Nicely done!Some specific things I liked:
- The graphics are charming (and you get to see equipment changes on your character);
- The final scene, where you get to take part in a huge (for RPGs) battle;
- Open, turn-based, gameplay, so you can think about what you're doing;
- Experience for finding secret areas;
- Playing as a mage.
One major gameplay issue that bugged me:
The most efficient way to level skills is to find a trainer to get you to level 1 for 100 gold, instead of spending three skill points to get level 1. At that point, if you have the gold, buy all the levels you can before using a book or your own skill points.
(If you use books/skill points first, training gets more and more expensive. Also, using a book to get level 1 is better than using three skill points, but the +2 levels from a book is more valuable if you can spend 100 gold to get level 1 first.)
This isn't the first time I've encountered this kind of non-intuitive leveling optimization mechanic, and it's always bothered me. For one thing, once I figure it out, I want to restart, which diminishes the immersion of the game. For another, it's what I would consider "false" complexity; it doesn't add anything to the game.
I'd suggest adjusting the mechanic so that it doesn't matter in what order you use skill points, books, or trainers. For instance, trainers might be set up such that they won't train you until you've invested three points to get level 1. Trainers' prices could be fixed, irrelevant to your skill level. So, the first training costs 100 (no matter if your skill is 1 or 10), the second 200, etc. Books could give 3 skill points, so they give you just as much no matter when you use them.
Minor suggestions:
I had to go read a wiki to figure out how high I wanted to level Perception/Meditation to get maximum mana regen. I realize this is normal; I just wish I could find this information in-game somehow. For instance, it's the sort of information trainers might have about their specialties. It could even be in "recipe" form. That would increase the immersion.
The games had a lot of what I would call "whitespace": i.e., lots of walking with little to do (miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles). This wouldn't be as bad if I could figure everything out up front, but I did a lot of walking back and forth trying to find what I'd missed. Book 3 was probably the best in map layout, but the main questline had some, shall we say, obtuse moments. I don't mind sidequests being obtuse, but as it turns out, sidequests were important to the main quest.
Hunger and thirst weren't the immersion-increasing mechanics I'd hoped for. Even in games like Might and Magic, needing food was never immersive. Don't know how to fix this.
I wish this style of RPG could find a better way to introduce a new player than by showing them a lot of stats to adjust that they don't really know what to do with yet.
I'll never forget starting Baldur's Gate II for the first time...Finally, you only need two of the widgets to get to the Astral Mountains. Don't know if that was deliberate.
Anyhow, I'm impressed at what you guys accomplished. Again, nicely done.
![Officer [Gold Rank]](./images/ranks/officer3.png "Officer [Gold Rank]")