Comprehensive First Impressions Feedback

[imperialmlg]

I've recently started playing the game together with friends and probably have about 20 - 30 hours time played in private and solo mode together. In the following I'll be giving comprehensive feedback about any game areas i feel qualified to talk about. Let's start with the biggest pet peeve:

 

The UI

 

To be honest the current UI is pretty terrible, it feels the most unpolished and unfinished out of all parts in the game.

 

Upgrading frames and weapons through mod fusing is a tedious task requiring switching through several menus back and forth. Same goes for navigating the planets map, one cannot use the big map to quickly select a planet, as that makes you leave the session. The result is tedious step by step navigation through the planetary links, which require knowledge of the planet connections or plan trial and error.

 

Related to this is the map selection/voting process in a 2+ party. I don't know why it's called "votes" when a single person inevitably decides which level gets played. Even more curious is, that when said person selects a level and starts the 60s timer, selecting a different! level speeds up the timer and the map previously selected gets played anyway.

 

At least in private sessions this should be changed to an unanimous vote for 2 players and unanimous or majority vote for 3 and 4 players. Before those limits are reached no countdown starts. Additionally canceling level selection needs to be made easier and more intuitive.

 

 

Market and Pricing

 

Let me start of with the prices for the different frames. I feel that the plat prices for many frames are too high. It isn't even necessarily about their actual plat prices, but the fact that for many/most i would need to purchase the 3rd plat option (27€). That kind of prize is flat out too high for an impulse buy.

 

 I was considering to purchase banshee, seeing as it at least was especially hard to get, but the price for the required plat put me off. The problem is especially bad with the frames that cost 175 plat, as they just barely require the 3rd plat option.

 

 If you do the math based on the 3rd plat option, i feel that the actual prices of the 225 and below plat frames are (close to) acceptable. You should consider lowering the price of the 225 ones just a tiny bit to make it a "magical 10" or closer to it than to 11. The above 300 plat frames are imho just overpriced ticking in at 14€+.

 

I suggest flat out reducing the price of 300+ plat frames, possibly reducing 175 plat to 170 or 150 plat and/or introducing a new plat option at 250 plat or so between the current 170 and 570 plat options.

 

Credit based frame unlocking could also use some tweaking. First of all it's not clear at all in game that the frame blueprints alone are not sufficient to craft the frame and that the total credit cost will tick in at about 100k. Second the current dependence on RNG to get the individual parts needs to be improved/remedied a bit. If nothing else i suggest you introduce a "frame part blueprint chance pack" in the market, for say 20k credits or plat (cba to do math here ;) ). It would give you a random frame part blueprint with equal chance to get any part.

 

The other plat prices are fine from what i can remember and looked at.

 

Gameplay

 

The gameplay itself is fun overall and mostly just needs some tweaking.

 

Let's start with enemies. Grineer are the best enemy faction in my opinion. They're somewhat too easy to handle in many cases at the moment, but i feel that the overall balancing of the individual units and unit variety is the best for them as it stands. My only complaint is that sometimes too many commanders spawn, which is mostly just very annoying, rather than difficult, especially in solo play.

 

Corpus are mostly well done too. My only real complaint are the standard MOAs. Often there's a very large number of them while they're fairly quick to close the gap towards you without care for their life. This alone wouldn't still be all that bad if they weren't also pretty much the only low level grunt in the game i can't oneshot with my snipetron. This makes them especially annoying for me in solo play.

 

Infested i have the least experience with, let me just say that they could benefit from more varied behavior. Currently all the infested do is bum rush you which makes the cannon fodder for shotguns and a serious annoyance to rifle users.

 

Hacking could stand to be more varied or should be reduced somewhat. The minigames are certainly better than a generic "hold button <x> for <y> seconds" mechanic, but only mid term. In the long term it still becomes a mostly tedious task and we often have small arguments in our group who has to do the hack ;).

 

In "Data Collection" Missions you should consider letting the carrier still be able to use his primary, at least in solo play. Even in parties locking his primary currently really doesn't make him more vulnerable and needy of protection (which i suppose was the goal) it's more a minor annoyance you can't use your primary, at least if you have a decent secondary. If you want to make the carrier more vulnerable consider slowing him down, somehow hampering his shields or increasing his reload time quite a bit.

