Likes and dislikes

Having spent a fair few hours playing around with Alpha R2 I thought I'd jot down some of my thoughts and observations:

- Character Models - the overall character models are OK, they look and move fairly naturally but the face configurations need a lot of work, the hair models look glued on and not at all natural and the features look overly cartoonish (although I realise that this may have been an art choice for the game). Whether you jump by release or on first press of the space bar the jumping animation itself looks a little gimpy and feels like it needs some work.

- Scenery - one of the most polished aspects of the game so far. I loved the water in the fountain, it looks as realistic as any I've seen so far in an MMO but water in other places (sea and rivers) still needs some work before it looks really natural. Also no splash animations yet on entering, leaving and moving in water. I noticed one or two atmospheric effects...could we have more of these? They really add a level of immersion.

- Buildings - where the stone textures and models are completed they look very good although some buildings (wizard's tower) still obviously need some work to align textures and round edges on some of the stonework. The scale of some buildings also seems too small for the furniture that is provided to fit it. Either make the buildings a little bigger or the furniture a little bit smaller. I'm not sure about all the electrical devices in the town...it gives it a bit of a steam-punk feel and seems a little out of place.

- Lighting - The lighting is good for the most part and I like the fact, unlike some of the other posters, that it's pretty dark at night, it adds to the ambiance and creates atmosphere. I did feel however that many of the building interiors were a bit dingy. I'm not sure how you fix this...maybe just ensure that the player deployed lighting lights appropriately.

- Portals - I love the idea of portals and this probably leads back to me being an avid Asheron's Call player many years ago. I also love the idea of putting them in standing stone rings...it feels appropriate and they look great. One of the things that Asheron's Call did nicely with portals is that when you stepped into them instead of seeing a loading page there was a nice travelling animation (a bit like being in a wormhole similar to games like EVE Online). This gives the sense of travelling and doesn't break the suspension of disbelief.

- Crafting - I've already given my opinion on this in another post but the crafting mechanic seems to be favouring look and feel over a sensible game mechanic. Crafting is typically an activity where you repeat an action over and over again. Having to drag all the materials onto the crafting table is unnecessarily unwieldy and will cause brain melt and heart failure in those of a nervous disposition after about the fortieth sword...you have been warned!

- Animals - basically liked these especially the rabbits...cute little critters. However the animals do slide when they move, the animation isn't fluid and it takes away from the immersion.

- Furniture - Most of the furniture looks good and I like the fact that it can be placed and picked up so easily. I'm assuming that there's going to be a way of changing the orientation of furniture eventually? ****** Valice helpfully corrected this below, the E and Q keys rotate furniture in furniture mode. *******

So overall...lots to work on but a great job for an early alpha release! More of the same please!!

Good luck and I'm looking forward to the next release!

Darius Falc.

 

Atmosphere in the Taverns (and other buildings) is something I think could be improved... see my thread here:
https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/f...ecor-in-taverns-and-other-npc-buildings.6599/

 

Great post, use Q and E to rotate items when placing them on a property.

 

Thanks Valice, I figured I must be missing something.

DF.

 

Overall I am happy with where the progress is going. I think a lot of people will not make up their minds until they can try out the combat and experience the full game cycle.

I like the idea behind the crafting system but perhaps some better introduction could have alleviated the learning curve pains re: exact amounts & item dragging. Hopefully the procedure can be improved to minimise repetitive strain. Really like the recipe book. Love the inventory list mode, glad that it's optional and that it's not the default.

I'm still not too happy with the camera controls, but it is vastly better than R1.

I had expected more in terms of character customisation (being one of the "++" dotpoints listed for R2 but not listed again for R3 or R4), although the moustaches are cool, I'd expect to see more styles and shapes, character age etc. The world scenery is fantastic, I hope the character models will eventually reach the same standard.

I was really impressed with Kingsport, with the mist coming off the water and the details in the environment.

I hope that it will be possible to place items on the ground in the world map, even if there are limitations to avoid abuse.

As with real life, I've noticed a lot of the housing rooms look small and pokey until you put furniture inside and you get a much better idea of the space. Maybe with the disabled player housing in R3 some example static fully furnished lots like the waterfront cabanas will be viewable. I still think the wizard tower is too small & impractical.

