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Suggestions for some general playability fixes

Unstructured ideas, requests and suggestions for the development of the game.
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Asmodee
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Suggestions for some general playability fixes

Post by Asmodee »

I am completely hooked on this game. Probably the best game I've played on Android and I play it for hours a day. There are a few things that would make it better, though.

First, my biggest complaint is the respawn of the monsters. Multiple times I have killed a monster, done something in the menus, went to move forward and run into the monster I had just killed, respawned already in the same place. The respawn seems to be incredibly erratic, sometimes happening slowly, sometimes quickly. Most of the time it happens much too fast, though. Even low-level creatures can kill me at level 26 when they are endless. It would be nice if the respawn were toned down a bit. You can't go through guzzling potions. You could never pay for them. And the raw meat is free if you farm it, but you can't stand around waiting for it to work because things respawn too fast, and really randomly. Going through the forest with the flies, for instance, I was often torn between standing around and healing a bit or rushing forward before everything I just killed respawned. I can see that in a few places, when there's a reason for it or a particularly good reward, but it's really overused as a means to slow progress and make it tougher. Tough it good, but the reward should compensate for it.

Also, some people are calling for "smarter monsters", which is fine, but it seems to me like they are already smarter than they should be in some cases. How many hallways am I going to find blocked by 2 monsters side-by-side, meaning I have to fight both at once? It's getting a bit old-hat, and when it was done with the healing demons, that was just overkill. That was not fun. When I finally got through that (after dozens of reloads), I did not say, "Great! I am so pumped that I made it!" It did not excite me to get through, it simply ended my frustration...until I had to go back through again. I can see MAYBE the occasional dog sitting in a spot that blocks access to a place if you don't kill him first, but 2 equally unintelligent monsters, side by side, that never move? Not only is it terribly frustrating, it doesn't make sense logically most of the time.

Chasing monsters sucks. I have learned to attack the monsters so they don't attack me and get the first hit, but some of them move around so fast, so randomly and so much (flies) that it's hard to get to them with your finger on the screen. It would be nice if I could tap on a monster, chase it down and attack it, no matter where it moves to. My finger is getting in the way if it moves now so I can't see it.

Finally, the quests in this game aren't just handed to you on a plate, which is awesome! You have to do some work to find them, as it should be. You also have to work to figure out what you have to do next. Also great. But when some of the quests hit a roadblock of "this content doesn't exist yet", it's difficult to know which quests to work on and which ones are a waste of time. Maybe add a "Content coming soon" message at the end of any quest line where, it's not done, but I can't do anything else in it right now because the content isn't there. Also, I am forgetful, so often I forget names and specifics. Sometimes the quest log doesn't have the specific information I need, even though I remember getting it, and I have to find the person, whose name and location I have since forgotten, and have them repeat it.
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rijackson741
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Re: Suggestions for some general playability fixes

Post by rijackson741 »

Hello Asmodee, and welcome to the forums. I'm glad you like the game.

All monsters respawn at the same rate, and it's random. IIRC, if you are in an area, a monster has a 1% chance of spawning every 0.5 seconds. If you leave an area for 3 minutes, or rest in a bed, all monsters respawn.

A lot of the problem you have with respawning monsters is where you are. The dung flies at the start of the Green maze are meant to be really hard, precisely because there are so many of them, and they mob you so much. At level 26, it's a place you don't want to be. If you think the dung flies are bad you will like what comes after them even less. And then there's what come after them... The Green Maze should be the last thing you do in the game. It is very, very hard. The reward at the end is worth it, but you will not get there at level 26. Don't bother with the Green Maze until you are at least level 40, and higher would be better.

If you encounter monsters acting as sentries they are often there for a reason. If you find it incredibly difficult to get past them, then you probably won't like what you find if you do. I am not sure what you are referring to with the "healing demons" though.

There are only two quests you can't finish: Search for Andor (the main quest) and Lost treasures. I don't recall any messages saying "this content does not exist yet", but it's a while since I played.

It's sometimes difficult to know what to include in the quest logs. If there are certain pieces of information you think should be included, please let us know. If we agree, we will include them.

Edit: By "healing demons" I guess you mean the Allecephs. They are hard. At level 26, very hard. That's about the level I did that cave (maybe a little higher), but I got into a lot of trouble down there. Be warned: what is at then end of the cave is very nasty.
Level:71, XP:6493739, PV:608, FQ:84
HP:210, AC:212, AD:58-77, AP:4, ECC:16%, CM:1.5, BC:188, DR:3
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Re: Suggestions for some general playability fixes

Post by nyktos »

that was an intense first post! :shock:
Asmodee wrote:I am completely hooked on this game. Probably the best game I've played on Android and I play it for hours a day. There are a few things that would make it better, though.
welcome to the boards! :D

Asmodee wrote:but the reward should compensate for it.

i agree, the rewards could use some modifying...

