Okay, so, me being the way I am, it was inevitable that I'd eventually make a post like this. Where I just list a pile of complaints. I do call myself "Misery", after all, for a huge pile of reasons, and this is one of them.
Basically, the things I list are the things that I think really need looking at, and improving.
And keep in mind when reading it that I've been really loving this game, regardless of how negative I may or may not get.
So let's get to it:
1. Combat mission variety
There seriously needs to be MORE of this. The combat is pretty fun, and the "normal" style of battle is the best of it. But there needs to be a bit more that are significantly different to shake things up a bit. There's alot more that can be done with the current combat model, and I"m thinking that it's very definitely possible to come up with more mission types that are challenging and fun. Again, I think the "normal" type is very, very good... but it'd reduce the repetetiveness to vary things up a bit more
2. Obsolete mission types
Ok, by my book this is a BIG one. A really major issue, particulary considering just how often I've seen complaints about it, both on various forums, and also from people I know that picked the game up. Some of the mission designs just dont really fit the current combat model, as many of them were created during the "combat is an action shmup in real time" phase. And so, the quality of these things degrades kinda heavily in some cases. The smuggling missions are the worst... theyre not even smuggling at this point! Everybody knows you're there! And the basic gameplay of that mission type just screams "action shmup" to me. The core idea, which is to carefully drill your way through the defenses to reach the center, worked well in the action phase of development. But in THIS vesion, simply doing this can take bloody forever, and is not at all suited to the type of movement that the combat currently used. It is calibrated for a very twitch style of movement. AND. It also can be VERY overwelming to new players. It can look or feel impossible. And that;s just THAT mission types.... I think I could do a litany of complaints for msot of them, but you get the idea.
3. Stale mission structure
This one was brought up by a friend of mine, and when I thought about it, I realized he was exactly right. For many of these, they seem to be pulled from a set of very few templates, rather than being properly randomized. For example, the missiontype that goes along with capturing an outpost. There's ALWAYS a set of turrets and such, and enemies on the left side. There's ALWAYS a big open gap between that side, and the stuff on the right. The capture point s ALWAYS on the right side, and it's ALWAYS surrounded by the same sort of turret ring. ONce you've done this mission a couple of times, you can pretty much do it in your sleep. Or the planet defense type of mission. There's always turrets in the center, there's always a ring of enemies around that section, and allies and yourself always start in the center right near the turrets. I could go on, but you get the point. For something randomized.... which is good and proper for the way the whole thing works.... there's too much same-ness about these.
4. Extreme confusion
This is relatd to the solar map stuff, and pretty much all new players crash right into this issue. The tutorials for the game need to be expanded. There really should be something more along the lines of what AI war does it, where it pulls you through an entire truncated game, explaining and pointing out plenty of details along the way, and holding your hand yet also allowing you to experiment plenty. Theres always this "I have no idea what I"m doing! How should I get started? What can I accomplish with all of these different things? How does this thing over here work, and what do I need it for?" I know writing a tutorial similar to that of AI War is not an easy task, but it'd help the new player experience SO very much. Right now, the tutorial is all sorts of inadequate.
5. Ground combat
Okay, this aspect makes no sense. Seriously. Even the whole thing with the different materials that can be mined, even that, which was the most confusing thing for me for awhile, now makes sense to me, and I know what I can do with it. But THIS... the ground combat... I really dont understand. How does it really work? What's really happening when it occurs? What do the numbers associated with it really do? Why cant I get a clear indication of what in the heck is going on when it's happening? For that matter, I'm not even sure when it IS happening. I understand that this is an important concept to the solar map part of the game, but right now it's all gibberish.
6. I cannot lose
This again is for the solar map. As far as I know, there is no true losing condition, and it's always possible to bounce back even if you get way behind. Even when it comes to the all-important combat techs. The actual strategies to do so may be complicated, but it's just too simple and too often that those strategies are completely viable. And the inability to lose as a whole creates no pressure, no tension as there should be with this sort of thing. It dilutes the experience. I'm not sure what exactly to suggest for this one, but I definitely think it's a problem. Sure, you can lose on the combat side of the game, but there needs to be some clear aspect for the solar map as well. I'd like to say "time limit" for this one but that seems too basic, and a bit just kinda annoying.
7. Race neutrality
This one constantly bothers me. Right off the bat, when you start, if you go into the race relations graph, you find out that.... there arent any. ...how does this make sense? These different alien races have clearly been around for quite some time, yet they start out just not giving a fart about each other. They just have this "meh, whatever" attitude. This is a very interesting part of the game, but it should START OUT interesting, as opposed to the current model where it takes a large amount of time to really become a thing. I rather like the idea of checking this out at the start of any new playthrough, getting an idea for the current state of the solar system, which can set the basis for alot of different strategies, but... yeah, it just doesnt go that way riight now.
8. Lack of interactions
This one is very race-specific. Certain races, particularly the Burlusts and Thoraxians are.... kinda uninteresting to deal with. There just isnt much that you can do in relation to them, as the politcal aspect goes. Sure, there's the friendly/hostile list of stuffs to do, but you can do those with any race. These different groups all have distinct personalities, so there's alot of potential for that making for interesting interactions, but sometimes they just seem very stale, with a lack of options to choose from.
So, that's my current list of issues with the game. Or, mostly, anyway.... as usual I blank out after listing 7 or 8 things, I hate when that happens. But regardless, these are all some of the things I consider to be the most important problems with the game as of yet. Likely, I'll find more as I continue to mess with it.
Hopefully, some of this feedback can help, even if it helps only a bit. This is a great game, and I look forward to seeing it evolve and improve.
