Sensuki's Suggestions #018: Backer Beta Version Review v278 bb

[Sensuki]

 

Here is my Backer Beta Version Review for v278, this one is a bit longer than the last one and instead of the game music I played a playlist of random stuff in foobar2000. However the volume of the music is too soft by about ~3-4dB or so, so you can't hear it properly all of the way through.

 

It's pretty long and covers the following topics:

• v278 Improvements
• Things coming in the next patch
• Why people find the game too fast

Critiques

• Areas
• Character Creation
• Main HUD
• Inventory
• General
• Combat
• Classes

I aslo did a small impersonation of a famous Australian TV ad from the late 90s/early 2000s at the end for those who manage to get through the whole thing - here is the original ad

 

Previous Suggestions:

Cultural Gear Selection

Navmesh for AoE Targeting

Animations & Model Collision

Inventory Mockup

Dyrford Crossing Area Design

Main HUD Mockup

Beta Version Review v257 bb

Fog of War

Inventory & Item Tooltips

Combat Feedback Comparison - some stuff implemented

Re-wrote CC Class Ability Descriptions

Item Descriptions and Contextual UI Rant

Area Map Functions *IMPLEMENTED*

Main UI Tooltip Stuff *IMPLEMENTED*

Selection Circles and Targeting *Mostly IMPLEMENTED*

Vertical Sync *IMPLEMENTED*

Edited September 15, 2014 by Sensuki

[IndiraLightfoot]

Ridiculous far-sight fog of war, intellect granting BS ability durations... I agree 100%

 

May I add that the default main colour of party members should not only be readily visible in the combat log, but also govern the colour of their marker circles, like in BG:EE. It works wonders when playing that game - a real improvement (only problem if you pick red, since the enemy circles are red - also clear yellow, and cloud blue for neutral NPC can be problematic).

Edited September 15, 2014 by IndiraLightfoot

[Headbomb]

I would have waited till the next update before doing that . The next iteration is probably too far along for this to influence the next build significantly. I'll take a look when I get home.

[Sensuki]

far-sight fog of war, intellect granting BS ability durations... I agree 100%

 

May I add that the default main colour of party members should not only be readily visible in the combat log, but also govern the colour of their marker circles, like in BG:EE. It works wonders when playing that game - a real improvement (only problem if you pick red, since the enemy circles are red - also clear yellow, and cloud blue for neutral NPC can be problematic).

That's an idea, but it should be an option rather than default.

 

I would have waited till the next update before doing that . The next iteration is probably too far along for this to influence the next build significantly. I'll take a look when I get home.

It takes time to do a full version review, plus I've been busy recently with the attribute paper so I wanted to get one of these in before the next patch. Doesn't matter which build the changes get in, as long as they get in before final.

Edited September 15, 2014 by Sensuki

[archangel979]

1 hour.. hmm, I cannot do this from work like I usually do for your other videos :D

[Sensuki]

Damn I forgot to complain about Spell FX making things confusing in combat as well. Next time.

[PrimeJunta]

Dead can dance?

[Sensuki]

Yes

[Sensuki]

I just got a comment about sounding too frustrated in the video, so apologies if it comes off that way. Some people said that my first review was too boring to listen to because I sounded emotionless so I added some passion to the video.

 

And the next one I do I'll split up into smaller sections rather than having an hour long video.

Edited September 15, 2014 by Sensuki

[PrimeJunta]

Would you mind posting the document you're working from as well? TBH I'm not a huge fan of talky videos since I read so much faster, so if you already have the source material... I could then just skip through the video to look at the bits I didn't get from the paper.

[Sensuki]

I'll edit the video with section times if you like. But I'll pm you the doco

 

1:25 - v278 Improvements

6:00 - Stuff coming in next patch

13:29 - Why combat is too fast

19:31 - Sections outline

20:21 - Areas

23:03 - Character Creation

33:00 - Main HUD

39:43 - Inventory

45:44 - General

58:18 - Combat

1:06:32 - Classes

1:10:43 - HBA Commercial

 

I'd appreciate if a moderator could edit that into the OP

Edited September 15, 2014 by Sensuki

[prodigydancer]

Good point about formations.