Asmodee wrote:Sometimes the quest log doesn't have the specific information I need, even though I remember getting it, and I have to find the person, whose name and location I have since forgotten, and have them repeat it.

Maybe add a "Content coming soon" message at the end of any quest line where, it's not done, but I can't do anything else in it right now because the content isn't there. Also, I am forgetful, so often I forget names and specifics.

maybe a more robust quest log is in order?

Asmodee wrote:
It would be nice if I could tap on a monster, chase it down and attack it, no matter where it moves to. My finger is getting in the way if it moves now so I can't see it.

long press the mob, maybe, so you chase it down & attempt to strike first? :twisted:

Asmodee wrote: Finally, the quests in this game aren't just handed to you on a plate, which is awesome! You have to do some work to find them, as it should be. You also have to work to figure out what you have to do next. Also great. But when some of the quests hit a roadblock of "this content doesn't exist yet", it's difficult to know which quests to work on and which ones are a waste of time.

this is a good idea, maybe a certain way to highlight the quests that aren't terminable?
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Asmodee
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Re: Suggestions for some general playability fixes

Post by Asmodee »

rijackson741, I think you misunderstood some of what I was saying.

First, I understand the monster respawn rate. What I'm saying is that I should never kill a monster and then immediately attempt to move forward only to run right into the monster I just killed. I should never have a monster spawn right in front of me, or in any directly adjacent square. It adds frustration to the game, not fun.

Second, I understand that sentries are "there for a reason", but come one. They're literally everywhere. In almost every single dungeon or maze there is at least one spot where there are 2 monsters, side by side, whether it makes sense or not. And often they're in just the right spot that I have to take them both on at once going in, but I can take them one at a time coming out. Once in a while dogs or bears showing that level of intelligence, when I'm trying to get somewhere special, fine. But every single path from anywhere to anywhere else? Every dog? Every bee? Every rat? Every dumb animal knows to do this? I think if someone counted up the number of times this was done with just the dumb animals that number would shock you. It's over-used.
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rijackson741
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Re: Suggestions for some general playability fixes

Post by rijackson741 »

Asmodee wrote:First, I understand the monster respawn rate. What I'm saying is that I should never kill a monster and then immediately attempt to move forward only to run right into the monster I just killed. I should never have a monster spawn right in front of me, or in any directly adjacent square. It adds frustration to the game, not fun.
It's possible that a monster will respawn right in front of you almost immediately, but it's generally not very likely. How likely depends on the size of the spawn area, because the location and the time are both random. The dung flies can't spawn in the trees, only on the paths, which restricts the effective spawn area a lot, making them more likely to respawn close to you. As I said though, that part of the map was designed to be very hard. I understand the frustration if you go in there at level 26, but the solution is not for us to make it easier, it's for you to go somewhere else and come back later when you are stronger.
Asmodee wrote:Second, I understand that sentries are "there for a reason", but come one. They're literally everywhere. In almost every single dungeon or maze there is at least one spot where there are 2 monsters, side by side, whether it makes sense or not. And often they're in just the right spot that I have to take them both on at once going in, but I can take them one at a time coming out. Once in a while dogs or bears showing that level of intelligence, when I'm trying to get somewhere special, fine. But every single path from anywhere to anywhere else? Every dog? Every bee? Every rat? Every dumb animal knows to do this? I think if someone counted up the number of times this was done with just the dumb animals that number would shock you. It's over-used.
I can't think of anywhere on the surface that there' are two stationary monsters next to each other. Such places may exist, but they are not very common. I agree it's pretty common in caves, but that's because the corridor is two tiles wide, and the stationary monsters are there so that you can't get all the way down the cave by just dodging monsters (something that would be surprisingly easy for someone with three or more levels of the Evasion skill). We could put a rock plus a monster there I guess, but that would make the cave too easy. So we could put a rock plus a much stronger monster there, but then what have you gained?

Edit: There are some places going into Charwood with two stationary monsters blocking the path. Charwood is also meant to be hard though.
Level:71, XP:6493739, PV:608, FQ:84
HP:210, AC:212, AD:58-77, AP:4, ECC:16%, CM:1.5, BC:188, DR:3
Gold: 237559 | RoLS:1, RoL:1, GoW:1, VSH:1, RoFLS:1, WoB:1
HH:1, WA:1, CS:2, Cl:1, IF:4, Ev:3, Re:2, WP:DA:1, WP:1S:1, WP:B:1, AP:L:1, FS:DW:2, S:DW:1
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