Thoughts on the current beta(having no experience in previous builds)

from Elemental Forums

Hello all,

 

I'm pretty happy with the game so far, as this is a beta I'm going to give some feedback.

 

things that stick out for me:

1. stability is perfect, as of 5 days of intermittent playing(maybe 7-8 games). zero crashes, zero game breaking bugs. much better than some released games.

2. customizing my pc and civ is very fun, but not very balanced, certain abilities(enchanters, master scouts, binding) seem way better than others.

I don't personally have a problem with this, but I think it might be a good idea to adjust the value of the uber abilities, make them worth two picks or something. also, more is good.

3. game is complicated and the help is great, but there are still some holes, took me a while to figure out what essence is and the tutorial might include basic strategies for getting your civ off the ground, beyond just how to build/cast/move. Maybe pointers on what to build first?  this is and should be a complex question but I definitely spent a few games getting lost before I found some patterns that worked.

4. I love the quests, the last strategy game that got me wrapped up in the story was king of dragon pass, and games like that don't come along often, so good job. still quite a few grammar errors, though i imagine most will have already been spotted and reported by now.

5. certain quest rewards seem over powered, the ignys bow is an example. for what you have to do, it is a really nice find. I was still using one til the very end in my last game. maybe add some difficulty to the escort quest, or just make the reward a standard bow.

6. I haven't played on anything but standard difficulty, but it seems like the AI could be a lot more aggressive. in my only win so far, magnar didn't respond at all when I crushed the only other empire civ, and even though he was ahead of me on tech and power the whole game, and even though I was taking my time doing the quest victory, he never did anything. I'd like to see a more proactive AI, it didn't seem like he had any specific plan to ever win. but, maybe I should just up the difficulty. though it seems like even on standard the AI should be a bit more active than that.

 

Lastly, I'd like to say again I am enjoying this game very much. Thanks for working so hard on it. and I hope this comments are of use.

9,935 views 9 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

Thanks for taking your time to post in here, 1 tiny comment :)

3. game is complicated and the help is great, but there are still some holes, took me a while to figure out what essence is and the tutorial might include basic strategies for getting your civ off the ground, beyond just how to build/cast/move. Maybe pointers on what to build first? this is and should be a complex question but I definitely spent a few games getting lost before I found some patterns that worked.
End of quote

I would love to hear your "exact" troubles myself (I am not from stardock though, so can't promise it all will be in the ingame tutorial)

Sincerely
~ Kongdej

Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

Nice feedback.  I think it's a great help to hear feedback from people who haven't been in the beta process for the better part of a year.  

Multiplicity - Control multiple PCs using one keyboard and mouse
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top

 
6. ... I'd like to see a more proactive AI, it didn't seem like he had any specific plan to ever win. but, maybe I should just up the difficulty. though it seems like even on standard the AI should be a bit more active than that.
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I don't know if this is coupled with the higer difficulity settings, but it should always be standard behaviour except for the sub-"normal" levels. At difficulty levels where its not possible to "rush" your opponents you usually try to stay on friendly terms with them as long as possible. Then finally you get over the top with city development and the final gets suddenly boring. If your weak in the beginning and they take advantage of it from early on, the game gets more interesting even on lower levels. You have to change your strategy, you constantly have to switch beetween development and troop production. I don't mean they should always attack on sight, but even on expert level they often only try to retaliate when it's much to late.

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

5. This quest will give a bow of lesser quality after the patch tomorrow.

Reply #6 from Elemental Forums Top

2. customizing my pc and civ is very fun, but not very balanced, certain abilities(enchanters, master scouts, binding) seem way better than others.
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You would be surprised what people think are overpowered and not. There is a lot of strategy with each of these skills and people have been rather successful in making civs overpowered without the traits you pointed out.

