more!

[Krill]

This has all the links to threads that contain infomation that would go into such a manual, so why not just search through it?

Best of the best

[Theseus]

I've always liked the idea of a FAQ for newer players, but rather than trying to put that together, I instead went for three things that I thought would do the job: 1) the Winning Early thread, 2) the Must Read threads (including reference to cracker's invaluable work at CFC), and 3) Apolyton University.

On top of that, the 'poly community as a whole has welcomed newer players ( to vxma1 especially), and continues to do so.

That said, I've been in and out of here this year, due to RL concerns. *PLEASE*, anyone who wants to join in and help organize all of the treaseures that are in here, you are more than welcome!

For instance, help me manage the Must Reads... I will get to it, but obviously Mountain Sage's and Trip's recent works need to get linked. But there is so much more... ducki's threads, especially re Settler Pumps, Aeson's pillaging, et cetera, and fer chrissakes, I haven't linked to the DGs at all!!

Help!! (smiley of Theseus waving his arms around wildly)

[TheArsenal]

I think this is a good idea. And I think it will help people stick around. [Generality] While this forum is very friendly to newbies, it is not newbie friendly. I have seen huge helping hands gladly extended to new players, but as a rule, the information (strategy particularly) is geared for higher levels. The first three are rarely discussed. [/generality].

I should go re-read them before I say this, but I’m not sure pulling together some of the Must Read Threads will make it truly newbie enough.

[Master Zen]

I think the strat forum community here at poly is one of the most chivalrious and courtoeus bunch of people not only in this board but on the net.

Seriously, coming to this forum feels like you're being welcomed personally by Sir Arthur's knights. I have always seen newbie's questions answered in the most thoughtful manner possible, welcoming them back for more questions, rather than alienating them.

Then again, It's been months since I've hung around here considerably so maybe suddenly Theseus, Arrian and vmxa1 have turned into evil flamerz during this time!!

[Arnelos]

Originally posted by Master Zen
Then again, It's been months since I've hung around here considerably so maybe suddenly Theseus, Arrian and vmxa1 have turned into evil flamerz during this time!!

They have not.

[Aqualung71]

Although I've noticed a few instances where vmxa1 isn't the first to respond to a question within his usual 15 minutes.....slipping!

Hmmm, perhaps we could dedicate a new forum to the newbies.....basic questions, etc. Some of the articles and threads linked on Theseus' thread are fairly introductory and could go in there, while others deal with deeper strategy. Ision's civ by civ analysis would also be great info for new players, and perhaps a watered down version of Trip's recent contributions.