Some core component feedback

Hello,
I've been a backer for awhile now and wanted to leave some feedback. Firstly, thank you for having made markedly visible improvements since I started helping. The unity 5 engine switch was a big deal for me, it felt like the whole game was stuck back in-time with old game mechanics, and with the transition it has made a drastic improvement.
Please do not take offense to my honest tone for the following feedback. I try to be constructive in my criticisms, but am very cynical by nature, so sometimes my humor is a tad...brutal.

I wanted to start out with what I believe are the largest hurdles for me a a relatively new backer/player/helper to overcome:
Core Mechanics. I feel that visuals, add-ons, perks, and other "nonessentials" are being prioritized above what actually matters: the core gameplay. A game can be the best written, most interesting piece of work in history...but if it plays like crap nobody will know, because they've already uninstalled it out of frustration. I feel that my character does not move as I will them...that immediately breaks immersion, and makes the task of merely getting where I need to a chore...

Movement/Camera/Combat/Environment & World Interaction... I feel that these systems are being neglected and need some vast improvement to bring the game to where it needs to be for launch. New players will be immediately turned off by clunky, imprecise movement and combat.

1. Movement: The player model extents do not seem to mesh with the physical ground well when it comes to obstacles. For instance, I was running in a swamp from some skeletons, and got stuck on a 1 inch board and died. I couldn't jump in combat, and was unable to navigate/steer around. Player movement has been mastered for quite sometime on numerous engines. I feel that SotA falls flat the games mechanics need to be tweaked to allow for better and more fluid control over your character, where they are looking especially during travel/movement. The speed at which your character traverses the world does not seem realistic, as if they are in a low-friction environment and have to skid to a stop. This could be animation, but I can't really put my finger on it. Sometimes I also barely move my characters "heading" (rotate around, looking) and my character goes through this ridiculous dance because the game thinks I am traversing forward, so it plays the walking animation.

2. Camera: The camera feels like it has a lead ball attached to it, or it has some big sails and is encountering a gusty wind when I desire it to move. It also handles low angles poorly (sometimes falling through the ground, and shows odd upangles/negatives of the topographical geometry of the underland. Also, it cannot handle close-ups.

3. Combat: In R17 I wanted to kill myself due to the sheer difficulty of combat. With R18 the balance is better, but I feel that overall, combat is extremely uninteresting. I DO LIKE the card-mechanic. I find it quite hilariously tongue-in-cheek that you fight combat with the cards the world deals you quite literally. I do not like, however, the presentation of the combat mechanics, and I feel I die far too often of both boredom and low hit points due to its current state.
a. Visual cues / telegraphing animations (have slightly improved...needs lots more work) are poor. I hardly know when my opponent is doing anything. I also cannot gauge their range to me in relation to the weapon they're using and what their effective combat range is. This is extremely important to me as it seems SotA wants to avoid the "smash and grab" form of combat where you merely press variations of # 1 to 0 on your keyboard and "win victory" over a monster due to your combination choice....in other words, what every other game has done. I feel that the card was a step in the right direction...however, I really am still waiting to press a #1 to 0. Something is missing.
b. Responsiveness: I feel that there is a big disconnect / immersion breaker in combat in the form of my attacks taking place after I choose a card/attack/press a button. I am unsure what animation is currently being played, when another ended, and when a new one will begin. This really kills the fluidity of combat, as at each step there is a stagger.
c. Tactics are extremely simplistic...! Mages: break LOS while dealing with melee counterparts, move to close-range and overpower them. Archers: Duck a tree, wait for them to close melee range or don't and just cast them from behind a tree ducking/dodging. Melee characters: Tank n loot. Slimes: Run in circles using AOE to take them down, avoiding 100% damage. Bosses: Run around kiting them and doing damage while taking out guardian mobs (see above flow chart.) before dealing with them by either tanking, or range/duck and dodge casting...for about two hours. Length of boss fight /= Epic fight...just boring and tedious. I don't just want traps added or roots/tangles/mez to slow the monster down...I want something different. Aren't we all tired of pressing #1 - 0 to infinity to slay mob #1?
d. Difficulty: I absolutely LOVE how hard combat is. I have not been challenged in combat for years, and do like the feeling of unknown that goes along with combat when it comes to opponent strength. Sure after you have played awhile you realize that skeletons are weak and the bandits are stronger, but the lack of hint is a great thing, and adds a great sense of unknown to the game.

