The not-fun part

[Aquohn]

OK, finally managed to put down the game. Overall, it's very nicely done. The death lines are hilarious, and I found myself literally cackling maniacally as hordes of bots went up in flames ("WHY WAS I PROGRAMMED TO FEEL PAIN!?"). But what finally enabled me to tear myself away from the game was the daunting prospect of having to organise my inventory and select the parts to use. The inventory management interface is very basic, and doesn't really help much.

Right now, the most important thing that I think needs to be done is for the inventory management system to be overhauled. The majority of the space reserved for any particular item is taken up by its image, which is pretty much the least useful piece of information that can be given about any module. I propose that the module selection interface, instead of using a thumbnail layout, uses a list layout, with each row containing the information that is currently in the tooltips, and tooltips for the rows giving a comparison of the exo stats before and after equipping this module. Also, a way to sort modules so that we can easily find those that give bonuses in this or that category would be very useful. This way, it'll be a lot easier to manage the inventory, because that part of the game is, I think, the only part that would be seriously annoying enough to drive people away.

[Misery]

I can agree with this, though I suggest making it optional, so players can use the list view but can also use the current view if they want to.  In my case I've gotten used to all of the icons and I'm a little nearsighted, so this setup works.   But yeah, the inventory and related things are pretty much the one remaining part of the game that could do with some better design.  I dont mind it TOO much as I've kinda gotten used to the setup so I can sift through things very quickly, even despite the longer amounts of time that I tend to spend on that screen.

I think Chris also said that filters could be put in, to make it easier to go through the big blob of items that can come from missions and look through your inventory in general.  That'd help a ton.

[mrhanman]

Filters are what I most crave, presently, I think.  And I'd like to be able to sort by highest Power Generation, Exo-Wide Shield Bonus, et cetera.

[nas1m]

Filters are what I most crave, presently, I think.  And I'd like to be able to sort by highest Power Generation, Exo-Wide Shield Bonus, et cetera.

Seconded .

[Histidine]

Interface improvements (specifically a sort/filter function) would be nice, but I'd be happy simply with there not being so many parts collected per level. I think I average ten or more per level, two-thirds of which just ends up being sold immediately.

[nas1m]

Interface improvements (specifically a sort/filter function) would be nice, but I'd be happy simply with there not being so many parts collected per level. I think I average ten or more per level, two-thirds of which just ends up being sold immediately.

That would be a reasonable addition/alternative as well, I think.

[x4000]

Interface improvements (specifically a sort/filter function) would be nice, but I'd be happy simply with there not being so many parts collected per level. I think I average ten or more per level, two-thirds of which just ends up being sold immediately.

I'd been thinking this as well.  Will respond to the rest soon, but for now:

* The amount of (primarily) loot per level has been dropped:
** The frequency of the locked doors with loot behind them has dropped from a general range of 5-8 to a range of 3-5.
** The frequency of hull repair and stealth repair stations also has dropped substantially.
** The frequency of the small loot chests that are scattered throughout levels has been reduced as well.
** In particular, this cuts out the higher volume of lesser loot.  The goal here is to make it so that your customization stage between each mission is not so lengthy.

[Misery]

Sounds good to me.

It's more interesting to get loot by targeting specific missions that reward you with the types you want, or by buying it.   Waaaaaayyyyyyyy too many games completely over-emphasize the "random loot found everywhere" bit.

[x4000]

Yeah, Keith and I had worried about that specific thing, but getting the balance right so that you'd actually have enough parts to stay competitive was tricky.

[Aquohn]

Hmm...the problem isn't as bad as it was before, but it's still pretty bad. Most of the equipment doesn't actually come from the loot containers, but rather from the random drops we get from blowing bots up.

[x4000]

* The number of random loot drops from enemies has decreased dramatically, although they are still there, since it was filling up your inventory pretty fast.

[Aquohn]

OK, the new interface is vastly easier to use, but perhaps it would be clearer if we mentioned what the Normal sort filter does (it sorts by rarity, right?)

[keith.lamothe]

OK, the new interface is vastly easier to use, but perhaps it would be clearer if we mentioned what the Normal sort filter does (it sorts by rarity, right?)

Rarity and then Mark.  I had just called it Rarity first, but it's not quite accurate that way.

[Aquohn]

Hmm...would "Quality" do?

Actually, I don't really see why simply putting "Rarity & Mark" would be so problematic.

[keith.lamothe]

Actually, I don't really see why simply putting "Rarity & Mark" would be so problematic.

Hmm, fair enough.

On the other hand, I like it to be obvious which one is the default, and "Normal" helps there.