Reply To: Amazing game: Some suggestions for improvement

[PipBoy]

1. Lack of documentation:

There is very little ingame. This may be due to the early access status or financial resource driven. But there has to be a bit more. In the least, there can be PDF files or even webpages where basic stuff can be listed. I know that you are promoting a Wikipa site for this, but even there most of the stuff is missing. Where exactly am I going to find even the most rudimentary stuff like what undead units possess in terms of abilities? Why do they keep resurrecting, and how do I make them stop doing so?

Agreed. I’d also say that it’d be cool to slowly learn about enemies as you fight them.

2. Empty map/lack of direction:

I won’t delve into this, as I understand it’s very early part of early access, and the devs will add a lot more. But this is the first thing you notice.

You could also use a minimap badly, as things are sprawled out, and everything (including yourself) is hard to locate.

I don’t think a minimap is really needed. You can zoom in/out and the entire map isn’t THAT big. Also, you can hit the Shift key to center the map on your party.

3. Racial (lack of) diversity:

I know that you are aiming for a low magic, low fantasy world, and that funds are limited. Still, could you reconsider implementing Elves/Dwarves at some point in the future? You already have Orcs/Goblins/undead; so excluding Elves/Dwarves seem fairly arbitrary, unless there is an absolute financial necessity. The latter two races will so dramatically enhance game atmosphere, tactics, and ultimately replayability.

It sounds like the devs are focusing on making a low-fantasy thing first, I doubt we’ll see elves/dwarves. Although I sorta agree, low-fantasy+orcs seems to defy the very definition, but then again, it’s not my setting!

4. Character Development:

Really well done and well balanced. Among other things, I love that the fact that you seem to have (I assume intentionally) prevented the possibility of one man army type of character that is both killy and durable: You have to choose to have either a killy or durable character, because of that brilliant concept of Utility tree, which requires its own massive investment for all toons.

So even at this early point of inception, I say the Perk system is consummately well done. My only major issue is that the Offense tree is so lacking at tier 1 compared to Defense and, especially, Utility trees. Tier 1 Offense tree really seem to have only 2 universally worthwhile choices so must be boosted.

Have to disagree. I think the Perk system is one of the things that needs the most work. It’s got a lot of great ideas, but needs a ton more balancing (the Defense tree is nearly worthless, for example)

5. Quest variety/limit/payout:

Too few quest types, which may or may not be addressed. The artificial limit of 1 is a far bigger issue, and I assume won’t change (unless there’s a major rethink). Given a) the time spent/distance traveled on individual quests and b) the typically low payout, I don’t see any justification for this at all. And this leads to the next issue of payout: Most of them pay way too little. In particular, you are still mostly inundated with these 200 gold quests well into the game, and 200g won’t even pay my troops for a single day!

Questing does need some work, and I’m sure it’ll get it. But also, keep in mind that you can run from one side of the map to the other in only about 2 days. So a 200 gold quest to go from one town to the next is generally a profit. It’s how I make money early game.

It is, however, a little boring. I can basically farm as much money as I want while avoiding fights I can’t win by running from one town to the next. So, I agree this system needs work.

6. Tactical combat issues:

Deep and satisfying in general, but a few issues:

My biggest issue without question is the low sight radius (which is multiplied by the better helmets). This issue is in particular exacerbated when fighting ranged units you cannot see until you are literally right next to them. Perhaps all this was intended to preserve a sense of the “fog of war” and enable some sort of hit and run tactics. But it’s ridiculous and unrealistic that units can shoot twice and thrice further than one can see from a realistic perspective; it also dampens my enthusiasm for fighting ranged units. I feel that it may become a nightmare once Goblins are introduced.

Another issue is the dearth of display info on opposing units. This is somewhat tied to my first category, the lack of documentation. But this is also a separate issue. I’d like to know things like how many HPs the opposing units have, as well as their build in general, special abilities, etc. I need more than simply unit name and portrait and a few bars.

Also, I’d like some sort of unit defection mechanic, where you can mind control or simply persuade an opposing unit to join you. Perhaps we can have an Orc that has gone through a Drizzt like conversion? :) (Perhaps we can ultimately enable recruitment of Orc or nonhuman units as well, with a few of their own distinctive Backgrounds).

A. I agree that the “vision” system is a bit skewed. It seems like the penalty to fatigue for wearing heavy helmets is enough, and the “I can’t see more than 5 feet in front of me” thing just doesn’t make sense. Maybe it should become a penalty to ranged attacks, instead of sight range? That way an archer shouldn’t be wearing a heavy helmet, but the tank up front can still see.

B. I sorta agree with more enemy info, but I like that you only have a general idea instead of an exact number of HP left. But after fighting a few battles with enemies you should be able to learn some basic things.

C. Pretty sure the devs said that the players group will only ever be humans. Maybe mods can change this in the future. Also, future enemies will have mind-control abilities. Though I think the devs also said that the player will never be able to use magic (although enemies will).

Grimdark low fantasy yo!

7. Bugs/glitches:

I haven’t seen much, except that there seems to be a few during tactical combat. Sometimes there are dark blobs where there should be units; at other times there are shield like symbols. What’s going on here?

Huh, I’ve never seen that one. The one bug I’ve gotten is the UI disappearing on the world map, but that’s easily solved by a quick-load or mashing escape a few times.