Bionic Dues Impressions Part 2...

[Teal_Blue]

Bionic Dues Alpha - Impressions, part 2




Ok, so i've had 6 games so far, well, not complete games with all 50 missions
each. I didn't realize that at first and was creating a new game each time i
opened the game, but didn't have anything that i had built up from the mission
before, of course, because that was another completely different game!

Anyway, so i should ammend that to say i've had 6 missions or so, about 3 1/2
hours of play.

Here are some notes that occured to me as i went along, much like the first
impressions i did. And like the first, there are some things about the game i
misunderstood, some already in the game and i didn't realize, and other things
that are of course in work.

Anyway, here we go,

1. Not enough hacking points. Somebody probably mentioned this already, but its
true, or i haven't gotten to the loot pickups that bring those in yet.

2. Covers against the walls? Well, procedurally generated is going to do
something like that, but it seems to be a little bit of a waste, but this is a
small thing anyway, more cosmetic than anything.

3. Suggestion : Areas seem to be very open and viewable in alot of missions. I
was hoping that we could mix that up with very closed and windingly and lots of
fog of war to hide things kind of stuff. 

4. Suggestion : Would it be possible to add slots to the parts of the Exos in the
customize screen. From like 2 and 3 to perhaps 4, 5 and 6 maybe?

5. Some icons on the city map are not accessible, such as the HQ, the Satellite,
the radiation sign, some of the blockades. Perhaps they get unlocked? Or they are
things not yet added to the game?

Suggestion : I was thinking the HQ could perhaps get traps, or added defenses, or
extra health? (Sort of in the way that Fort Zombie did it. I know that wasn't the
best example, but still I loved that game.)

6. Assassinations is listed as very hard, yet it is the only mission that i had
selectable. All the others were not responding when i clicked on them. Even
though they didn't say locked. Perhaps they were the ones i noted above, the HQ,
satellite, the radiation sign and two of the blockade icons. I'm not sure why I
can't get them to go, perhaps i need to do something else before they become
available?

*** 7. This is the biggest problem for me. The message log is constantly on and
covers up part of the screen. I noted it before  but it is driving me batty!
So thought i would mention it again.

8. Also to go along with number 7 above, the game listing box on the front screen
doesn't update, it doesn't show the games won or lost or total so far that i have
done. Although come to think of it, I technically haven't finished a fifty
mission game yet, so perhaps that is the deal, it is keeping track of GAMES and i
am playing individual MISSIONS and thinking in my head, this is a game. Anyway, i
could be completely off on this one.

9. Suggestion : Perhaps different lengths of missions could be added? So far all
the missions seem relatively short, say 15 to 30 minutes long. It might be nice
to have some missions be short like this or even shorter, haha, maybe like a ten
minute wonder, and then have like an hour mission where you have to go up against
maybe twice as many bots as normal missions?

10. I was waltzing through and was winning, being careful and winning and was
beginning to think i should ask if maybe the bots should get first shot, just to
make the game harder when i went into a level and got my scalp handed to me. So
maybe a small suggestion : Add bots getting first shot to maybe 'some' missions,
maybe like 1 in 4 or 5? Just my opinion. I'm still losing, so maybe i got a
little loose and casual and am not concentrating and taking my time enough. Or
maybe i can go up a level in difficulty, but only of course after i stop losing
for a bit.

11. I wanted to say that i really like the yellow icons on the city map, i didn't
realize at first what that meant, but i see now that it means they are available
to play, the other missions are all orange or other colors and they say locked.
Of course except the ones noted already above that i don't know why they aren't
responsive. But well, i guess someone will tell me and then i will know. 

12. Last one, is that each of the Bod Bots have stats, like weapon strength and
health and so forth, but when i look at my Exos, well, i can't see their stats, am i
suppose to press a key to see it or something? Or is it not included yet?


Thats all the notes i have for now, am going to grab dinner and then unwind,
maybe watch a movie and pickup BD again tomorrow and see if i can do better. 

Thanks for listening and hope my impressions aren't all to silly.

