“The Tutorial section of a game is the most underappreciated and most often skipped part of the gaming experience. Many players, in their hubris, assume that they are above such petty things as an introduction to the game and its mechanics. These players often later discover that they have crippled their progress over an innocuous mechanic that was explained to them in the very tutorial that they disdain. Think carefully, my friends, before you rush ahead. You skip the tutorial at your own peril.”
Excerpt from the NEMO forum post by Friendly Dev
2 Hours realtime/12 hours subjective until NEMO launch
John slowly regained consciousness or at least some semblance of it. He felt himself floating in a void without sensation. Text appeared in his mind, “Welcome to the character creation of New Era of Man Online. The system has created a randomized approximation of you as a potential character model based on your internal self-image. Please take the time to examine this potential avatar and decide if it meets your approval. The name of Torgon has been preselected. You are unable to make changes to your name at this point. When you are finished refining your avatar we will begin the familiarization process with New Era of Man Online. You may call me System if you have any queries or requests.”
John paused and made the mental switch to calling himself Torgon. He was going to be Torgon for the next several years after all. He slipped into the identity easily. Being Torgon again felt like coming home. He eyed the slowly rotating form in front of him, the avatar appeared taller than his normal body with features that were similar but wouldn’t be instantly recognizable. “System, make the eyes a little greener and how tall is this avatar?”
He watched the eyes turn a more vibrant green before hearing the system’s voice in his head, “The avatar is six feet tall.” He laughed internally. Only an inch taller than his physical body, but what an important inch it was. His avatar stood straight, no stoop from injuries. His hair was short and black and no longer contained the gray he had grown accustomed to. The face was clean-shaven and proud. No scars or blemishes marred his skin. The body promised youth and vigor and a second chance.
“Thank you, System. This avatar will work perfectly. I am ready to begin the familiarization process.”
The floating void abandoned Torgon and there was an instant of the most impenetrable darkness and lack of sensation that he had ever experienced. He opened his eyes a brief but unknowable amount of time later in an unfamiliar space. The room had plain wooden walls and was about a dozen feet on each side. A soft glowing orb in the middle of the ceiling provided light. He lay on a wooden bed with a straw stuffed mattress. A small wooden chest sat at the foot of the bed and a wooden door appeared in the middle of the wall opposite the bed. He stood up and moved around slowly at first but with increasing speed and dexterity. All the accumulated aches and pains of the years were gone. Torgon felt amazing and hungry for his new life.
“Welcome to the New Era of Man Online. This area is your personal space. It may be upgraded over time through your efforts. If you wish to view your current status at any time, think status. Please review your attributes and skills and then we may continue.”
“Status”
Character Name: Torgon
Level: 0
Primary Attributes:
Strength: 5
Agility: 5
Endurance: 5
Intelligence: 5
Willpower: 5
Presence: 5
Secondary Attributes:
Health: 100
Health Recovery: 1/s
Energy: 100
Energy Recovery: 1/s
Mana: 100
Mana Recovery: 1/s
Skills:
Combat Master Skill Level 1
Swordsmanship Level 1
One free Combat skill slot
Magic Master Skill Level 1
Two free Magic skill slots
Crafting Master Skill Level 1
Gathering Level 1
One free Crafting skill slot
General Master Skill Level 1
Analysis Level 1
One free General skill slot
Stolen story; please report.
Four free Universal skill slots
He looked over his sheet carefully. The attributes seemed standard but there were a few questions he had to ask. “System, what are the secondary attributes derived from?”
The voice that was simultaneously everywhere and nowhere replied “Health is linked to Strength, Energy is linked to Agility, Health and Energy recovery are linked to Endurance, Mana is linked to Intelligence and Mana recovery is linked to Willpower.”
“Does Presence link to anything?”
The system responded, “Presence is tied to how easy or hard it is to notice you, how well aura skills affect others and generally with your impact on the world around you through your very existence. Most presence skills are encountered later in the game world.”
“Am I stuck with the skill slots, or can I earn more?”
“There is a functionally unlimited amount of skill slots that you can obtain through leveling skills in each category. Each skill raised to a level of 10 frees the skill slot, and an additional skill slot is opened when each skill is raised to a level of 40 and 100. Universal slots are level dependent. You start with 4 and gain an additional universal slot every 10 levels. Skills that are slotted in the Universal slots will move to their designated category upon reaching level 10.
“How do I obtain skills?”
The system spoke again “Skills are obtained through finding them as rewards in loot, from quests or purchasing them with Guild Contribution Points at a guild library or with reputation points from various faction vendors. Skills are difficult and time consuming to obtain but are the primary way to strengthen and build your character.”
“If I have previous experience with a skill does the game limit how effectively I can use it?”
“No. The skills themselves exist to provide users with a basic understanding of the skill. The numbers provide direct damage bonuses but anyone with experience in the skill can use their knowledge to their advantage. Training and hard work will let you rise above players who rely on just what the system provides. Each skill has a primary and a secondary attribute. Raising the attributes connected to the skills will also improve the effectiveness of your skill use.”
