Is SoT accessible enough for non-gamers?

  • Galactic Geek
    Seafarer
    Founder

    I watched this video earlier this evening, and as a long-time gamer, it opened up my eyes to what non-gamers have to deal with when persuaded to, well, play games. It got me thinking, is Sea of Thieves accessible enough for non-gamers? Could it effectively be used to turn them into casual gamers, or perhaps something more hardcore? What could potentially be done to make it more accessible for non-gamers, if anything? Or is its open-ended sandbox exploratory nature exactly what's needed for a non-gamer's imagination?

    Discuss.

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  • WolfManbush
    Lord

    comes down to personality and crew imo.

    This game has potential to be awesome or fairly terrible for non gamers just like it does for gamers.

    A personality that is entirely in it for fun (not winning) with friends and has friends that they can play with regularly and consistently it's a great experience for that.

    A person that truly invests and takes loss hard and doesn't have that circle of friends to consistently play with might have quite an unpleasant time here.

    If people struggle with conflict and social unpleasantness as well as stress and intensity this game has potential to be incredibly off-putting for anyone like that but especially non gamers.

    The chainshot immobilizing camping thing that is so common can be a serious issue for people and if their crew adds to the unpleasantness it's a pretty terrible experience for some people. Same goes for the chasing/running stuff

    Only thing devs can truly do about that while maintaining a piratically free and shared environment is continue to create short time requirement content. Fun and short while still being a part of the risk/reward environment.

    They can't do anything about one of the biggest issues in the game which is maintaining and keeping a long term crew. That's an individual journey that many are going to struggle with. So many things factor into long term crewing in this game and the odds really are against people on that.

    I'm not in marketing and I'm not into sugar coating the reality of the environment out there. This game isn't for everyone and that's ok. It's ok to not like the intensity, it's ok to not like the pvp experience that many have, it's ok to find a more compatible experience, there are many great games out there. If this works for someone, awesome, and if it doesn't, don't fight it, it's fine to not be compatible with something and it's fine to walk away from it.

  • Galactic Geek
    Seafarer
    Founder

    @wolfmanbush Great response, but I feel like I have to ask - did you watch the video in the link for context?

  • WolfManbush
    Lord

    @galactic-geek said in Is SoT accessible enough for non-gamers?:

    @wolfmanbush Great response, but I feel like I have to ask - did you watch the video in the link for context?

    yes, this game is fairly unique though as I don't think having no real idea what is happening or what to do is what keeps people away or drives them away

    since I have so much open crew experience and have communicated with so many random people that play organically in so many different scenarios it gives me a deep sample pool to draw from.

    I've seen people have literally no idea what they are doing in a game. People that I've watched just slowly walk around having no idea how to play.

    #1 is always friends/family. This game brings in people to share something with friends and family. The game being so intense at times frustrates people and the crews start falling apart. Once the crew falls apart people eventually have no realistic choice other than to quit/find something else. Shorter content can help here. Lower risk lower reward content can help here

    Very little the devs can do on this outside of that in this environment.

    I've seen people have zero idea what they were doing together and it was a blast for them because they were together and it was funny to them.

    Togetherness gets a non gamer through the confusion. Without the togetherness in this game it can be rough and togetherness can't be manufactured it has to be people figuring it out or it won't last through a stress test.

    For a non gamer to enjoy their time in the game as a solo they have to have a helluva drive for something that matters to them or a teflon coated spirit where they can handle all the falling down that comes with learning something completely new that includes so much loss. Figuring out the basics is nothing compared to the long term struggles of solo life.

  • CGallerine
    Commander
    Insider

    I mean if a "non-gamer" can have basic common sense and the ability to read (a surprisingly high number apparently do not have common sense or reading ability, but are still given access to online devices...) what the game is about so they can go in prepared that other players will be present, yeah. Sure maybe there could be a better tutorial but the game is about discovery and exploration.

