V4: Thoughts so far

[Tim]

Just curious about what you guys think of the test site so far. I admit it's been a little rough around the edges, but I think it's starting to stablize. Quests definately aren't there yet, as I've noticed some concerns that need to be address, plus I still have to add the User generated quests, but at least I think what's there is workable. It's also kinda hard to say whether the gold situation has been balanced out due to the bugs with higher items dropping way before they should have.

Anyways, what do you think? Feel free to be brutally honest. I can't fix things if you don't tell me there's a problem...

[almordre]

Haven't had a lot of time to get really deep with it, but here's a few random thoughts so far:

I haven't actually tried any quests yet, simply because they appear that they might take forever - the last I looked, the quests on offer in Lugard spec'd 15 wins against a particular beastie, and there's more or less a one-in-five shot at getting the beastie you need to fight when exploring, so possibly 1.5 days worth of turns (or more, the way my luck runs) spent against just NPCs to have any chance at completing the quest in the time before expiration. (Unless I'm missing something.)

I like the concept of the scalable weaves for channelers, although even with a slightly early drop for the one I'm using, I still can't seem to reliably compete with same-level chars of other classes (even loaded with stat herbs). I don't know if this means that there's still a little balancing that could be done to actual weave dmg amounts, or if I just haven't found and explored all the possible gear combinations effectively. I seem to have had the same problem with the hunter in v3 - getting whupped by same-lvl (or -4lvl) players of other classes, so maybe it's just me.

I have noticed that planning equipment upgrades to go with weaves is a little cumbersome, since the weaves' point cost increase varies a little from one level to the next, probably due to rounding. A couple times now, I've anticipated a piece of gear for my next lvl-up, only to come up one point short because the weave cost went up one more point than expected.

I can definitely tell the adjustment to NPC wins and item drops, so that has definitely functioned as planned - it's not impossible to make some bankage, but it definitely burns more turns to do so (and hurts the XP accordingly).

Hoping you can find a simple way around the stat bar's tip-off of battle outcome - I see the stat change, know the battle's lost, hate waiting through the slowly-unfolding turns, and want to click again and skip to the next battle, which brings up the "wait until..." message. gah! :-)

**and - none of this to say that things aren't improving - enjoying the challenge of new strategies, and looking forward to the idea of quests, etc - thanks for keeping GoS alive and growing**

[Tim]

Aug 18, 2009 9:17:10 GMT -6 almordre said:

I have noticed that planning equipment upgrades to go with weaves is a little cumbersome, since the weaves' point cost increase varies a little from one level to the next, probably due to rounding. A couple times now, I've anticipated a piece of gear for my next lvl-up, only to come up one point short because the weave cost went up one more point than expected.

Will address your other points later, after some others have spoke up, but I threw this together over my lunch break. Will expand on it a bit later, but it should be helpful for now.

viv.talij.com/weaveStats.php

[almordre]

OK - had a ridiculous-long post here, but it even irritated me, so...

Thanks, Tim. Calculator's helpful.

Do Skill point discounts apply to the (rounded) number the calculator returns, or to the raw %-calculated points before rounding?

*ducks behind something*
Maybe you could add a "plus level" button to the in-game 'info' window for Weaves using this calculator setup?

...feel free to say "SUCK IT UP AND DEAL" ;D

[Crom Cruach]

Since I'm moving temporarily back to Italy I had to give up the test, which I was really enjoying. Anyway as far as I could see V4 meets the main goal, that is:

I can definitely tell the adjustment to NPC wins and item drops, so that has definitely functioned as planned - it's not impossible to make some bankage, but it definitely burns more turns to do so (and hurts the XP accordingly).

A positive impression from the consumables system too, and the new town controls / shop upgrades.
I share almordre's feeling about channelers being unbalanced, in respect to weaves' pure damage (nothing new there, it's been a problem in every GoS version that had classes )
The quest system has a great potential, it's probably going to be the best improvement to the game, and I wouldn't be too concerned if it is not perfect from the beginning, it's something to carry on in any case.

[almordre]

still hating Bears, too

Does anyone beat Bears?

[Mat Cauthon]

Me too! bears are bad and they kill me

[hossla]

and so does everybody else when you run around with nothing on but a shield,LOL

[Hugh Longshanks]

I'd rather fight a bear than a Gara.

[michael]

bears stink.thats true i only bet one so far and im lev 25 channeler

[Crom Cruach]

I like the new header and frames, I think the silver finishing is better than the golden one.

[Edvar al'Given]

Thanks Crom! I'm still working on it, but I should be almost done. Glad you like it though!

[madarb]

I agree, the graphics are overall better this time around. Congrats!

[Tim]

Looked into Bears and Garas, and realized why their such a pain. The way their setup, they get a bigger speed decrease. So at level 40 they both end up with -5 speed. This effectively gives them room to do about 50% more damage. While they won't hit you very often, there hits should be quite massive.

I'll play with their stats a bit to make them a bit more balanced.