A few bits of feedback for next Release(s)

I've already covered in other threads the quick ooo's and ahh's that impressed me with this release, so here's a few things that I think need a bit of attention...

Crafting
Recipe Book
: Beside the large font title of the recipe should be the number of times the character has resources to make that recipe
: Recipes that are discovered by a player and in the recipe book should remain in a player's/account's book (like the Friends List does now) unless a recipe is changed, in which case that recipe should be removed to be rediscovered. (Edit: This is for the early Test Releases ONLY. Once the game goes to Full Release, the recipe book should be wiped to a beginning state once again)

PvM
Creature Types
: Right now there are three main creature types... Fighter, Archer, Mage which are used for three creature races... elves, undead, and satyrs. Each of these types need to be worked so that the experience is unique for all types. Mages should focus on different casting schools instead of just Fireball. Archers should make use of different special moves and swap to melee when closed in on. Melee should show more difference between the various weapon types.

Looting
: When looting equipment by dragging on your character, you have an option whether that item auto-equips or goes into your primary pack. Right now, equipment auto-equips which can be bothersome.

Resource Gathering
Animations
: Chopping trees and mining ore need about 3 cycles of the specific animation. 1 cycle seem too quick.
: Cotton plants were a LOT more buggy this release than in R4 and caused some pretty sticky problems. This will need to be addressed.

I'll leave the rest of the space open just in case more comes to mind before the end of this test phase.

 

I dont know if i'm the only one but i hope for the next release the the party option works. I think one in R2 i was able to party up with my friends but since then no luck

 

Party works fine in R5 (and R4, R3)

Edit and good suggestions, Dermott; note that he means remembering recipes across R-releases in the alpha

 

Yep... once the game goes persistent, wipe everything, but let us keep the recipes we learn in the Releases so we're not just replicating work for no reason.

 

Strange about the party...for me and my friends, an invite to party up can be generated but no one ever gets the actual invite

 

Crafting
The biggest problem I have with the crafting BOOK is that Avatar has to Dbl clk I wouldn't mind but seems like I have to click 8-10 times to get the Craft on the table to go. I doubt it would ever be a single click but...

 

I disagree with this 100%. No reason to give an advantage over people who weren't playing in the releases. Game should start with a clean slate. That said, recipes could persist throughout the pre-alpha's, alpha, and beta without an issue.

 

Yes clean um out unless... nope nope

 

I also had this issue, I would invite but no message would come up for the other person to accept and vice versa.

You should log that as a bug.

 

Well, there's just one issue: If the team changes anything regarding the recipe book in the software, they may be forced to wipe it.
That's the main reason they're wiping the characters between releases. For me that's fine because it's supposed to be a testing environment and all systems should be checked every release.

 

I'm not saying they should or shouldn't. My point was that if they do it from release to release, its fine fairplay wise, but doing the suggestion that recipes should be kept from testing to final release is one I do not support.

I agree that if they need testing, obviously, having to find recipes repeatedly would be necessary.

 

The idea was to have the recipes carry over from test release to test release, then if one had to be changed, that one would be deleted. At the end of the test releases and before the game becomes persistent, the recipe book would be fully reset.

 

I agree with you Dermott, if someone wants to experiment, fine. For those of us who have been crafting a while now, and with the wiki site listing so many recipes, why re-learn them? This isn't a game, it is a test. This test was combat. So why not let us make armor (crafting) and then test combat? Now, there was a new glitch in crafting that some of us experienced, not leaving the crafting animation, but that had nothing to do with recipes. (I think )

As for outrage about not wanting recipes to carry over to live, I am at a loss for why not. You do know we can take screen shots, check the wiki, or even - dare I say it - use pencil and paper to write down our recipes. So, when the game goes live, those of us who have crafted in the tests will have an advantage over those who don't. Just like those who talked to NPCs, fought, did magic, harvested or anything else. That is the burden of having testers before a game goes live, but the benefits outweigh the problems. Most games offer testers (particularly focus/closed beta testers) perks when the game goes live, like 2 days early access or loot, gear, emotes that others don't get. I think it is 'more' fair to let us roll over recipes than to let us all have special gear, but that is already being offered based on pledge level. So again, I don't see an issue.

 

This wasn't really a full combat test. It was a focused combat test, which is why we were only given access to select items and select skills. That level of focus makes it easier for the developers to parse feedback.

As for the recipes issue, I really don't think it matters at all. If recipes do not roll over, they'll quickly be rediscovered on launch, and those who want to learn them quickly will reference a revised Wiki. If they do roll over, people who crafted in the testing releases will have a minor advantage over those who didn't, but the Wiki will still be there. Odds are most of the people who are crafting now are referencing that Wiki anyway rather than memorizing or writing down all the recipes themselves. I also don't see an issue.

 

Thank you Lord Trenyc for agreeing with me. It was a test, so why 'discover' something we have 'discovered' previously, unless it was just easier to wipe everything and that was that.

And the roll over of recipes is irrelevant. Keep, don't keep. No greater advantage will be gained by having them, only a bit of convenience for the testers. If it is challenge you want, please to do 20 push-ups every time you kill an enemy, overland travel, or buy/sell. (Now that is a bit ridiculous, but suggesting more challenge for testers simply for the sake of challenge rather than useful feedback is equally silly.)

 

Aye. Please don't make us learn all those recipes all over again. That just introduces monotony and makes us have to re-learn them all until we can get into the actual testing. Recipes, once learned, should carry over from release to release unless they are totally changed.

Uh... we aren't in a competition here. This isn't launch. It's still pre-alpha. There are no 'advantages' to be had. And any such 'advantages' would never translate over to release anyway. (Though I certainly think they should. Yes, people who have spent months/years playtesting a game should indeed have an advantage of some sort over those who did not. After all, they've earned it.)

 

I do agree about the OP's looting point, though. If I drag an item onto my character, it should go in my bag, not be equipped. As a former UO player, I cannot adjust to this auto equip nonsense.

 

I like this idea and then color code the ingredients that are missing red so you don't need to go thru your backpack looking for what's missing.

 

There is no outrage. I disagreed with allowing full recipe books being rolled over for beta testers into the final release because it affords them a slight advantage and I don't believe that is fair. You can reasonably disagree with that. I'm stating an opinion, not expressing outrage.

 

And I agree that they should not carry over to Gold (full release), I simply failed to clarify after copying over the notes I had taken.