  • Sgt W0lfe
    Commander
    Insider

    @galactic-geek No mainly cuz of the PvP. and im sure im gonna get people on me for saying this but its true, sea of thieves is NOT built to be a PvP game, hear me out. while the idea of PvE servers is not gonna happen, at the same time adding "player can kill player" doesnt necacarilly make it a PvP or at the very least a good pvp game. sea of thieves is missing alot of aspects that make a good pvp game for all players. take some of the most popular pvp games, other then sea of thieves, gta, fortnite, call of duty, and any other similarly fashioned games to these. what do they have that sea of thieves does not? either a way to experience the game alone, thru invite only or private lobbies, or fair matchmaking, separating the god tier players from lil jimmy who got the game for Christmas. theres nothing separating the new community from the ty hard community, tehres not much separating a good player from a bad one, a casual from a diaper wearer.

    in summary the pvp alone makes it difficult for new players. while we have PvE servers? no never. but are there ways to improve the PvP experience? yes.

    the first experience is everything. but the first experience is the IPG, which not everyone likes, a tutorial island, which is ok, then your thrown into a server where there could be anything from another noob to TTV.IHAVENOLIFE

    sure, you could play with a group and that COULD help. but your group could also be new, and not everyone is gonna have people to play with. (dont even mention the open crews yall know thats a bad idea)

  • Galactic Geek
    Seafarer
    Founder

    @sgt-w0lfe Tread carefully. While I understand your response, I don't want the conversation to shift to PvP or PvE.

    Also, you said sailing with a crew could help. I think that's wrong. I think it WILL help. Knowledge is power and there is power in numbers.

  • MrEstiercol
    Master
    Insider

    No, Is not.

    Casual gamers can have two experiences, is 50-50 luck or bad luck.

    1* You can join a server and have a super amazing adventure, grab some treasures and sell everything without problems.

    2* You can join a server an be griefed by "Pvp Players" (This is how they call themselves, for me, true pvp players were the arena ones) and this will make your gaming experience awfull.

    To be honest, this game as a huge wall for new players, if you want to play it as casual, I do not recommend it because you need to invest a lot of hours to "Git gud" and deal with this kind of players who loves ruin others experiences.

  • Bluhdrain
    Seafarer

    Unfortunately not. Many of my friends who wanted to play the game dropped off in the first week because of the pvp aspect of the game. They wanted to sail and go treasure hunting and the pvp is such a hard learning curve this far into the game. For a casual player who wants to try it out I recommend trying to get willing friends to try it with since the devs refuse to listen to people who want a full pve experience.

  • Sgt W0lfe
    Commander
    Insider

    @galactic-geek numbers doesn't mean a whole lot when one player can destroy a whole crew.

    personally. i think the game would be much healthier if we just separated content creators into thier own servers. but thats obviously unrealistic.

    also asking a question like this is kinda destined to get to pvp since its such a big aspect of the new player experience.

  • Pellahh
    Lord
    Insider

    I think it is and it's also meant to be as Chapman stated that when designing the game they were keeping in mind this could be someone's first game.

    Casuals or non-gamers won't probably focus on PvP nor try to efficiently farm, nor try to put effort into understanding the game: they'll mostly have a chill and slow-paced adventure while doing voyages.

    I think hardcore gamers see a complete different game compared to what casuals and non-gamers see, and I also think Rare puts much more effort into the new player/casual/non-gamer experience compared to the resourced allocated for hardcore gamers.

  • CGallerine
    Commander
    Insider

    @mrestiercol said in Is SoT accessible enough for non-gamers?:

    1* You can join a server and have a super amazing adventure, grab some treasures and sell everything without problems.

    You can still do even if you do get attacked and lose. The fun is playing with friends, and sure it can feel better to sell a massive haul, but in the end that cheesy line of "The real journey was making friends along the way" is genuinely true for this game. People come in here expecting sailing sim. and when they find out there's so much more to it, a good crew to have a laugh with is the best way to go about anything.

    2* You can join a server an be griefed by "Pvp Players" (This is how they call themselves, for me, true pvp players were the arena ones) and this will make your gaming experience awfull.