4. Environment / World Interaction:
a. Interaction w/ Harvesting Nodes:
Aside from the animations being loose throughout I mean the actual act of harvesting and going to gather. I am severely tired of wandering around different worlds looking for a single plant only to have to left click it and my character animates poorly a gathering tool and then I loot something. If this is how the gathering is going to continue to be please fix it immediately. This is beyond boring, it's tedious, and un-fun.

I gave up even wanting to craft after about a week...and I love crafting to death. It is just absolutely too boring. I'm sorry but in reality you don't find a single copper within a mile...you find a copper VEIN. Or maybe a copper bolt as a piece of loot and then you can melt down into a single copper...but in the natural environment, you find veins. It runs, as a liquid, because it once was a liquid. It doesn't form small pebbles to stumble across. This is why (in my opinion) mining is incredibly fun in survival-sandbox games, because you DISCOVER the ore. It isn't standing there alight in a scrap of stone to be walked up to and used. I feel that the ...feeling..of rewarding is missing from harvesting. The induced rarity alone isn't enough. I do not feel satisfied when I find the rare tree in the forest I'm looking for...I feel annoyed and relieved, that my boredom is at its' end. Unless the tree glows and is surrounded with singing nymphs and I have to make a choice to cut it down for loot, or let it live and keep the forest alive...it has no meaning.
b. Interaction w/ vendors and other NPCs: The animation link to opening a conversation window seems very broken...sometimes I have to wait quite a few seconds before the conversation "launches..." until then, I'm sitting there stuck, can't move, can't do anything wondering what's wrong. Sometimes the camera doesn't even change, and instead just the conversational text does. I then THINK I am free to go, but am actually anchored to a hidden vendor conversation. This is quite annoying/breaking for immersion.

I believe that if a focus is given to the core interactions the game focuses around, the game would be much more enjoyable, and especially immersive. Thanks for all the hard work so far...It's been interesting, and I hope that the right choices are made to make this the best game it deserves to be.

 

1- i agree. this has been a issue since day one. I see this being improved on (i hope) as unity should have better alternatives?
2- Camera - please provide insights as I think they are looking for good camera feedback
3- my solution would be to see who can design the best combat UI/card system (via forums) and make it happen! The basics are here, but the implementation is awful a starting point. I would rather see a bag of dice than just ONLY see the results of draws as a linear percentage of chance.. there is no chance modifying abilities?
4- crafting - the Gem mines has changed since I last played it, plenty of ore there

 

I like the way the game is turning out, and your story was an interesting read, although I don't agree with anything...

 

With respect that's one of the reasons this game isn't coming along as it should...it is NOT getting critique from the die hard fans. If you don't agree with anything I said...that is a problem, as there are blatant issues that I covered. Some things like the ore veins, sure, opinion...but the rest is fact...

 

With respect, this game was NOT designed strictly for the "hard core" die hard gamer in mind, it is designed for a much broader group of "average" gamer... Had you been playing for more than a short time, I'm sure you would have noticed...

Had you played in r4 when "ore" nodes were added, you would have seen the progression they have taken, the artwork now is much better looking than before, and they are much more concealed as I have seen... So much, that I have trouble seeing them... Ah, but then they "twinkle", a feature I'm sure you don't agree with as being "necessary"... or maybe you're talking about my mouse turning into a pick ax when I hover over a node... I'm sure that both of these features make the game too "easy" for you...

I find your OP very respectful to this community and to the game as being "critique from a die hard fan"... I hope your opinions change as you grow in experience with this game test...

 

Do you really believe character control / movement is ok ? really?

