Overland negative feedback (ouch inside) and example solutions

I hate to say it, I know the devs worked really hard on the map so far... But I do not like it, still!!!

The main reasons are 2.

#1 Gameplay is are bare bones

- yes it is not done yet
- looking forward to next iterations
- give us more Social and Exporation features for the Overland!! Inspiration is so easy to come up with good idea for the map, but I think there is not that much time left going to be devoted to this area


#2 The look is too cartoony and more reminicent of Mario Bros than Ultima.

My main concern with the look takes aim at several areas of the overall design.
- map does not appear to use any actual "places" as inspiration, therefore does not beckon to ones imagination (enough).

- avatar animations look kind of silly when you look as big as a house or a tree

- trees look hundreds of feet tall. I suggest putting Trees into the tiles itself as forest tiles.

- avatar jumping TOO MUCH! not like Ultima!! No jumping on Ultima classic maps

- walking area is not 2d enough IMHO (my own preference). Try adding Black to the traversable terrain ala classic Ultima

- the roads look like crap.. They look like someone took a extra large Road brush and just connected the towns (see note on design taken from actual places for *good* inspiration)


other rough ideas:
- put moongates on the map and let the player use the moongate inside a town without the need to enter the town!! This sets the stage for more exploration and travel while also keeping the possibility for "lone" Moongates (which are not inside towns). Nobody likes to travel through multiple zones just to get to another zone.

- space bar brings up the menu with some commands like slash home, slash hole up and camp etc..
- improved party interface
- pulling or summoning
- party leader exclusive features (command)

 

I agree with #1, not so much #2. Definitely heading in the right direction, just need to get there now. Looking forward to future releases.

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