    I'm gonna nitpick and say that the usage of "griefed" here is just wrong. Being griefed is someone joining your crew (assuming LFC or Open Crew) and purposefully making it harder or just sinking the ship, firebombs, kegs, blunderbombs, etc. If you got sunk that's not anyone else "griefing" you but more just getting sunk, nothing more unless they were toxic over the mic or spawncamped.

    To be honest, this game as a huge wall for new players,

    Wait you want people to learn how to play a game instead of being god tier already? This is the whole point of being a "casual / non-gamer" is to have a learning curve to experience. If you make it so there IS no learning curve, the game is too easy for the regular players and those who ARE "gamers", and then they go around without a challenge, player OR environment...

    if you want to play it as casual, I do not recommend it because you need to invest a lot of hours to "Git gud"

    Ah, I sense a distinct difference of "playing casually" and "playing solo". I feel like this is directed at or is from a solo player's perspective. Playing casually is literally the BEST way to play this game. The sooner you get over losing loot and just HAVE FUN, the better. If you don't sweat over a couple of infinitely generated loot things and have a blast just fighting other ships with your crew and have a laugh at some bugs or something, that's the best way to play the game IMO. Sold or sunk; you should still be having a great time with friends.

    and deal with this kind of players who loves ruin others experiences.

    What you see as "ruined experiences" (even though PvP IS a part of the experience, as a PvPvE game), the people who just sunk you could see as a great day out with the lads, or a serious motivation booster if they're solo and beat another ship for the first time. You never know the other player's perspective, ye pirates truly are greedy and only see the issue from your own side. For every sink you're met with, could mean something awesome for another crew.

  • Sgt W0lfe
    Commander
    Insider

    @gallerine5582 the point of this is the new player experience. which focuses on 3 things. the IPG, the tutorial island, and then the gameplay itself.

    the IPG is one of the many controversial topics here, for some reason. new players may see it and it can feel unfinished. getting my own brother into the game his reaction was it felt "unfinished" compared to everything else, which i also agree on.

    the tutorial island is good. compared the before where you were thrown into the world, no clear instructions, not knowing what your goal was or what to do was kinda confusing. so adding a tutorial island as well as banners that gave you tips was a good improvment.

    next is gameplay, with the main focus really being pvp. you are either going into the game solo, with a goup of friends, or for some god awful reason you are putting yourself in the hellscape that is open crews. sure its easy for you and me someone who already plays the game to say "ITS ABOUT THE FRIENDS YOU MAKE ON THE WAY" fun and rainbows and whatever. but everyone plays differnt. its not as easy for someone whos just starting to see the fun in spending hours with thier friends and having loot taken. sure it can be laughed off, but not everyone's built that way. if your first experience in the games world is getting on with the rest of your friends, spending about 2 hours playing, then getting all that work taken away because the other crew had a mega keg, wraith balls, or they just have no time in doing anything else, then its not a great first impression. new players. are not you. find a game you tried and didnt like and im sure youll get people telling you "well your just not enjoying it how it should be enjoyed, or your just havent played enough yet".

  • ThaGoochiestMan
    Master
    Insider

    Is SoT accessible for non-gamers?

    No, it's not very accessible to non-gamers, because it requires an Xbox and/or GamePass subscription.

    Free-to-play cross platform games such as Fortnite will always be more accessible for non-gamers, simply due to their availability and lack of barriers to entry.

    Is SoT accessible enough for non-gamers?

    Yes, because it is already a very niche game with characteristics that aren't often found in other games (both good and bad). So, while even just making it cross platform would undoubtedly help player numbers, I think we can all imagine how many more glitches/bugs there would be if Rare had to maintain the game on even just 1 additional platform.

  • Lem0n Curry
    Champion
    Insider

    @thagoochiestman said in Is SoT accessible enough for non-gamers?:

    Is SoT accessible for non-gamers?

    No, it's not very accessible to non-gamers, because it requires an Xbox and/or GamePass subscription. [...]