Torgon thought it over and shrugged. “I’ll have years to figure it out and knowing that I can’t cripple myself right now will help. Let’s continue” He mentally minimized his character sheet and waited for the tutorial to resume.
“Please open the chest at the foot of your bed.”
He bent down to open the small wooden chest. Inside were three items, an axe, a tunic and a short sword. The system informed him about each of the items. “The axe is a versatile tool. It can be used for cutting wood and it can transform into a pick for mining rock and stone, a hoe for gardening and pruning shears for gathering herbs. It is bound to you. You will never be without a tool to use for gathering. Unfortunately, it is of basic quality, and it takes five times as long to harvest a node relative to a task specific basic gathering tool. The tunic is a basic piece of light armor that provides you with minimal protection and modesty and the fashion styling of a typical peasant. The short sword is a basic weapon to help you explore the world. The tunic and sword are not bound and can be lost, discarded or destroyed.”
Torgon examined the sword, Copper Short Sword: Basic, Damage 1-8 + (1xStr + 1xSkills). Durability 100/100. Right now, his sword would inflict 1 to 8 + 7, since he had 5 strength and 2 levels of skills related to the sword. His own health would let him survive 8 or 9 hits from his sword. He hoped he could keep it long enough to at least find some more weapons to replace it. The tunic was similar, Tunic: Basic, Armor 1, Durability 100/100. Armor reduced incoming damage by 1 point per level of armor. Finally, he looked at the axe, Crafting Tool: Basic, Bound, 5x time penalty on mining, logging, harvesting or farming. Everything a noob adventurer really needed.
Torgon paused and asked more questions of the system. “System, will the durability of gear be a big issue? Can we learn repair skills, or will we be forced to use NPCs to repair our gear. Will repairing our gear be expensive or resource intensive?”
The system replied, “Durability of gear is affected by use. Fighting monsters of a higher level or gathering nodes of a higher rank than your gear will cause durability to drop faster. Most equipment will last several days when used appropriately without needing repairs. NPC crafters are the easiest way to repair gear although it will cost you coins relative to the amount of missing durability and the quality of the item. There are no player repair skills at this time, however there are items that players can craft that will restore durability. As you progress through the game, durability will become a larger issue.”
“What exactly does the basic mean for the gear? Does it denote quality or rarity? Will equipment have level requirements?”
“Basic is the lowest quality. Higher quality items are rarer but primarily it is a term to indicate how good an item is. There are 10 levels of quality and their associated item frame colors: Basic – Gray, Common – Dull White, Advanced – Bright White, Uncommon – Green, Exceptional – Cyan, Rare – Blue, Epic – Purple, Legendary – Orange, Mythic – Red, and finally Divine – Golden. These levels can also be referred to by their rank number, 1 through 10. Gear also has a level that is required for use. A level 10 basic short sword will be stronger than a basic short sword with no requirement. There may exist items in the game that have other requirements to wield them, such as skill level or reputation. Countless mysteries and wonders await you.”
“Show me my inventory” He thought. Immediately on thinking inventory a paper doll with a chest slot, weapon slot and tool slot filled, and every other slot appeared empty. He noted that there were 10 ring slots instead of the standard two and that the basic inventory grid was 10 by 10. Bag slots showed underneath the grid and Torgon assumed they could be used to expand the inventory. Torgon wasn’t sure he really wanted to wear earrings but admitted to himself that the stats were going to matter far more than the aesthetics. He closed his inventory, took a moment to compose himself and addressed the system once more.
“Is there a way to practice combat?”
“Ready yourself, and when you are prepared, I can call forth a training monster. The damage it inflicts will not be real nor will you earn any experience for fighting it. The monster exists for practice purposes only.” Torgon drew his sword and mentally told the system he was ready for the first fight of his new life.
A small green humanoid figure appeared in front of Torgon. Analysis told him that it was a training goblin with 50 health. The monster wielded a rusty short sword, smaller than his own and lunged at him. He parried the attack on instinct and stabbed the goblin in the shoulder. The goblin screeched and stumbled back. Torgon pressed in close and kept up attacking until the goblin disappeared. The next training goblin he allowed to strike him. Pain exploded from his thigh, and he gritted his teeth as he started fighting again. He spent the next several minutes fighting one goblin after another, familiarizing himself with their patterns, his own sword, and the experience of fighting through pain. When he was satisfied that he had learned what he needed from the tutorial he called out to the system.
“I think I’m ready to leave the room and explore the guild base.”
“Congratulations! You have completed the Tutorial. You are awarded 1,000 free experience points. Free experience may be allocated in any amount to any skill. You have reached level 1. For reaching level one you are awarded one free attribute point to be allocated to any attribute you possess. Your health, energy and mana are increased by 20.”
The door to the room swung open, beckoning him into an unexplored world.