-Teal

[Aeson]

"All the others were not responding when i clicked on them. Even
though they didn't say locked. Perhaps they were the ones i noted above, the HQ,
satellite, the radiation sign and two of the blockade icons. I'm not sure why I
can't get them to go, perhaps i need to do something else before they become
available?"
This, aside from the HQ, is due to a bug currently in the UI. You can try shifting your view around, as the blocked area seems to be more or less the size and shape of the character/exo/shop icon group, and is immediately next to that set of icons. If you can get the missions you want to select to be outside of that area by panning around the map, they become selectable.

"Suggestion : Areas seem to be very open and viewable in alot of missions. I
was hoping that we could mix that up with very closed and windingly and lots of
fog of war to hide things kind of stuff"
This one is very much random chance. I've had missions full of winding passages, and I've had missions that looked like I was in an empty warehouse, and many things in between. Play enough missions and you'll see a mix of everything. It is true, though, that certain types of missions tend more towards certain levels of openness - Assassinations and Lion's Dens in my experience tend to be more open than other missions, while things like Office Buildings tend to be more closed.

"Suggestion : Would it be possible to add slots to the parts of the Exos in the
customize screen. From like 2 and 3 to perhaps 4, 5 and 6 maybe?"
Find the Bahamut missions (dragon icon), if you haven't already. These give you enhanced versions of your exos, which tends to include increasing the number of module slots in the various systems.

"Covers against the walls? Well, procedurally generated is going to do
something like that, but it seems to be a little bit of a waste, but this is a
small thing anyway, more cosmetic than anything."
Not really a waste when the missions have more enclosed maps, especially if it starts blocking hallways. Then you need to decide which weapons are going to be used for clearing rubbish and which weapons you're going to conserve ammunition for enemies. Splash damage is great for clearing a passage, but it's also a great way to deal with lots of enemies; on the other hand, it could take quite a few LMG rounds to clear a hallway of cover items. Besides, even if it doesn't block the hallway, it's great to have little nooks that you can duck into just in case.

"Add bots getting first shot to maybe 'some' missions,
maybe like 1 in 4 or 5?"
This one already happens, depending on the bots you face and the openness of the mission - sniper bots (e.g. Tesla) are painful on open maps, because they outrange most of your Exos, and DoomBots are generally aptly named if they shoot first. Certain short-range bots are also potentially deadly (for instance, Silencers when present close to large groups of other bots), and occasionally you don't really have a good long-range option left so you have to let the swarm of bots close (in which case corners are your friends).

" Some icons on the city map are not accessible, such as the HQ, the Satellite,
the radiation sign, some of the blockades. Perhaps they get unlocked? Or they are
things not yet added to the game?"
The HQ is the end-of-the-game mission. All of the missions with icons that can appear on the map are already included, and should be available for play at any time if they are yellow, except if a bug is interfering. The HQ mission is a special case, as it only unlocks once the 50-day countdown at the bottom of the screen runs out; the satellite dish missions (Command Centers) make the counter run out more quickly.

"Last one, is that each of the Bod Bots have stats, like weapon strength and
health and so forth, but when i look at my Exos, well, i can't see their stats, am i
suppose to press a key to see it or something? Or is it not included yet?"
Bot stats give you an idea of how powerful your enemies are - attack strength, attack range, and shield strength. You can view similar stats (and far more) for your Exos in the customization screen (either in-mission by right-clicking on one of the icons on the left side of the screen, or on the city map by left clicking the same icons). Hovering over the Exo icon should also give you a basic overview similar to what the bots display.

[Teal_Blue]

Aeson,
                Thank you very kindly for all the nice information, it is really helpful and answers certainly everything that i was not understanding about the game. I appreciate the time you took to help me out. Thank you very much.


-Teal

[Winge]

" Some icons on the city map are not accessible, such as the HQ, the Satellite,
the radiation sign, some of the blockades. Perhaps they get unlocked? Or they are
things not yet added to the game?"
The HQ is the end-of-the-game mission. All of the missions with icons that can appear on the map are already included, and should be available for play at any time if they are yellow, except if a bug is interfering. The HQ mission is a special case, as it only unlocks once the 50-day countdown at the bottom of the screen runs out; the satellite dish missions (Command Centers) make the counter run out more quickly.

It's probably this bug:
http://www.arcengames.com/mantisbt/view.php?id=12461

Happening in my current game too.  At least none of the Bahamut Facilities are there!

[Hyfrydle]

I found this issue too and reported it. It looks like a scroll issue hopefully it will be fixed shortly.