    Not on PC is doesn't.

  • ThaGoochiestMan
    Master
    Insider

    @lem0n-curry did you buy it?

    The part of that quote you didn't include is still relevant.

  • Lem0n Curry
    Champion
    Insider

    @thagoochiestman said in Is SoT accessible enough for non-gamers?:

    @lem0n-curry did you buy it?

    The part of that quote you didn't include is still relevant.

    I bought it after two months of playing it via a free subscription (or perhaps it was $1 or so a month, can't remember exactly).

  • GrumpyW01f
    Lord
    Insider

    @galactic-geek
    On varying levels, lack of "gamer logic" will disadvantage non-gamers in any game they play.

    But I'd say that Sea of Thieves is all about easy to understand concepts.
    For instance, none of the ship systems need explained. You don't need a tutorial to know how to sail, obviously the wheel turns, the sails come up and down and need to be angled in the wind.
    Basic combat doesn't need explaining; swords slash, guns shoot, and cannons fire.
    If we want to work for a company, we merely need to buy a voyage and vote it down.

    My own mother is quite the non-gamer, and yet we play Sea of Thieves frequently. All that was ever required is an explanation of the game and it's systems, and an explanation of new things we encounter.

    So, to your question:

    Could it effectively be used to turn them into casual gamers

    It definitely seems that the simplicity of a lot of SoT's concepts can serve to help new gamers. And since it doesn't require much explanation for new things, I think it's a good way to teach some "gamer logic."

  • Galactic Geek
    Seafarer
    Founder

    @grumpyw01f said in Is SoT accessible enough for non-gamers?:

    @galactic-geek
    On varying levels, lack of "gamer logic" will disadvantage non-gamers in any game they play.

    But I'd say that Sea of Thieves is all about easy to understand concepts.
    For instance, none of the ship systems need explained. You don't need a tutorial to know how to sail, obviously the wheel turns, the sails come up and down and need to be angled in the wind.
    Basic combat doesn't need explaining; swords slash, guns shoot, and cannons fire.
    If we want to work for a company, we merely need to buy a voyage and vote it down.

    My own mother is quite the non-gamer, and yet we play Sea of Thieves frequently. All that was ever required is an explanation of the game and it's systems, and an explanation of new things we encounter.

    So, to your question:

    Could it effectively be used to turn them into casual gamers

    It definitely seems that the simplicity of a lot of SoT's concepts can serve to help new gamers. And since it doesn't require much explanation for new things, I think it's a good way to teach some "gamer logic."

    I think you're making the same mistake and assumptions that the video narrator did. For example, a non-gamer may not know to use the controller's joysticks or a mouse to look around. That, will then of course, have a ripple effect with everything else. They might quickly learn how to switch between their sword and pistol, but not necessarily know there are other weapons like the blunderbuss or eye of reach that they can switch out to because they wouldn't necessarily know about the armory, or even where it is. Same applies to the ship. Yes, they can probably figure things out, but they might try to use the DPad with the sails, for example.

    Also, if your mother sails with you frequently, she is not, by definition, a non-gamer.

  • ThaGoochiestMan
    Master
    Insider

    @lem0n-curry via GamePass? Literally the exact same subscription service I mentioned and you said "No" to?

    Good to know my original point was valid.

  • Lem0n Curry
    Champion
    Insider

    @thagoochiestman said in Is SoT accessible enough for non-gamers?:

    @lem0n-curry via GamePass? Literally the exact same subscription service I mentioned and you said "No" to?

    Good to know my original point was valid.

    I looked through my old emails, found it from 2018: a free trial of 14 days. Is that not accessible enough ?

    It's still not required though. I could have bought it from the start from the MS store. Currently people can also get it on Steam. It does not need Xbox or a Gamepass subscription.

    The "Not on PC it doesn't." still stands.

    BTW it's not the kind of "accessibility" OP is talking about ...

  • PithyRumble
    Castaway
    Insider

    I don't suggest this game to my gamer friends. I'm sure a he'll not going to recommend SoT to a non gamer.

