Great game!

Curseman · Subject: Re: Great game! Wed Apr 23, 2008 2:51 am

Dryst wrote:

My suggestions in bulleted form, since my post has been eaten twice for various reasons:

--I love the dungeon template idea.

--Dungeon features (shops, altars, vaults, etc.) could be implemented, but obviously not those because they wouldn’t really fit that well. But something would be nice, breaking up the descent is always fun. Maybe something like a random Sokoban-type puzzle would be fun.

--Non-traditional armor system, focusing more on amulets, rings, robes, hats, maybe?

--Artifacts, they are always fun!

--Something to differentiate characters. Flesh out the class system? The edge system is cool, but another level of differentiation would be great, because right now there is a coffee break character creation in a non-coffee break environment.

--More potions! I adore the system as it stands, but wouldn’t it be cool if there were a bunch of rather rarer potions that the player would have to use carefully, deciding whether to use them at face value, mix them and take the risk of a new discovery, fall back on a tried-and-true recipe, or even throw them at monsters!

Don’t let the amount of suggestions fool you. I love this game so far and I look forward to tracking the progress of this roguelike. And in a few years when this is alongside the major ones, I’ll say that I was among the first registered users on the first forum, haha

My thoughts on your suggestions:

Yeah, the dungeon templates would be cool. I'd like it if it wasn't something generic like "this is the razor fiend level, next is the vampire level" or something cliche like going through the standard fantasy elemental levels. Something that would affect your choice of tactics would be good, like a level filled with magical energy that lets you charge up to level 1 for free, but maybe intelligent monsters can fire energy at you there as well or something like that, or an open battlefield arena with a bunch of allied creatures where you fight a large number of concentrated enemies, or just something that would mix it up while hopefully not seeming gimmicky.

Dungeon features could be good, but no Sokoban! Mad

New items might be good, but I like the unique functionality of items in this game, where everything does something clearly noticable, measurable, and in an intuitive manner, unlike, say, angband, where you equipment has you crunching all kinds of random numbers, and where you *need* x equipment with y resistance to get through certain areas. If the items/artifacts/equipment were clever, unique, and didn't conflict with the present "feel" of the game, then I'd be fine with it.

The thing is though, that every fantasy wizard game has you hunting down the magical hat and robe that give you special powers, and I like that this game is different. I don't want to go hunt down new upgraded staves, because the one I start with is already an awesome, versatile weapon, and I'd rather see more functionality packed into that one weapon than have a slew of single-use items.

I kind of disagree with the character creation feeling like a coffee break game. I think the edges give you a ton of freedom, allowing a ton of different playstyles, much more than most roguelike games. It feels a lot better than most roguelikes, and I'd say it's about on par with ToME's skill system. With that said, more variety is always good. While I'm on the subject, "Enhanced Power" is really underpowered. It's the equivalent to starting with one potion of gain energy, whereas toughness is like having five potions of gain life.

Apologies for the big wall of text, and if I seemed overly negative. I don't hate your suggestions, and I certainly don't dislike Mage Guild.