Bionic Dues Alpha -
Initial Impressions -
1. Very Nice Music and Singing! (Hunter Vega?)
2. Small spelling and grammar issues on descriptions of Exos,
Science (for for hacking, Borderline weapons and shields.
Should it read: Base weapons and shields?)
With regards to other Exos, most of the text is brand new to me,
so i really don't know what it is referring to when it tells me
about propulsion stats or shield stats. But really this is not
very much of a problem at all, it will all get clear when i get
some playtime with the game and things start to come into use.
3. Small issue with missing text for PortCity?
in southern region (of) the city.
4. When switching between the customization screen and the
inventory screen I keep getting the popup for Hot Tips.
(This was my own fault, i kept clicking OK, instead of
OK,and don't tell me anymore.)
**5. On City screen without having chosen a mission yet. I have just
customized my Assault bot. I noticed default behaviour for clicking
on the portraits on the left (HQ, Commander, Bot...) takes you to
the customize screen for that bot. Clicking on your Commander takes
you to that same bot customize screen as well. Clicking on your HQ
icon doesn't at present do anything. (Just a suggestion, but when
clicking on your commander it would be nice if it took you to a screen
to choose one of the other commanders, or alternatively, produced a
popup with the names of the other commanders to choose from. It would
also be nice if clicking on your HQ took you to a screen, or gave you
a popup of your HQ stats, as affected, or changed by the missions you
have been through so far). Just my two cents. ** Mousing over the HQ
icon currently does give a tooltip that produces much of that information.
But aesthetically, in my opinion, it would still be nice to have a
separate screen like the one for customizing the Exos that has something
in the HQ to upgrade, or use, or extensive stats not listed in the tooltip.
Perhaps something to consider post 1.0 or expansion?
6. Oh Wow!! I just discovered that the map is scrollable! I thought
it was just the small map the size of the screen, but its a lot larger
perhaps even several times the size of the screen. (a guess at this
point, it just seems much larger due to the scrolling.)
**7. Ok, i'm inside the mission, reading and trying to be totally prepared
before i move. (must say the music is 'very atmospheric!' way cool!
Anyway, when mousing over the bot on the screen, i didn't know if it
was me, or an enemy Exo, so another suggestion, have a tooltip that
say's 'Meg's Assault Exo' so i know who is me, OK?
8. Ok, I can see some baddies now, and mines (you should totally step
on these!) Why do i get the feeling Keith is laughing like crazy?
**9. Ok, hmmm... I read the 'Blockade Mission' without realizing that it
wasn't telling me what i needed to get, or destroy, or accomplish, or
rescue, or save, or find, or retrieve... know what i mean? So, i'm
looking in the mission and see the blockade symbol on one of the icons
but its the same as the original blurb, it still doesn't tell me what
i need to accomplish this mission. I blew up the fuel tank and took out
some Exos, damaging myself in the process. My grenade launcher is gone,
my rifle is also unusable. Only the laser left, looks like i might have
lost some armor too, but i don't see any stats on me, just a guess from
the picture of my exo that looks less beefy than before.
p.s. My old Exo died! And this one is a completely different Exo. You know, maybe
having them also show numbers in the corner of their portraits and a tooltip with
name and number would make it very clear which Exo i'm using?
10. Whoa! smoke floating across the level! Very Cool!
**11. Ok, it took a bit, most of the mission, but the changes in my Exo
were because it got blown up in the explosion of the fuel tank and was
now replaced with the next in line Exo. I think it was my Siege, but not
sure. suggestion. Please place a outline on the portrait of the Exo in use
over on the left sidebar, so i know what exo i am using, OK?
Thanks much!
p.s. I discovered there is a portrait change when switching Exos. So that is
the same as an outline. I could only suggest that the background change color
more dramatically (to a yellow perhaps or a yellow outline which might be
quicker to do to show which is active?)
12. Wow! Very atmospheric and cool sounds! Very Nice!!
And the animations
of the Exos on the main page are very cool!!
13. OK, have been through most of the level, can't get past the door that is
hackable because i don't have any hackable points, wait... maybe i need to use
the science Exo instead of the one i am using now?
