My R10 Review and Comments

I will keep this short for ease of reading.

Thing are coming along nicely. Steady improvements. Challenge dungeon was a nice addition!
Vertas Pass is amazing looking and I'm loving the weather change. For a polish release it was nice to see a few additions as well!

Now for a couple issues, which have been pointed out but I wanted to add on as well.

Combat Interface

My biggest frustration comes in at the combat interface level. I TOTALLY understand that there is time for this and that it is a work in progress - but I would be remiss if I didn't at least underscore the fact that the current style completely forces my eyes away from combat.

I do not have a problem with the combat system itself, it's just that if you are going to randomly give me Glyphs and I have to evaluate them for use, combos, etc, then somehow I need the option to have it closer to the combat area.

I have got to be able to gauge my health, my opponents, understand my attack options and evaluate the current combat situation. It's VERY hard to do if I am focused to the bottom of the screen.

I do not know the answer, but certainly some ideas have been mentioned. It's not a game-breaker during pre-alpha but it will get more taxing as time goes on. Hopefully you will consider allowing us to move around elements of the interface to match our comfort level! Everyone will probably have different tolerance levels.

NPC Dialog

There certainly seems to be something missing here and I think it simply may just be in the presentation. When talking to an NPC I think it needs to be brought to the forefront and perhaps even pulled out from current interface.

I simply loved the Idea that was brought up previously about adding a camera on both the NPC's Face and the Avatar's face as the conversation happened with the text between them. Hopefully as the system moves towards completion this type of "Call Out" or NPC Conversation Focus can be considered. I think the NPC's need to have more focus put on them then what we give to a player-to-player conversation.

Challenge Dungeon

This addition was amazing, well thought out and fun! Thanks!

We had four Veteran MMO players (Not Elite Raiders or anything) and our first try we got to room 17. I thought that pretty good considering most o them were not very familiar with the combat system, AND the dungeon itself was new. We ran into very few major bugs inside (Mimic Room was a little buggy with mobs disappearing for some of us). All in all though, it's the most fun we've had so far in all of the releases. Loved the way the dungeon showcased the transitions form Dungeon, to Sewer, to Cave and back to Dungeon!

P.S. HEY! Go Easy on FORCING Everyone in the Party to make a Jump to a Platform to initiate the combat. A lever and one person skilled in jumping should be sufficient.

Closing

In closing, I would just like to say i'm very happy with the progress and what Shroud is shaping up to be. I am looking forward to Advancement because I think it will give us all time to slowly adjust to Points and Glyphs and Combat without being thrust into a level 80 character with little clue as to how many of the skills work. I understand how this worked for testing but now i'm looking forward to approaching the skills slowly and getting to know them a bit at a time.

Thanks again for letting us access and test the game so early in development. I'm humbled and yet am excited to get to be part of the process and have our voices and opinions heard and considered.

 

Yeah, I was able to get it fine, my wife struggled because as you said, it's not a very intuitive jump and if you don't jump a few paces from edge, you basically fall as if you didn't jump. She got it after a few choice words, but it's not fun when everyone else is standing on the platform and you are the one "jump-challenged" and cannot get the timing right. 1, 2, 3, 4...grrr, 5, 6, 7... You know the drill.

For a game that wasn't going to have jumping at all, having to make everyone make the jump with a quirky jump system was a bit harsh.

If it's not a game about Dexterity, then lets have options like only one person needs to make the jump, or we can gate you up here. Blink...Teleport... Just don't punish the Dexterity Challenged by making them do it over and over to growing frustration.

I don't mind having a Jump Puzzle as long as there is another way around it.

 

I know this so well *smiles*