 

Balance 

 

I don't have much expertise here as I've used only a limited number of weapons and only one frame (excalibur). The only thing i want to mention here, is that i feel that the rifles i('ve) use(d): mk1 braton, burston and snipetron, underperform compared to my friends shotgun (strun is it?). The shotgun seemingly combines both high burst damage and good dps. I don't mind that, i do wonder however why he can also spec further into areas such as AP damage which doesn't seem to make that much sense. Additionally the snipetron seems to underperform against my secondary, the lex. I can oneshot (mostly) everything with the lex i can oneshot with the snipetron, at least if aiming for weak points. Additionally the lex features more damage per clip (420 vs 400) by default, a larger clipsize and i have a hunch it has higher effective dps due to faster reload speed. I leave possible measures to you, the developers, i just wanted to inform you about my perceived discrepancy.

[Xtorma]

Snipatron and lex just seems redundant to me. Good points though. I really like the mod system, but the interface is horrible, as you stated.

[Secondskin]

Oh Boy......You spoke right from my soul....i want to write the same words but you write it perferct!

Please DX make this true.You say you are open for all suggestion than.....heer is one that´s worth anyway.

 

But i have to write some of my thoughts:

 

To Pay for "Standart Collours"....soory look like we will make EVRY single glimbs to money?!?
Right?
I totaly understand (and can´t imagine) how many Time/Money this game realy need so bad.

But ...for how...long?
How long will be a Beta?For ewer?
How long i have to wait till evry "single" colour (or single Mod?,or single Missions?) cost a bit Platin?!?
I test many Games with this kind of finace,many...and for some games i cry...many lost they real goals in front of finance and failed.


so far.....I Play the game i feel close to love it but....wat i see....wat "they" want to be payed wit Platin..in the future....in my eyes "now and today" a little over the top in many ingameoptions......if you ask me XD

The Best thing is .....and i hope they get this words burned in they mind´s...... Make a good Story...a good technical background.

let the Player look like no other...individualism is the key to show to the gamers they be understand and importand and you make tons of Soulmates  ^.^  !

For Example....let the Player decide witch gender they want.Let the player tweak some Bodyparts....like make some (Exalibur Helmet) lower sharper and so on.

Let´s do some Collours  NEON bright ?!  XD

 

Respect to all developers.

Edited April 27, 2013 by Oldzak

[imperialmlg]

Snipatron and lex just seems redundant to me. Good points though. I really like the mod system, but the interface is horrible, as you stated.

 

I know ^^, i just really like high accuracy, slow firing, hard hitting weapons :) i don't really have problems making it work close range, only problem is serious enemy masses at close ranges (see MOAs) usually get away with slash dash though :p

[neKroMancer]

Oh Boy......You spoke right from my soul....i want to write the same words but you write it perferct!

Please DX make this true.You say you are open for all suggestion than.....heer is one that´s worth anyway.

 

But i have to write some of my thoughts:

 

To Pay for "Standart Collours"....soory look like we will make EVRY single glimbs to money?!?

Right?

I totaly understand (and can´t imagine) how many Time/Money this game realy need so bad.

But ...for how...long?

How long will be a Beta?For ewer?

How long i have to wait till evry "single" colour (or single Mod?,or single Missions?) cost a bit Platin?!?

I test many Games with this kind of finace,many...and for some games i cry...many lost they real goals in front of finance and failed.

so far.....I Play the game i feel close to love it but....wat i see....wat "they" want to be payed wit Platin..in the future....in my eyes "now and today" a little over the top in many ingameoptions......if you ask me XD

The Best thing is .....and i hope they get this words burned in they mind´s...... Make a good Story...a good technical background.

let the Player look like no other...individualism is the key to show to the gamers they be understand and importand and you make tons of Soulmates  ^.^  !

For Example....let the Player decide witch gender they want.Let the player tweak some Bodyparts....like make some (Exalibur Helmet) lower sharper and so on.

Let´s do some Collours  NEON bright ?!  XD

Let the Player look like no other...individualism is the key to show to the gamers they be understand and importand and you get tons of Soulmates  ^.^  !

Respect to all developers.

 

Costly to develop and unnecessary. Genderswap for existing frames, compared to a whole new frame, is redundant. We may see these options in the future but I don't think the game need it right now.

[Secondskin]

Wat the Player need or not decide the Players ...of course at last the developers. XD

It´s may be intressting if the developer make a poll wat´s most needed for being Uniqe in this game?!

Think about it DX it´s just a advice. ;)

And i the most important things to feel "i am the one in the game not someone".

Respect

Edited April 27, 2013 by Oldzak