  • WolfManbush
    Lord

    @pithyrumble said in Is SoT accessible enough for non-gamers?:

    I don't suggest this game to my gamer friends. I'm sure a he'll not going to recommend SoT to a non gamer.

    Not much down side to trying it out to see if someone is compatible with it. Not many people are completely disconnected from conflict, they see negativity/bickering in plenty of places online these days in one way or another even if they aren't deeply involved in social media.

    This means that unless a person is known for taking a short term negative experience significantly hard it's worth a try especially with how cheap gamepass can be for new people.

    Worst that can happen is someone gets sunk and hears something unpleasant to varying degrees for a short amount of time and that's not something that always happens it's just a possibility. They can give it up day 1 if they want.

    Best that can happen is they develop a new passion and/or meet people that become a major part of their lives in a positive way.

    Not a guaranteed upside but a helluva opportunity given the low risk.

  • WolfManbush
    Lord

    @like-500-ninjas said in Is SoT accessible enough for non-gamers?:

    Facts. I feel the same way.

    My wife is a casual gamer, mostly Animal Crossing, etc.

    She loves the way the world looks and loves to watch me play, but...though she wishes she could...she would never play it. For a few reasons:

    She can't stand PVP
    She doesn't need to deal with the army of toxic players

    It's less water than toxic waste that we sail upon out there, and though I'll suffer through it to catch some fish or something because she thinks they're cute, I don't care to have the depths of the English language eschewed through the TV at her.

    If you enjoy playing it and she enjoys watching you play it why would it not be worth her trying it out for herself?

    If she couldn't handle playing it she wouldn't be into watching it.

    She could mute other players, turn off the text of other players and play how she wants to try it out. It's not a dangerous environment it just has random unpleasantness like anything in life.

    She might not like it after playing but an honest attempt of playing something she is already watching while using tools available to her to limit interaction (if she wants) isn't much of a risk.

    I've played with a lot of people that aren't comfortable with intense combat and some of the social possibilities within combat. If you sail with her and remain calm yourself, deescalate, and get a new server as soon as things get uncomfortable many issues can be avoided.

    Running with the narrative that there is a "toxic army" out there is setting up a new player with fear. There is nothing to fear, whatever happens you can help deescalate the situation by easily moving on to a new server and not adding to the intensity and stress. People can be comfortable here if their crew mates focus on keeping the boat positive and considerate.

    Imo it's often not the other crew that does the most harm it's a crew being harsh on each other and negative about the experience.

  • NecroNikolai13
    Captain

    @pithyrumble said in Is SoT accessible enough for non-gamers?:

    I don't suggest this game to my gamer friends. I'm sure a he'll not going to recommend SoT to a non gamer.

    Same, the handful that bought the game quit after like two weeks since we couldn't do more than two islands without someone coming to fight and the combat is so boring. Now I'm a solo fisher, solo merchant, or alliance player. So glad for gamepass.

  • Liberance
    Master

    No, it isn't.

    Playing an FPS can be confusing enough for a non-gamer. Having to control a ship like the ones in Sea of Thieves, understand the rules of the world and interact with others is not the most intuitive experience the first time even for a seasoned gamer, so a non-gamer would be completely lost within seconds.

    The game is designed in a way that others can introduce friends to it though, so a veteran could be by their side teaching them the ropes. But certainly not as their first game, I think.

  • BekkBloodaxe96
    Ship Mate
    Insider

    @like-500-ninjas

    I feel like this is a bit of an exaggeration here... sure you get toxic players in the game but player chat can be muted if this is a major concern. Not standing PVP is another matter, however... this is not the game for someone who doesn't like this aspect... but it is true that sometimes you log in and hardly see another ship up close, perhaps just enjoying the game and knowing when to simply quit to avoid pvp would allow her to enjoy the game in a way that suits her. Better yet, sometimes you can have really wholesome and funny experiences meeting crews in the game!

  • GrumpyW01f
    Lord
    Insider

    @galactic-geek

    Also, if your mother sails with you frequently, she is not, by definition, a non-gamer.

