My R12 Feedback

Ok, after playing R12 for a while, here are some points I noticed:

First my overall impression: I enjoyed the last two releases much more again than R10, where I was rather negative. Dungeon Crawling with my brother was quite fun (despite the near uselessness of caster characters at this point) and putting points into the (mostly focus, tactics and weapon) skill trees. So I'm quite positive for this game to become a really good MMO (still not sure about single player) with some unique features (the amazing housing, where you can put everything everywhere and on every other thing; that you can enter most houses without loading times; multiple options on some maps with side entrances and ways to circumvent enemies without fighting (Obsidian keep reminded me on the old Carn Dum days of Lotro, in the time before the areas were put on rails).

Second: What did I not test in this release: PvP, because I'm simply not interested in competitive gameplay (too stressful for me most of the time), and Housing (I hate stupid grinding and farming the same enemies over and over again; same goes for crafting of expensive equipment, that's clearly inferior to the equipment I'm finding everywhere...)

Ok, now to the points I noticed:

- I'm missing some options, statistics and notice books in this game: We already have a crafting journal, but I'd like to have a NPC journal too, where I can get quick information about the NPCs, I met ingame (where can I find him; what's his role in the main events; open quests; alive or deceased). There are already a ton of NPCs in this game and the more are put into the game the more difficult it will get to keep all of them in mind. A Monster Journal with beasts, you encountered, would be nice, too. Same goes for a map journal, where you have an overview over all the maps you collected.

- I love the area maps, but it's unnecessary complicated to open them at this point. And when all areas are included, you'll be cluttered with area maps (just like the ton of NPCs). I'm not pleading for a Minimap system like in WoW, but I'd like the option to automatically open your best map for an area when pressing the "m" key. And if you own more than one map for an area, you could set your favorite map for an area in the map journal, I proposed above.

- Like the releases before, my main problem with the game is the lack of trainable Out of Combat Skills and Spells (which aren't announced at this point, so I keep criticizing it as long as we know more): This becomes more evident with seeing all the possibilities, that SotA could provide: For example now that we have different speeds for different areas on the overworld map, a Pathfinder Skill could give additional speed to you and your group while traveling through difficult terrain. Obvious are the missing Stealth, Acrobatic and Thieving skills, that are mostly OOC. Or non combat spells, like some kind of short ranged transportation rune (just imagine: you have a group of fighters, a thief and a wizard and want to enter Obsidian keep; instead of attacking one of the entrances; the wizard could create the transportation rune, which your thief could try to smuggle through the keep to a point, where your group can port inside). And there are many many more possibilities for skills and spells [sage skills like the ability to read old languages, taming skills, engineering skills (could work wonders with the steampunk aspect of the game), telekinesis, telepathy and mind reading (awesome in Divinity 2), priest stuff like removing the penalty for death of other players, etc.], that add depth to the game and take the focus away from the (for MMOs typical) omnipresent Fighting.

- I miss some options when entering areas like different entrance points: For example: If I would play an evil PvP player, I wouldn't want to enter a city through the main gate or over the main road, where guards could catch me quickly, but I'd go straight for the sewers or the shanty town. An option to enter areas from different cardinal directions would be great and for towns another option to instantly enter specific districts (under certain preconditions, of course)

- As long as you're not in a combat or PvP area, it would be nice to allow the player to switch to the overland map at any time without having to run to the (often artificial looking) map entrances. Of course there should be precautions to prevent abuse, but I just don't see the point why it's necessary to enter and exit maps on predetermined routs.

- I love the high detection rate, some enemies have (especially the ranged enemies). But some enemies are still deaf, blind and stupid. Especially the wolves tend to ignore their pack comrades being slaughtered 15m besides them. Most enemies refuse to run away, even when they are obviously achieving nothing (which is okay for brainless skeletons, but not for most animals/npcs with any kind of survival instinct). And enemies running into their own spear traps like in Ravenmoor is just stupid. I don't say, that every animal/npc in the game must be highly aggressive, but as soon as you attack one of them, every other beast/enemy NPC in viewing or hearing range should react (by attacking, running away, searching for reinforcements, etc.). This would lead to players having to act with much more caution and not automatically attacking everything in sight without thinking. And it would give more use to stealth characters. Another idea for enemy npc fortress maps would be, that the detection rate of enemies gets higher, the more enemies you have openly killed (because they are getting more cautious).

- Encounters on the Overland Map work in most parts (sometimes I entered empty encounter areas), but I don't like the implementation at this point. I'd prefer an encounter system, where the encounter becomes already visible on the overland map. Like skeletons appearing in the swamps and chasing you. So you could instantly choose if you want to fight or run away. Plus it would give some more use to the ranger type characters with pathfinding skills, that I proposed above, since they could outrun them.