 

For me, Yes it's fine... One of the more fluid movement I've seen in a game... I got used to it really quickly, I don't understand why so many think it's a problem? I use a trackball in conjunction with the keys (A, S, D) to roll and the space bar of course to jump (tapping the space while running usually gets me over anything that's small), W to run fast (but generally I don't need it, I've applied enough Dex to out run most critters)... Watching ppl using the keyboard alone is painful, I don't see why they do it...

Fighting a group of critters is pretty simple, highlight the next one and press a spell/action, and you face them... I use a 2hd sword and some spells (life drain, heal), and Bronze chain I crafted... My deck is locked, I'm kind of old school...

 

In my opinion SotA char control is clunky, but ok, I can respect your opinion.
I guess you never play PVP right?

 

I just started playing today, and I do find the movement clunky. I seem to need two hands to move around. One for the WASD keys and one to keep my right mouse key down in order to move the camera around to keep following myself. And still, I'm running into everything near me. Maybe I'll get accustomed to it, but after an hour, my right hand and wrist hurts, and, oddly enough, I'm getting a little nauseated.

Can someone tell me if I'm doing it wrong and I don't really need to use two hands?

 

I have the same problem, when I use mouse to walk (pressing LMB+RMB) after a while my hand and wrist hurts.

 

The way I play is all my movement comes from my mouse using by holding left and right click together. I only use my left hand for combat, using my num keys and the "r" key to make combos. When I feel like getting fancy, double tap "s" to backflip and "a" and "d" to barrel roll.

 

Great OP, very respectful indeed... if you're brutal I dunno what I am

In nature I think however theres some copper chunks... I've found a few along with fools gold in my mineral escapades... I think its called "native copper" but hey that dosen't take anything from what you said Agree wholeheartedly...

I'm trying to think back as to when SmokerKGB became an unconditional dev defender... I'll say it again, they don't need defending...

 

@Mortinus

You provided wonderful great feedback.

Many of us Die Hard Fans tend to not see the forest anymore because of all the trees.

It is important to get new fresh feedback.

And you are correct. If you want the best feedback - you need a mix of many gamers. The critical, very citical included.


Gesendet von iPhone mit Tapatalk

 

It was the 2nd quarter of 2014, around r4... At that time the boards where filled with negative posts about the entire game being "wrong, just wrong"... I'm glad to see it's different now...

 

I don't judge you, I just recall you were pretty vocal when I first joined... isn't KGB a siege perilous guild ?

 

Yes it is, but that's not what I use it for... I played UO as a crafter/adventurer for 13 yrs then quit with disgust...

I know you don't, and yes I was more vocal and passionate, but I let it get away from me, and got my hand slapped by the moderators for crossing the line...

 

Thats what I call loyalty... 13 years hmm... very interesting.

 

It isn't just me, then!

I play just the opposite. I use the WASD keys to move with my left hand, and mouse or number keypad on my keyboard (depending on what I'm trying to do) with my right hand. Perhaps that's my problem; after doing it one way for years, I'm trying to make my brain flip to the opposite side.

 

I don't share most of the opinions in the OP, for example I enjoy mining the way it is, but movement really is a problem for me. As others have pointed out, it is possible to avoid using the wasd keys and navigate solely with the mouse, but in either case you have to keep the right mouse button depressed to move the camera. This is very painful to me, and it is one reason I have trouble navigating around objects.

Feedback has been given again and again that the need to keep the right mouse key depressed in order to move the camera should be removed, at least as an option. I still have hopes that this will change. In Skyrim, simply moving the mouse moves the camera, so it must be possible. I am glad this discussion has come up, because it reminds me that I should enter this feedback in the feedback forum of every release.

To those users who are experiencing discomfort in hand and wrist - take these signals seriously and don't let the initial discomfort evolve into full-blown Repetitive Strain Injury.

One thing in the OP I do agree with is that sometimes my avatar does get blocked by some small elevation that requires jumping over. It used to even be necessary to jump up certain flights of stairs, but probably that has been fixed. However, if the OP really gets stuck and can't jump over a board while in combat, that is a bug and should be reported with the exact coordinates.

 

Welcome Sher!