 

Things I'm happy with: The music is so much improved from R1 (apparently the R1 music was just random free music RG grabbed and threw in). Run speed is nice. Though I'm not sure how I feel about the overall design of the conversation system, the content was improved a heck of a lot. Kingsport looks pretty good, though also pretty small.

Things I'm not so happy with: Crafting seems really awkward and tedious. Lots of animations look weird (did you see the animation for breaking a box/barrel? It looks like your arm bends at a very unnatural angle) and need a lot of work. Jumping on everything like crazy is sort of fun, but being able to stand on top of spiked wooden barricades and scale the tesla tower is a bit much - the logic for what counts as a platform and what doesn't needs to be worked on a lot.

 

Fully agree. If not, make a warning pop-up so you don't lose your items.
I accidentally dropped one of my inventory bags from my paperdoll. No fun.

 

OK, rather than making my own post, I just add my likes/dislikes to yours =)

Likes:

* I love the jumping. This will create some issues but it benefits the overall feel of the game a lot. A third of the time I played I just ran around trying to get up to some viewpoints. I love how one has to slightly pay attention when to press and how long to hold the button. This feels very realistic.
* Crafting recipes: I love how items have multiple uses and how all things fit together in a realistic way. I also like how resources are not so one-dimensional: Logs give bark, beams and boards, etc..
* List view: While I will not use it all the time, it will help a lot with certain tasks.
* Character movement: The run speed is much more appropriate, although I would personally like it if there was a different speed, for example depending on if w was tapped or not, or adjustable in another way. Only running is odd too =)
* I love some of the environment, like the flock of birds flying around

Things I think could use work (I am aware most of them will get work, just telling where I would put some time in), but are basically alright:

* Crafting tables and bags: Often items land in places where they are hard to spot and bags spill over their sides when dragging items quite often.
* Crafting UI: The drag and drop is way to cumbersome for known recipes. Maybe let people add a known recipe to the table and then just double click it to take resources + craft?
* Stability: My game logged me out a lot and I had to log back in. This happened in the middle of playing. I monitored my network and there was at best minimal delay to other machines. No clue why this is happening. (If I find out when exactly this happens I will submit a bug report.). I am mentioning this as it is a new problem for me since release 1, where I experienced no noteworthy disconnects.
* Sound effects: They are nice but need to be timed better (for crafting). Some also are rather loud (Tesla tower) or repeat to fast (chicken). There is really nothing wrong that can not be fixed easily =)
* Conversation system: The NPC's still do not understand nearly enough simple questions, although in Owl's head things are better than last time.
* The character creation options are very very simplistic so far. I hope a lot more options will be added to make characters more unique.

Thinks I dislike and would like to see replaced/reworked completely:

* Right click+mouse for moving the camera is just awful after a while. I have a desk job where I work at least 8 hours a day and playing games where I constantly hold the right button will give me added trouble for sure.
* Music. The tunes are nice and it surely improved since R1, but I hope they will be re-recorded more professionally. They also lack depth.
* Character hair still looks like playmobil figures. Unless someone had a hairspray or gel accident, this is not how hair looks

 

Likes

- Kingsport - Enjoyed the "feel" - the tier level buildings, multiple entrances, docks, lighting, shore, alleys, and paths near the ocean ..

- Music like the variety and primarily the music that featured string instruments

- Traversing the hill/mountain outside Owl's Head - was a huge surprise; the terrain looks and feels real I had a lot of fun traveling through it ... finding a path, due to the uneven surfaces was fantastic (I have not played a game where walking up a hill was something I noticed, great work)

- Character movement - I like the new run speed

- List inventory

Areas to improve

- Chat system - "barks" come in too often, and sometimes its hard to talk to a person when two NPC's are standing right next to each other (because we can't select who we want to talk to)

- Although I liked the music, it was primarily "happy" music - can we get something a little more ominous or "strong" something that makes me feel like Conan the Barbarian

- Could we get a toggle between list and free form inventory mechanics

- Animations in the list inventory looked too small ( I was playing on a laptop - next time I'll try it on a large monitor)


Something I would liked introduced

- I would love to have a NPC in each town that is just a little bit of a rabble rouser (someone who is telling jokes, poking fun, messing around)

 

I Like:
-the background music.
-the Day/Night cycle and how dark it got.
-the torch I found in a box, it lit up the night time just fine.
-the water sounds.
-the electric transformer on the side of one of the buildings I passed.
-the run speed.
-jumping (although we need climbing too).
-thanks to the Dev's for speeding up the camera pan, you did that on the fly, I'm impressed... it worked really well.
-the zoom works now, what a handsome guy I am...
-the avatars have improved, but need more selections for hair style/facial hair (I know their coming).
-I like the teleporters, they look cool.