    Maybe not anymore, but SoT was her first game. I was describing the past, where she had all the expected hang-ups. But with an experienced player to lay it all out, Sea of Thieves is a great first game in my opinion.

    I do think she had a head start, though. She never played a computer game, but she has picked up basic things from gamers, like knowledge that the A button is the universal "continue" button, while B is the universal "back" button.

    Yes, they can probably figure things out, but they might try to use the DPad with the sails, for example.

    Doesn't the maiden voyage lay things like this out? I know it's not perfect, but if you want to complete the maiden voyage, you have to learn how to use the sails and anchor at least.
    In my experience, players will try the left stick to do anything because its for movement.

  • WolfManbush
    Lord

    @like-500-ninjas said in Is SoT accessible enough for non-gamers?:

    No exaggeration here as I've no need to. You can mute mics all you want, but you better block messages as well because you can rest assured they are coming.

    Having to quit a session and move is basically the same as being bullied on a playground and having to leave: it shouldn't be the case and something should be done.

    It's more like moving to a different spot of the sandbox within the playground to play when kids clash personalities and aren't getting along.

    People get stuck on this idea like an individual solving their own problem with a server hop is somehow a negative thing. If something is objectively toxic then it is against the rules and evidence/proof will lead to consequences. If something is subjectively toxic it might be considered toxic by an individual but it's often not a violation of the rules.

    The importance at the moment of clashing personalities/gameplay is deescalation by separating and both+ parties continuing on away from each other.

    If you believe there is a "toxic army" within the game and believe that there is a significant amount of toxicity on a regular basis why do you play the game and participate in the community?

    If I were involved in a community where I thought it was a heavily toxic community and one that mistreated and bullied people I would remove myself from that community and would not support the product with my activity. It's something I often wonder about when it comes to individuals believing that the sot community has significant amounts of mistreatment of others.

  • WolfManbush
    Lord

    @like-500-ninjas said in Is SoT accessible enough for non-gamers?:

    @wolfmanbush

    I have been playing since launch but only recently began posting in the forums because of the issues within the community. Mostly I just posted about the Golden Sands event being terrible. But in the short time I've been posting, I've already come across multiple people who have just further confirmed my beliefs and opinion on the community.

    I play it because the wife likes to watch me play it. The in-game world is beautiful and fun to explore. It is simply a shame that you can't experience it without constant harassment. The whole concept of "I wonder if that boat out there is friendly" is gone as everyone just shoots on sight.

    I bought the game and have solo'd my way the entire time to where I'm at. I have no interest in being in a crew. This game punishes solo players to the extreme for their choice to go it alone, but that's just part of it. Yeah I know..."hard mode" and all that garbage.

    We often find what we look for in others.

    If a person looks for the negative in others or a community they will find it. The same goes for positive.

    The game is full of random and interactions are pretty minimal due to a majority of people on a majority of servers not being regular pirate hunters.

    All types of people play this game with a wide variety of personalities and interests. It's not a community of sunshine and rainbows and it's not a toxic community in this environment. It's just a bunch of random people with different preferences and individual personalities playing a pirate game where there are only 5 ships per server so interaction of any type isn't constant. Some of it is wholesome and some of it is negative. A lot of it is somewhere in between without extremes.

    The people that have a negative view of that will always have a negative view of that and they will find bits and pieces to put together to justify viewing people negatively.

  • ThaGoochiestMan
    Master
    Insider

    @wolfmanbush it's not as random as you may think. For the most part, it's people who sought out a pirate game. It's not the casual non-gamers that this post is about.

    And especially now 4+ years later, the game has a lot of sweats that like to show how good they are or w/e.

  • WolfManbush
    Lord

    @thagoochiestman said in Is SoT accessible enough for non-gamers?:

    @wolfmanbush it's not as random as you may think. For the most part, it's people who sought out a pirate game. It's not the casual non-gamers that this post is about.

