Initial Thoughts

[rallythelegions]

I'd just like to compliment you guys on how great this game is. I haven't had enough time to seriously play it yet (got 4 mid terms this week), but what I have played of it has really endeared this game to me.

Sci-fi usually isn't my thing. Not without something else in it that makes it unique enough to keep me coming back. Like AI War's AI. Bionic Dues... I'm not sure what it is about this game, but I do find myself coming back to it a lot. Maybe it's the fact that I can pick it up for 10 to 15 minutes, do a mission or two, and feel sated through my next batch of homework. Maybe it's the variance in the missions. I don't know what it is, but I do like it a lot.

I think my favorite thing is how it combines some of the cool aspects of your other games. It has lots of different mission types, like AVWW. There's a time limit, and only a limited number of missions you can do, so you really have to be smart about your targets, like in AI War. It's easy to play for a little while, or a long while like Shattered Haven (which is one of my absolute favorites of yours).

Now, here are some thoughts I've had. Most of them I'm sure aren't valid concerns since I haven't had time to fully explore the game, but here they are none the less.

I waltz through missions. Now, I have it on easy, so I'm pretty sure that's the main reason, but I still thought I'd comment on it here. It feels a lot like roguelikes in the combat compartment, kind of just attack, be attacked, attack again until you either die, or kill the enemy. I can see the framework for more tactical combat there, with lots of choke points and debris and the different gear. I just haven't gotten far enough to benefit from it.

Another thought I had in regards to its sort of rogue-like feel is the lack of the random "screw you" factor. This was just a passing thought, and I"m not sure if yall feel like it'd fit in the game, but one of my favorite things about the rogue likes is the extreme difficulty. Random events that just wipe you out with no remorse. Poisoned fountains, magic altars that curse your weapons, potions that turn you inside out, things like that. I like having to take risks. I have 3 hp and there's a dragon in front of me. Do I take my chance with this unlabled potion, or run? Stuff like that. I can kind of see that with the terminals, but that's the only thing I've found so far. Maybe that's my lack of time to play very much. But I would love to see more of that sort of thing.

Lastly, speaking of those terminals. I wish I got more indication of the effect other than just the text in the corner box. So easy to miss. A pop up would be nice. It isn't like there are so many terminals to activate that the pop up would be a nuisance.

So, In closing: great game! I can see myself sinking way too much time into it (as soon as school cools down). I'd love more randomness, if that's possible.

I'll comment more as I play more. I'm sure my opinions will change.

[Teal_Blue]

Hi and welcome to the forums!!    I really liked your post and thought it was interesting and i liked your points as well. I just wanted to say i liked your post and i second what you are saying about randomness.

[Winge]

I waltz through missions. Now, I have it on easy, so I'm pretty sure that's the main reason, but I still thought I'd comment on it here. It feels a lot like roguelikes in the combat compartment, kind of just attack, be attacked, attack again until you either die, or kill the enemy. I can see the framework for more tactical combat there, with lots of choke points and debris and the different gear. I just haven't gotten far enough to benefit from it.

Another thought I had in regards to its sort of rogue-like feel is the lack of the random "screw you" factor. This was just a passing thought, and I"m not sure if yall feel like it'd fit in the game, but one of my favorite things about the rogue likes is the extreme difficulty. Random events that just wipe you out with no remorse. Poisoned fountains, magic altars that curse your weapons, potions that turn you inside out, things like that. I like having to take risks. I have 3 hp and there's a dragon in front of me. Do I take my chance with this unlabled potion, or run? Stuff like that. I can kind of see that with the terminals, but that's the only thing I've found so far. Maybe that's my lack of time to play very much. But I would love to see more of that sort of thing.

A lot of what you are looking for there happens on Hard (which is difficult, but doable) and Expert (ow).  Especially if you are trying to protect targets (primarily Human Cryo Pods).  Also, Easy difficulty will prevent the really dangerous bots from coming at you for a long time--maybe even up to 30 days.  And I think Arcen plans to add in an Ironman mode, which would definitely give it more of a roguelike feel for you.

[rallythelegions]

A lot of what you are looking for there happens on Hard (which is difficult, but doable) and Expert (ow).  Especially if you are trying to protect targets (primarily Human Cryo Pods).  Also, Easy difficulty will prevent the really dangerous bots from coming at you for a long time--maybe even up to 30 days.  And I think Arcen plans to add in an Ironman mode, which would definitely give it more of a roguelike feel for you.

That's what I suspected. I signed up for the alpha before school really kicked in, and now I'm slammed and haven't had the time to dedicate to this like I wanted. I really like to get a run through on easy first so I can see the basis of the systems before I jump in with the harder difficulties.

I may just jump to expert, though. I need me some frustrating delves right now.

[Misery]

Yeah, Expert should give you that very thing, heh.   Expect bots with shield levels well into the thousands, extreme attack power and range, while YOUR shields are very low.  Taking hits in Easy or Normal, not such a problem.   Taking hits in Expert?  Yeah, dont do that, lol.   Though of course it still depends on the enemy bot;  it's not like EVERYTHING kills you instantly, but it's much easier to have that happen on that difficulty.  Playing the lower levels first is a good idea, as Expert also requires that you optimize the hell outta your Exos' equipment in order to be able to not get murdered.

It's a blast, really    I'm enjoying the heck outta it.

Good luck with the game overall!  Let us know what you think of it as you go further in to any difficulty.

[rallythelegions]

All right! Now we're getting somewhere. I decided to be a slacker since I'm pretty well ready for my Quantitative Analysis mid term and spend this afternoon doing anything but homework. Which, naturally, means Bionic Dues. Of course, as soon as I made that decision family responsibilities called, and work, and before I knew it my time was cut way down. Still, managed to play an hour and a half.

This time I restarted in normal difficulty. I'm starting to see some more of what I was wanting. Lost a couple exos on my second mission, completely wiped on my fourth. I was listening to an audiobook while I played, just kind of going on autopilot. Now I'm starting realize this might need a bit more attention to optimize my upgrades and attack plans.

So, with that in mind:

I love the hallways. At first I was kind of iffy on them, thinking they didn't lend enough atmosphere to the levels. Now I'm loving them. That coupled with the random debris really gives the players a chance to strategize and have to think through their assault. Starting out, we don't have too many tools at our disposal. We do have the four exos, so I might want to devote a little more time to figuring out their strengths and weaknesses. That's great. I love it when a game kicks my butt. And I especially love that I can't just autopilot through Normal mode.

I'm looking at those empty slots on the left hand menu and am really excited to see what I get to fill them with. If each exo gets all their slots filled, that's going to be a lot to manage, but I have the feeling that I will end up specializing one or two and only slightly upgrading the other two. But we'll see what happens.

Still not seeing the random !!Fun!! that I was hoping for (dwarf fortress reference). But, then again, the random terrain does lend a lot more to the strategy than I originally thought it would, so that's a huge plus.

Not sure if I'll get to play much these next few days. I'm gonna try to squeak another hour or two in somewhere...