[HoonDing]

Aspies "fixing" your games for free. The wonders of crowd funding.

[archangel979]

Good video, I just finished watching it. I agree with most of your suggestions. The ones I didn't were minor ones and not worth mentioning.

 

What happens if you attack monsters so you are on the right part of the screen and combat log has been move left like you wanted?

 

Also big font in combat log is needed for some people. What we need is a way to choose font size as well a way to make combat log large like in IE games (I would often make it large during messy battles to see what happened in last round)

[PrimeJunta]

DON'T TOUCH MAH HALT!

[BillyCorgan]

Great post once again... 

[Sensuki]

Also big font in combat log is needed for some people. What we need is a way to choose font size as well a way to make combat log large like in IE games (I would often make it large during messy battles to see what happened in last round)

Choosing the font size is a good idea

 

and re: screen sides, the left side is just more natural to look at - it's a pillar of UI design as well as cinematography I think.

Edited September 15, 2014 by Sensuki

[Sensuki]

DON'T TOUCH MAH HALT!

[halethrain]

You have a lot of great points in this video; I agree with absolutely everything. 

 

From a production standpoint it would be nice if you synced up your audio to video in post instead of trying to do everything in real-time. The fact that you were able to speak so eloquently for an hour without break is pretty fantastic (seriously great job), but don't be afraid to record in segments and stitch together the audio. If you want to avoid weird dead-airs or audio distinctively cutting back in just record a few minutes with your mic of your room when its silent and use that as a backing track.

 

You do a really fantastic job in your testing, understanding the problems with the game and providing pointed, meaningful, and well researched feedback on how to fix them. Seriously, great work.

[Sensuki]

I use Bandicam and I record the audio in the video. The reason I do this is because I make a lot of videos (especially for testing), this allows me to just transcode it quickly and upload it straight to youtube without having to use Video Editing software. This allows for MUCH faster turnaround. Only takes a minute or so to transcode and upload a short video which is great.

And cheers for the compliment about the speaking. Like I said in the video I used to be a Call of Duty 2 and 4 shoutcaster, and I've shoutcasted at LAN finals, which means that you have to do several games in a day, which is a lot of talking.

 

For example:

 

[TheisEjsing]

You heard the man. Give that sword a name! ^_^

[Roarkkk]

Great vid Sensuki!

 

Music was ok i think, maybe a bit louder wouldn't hurt, but it's fine as it is.

I didn't find the vid boring, actually quite the opposite. Also your tone didn't sound frustrated at all to me. 

I LOLed really hard with your Long sword comment.

 

Great work again.

 

Also a quick comment on weapon (or any item) swapping between chars.

You can use 1,2,3,4,5,6 to switch from char to char without loosing the clicked item focus. So you could do:

1) select item
2) hit 1,2,3,4,5,6 to switch

3) place item

[Nonek]

The blade in question looks like an arming sword more than a longsword, but it was not unknown for a sword to be called just that, most terminology was reserved for foreign weapons like the famous Spanish sword and imposed by modern sources for accurate archaeological catagerisation.

[Silent Winter]

May I add that the default main colour of party members should not only be readily visible in the combat log, but also govern the colour of their marker circles, like in BG:EE. It works wonders when playing that game - a real improvement (only problem if you pick red, since the enemy circles are red - also clear yellow, and cloud blue for neutral NPC can be problematic).

So no then ... or at least only as an option

 

Can't watch the vid (web-proxies keep getting blocked - yet to find a new one that works with youtube) - but thumbs-up for the continued hard work

[Sensuki]

It doesn't matter as long as they have colorblind mode and the default green.

 

The blade in question looks like an arming sword

Had a feeling it was that one, but wasn't sure. It seems really out of place for this game because it's the only weapon with a general term.

 

Also a quick comment on weapon (or any item) swapping between chars.

You can use 1,2,3,4,5,6 to switch from char to char without loosing the clicked item focus. So you could do:

1) select item

2) hit 1,2,3,4,5,6 to switch

3) place item

That's fine, but the amount of mouse clicks (for non-keyboard users) needs to be optimized.

Edited September 16, 2014 by Sensuki