General feedback and outliers

[aleksander.werner]

Hey,

I've recently completed the released story (still much to uncover) and wanted to give some feedback on the first ~30h played. I realize that this is still early in development and some of these might already be fixed in a patch that is yet to release. 

The system I've played Grounded 2 on:

System: PC
Client: Steam
CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-14900KF
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER
Memory: 32557 Mb DDR5

General feedback/issues encountered in the first 30h;

• Bow Aim Assist needs to disappear
  • The current Aim Assist is mandatory (no settings to disable) and is actively stopping players from hitting weakpoints.
  • You currently have to not "zoom/aim" if you want to hit weakpoints, as the Aim Assist is so strong that trying to hit weakpoints while aiming will make you run out of mousemat.
     
• Mutation loadout hotkey need to return
  • I have not found any key, pressed or held, that let's you switch between the mutation loadouts as you could in OG Grounded.
  • This stops the engaging gameplay of swapping loadouts mid combat while you swap weapons based on new enemies entering.
  • It leads to mutations being less interesting, since you have to maneuver through menues. Stopping what ever you're doing.
     
• Dodge function seems pointless/underutilized
  • As bugs attack animation seemingly has a hit-scan lock based player position when the attack animation was initialized the bug will hit with the attack even if the Dodge-action is preformed within Perfect Block window, or before. I've seen larvae change tradjectory mid-air to hit doing the Dodge-action.
  • If it's meant purely as a relocation feature, or for dodging away from area-of-effect attacks and projectiles, it should be clearly stated in Survival Guide/Tutorial.
  • Building a mutation and maybe a "dodge follow-up attack" around this new feature instead would open up entire new playstyles.
     
• Ambush/Stealth is underwhelming due to "power" of sneaking
  • Sneaking in the game is not that great or effective. Going for a Ambush build with the new dagger/dualwield equipment and bonuses will often suffer due to the sneaking being as bad as it is.
    If this playstyle is to be carved out, you might need to  either add a Sneaking/Stealth mutation or equipment bonuses to make enemies less likely to detect you.
  • This is doubly true about O.R.C. bugs, as they seem to more consistently aggro without line of sight while sneaking. And often aggro if you just enter a room that they're in, even if you're sneaking as you enter and they don't have line of sight.
     
• "The Stranger"s invasions are more annoying than a future danger you must prepare for. (as I think is intended)
  • This might be because of bugging spawning conditions. As when they "suddenly" arrive they can spawn right on top of you, glitching out the entire game and killing you before the game unfreezes.
  • The most important change to this feature must be that the bugs do not spawn ON your location as they do now. The spawn radius of the MIXR-defence event was perfect, and should be used as an example.
  • I think you had a better idea the first time around. With the invasions being focused on your base and giving you time to prepare for an assult. This would incentivize building fortifications and giving more thought on base location and construction. 
  • It's just annoying to either have to wait for the invasion OR go out exploring/gathering. As currently you might be in your first fight with a Wolfspider and suddenly the event starts and spawns a myriad of bugs around you.
     
• Stats-window is a great step but must be accurate
  • This is one of the new additions that I applauded. However when playing for a bit I quickly noticed that it still does not show the total picture of your character. If it does, a lot of mutations and trinkets do not currently work.
     
• "Resource explosions" are too extreme
  • When you carve, hack, or bust a resource open they currently are way too violent. And often causes a lot of resources to disappear. 
  • Two extreme examples are;  Clay, that often fly several char models high when harvested, Feather, that scatters so violently that pieces often fly out of rendering distance.

 

Different bugs that I've ecountered:

• Dismounting occationally intently kills you.
• After defeating one of "The Stranger's" invasions and getting the reward you remain in combat and can not sleep ect.
• Backpack occationally falls through the floor, and "Recover Backpack"-feature relocates but does not put it above ground.
• O.R.C. bugs often lead to the game stuttering when they transition from attack animation to hit-scan registration.
• "Pebblet foundation" unlock remains available for purchase after bought, leading to a potential RAW Science dump.