Yes, yet another TL;DR „my impression“ post:

I have played the game for about a month now.
I wouldn’t have even tried the game, If it wasn´t for the persuasive manor of some st.eve/ RL friends, which have been playing PO since beta/ launch. There was no trial available at the time for me. So I just gave it a shot and got myself a month of game time.

I have to say, that I am in this game, for the community, fun and the pvp.
If that breaks away, I break away also.

But I am probably one of the fortunate players, who started the game with:

-    having RL friends, who could explain the mechanics of the game to me,
-    within one hour I was invited, to join their corp, dwelling on beta island,
-    had access to a hangar of all sorts of advanced bots,
-    could go straight into pvp, which is my main incentive,
-    engage in Corp activities, to pursue corp objectives, 
-    as an st.eve veteran, I am fairly familiar with the UI, fitting procedures, etc…

I think if I would not have had those things going for me, I would not have lasted in this game for more than 3 days. I felt like being dumped into the world of Nia, being left alone from here onwards.  Mostly my friends provided me with the necessary information.

For example, I started the game at ICS. Running around with my Arkhe, trying to catch a first glimpse of the game, trying to get the hang of movement, etc… I ended up on TMA, when I checked the assignments and realized there was a tutorial to accomplish.

As being initially a “blue” bot pilot, it was not a good idea to do the tutorial at TMA. But how should I have known this?  That as an end reward, for accomplishing the 10 tutorial missions, I would receive a Castel, which as a blue pilot, I could not use. Maybe as a suggestion, the assignment could have guided me towards having to do my assignments at ICS. If it did so in anyway, then I am sorry that I missed that part. Fortunately I could trade the Castel for a Yagel with my corp.

Moving on to Beta Island on the same day, I could engage in corp activities straight away. Trying to somehow make myself useful, providing eyes etc…  Skilling my navigation to level 10 immediately, proved to be a good decision.  Being on beta finally gave me some initiatives, working towards and with the corp and alliance, etc…, I think this is when the game started to provide me with reasons for my actions. But I dare to say, that the players, trying the game for the first time, without the backing of established friends or a beta corp, will lack those reasons and lose interest fairly quickly.

Since then, I see a lot of good PO veterans breaking away from the game. As many state, they don´t see the goals within this game anymore. This makes me somewhat sad, as I see a great deal of potential in this young game. But on the other hand, I do understand their point.

I do not want to comment about balancing and mining, many people are writing about. I just haven´t been long enough in this game, to gain enough insight on these topics.

But what I can say is, that I have the impression that this game could be in use of a good PR Manager and someone who wraps a proper story line around NIA including new event based stories/ player event based stories. So the world of NIA becomes alive. An atmosphere to immerge into, when I get into my alter egos bot. Let the players get a feeling of being a small part of the greater things to come.

The trailer video I personally find, lacks most aspects of the game play. As this is probably the first contact, potential players will get for an impression; it should project the various aspects of the game. All you really see is a number of bots, running and shooting each other. Was that it? I think the trailer should be weaved into the story of NIA. Maybe with a professional sexy voice over, to tell me the story of NIA and how much they need me there. How did we get here, what struggles do we have out of various perspectives of the different roles, what are the possibilities of the various roles in this sandbox, i.e. soldiers, traders, scientists etc…Just spice it up somewhat. Make me feel the atmosphere, make me want to be a part of this world. Make me want to thrive for world domination.

For each new patch release, start throwing out teasers at the numerous game sites and youtubes, a few weeks beforehand. Again, wrap a story around the new features. Make them a part of the NIA story. Send out newsletters with the things to come.  It’s probably a bit early, but send out re-invitation to former accounts for win back, with a 7days free “have another look” game time to see, what great new things have emerged into this fabulous world of NIA.

When I get into the game as a new player, make sure I am being “picked up” to bring me onto the level of NIA. Have a female sexy voiceover spoken welcome and tutorial. Maybe some voiceovers on the terminals as well, would make them feel more alive. Make me feel that I am important for the world and its future. Make me understand why I have to do certain things. Better even, make me want to do those things. Maybe create a “story line” assignment that leads further and further thru the game like a red line.

I do realize good PR doesn´t come for free. But usually the player base has a tremendous potential for creativity, also. Let them create a great trailor, with a NIA story line and voice over, within a competition etc.. 

Host reoccurring team events. Such as RvB (red versus blue) in st.eve. Both sides are allowed to bring a certain amount of kg mass into their team setup. It could be either 10 light bots or 3 heavy mechs and 1 ew bot setup as an example, depending of their choice of tactic, as long its within the given mass of kg. Advertise the events 2-3 weeks in advance. Report on them.

At present, the game is still a very rough cut diamond. It’s not even shiny yet. But one can assume the worth of what we hold here.

It would be a great shame, if the game would die, before it had a chance to live up to its potential.

Don´t get me wrong, I like the game and have already 2 accounts with a subscription of 120days game time. I tend to be the last to leave a sinking ship, and as long friends of mine keep playing the game, I´ll keep logging on.