Thank you for your super detailed first impressions! I'll go through each point one by one.
- To start off I would recommend a battle tutorial before you start on your first mission. I guess thematically you can just call it a training simulator. What's AP? What is the purpose of the gauge bar and what effect can it have on battles? I had no idea why certain characters wound up in front of others during battle and the mechanics behind that. I know you have a manual the player can check but nobody wants to read all of that text when they first start. It should be there for review if they forgot something the battle tutorial mentioned. Because your game is mainly just battles its okay to put a quick mandatory tutorial in it.
Yeah, this is something players have been suggesting for some time. The battle system had been subject to changes up until recently, so I felt creating a tutorial before it was finalized would be a waste of time. That said, there won't be any major changes going forward, meaning I should work on implementing the tutorial sooner rather than later.
- In the tutorial you can have them suggest some team combinations like: healer/tank/dps/dps. Have the game tell the player what is recommended for beginners.
- Maybe before the player starts their first mission have the game check if a healer is in the party. If there is none have the game inform the player that they are about to embark on a mission without a healer. Some players can easily just go straight into their first mission and not even check their party members. I would also have the player start out with a few basic healing items just to get them going.
I want to encourage trial and error as well as experimentation as much as possible, so I will have to ponder on whether to make that change or not. In general, it should be possible to clear the first mission without much trouble with any given party composition. I am definitely going to add the suggested healing items to the inventory at the start of the game however. I think that is the right call without a doubt.
- I'm also not too sure how I feel about not having any numbers for the hp gauge in battle. In tactical games like this the player would want to know exactly how much hp their characters have to help them with their decision making. It feels tedious to have to frequently check the party info option to see their hit points.
Abilities and items all work on a % basis, which I feel is easy to track just through the visual of the bar alone. I understand that numbers make things easier to gauge initially, but once you have familiarized yourself with the party members, seeing them won't really make much of a difference.
- In regards to the world select screen I would make the world map vast and highly detailed so when I select a location the camera can pan and zoom in on it to give a greater sense of immersion and scale(personally I would try to go all out and incorporate mode 7 for the world map but that's just me).
That's a great suggestion! I was planning on commissioning a drawn world map for a while, even opening a thread for that purpose here on the forums. I will experiment with your idea instead.
- Because this is such a battle focused game I would have the characters explain what type of role they have in battle when you first recruit them in addition to whatever you have them to say. Let them explain how they're unique from the others in terms of personality and battle prowess.
Another great suggestion! I will add an image detailing the niche of each character upon being recruited.
- Another suggestion I have is to use Yanfly's Map Quest Window. That way whenever you return to base the player will never be lost. I would also suggest some unique sidequests for your characters that when completed unlock special character specific abilities or equips for them in battle. These sidequests can be a great way to give more backstory to the characters(not sure if you've already done this yet though).
This game takes heavy inspiration from
Phantasy Star Online, which had a really pure approach to storytelling and progression. I understand the appeal of quest markers in our modern times, but at the same time feel it would go against my vision for the game. Since the structure of the game is fairly simplistic, I hope that omission won't harm it in a substantial manner.
Regarding sidequests, I was in fact thinking of implementing those after the Tower rework and implementation of the final difficulty setting. It's a great idea, I agree, and would help flesh out the game's characters immensely.
- Not sure if you do this later on but I would have some characters hanging out in the shopping mall or the medical bay in the beginning of the game to help accentuate their personalities more(like for instance one of the guys has a crush on Eucreta so he's always in the laboratory with her, then have one of his sidequests involve doing a mission specifically for her).
This is something I feel would work well in conjunction with the above-mentioned sidequest system. So I am likely to do something like that towards the end of the development cycle. As for Eucreta,
I am afraid she is taken by Alexandra already.
- Speaking of Eucreta it would be cool if she chimed in during each boss battle to give the player a tip. And it would also be cool if she said something if one character's hp gets really low or dies. This would help with immersion.
I was already going to add dialogue for when you first enter a new area, but your suggestion has merit as well. My only concern is that messages of that kind might get repetitive rather quickly; especially against stronger enemies where being low on HP is a common occurrence.
- The game should explain what coaching is and what benefits it has upon first entering the coaching office. Also I'm not sure if you've done this yet but it looks like the player has their own office they can frequent. Maybe add some achievements like trophies or stuffed animals that show up in your office throughout the game(stuffed animals can be from characters that you've built a bond with or something). Also when you exit the coaching office the player should be placed back into whatever room they accessed it from. So if I entered from the lab it should put me back into the lab for convenience sake.
That sounds lovely, and I will brainstorm ideas! Teleporting the player back to where they were before starting a coaching session should be doable as well.
- I would remove the sound effect of negative status ailments in battle.
Was there a particular status effect that annoyed you, or is it a general sentiment? I ask since a change like that feels like it would be a step back from a sound design perspective. In the past, I have tried to tune the audio levels of status effects to very low levels as for them not to become an annoyance.
- Your blue menus look a little plain. I don't know if you have some items that change your window backgrounds but I would add one that has some cyber circuits to make your game more visually interesting.
I would really love that type of menu design. Unfortunately, graphics are not my forte whatsoever, so it is something I will have to commission in all likelihood. Otherwise, the menu would have been changed a long time ago.
The game is fun and immersive. I know I said this before but the music is really nice. I have some thoughts on the battle system but I'll keep them to myself once I have put more time into it. I plan on continuously updating you on my thoughts over time as I play through the game.
I am glad you have been enjoying yourself so far! This kind of game definitely isn't for everyone, so I am interested to see how far you will take it. Your first impressions have been invaluable already, and I greatly look forward to more! Thank you so much!