- I don't like slugs as a heavy armor penalty (higher fizzle is okay), but prefer a system, where heavy armored characters get slower. With such a system there have to be some precautions, of course (like preventing players from instant gear switching from heavy to light and back during combat, etc.)

- Card Drawing and Discard is still too hectic for me. I'd prefer a system without auto discard or where at least combos don't get discarded. To prevent abuse by always staying in combat, you could introduce fatigue (a ticker, where you loose focus as long as you stay in combat without actually fighting). So as an example a PK-player could have the advantage of attacking with a prearranged deck, but with the disadvantage of having only something like half of his focus left.

- For the movement and controls: I miss the option to walk on the overland map and in area scenes through mouse point and click. This is maybe only a personal preference, but for me it's way more enjoyable when I don't have to press buttons on my keyboard all of the time, but can click somewhere on the map and my avatar is running there (doesn't need to have perfect wayfinding; I just like the option).

- At this point I can't get accustomed to the reagents system for magic spells. This could work for me in a game, where you don't have to battle all of the time and where magic spells and reagents are something special, but not in a game with permanent enemy spawning and where you're forced as a magic user to use spells all of the time (same goes for arrows as ammunition). And I don't want to waste reagents on small critters. That doesn't mean that I hate a reagents or ammunition system, but I'd prefer another implementation (like using specific reagents to power up magic glyphs for different magic types; or where you don't have to get every single arrow, but quivers of different arrow types, that you can fill)

- The poor Timber Wolf with its green glow locks kind of ill

- Some encounters are already very difficult for single player (like the Lich in Ravenmoor). Without a working companion system this could become very frustrating for the single players. And a companion system, where you could also build decks for your party could be really fun.

Ok, I'll leave it here. Like I said, I think this game is on a good way to become a very good MMO.
So despite the points above and the nitpicking, I'm quite positive about SotA at this point.
Cheers,
Andreas

 

"- Card Drawing and Discard is still too hectic for me. I'd prefer a system without auto discard or where at least combos don't get discarded. To prevent abuse by always staying in combat, you could introduce fatigue (a ticker, where you loose focus as long as you stay in combat without actually fighting). So as an example a PK-player could have the advantage of attacking with a prearranged deck, but with the disadvantage of having only something like half of his focus left."

As far as people who are expecting combat having an advantage over someone who isnt expecting it, thts jsut a good old fashioned ambush ^^

NPC journal <---------i like that idea, they do have a journal that updates when NPCs give you info about events they are a part of, tho

"- At this point I can't get accustomed to the reagents system for magic spells. This could work for me in a game, where you don't have to battle all of the time and where magic spells and reagents are something special, but not in a game with permanent enemy spawning and where you're forced as a magic user to use spells all of the time (same goes for arrows as ammunition). And I don't want to waste reagents on small critters."

currently, reagants are jsut a special option to lower the focus cost of your spells if you happen to find you have focus issues (and are rather expensive). But they arent neccessary to use the spell.
As for arrows and such, i think if you dont target anything it wont shoot at them. I dont think it automatically makes you fire at things that attack you, just thigns that you target. But i do think there should be a way to turn autoattacks on or off, (In hot situatiosn where charges and-or focus need to be conserved)

 

"- I'm missing some options, statistics and notice books in this game: We already have a crafting journal, but I'd like to have a NPC journal too, where I can get quick information about the NPCs, I met ingame (where can I find him; what's his role in the main events; open quests; alive or deceased). There are already a ton of NPCs in this game and the more are put into the game the more difficult it will get to keep all of them in mind. A Monster Journal with beasts, you encountered, would be nice, too. Same goes for a map journal, where you have an overview over all the maps you collected."

I agree with the additional journals. I would go even as far as to have a lore journal that explains certain SotA specific items or terms.

Great ideas through and through. Great post. Thank you for taking your time to put in down for all of us to collaborate.

 

Just going to highlight a few sections...

I think this is a really great idea to facilitate remembering things. I would extend this to have a Town Journal that lists NPCs you've encountered, with a link to their conversation entries that were recorded in your Journal. This Town Journal could also include a link to its map, where you can annotate further.

I think a smart hotkey is what is needed. If you have the map in your inventory, either as a loose map or in a future Map Journal, it will simply open up that map. No need to dig around and open it or assign per-hotkey maps. Just a smart map hotkey.

This might open the door for one too many things. I'm fine with the requirement to have to run to various entry/exit points on the perimeter of towns.

Visible encounters are coming in R13, but I think that's in addition to the current random one.

Ok, I really gotta find the quote, but I believe armor slugs are going away to be replaced with a different penalty. Slugs take you out of action and slows combat down.

Overall, great feedback!

 

good to hear about the slugs and visible encounters

 

Ok, found the quote, snippet from this post: