Illinest
Recruit
I have only had a short time with this game but I have been pleasantly surprised. It kicks my arse on concept even though it is far from being polished. 
There is a lot about the game that I haven't been able to experience, but I wanted to touch on a couple points that really seem counterintuitive.
I DID spend about a half an hour skimming the forums in search of these topics, and I did read through the FAQs, but I think that I will post here and ask for your forgiveness if I am revisiting a tired train of thought.
Archery: The targeting reticule never seemed to get any smaller than it was at the start. As I understand it, you hold left mouse, the reticule shrinks down to minimum size, and then starts to expand as you hold the bowstring tight. Why not make the minimum size of the reticule a trainable skill?
I am dissapointed that the bow (and crossbow) does not have a secondary mode of use. In the tournaments I often find myself alone, with only a bow and arrow in hand, facing off against an opponent on foot with sword and shield. Why not allow us to switch the bow to a "melee" mode so that we can attack and parry with it, even if at reduced efficiency?
It would also help if you could just pick up the weapons of your fallen comrades.
Final archery point, in the .623 build I was pleasantly surprised with an experience that I had similar to the one described above. I held my arrow nocked against an opponent with a sheild until he started his attack, then I capped him quickly. In the .632 build, the AI is altered such that the computer opponent continually circles me and the camera has trouble following the action. Result? My strat doesn't work anymore and I get hacked. I know that realism can be argued in this case, but it is very frustrating to experience this when you can't choose or change your weapon. (As in the tournament)
Foot combat: I see that Armagan addressed this already....
The random method kills me, so please humor me for a minute.
Imagine (in real life) you are armed with a sword and are circling your opponent. I think you will find that a slash across your body in the opposite direction of your motion would be easy to do, but to slash across your body in the direction you are moving would be difficult.
Instead of mapping a slash to the left according to your "left movement", why not map a slash to the right? When you are moving left, you will slash across your body from left to right. When moving right, you slash across your body from right to left. If you wished to slash in the opposite direction, you would be forced to change the facing of your body slightly (in real life) and this could be represented in gameworld terms by making the player stop his sideways motion just long enough to key in the proper attack sequence.
The same principle could be applied to the thrust, and it would equate properly to the mechanics of blocking attacks as well.
I'm sorry for making this so dense, but it's hard to describe in text.
(Edit: Alternately, would it be possible to key the attack directions to the movement of the mouse in a manner similar to Morrowind?)
Special attacks. Necessary. I know they are planned for the future but the game feels a little bit sterile without them.
Finally (for now) I would love to have a more robust system of army control. The 5 (?) commands currently available are a good start, but it would be even better if formations (with attendant ramifications on effectiveness) were available and even BETTER YET if orders could be given to individuals, even if only in terms of a set of parameters that you could set for them BEFORE battle via an extra menu screen.
(I.E. to "train" Borcha to always retreat and use crossbow or to train Marnid to always rush opponent full speed)
I would like to finish by saying that I have enjoyed this game very much. Please do not interpret this list of criticisms as an attitude of negativity. It is only because I see so much potential in the design that I am offering my opinion on these matters at all.
Pleasure to meet you all. I appreciate any feedback, corrections, and criticisms you have to give.
There is a lot about the game that I haven't been able to experience, but I wanted to touch on a couple points that really seem counterintuitive.
I DID spend about a half an hour skimming the forums in search of these topics, and I did read through the FAQs, but I think that I will post here and ask for your forgiveness if I am revisiting a tired train of thought.
Archery: The targeting reticule never seemed to get any smaller than it was at the start. As I understand it, you hold left mouse, the reticule shrinks down to minimum size, and then starts to expand as you hold the bowstring tight. Why not make the minimum size of the reticule a trainable skill?
I am dissapointed that the bow (and crossbow) does not have a secondary mode of use. In the tournaments I often find myself alone, with only a bow and arrow in hand, facing off against an opponent on foot with sword and shield. Why not allow us to switch the bow to a "melee" mode so that we can attack and parry with it, even if at reduced efficiency?
It would also help if you could just pick up the weapons of your fallen comrades.
Final archery point, in the .623 build I was pleasantly surprised with an experience that I had similar to the one described above. I held my arrow nocked against an opponent with a sheild until he started his attack, then I capped him quickly. In the .632 build, the AI is altered such that the computer opponent continually circles me and the camera has trouble following the action. Result? My strat doesn't work anymore and I get hacked. I know that realism can be argued in this case, but it is very frustrating to experience this when you can't choose or change your weapon. (As in the tournament)
Foot combat: I see that Armagan addressed this already....
The random method kills me, so please humor me for a minute.
Imagine (in real life) you are armed with a sword and are circling your opponent. I think you will find that a slash across your body in the opposite direction of your motion would be easy to do, but to slash across your body in the direction you are moving would be difficult.
Instead of mapping a slash to the left according to your "left movement", why not map a slash to the right? When you are moving left, you will slash across your body from left to right. When moving right, you slash across your body from right to left. If you wished to slash in the opposite direction, you would be forced to change the facing of your body slightly (in real life) and this could be represented in gameworld terms by making the player stop his sideways motion just long enough to key in the proper attack sequence.
The same principle could be applied to the thrust, and it would equate properly to the mechanics of blocking attacks as well.
I'm sorry for making this so dense, but it's hard to describe in text.
(Edit: Alternately, would it be possible to key the attack directions to the movement of the mouse in a manner similar to Morrowind?)
Special attacks. Necessary. I know they are planned for the future but the game feels a little bit sterile without them.
Finally (for now) I would love to have a more robust system of army control. The 5 (?) commands currently available are a good start, but it would be even better if formations (with attendant ramifications on effectiveness) were available and even BETTER YET if orders could be given to individuals, even if only in terms of a set of parameters that you could set for them BEFORE battle via an extra menu screen.
(I.E. to "train" Borcha to always retreat and use crossbow or to train Marnid to always rush opponent full speed)
I would like to finish by saying that I have enjoyed this game very much. Please do not interpret this list of criticisms as an attitude of negativity. It is only because I see so much potential in the design that I am offering my opinion on these matters at all.
Pleasure to meet you all. I appreciate any feedback, corrections, and criticisms you have to give.