    And especially now 4+ years later, the game has a lot of sweats that like to show how good they are or w/e.

    It's a pirate themed adventure game that allows gameplay freedom.

    Having combat as an option and a risk isn't an indicator of people seeking this game out for the harshness of piracy or that a significant portion of community is out to do anything other than just have fun with their choice of gameplay. Content in this game far more leans into bringing in a majority of adventurers rather than combat focused people. This has been shown over the years with what a majority of activity on a majority of servers looks like.

  • WolfManbush
    Lord

    @like-500-ninjas said in Is SoT accessible enough for non-gamers?:

    @wolfmanbush said in Is SoT accessible enough for non-gamers?:

    @thagoochiestman said in Is SoT accessible enough for non-gamers?:

    @wolfmanbush it's not as random as you may think. For the most part, it's people who sought out a pirate game. It's not the casual non-gamers that this post is about.

    And especially now 4+ years later, the game has a lot of sweats that like to show how good they are or w/e.

    It's a pirate themed adventure game that allows gameplay freedom.

    Having combat as an option and a risk isn't an indicator of people seeking this game out for the harshness of piracy or that a significant portion of community is out to do anything other than just have fun with their choice of gameplay. Content in this game far more leans into bringing in a majority of adventurers rather than combat focused people. This has been shown over the years with what a majority of activity on a majority of servers looks like.

    "Combat as an option"

    Except it isn't, and that's the gripe 90% of players who have left this game have said.

    If you consider losing all your loot you worked hours on by scuttling and starting over an option, then sure. But if you're like me and have a full-time job and a marriage to support, you can't just throw away an hour here or there because some sweats want to ruin your day. They add up, and it detracts massively from the experience.

    You say this to me as if I didn't go through it and as if I don't share the very same environment that pvers do.

    99% of my total gameplay is solo and open crew. I'm nearly always the underdog in every fight I get into because I am a defensive fighter that fights mostly server hoppers and portal jumpers. If I am not outnumbered I am on an open crew of people that have little to no combat experience. I've lost probably more loot and more ships than 99% of individuals on this game given my hours played and activity levels.

    I'm not skilled at combat by any skilled pvp standards.

    How did/do I handle this? I don't stack loot, I play efficiently to my strengths. I set realistic goals and I reach them over and over again. I've done nearly everything in this game and have made a lot of gold having never been highly skilled at combat.

    How do I handle unpleasantness? I get away from it. I move on and move forward. A minute of someone being rude or mean spirited ain't nothin'. I've made it through worse as I'm sure you have too. I don't focus on them or their actions I get myself into a more positive location with more opportunity and I keep going. If I need to give myself a moment to clear my head I'll do it and I get right back to trying. I don't carry the negativity with me, there is no room for it on my boat. Random negative interactions don't define me and they don't define the community, it was one thing that didn't work out well and it was time to move on from it. Tomorrow's session isn't defined by today's and today's isn't by yesterday's.

    Gamers and non-gamers can find ways to get themselves out of situations that bring their optimism and outlook down and can find ways to keep chasing goals with a hopeful approach to a random environment that isn't out to get them.

  • Galactic Geek
    Seafarer
    Founder

    @grumpyw01f said:

    ut with an experienced player to lay it all out

    This is the key phrase right here. For the sake of argument, and to the video's point, what if said nongamer did not have immediate access to an experienced friend? For example, someone who saw advertising for SoT and decided to use it to break into the gaming scene due to how beautiful and interactive everything appeared to be and did so solo.

    The Maiden voyage explains a lot, but if it says RT to interact with something, the nongamer may take a while to figure out what RT is - for all they know they may think they have to retweet something. And if they don't go into the Maiden voyage, they will be hit with information overload, and completely miss certain things. That alone might dissuade them from setting sail. Heck, it's precisely why I don't play most sports games - I don't have the time or patience to work out the intricate control schemes.

  • BekkBloodaxe96
    Ship Mate
    Insider

    @like-500-ninjas

    just report and block these people - this isn't an issue isolated to SoT...

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