R10 thoughts

First I want to say what a great job you guys are doing. I've been watching the game since R1 and things have steadily been improving. I really like the direction the game is taking. I especially liked the improved 3d overland map!!

Just a few quick comments on areas of the game I believe could use some work -- I'm not sure if you're already planning on improving these areas, if so, please disregard my comments.

1. The sound effects: while the music is fantastic, the sound effects need improvement. First, the animals repeat their barks way too often which gets annoying fast. Two, the self foot step sound is annoying. Three, many of the combat sounds are missing and often the ones that are in place lack any real sense of force. That is, they don't convey any sense of the chaos of battle (e.g. clashing of swords against armor, cries of agony, etc). Sound is just as much a part of the immersion as graphics are.

Finally, it would be nice to support 5.1 sound systems with directional sound effects. At this point the game is purely stereo as far as I can tell.

2. The animations: The graphics look fantastic ... until you move around. Perhaps some of the combat animations could include additional frames to suggest a more realistic flow of movement? I know others have commented on here that the combat seems "floaty" and I think this is due to a lack of animation frames for different phases of movement. I have a feeling that this sort of thing may be limited by performance issues with many people on screen, however.

 

I love the tiny "me" on the overland map, so many possibilities .

Sound is a problem for me too at the moment: missing hit sounds, step sound is annoying, etc.

good feedback