I didn't like:
-how fast and animated the shadows moved across the landscape when the sun was rising/falling, it was way too fast and not gradual or smooth at all.
-when there are too many peasants standing around, I can't speak to one without all the others hearing too and responding.
-Crafting, I didn't like it. I mean the tables are cool looking and functional and broken at the same time, but it's just too tedious, even after you stumble on the recipe. Some people will love it, I would rather read a book to find out how to make stuff or ask a Grandmaster what their secrets are or buy it off a store keeps shelf or find it in an old musty trunk in the wilderness, there's got to be some automation somehow.
-the way the water moves/flows it needs a lot of polish, boats need to bob up/down like they're floating. The ocean shore needs waves coming in, nothing too big, but it needs to stand out from rivers (which should flow down hill), maybe high/low tides with the moons cycle.
-pulling stack amounts off a stack, I was constantly backspacing to wipe the amount, so I could type in what amount I wanted. I don't see why we can't just place our whole stack on the table, and as long as we already have the recipe, just select it from our book and the total amount possible (with any leftovers) is made all at once. To force us to pull the exact amount each time of several ingredients, to make just one of an item, is so boring. Not to say time consuming.
-the same animation was being used at all the crafting tables (even when we weren't making anything at the time), with no ingredients on the table and we are working away, doing the same movements.

All and All, it's great to be here, and I know this game will be awesome. My congrats to all the Dev's great work so far, keep it up.

 

I really hated the fact that my character's feet were bigger than his head. Other than that, the OP covered me. (And yes, I did love the dark nights. Dont change it like they did it in AoC and you couldn't tell night from day, thank you )

 

I really loved Kingsport. I enjoyed it a great deal more than owl's head. Better NPCs. The mage creeping around the moon rift, the smugglers (especially Lauren and her stuff about the prophecy). I like the look and layout of Kingsport and I really liked "Guard-Not-Appearing-In-This-Game" and his firm denials that a large building was behind him.

I enjoyed crafting more than I thought I would (not being a fan of crafting in general). I made my own spear with only a little help from the internet. It is a little too tedious at the moment, but I'm sure they'll fix it up by release.

I LOVED the jumping. It really made things feel so much more natural.

The movement was much improved (though I would still prefer a camera control that doesn't require me to hold a button, it hurts my wrist).

I HATE that all the guards are decked out in full plate armor. That is plain silly, makes the world look gamey and seriously hinders my suspension of disbelief. I really hope they downgrade the guards to wear light chain or leather and leave Plate to lords, knights, and high level retainers.

Overall, it was a great experience and I'm really glad I got to be a part of it!

 

Yeah, I agree, a few guards in plate maybe but not all of them. Also, what's with the sick guard standing around in full armour??? Shouldn't he be lying in bed if he's that ill!

 

LOL! Yeah, that one I chalked up to pre-alpha. I assume he'll be de-armored in the final release. But I'm concerned that full plate will be the norm. Yuck. Just silly.

"Let's go to the pub mate and buy some ale!"

"No, I'm saving up for some magnificent plate armor, so I can be as well-equipped as every half-trained town guard in New Brittannia."

 

Have to agree with about everything you had to say.

Likes.
Over all, its looking damn good.I had no probs. staying connected, or logging in.

Things i do not like.
Big one for me, is chat window.I hate them.I'm a fan of the over head.I can tell exactly to whom i'm talking, even if other are talking in same area.
Characters. as much as i want my female character, i'm thinking may have to make a male, don't know if i can stand such a frumpy, ugly, avatar.
Houses,out side is fine , but inside could be scaled up a bit .

Most of my other concerns,i'm going to do a wait and see .they did s lot more in R2 then i thought they would have gotten done. and if [Lord British] is really going to be a part, [playing game ] i feel he will also raise the bar.

 

Agreed! And no capes on guards. I sort of feel as though capes should be something you have to earn a certain level of standing/renown to wear, or else no one will take you seriously. Robes/cloaks are fine, as they serve a specific purpose/function outside of being a notable person.

I'm surprised gorgets weren't added in yet. Having opened necks on fully armored people looks and feels silly.

Overall, the staff is doing a fantastic job.