4. I love the quests, the last strategy game that got me wrapped up in the story was king of dragon pass, and games like that don't come along often, so good job. still quite a few grammar errors, though i imagine most will have already been spotted and reported by now.
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Post them anyway. You'd be surprised what gets through. Not everybody is a grammar nazi and so a lot of these errors slip by. It's always best to post a screenshot showing the spot you noticed it. That way the devs can fix it. But I'd wait for the .984 build today ;)

6. I haven't played on anything but standard difficulty, but it seems like the AI could be a lot more aggressive. in my only win so far, magnar didn't respond at all when I crushed the only other empire civ, and even though he was ahead of me on tech and power the whole game, and even though I was taking my time doing the quest victory, he never did anything. I'd like to see a more proactive AI, it didn't seem like he had any specific plan to ever win. but, maybe I should just up the difficulty. though it seems like even on standard the AI should be a bit more active than that.
End of quote

The AI has been updated for this most recent build. As to aggressiveness, the appropriate balance to look for is playing on Challenging. That is where the AI should make the best decisions without getting any bonuses. Under challenging difficulty the AI is specifically making mistakes. I do know if you want to give an in depth analysis of the aggressiveness that frogboy would love to read it. As he reads all of these with such delight, as do a lot of the players.

Keep up the good feedback here and PLEASE catch and tell them the fix of all those grammar mistakes.

Reply #7 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting parrottmath, reply 7
4. I love the quests, the last strategy game that got me wrapped up in the story was king of dragon pass, and games like that don't come along often, so good job. still quite a few grammar errors, though i imagine most will have already been spotted and reported by now.

Post them anyway. You'd be surprised what gets through. Not everybody is a grammar nazi and so a lot of these errors slip by. It's always best to post a screenshot showing the spot you noticed it. That way the devs can fix it. But I'd wait for the .984 build today
End of parrottmath's quote

Now you say it, I'd love you all to post these grammar errors, cause I am terrible at grammar :) so I cant do it.

Sincerely
~ Kongdej

Reply #8 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting parrottmath, reply 7

2. customizing my pc and civ is very fun, but not very balanced, certain abilities(enchanters, master scouts, binding) seem way better than others.


You would be surprised what people think are overpowered and not. There is a lot of strategy with each of these skills and people have been rather successful in making civs overpowered without the traits you pointed out.

End of parrottmath's quote

I agree.  I made a custom sov the other day that I thought would be weaker (was testing a "gimp" soverign).  So I went with + accuracy, and also the + accuracy per level and that warrior career (forget the term) and some initiative.  GOOD LORD!  I made this chick an assassin, with a specialty of basically hiring and maintaining large armies.  The fact that she NEVER misses is so tactically valuable that I can't even describe it.   Her initiative (which I raised as she leveled up) is high enough that I can even run in, attack (hope for crushing crit) and withdraw before monster attacks.  Thus the armies (or tank champion, though you always need some amount of fodder to keep the mob from running around and past your "tank."). 

But it took me a game or so to figure out that she can't be alone.  You need someone to take the hits, then you guage when you approach and lay down the smack and kill.  Frequently she will get two turns to the enemy's one, and more if you cast slow on it.  Add that to the aforementioned fodder to keep mob from getting through your lines (tactical ZoC), and this is some powerful shizzle.

I was surprised at the viability of this sovereign, and I learned that, while I am sure there are some more overpowered builds than others, if you suit your strategy to your sovereign, you can probably make a great many things work. 

 

edit:  Funny, after thinking about it for a bit, the "jump in, strike and retreat" is a assassin move.  Since there is no sneak/invis to do a classic sneak attack, this may be the true identity of the E:FE assassin.  Again, you need others to make it viable.  Can't stand toe to toe unless you max dogde, but that would be at the cost of her initiative or attack power.  Hmm, a dodge/evasion based tank?  Wonder if that is viable?  Oh crap, got a mind flare going here, wish I was home to play and test this.

Reply #9 from Elemental Forums Top

Strike and retreat is also how you play a wolf. Deadly Bite is such a powerful attack.

 

Nice to see a new user. Good feedback is very encouraging this close to release. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask. We love talking about strategy.