14. Ok, so maybe i'm getting the hang of this a tiny bit, instead of using
one Exo all the time, i switched out to get the door open and got some cool
health loot, and then switched back to the ninja Exo to creep up on the other
baddie bots, er... extreme exos,
15. Hmmm... ok, i've taken out all the bad exos and got the loot, and blew up
the computer terminals instead of using them, once by accident, and the other
two because i had to take out the baddies and took out the terminals too.
16. So, its me and a bunch of mines and the warp pad and an empty blockade
mission.
I guess this is what i was supposed to do? If the mission said, kill all exos
in the given location, then i would know when i'd achieved that. A clearer idea
of what each of the missions wants would go a long way toward making things less
uncertain.
**17. Hmmmm... ok, missions done, got to warp tile and pressed enter and got a
congratulations window.
Only thing is part of that window is covered by the
message log. I press ` or ~ and it goes from short to long, but doesn't
disappear, which i would prefer, if i want to see it again, pressing the ` or ~
to cycle through short, long, not on screen, would be great!
Other than that, I'm off to read Nick's comic, i thought it was going to load
first off, but it didn't and i was in the game trying to figure out what i was
doing and forgot, so am going to check it out now.
SUMMARY -
All my suggestions are in the ** marked areas, I think i had five total, but I
was trying not to impose my opinions of style and just make suggestions that were
to try and clear up issues that i saw.
I really like the mechanics and there seems to be only a few things that i
would call a bit of a pain, and even those aren't game breakers, so everything
looks and feels pretty good!
Just perhaps more attention to all those little problems like
1. Spelling and double words in tooltips and
2. Message logs getting in the way.
3. A more clear idea of which Exo is in current use (more contrast to current
background, i suggest yellow, because it stands out compared to the darker colors
of the rest of the screen and would be an immediate giveaway on which Exo is
being used.
Plus maybe a number, Like 1 to 4?
4. Also tooltips on Exo in game to let me know if its me, or one of the baddies,
maybe a color ring around the base of the Exo? Though that would require perhaps
too much change to the current art. Perhaps a overlay with a color change so the
current art doesn't have to be changed? Just a overlay added? Or scratch the
colored overlay, maybe just something simpler like a text box/tooltip that says
'Meg's Assault Exo' ?
5. Clearer mission objectives? Like kill all Exos in mission, save at least five
of seven hostages, locate the cache of extra Exo parts that the rebel Exos have
stockpiled in the locked warehouse on the docks... that sort of thing.
6. And lastly maybe a smallish popup 'inside' the mission that comes up saying
everything has been completed before i go to exit. Doesn't have to have the voice
over like the one on exit, which is way cool! But having a smaller text popup
inside would make it clear everything is done and its head for the exit time.
Something that would tell when the mission objective has been achieved, BEFORE
using the warp tile and exiting the mission.
Anyway, i probably said everything twice, sorry about that, but that is my first
impressions and am really liking the game, everything i came across seemed, even
the stuff i thought was kind of a big deal aren't really game breakers, its
really only polish stuff and that should be no problem at all really by the time
the game reaches 1.0.
Thanks for letting me join in, the game is very, very cool!
-Teal
p.s. Quick note, I have not put any of this in Mantis, because i am assuming that most if not all of these things have already been added. If you see something that isn't in Mantis yet, can you please let me know and i will add it? Thank you!
Quick Update - exited Steam to update, re-started Steam and hit play, game came up but number of games shows 1 (which is should), but wins, loses, and (number of games?) is empty. Shouldn't there be a win? Or something? and 1 in number of games (if that is the 3rd part of wins and losses and
)
Doesn't look like it updated, its still at. .0909 and i lost my $45 credits (dollars?) from the first mission, it is showing my cash as $0.
Well... it really isn't the end of the world. Just one more small thing on the way to 1.0.
p.s.s. Hmmm..... it said it was updating and then launched and wasn't, unless i need to close and re-open Steam again. Will try, we will see.
Not really that big a deal, just ... you know... Steam.
Thanks for listening,
-Teal
