Hi guys,

 

Been trying to find some early beta impressions all in one place, but I don't think there is one.

I'm mostly looking to compare my impressions with other folk, how they saw this early bit of the game.

 

If people are interested, we could make a thread for it, keep it clean and simple, see how it goes.

Anyway, my impressions:

 

Artstyle/Atmosphere/Graphics:

- artstyle and atmosphere are great (though I do wish for slightly more diversity on items)

- graphics are pretty "meh" to be honest, characters are hard to distinguish from the ground at times, trees and grass are still as ice, etc.

- music was pretty good, but I didn't find it "great"

 

Customization/classes:

- I like the classes, the customization needs some more work IMO

- armor looks nice, though no mouse-over stats is extremely annoying

 

Gameplay:

- without messing around, I found the stamina/health system pretty awful. Even after I finally understood it, I definitely didn't like it.

- UI is very unintuitive... I managed to find wizard spells (Grimoire) after 4 hours, and after 12 hours I still have no clue where to find Cleric spells,

nor how to destroy items, etc.

- stats need work overhaul IMO. No reason why everyone should skill Might... Make DEX the damage attribute for Rogues or something, INT for mages etc. More usefulness for other stats... Right now, you pour everything in Might and CON, with minimial investement in other stats, you're much better off than some sort of an all-around build

- I'm not gonna go too much into the bugs, and stuff that's obviously unfinished, but the character/group selection and movement should be fixed ASAP, it makes for a very frustrating experience and makes the game not fun (IMO)

 

Combat:

- enemy mobs move too fast, they warp to you

- AOE spells are largely useless because of it,  unless you manage to CC the mobs on the first go

- AI needs work - mobs just stack on the tank in most cases

- like it's been said already, it feels too fast, too bursty... IE games were about strategy and theorycrafting and adjusting, not action-game style burst damage

- I see where they're going, I see the potential, but I didn't like it

 

Comparison to IE games (I think this is important, it was a huge selling point to backers, me included):
- I mostly dig it, though the game needs a LOT of work - I don't see them smoothing everything out by the end of 2014... Spring 2015 is what i'm expecting now

- I didn't care for certain (unnecessary) changes -  the aforementioned health/stamina, Sneak/Scout is definitely weaker than the old Stealth/Disarm mechanic, and no pickpocketing is pretty weak (I know a lot of people never used it in IE games, but there are a good number of people who did)

 

...

 

All in all, I'm a backer and I believe in the final product, but there's still a lot of work here to be done, but in smoothing out content and removing the (numerous) bugs, and I truly believe they'll have to rework some gameplay/design decision in order for the game to be fully enjoyable.

I don't mind waiting til 2016 if need be to see a finished, complete product, I just hope OE doesn't run out of funds to do it properly.

Clerics and Druids gain access to all of their spells as soon as they unlock a spell level. Their spellcasting works like a D&D 3E Sorcerer - they're only limited by number of casts per spell level per rest/encounter.

 

The attributes with issues are Perception and Resolve. The other four are alright, but I'm not sure how balanced the values are against each other yet.

 

Movement is too fast yes.

 

The games doesn't have much AI at the moment, which is a shame.

 

I did a write up of combat here if you want to read my impressions: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/66950-combat-feels-activeness-speed-and-pace/

Clerics and Druids gain access to all of their spells as soon as they unlock a spell level. Their spellcasting works like a D&D 3E Sorcerer - they're only limited by number of casts per spell level per rest/encounter.

 

The attributes with issues are Perception and Resolve. The other four are alright, but I'm not sure how balanced the values are against each other yet.

 

Movement is too fast yes.

 

The games doesn't have much AI at the moment, which is a shame.

 

I did a write up of combat here if you want to read my impressions: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/66950-combat-feels-activeness-speed-and-pace/

 

I read and watched your impressions on combat, UI etc., and I agree with pretty much everything.

I understand how cleric spells work, I just never found the "list" of spells available etc. - if there is one?

Ummm .. I'm not sure !

I don't mind waiting til 2016 if need be to see a finished, complete product, I just hope OE doesn't run out of funds to do it properly.

After the fundraiser and all the other online sales, Do they still need more money??? they already got 3 or more times than they hoped for. People like you make game developers more greedy