Was a true blast. I did all the quests with a ranger character that had high str/dex/speed (32-35) and pretty low everything else. I didn't min-max anything because I don't do that and also it was my first playthrough so I didn't know how to 'cheat' the system.
I DID end up with very high alchemy and pretty high magic skills too (for healing/cat eyes/food and water creation which is ESSENTIAL)
I LOVED the might&magic references with the orakur and everything related to them superimposed on the Eschalon world.
Absolutely loved it. Don't knock the value of nostalgy when designing an RPG, is what I say!
Also, the difficulty felt just right and the game felt like there's a lot to explore but not overwhelmingly so. Very good and delicate balance for me.
I also like how the progression felt.
That in the beginning I'm a hopeless insect that can't do anything, around midgame everything feels a bit hard.. creatures are hard to fight, some areas still feel difficult and money is tight as well (early mid-game feel great in this game unless you're min/maxing infinite money which buys infinite skills) and by the endgame I'm very powerful (though still not more powerful than the late-game enemies) and I can basically manufacture money and high level equipment for endless income if I wanted to, but there's no incentive to do that because by then the game gets very combat-focused and you don't NEED all the stuff you needed to buy midgame (food, better equipment etc) because you have it all already.
Oh, and I enjoyed the way some skill overlap is set.
Since XP is this games 'finite resource' (havent checked if you can cheat having infinite encounters with camping), having lockpicking was actually a really good choice even though you could bash everything like a monkey with no real deterrent, because lockpicking allowed me to level up much faster at early-game. I thought this was well thought-out.
Other things I found well thought out were.. well, for example, bows are HORRIBLE. they cost a ton, they keep costing more for arrows which weigh a lot and can almost never be gotten during a dungeon, and although my dex was as high as my str/speed the bow always had abyssmal hit chance, draw distance is tiny and you get like 4-5 shots before enemies close in and pummel you while you change equipment and for 2 of those shots you get a huge range penalty anyway.. they just suck.
But they were ok for me because dex is inherently an important stat for everything else my character was doing! lockpicks and general to-hit bonus etc. very useful. so even though bows suck, the stat synergy made it a logical choice under the circumstances and I'd have never gotten it any other way.
Also the bow special move is ABSURDLY GOOD. I'd generally run around with a bow, use it for just one auto-hit 100-200dmg shot and switch to sword/shield.
I suppose this is because I wanted to play the character that I wanted to play, instead of the character that the stats made sense for (spears for example)
And I love the game for enabling to do that and even finish the game with these way sub-optimal choices
Overall I really enjoyed the game and I feel like it was a very good purchase. Unlike some other games in recent memory which are supposedly AAA titles (civ5 etc).
ALTHOUGH: Shame on you for giving me the unique sword 2 minutes before the end of the game!!!
Here are a few things I'd like to see book III
1) Items that give bonuses to non-combat stats should not be equippable.
Having one in your inventory should be enough, and then only the highest bonus is used.
This is so that I wouldn't have completely switch gear every time I go camping/city romping/alchemying/etc.
2) None of that 'must remove boots before travel, and boots/pants before lava' stuff!
That's just extra clicking without any consequences it seems. You should probably die just for travelling without boots. and huge damage from lava/ice without boots on.
Again, so I'd have less 'no action' clicking
3) Make cartography either more useful or remove it as a skill.
I felt real dumb for having spent 8 points in cartography. Especially after halfway through I found out there's a trainer for it and since it gave my character nothing.
I was expecting Cartography to give me more fast-travel capabilities, to highlight points of interest on the map.. I don't know, anything.
Seemed totally useless until the fathersmurf maze, but seeing as that part was mandatory for escaping, it doesn't seem like cartography actually rewarded me in any way.
I'm leaning towards removing it as a skill personally
4) Different loot!
Just to avoid staleness and instant familiarity, I'd suggest that all loot is different in Book III. The items list I mean. So that you'd have that sense of discovery again.
I love in games that the setting is actually a setting... Like, if it's a jungle realm then equipment would be based on things that can be found in the area and/or are actually useful in jungles.. you know, special tree barks, unique animal skins, etc.
But if you guys want to recycle the loot because its a lot of art assets then I suppose it makes sense.
I just think it'll be a lot more atmospheric this way and it does seem like you guys are going for a more 'mature' theme in a way, which is a perfect fit for hardcore RPGers
5) Maybe a bit less in-game cheating.
I mean, I don't mind that now, knowing the game, I can step in and have an infinite money machine using a character that I min-maxed at level 1 with hugely high wis/per or high forage/alchemy.
I don't mind this because I never replay an RPG unless driven to it by a ridiculously fun combat mechanic (well, it's not like I want to replay the story. what's the point).. like in darksun or fallout2
Hmm, guess I don't really care about suggestion 5 then.
Unless the game system is the same as Book II, in which case I'm afraid that through familiarity I'll have a super-powered character and that wont be fun.
6) Flavor text!
I love the written dialogue in Book II.
I mean it's not PS:Torment but it's good writing. There are some funny jokes (steal your customers.. heh) and the skill books are VERY well written.
I'd love to have a bit more text on monsters, unique items and items in general. Or at least some people you can talk to that tell you about these things.
7) Skill trainers and books should be better managed.
Like I said with cartography, I felt really dumb for having put points in it because later I found a trainer that I'd have no problem affording because of limitless money from crafting and foraging.. and because I don't think infinite money is going anywhere for book III (I mean, how would you possibly prevent it with the current systems except some kind of meta-gamey rule that forbids sale of forage ingredients or changing the whole crafting system completely)
Instead I propose that skill trainers should give you some kind of bonus related to the skill instead of actual skill points, so that you don't feel a fool for actually getting the skill points yourself through the toil of XPing.
I Propose something along these lines:
A sword trainer can teach you special sword moves instead of you unlocking them yourself by reaching a 'point threshold'. I think it will also feel a lot less 'gamey', and a lot more fun for the player.. more immersive kindof.
And other trainers can give you boosts in their area of expertise.
Maybe a lockpicking trainer can make sure you never lose lockpicks or that you don't spring traps when lockpicking.
And a dodge trainer can give you a higher bonus to-hit after a dodged attack.
And a digeridoo trainer can teach you circular breathing. etc.
8: Bigger main cities with more to do in them!
It seemed like I'd only go to cities for the shops but never really had any real adventures there.
All the intrigue and diplomacy and whatever else you may expect.. Instead all but like 1 city quests drive you out of the city to the wilderness for completion.
In short I felt like the cities weren't used for the adventure but just to shop and they never really took off for me.
9) OK this is never going to happen but I felt like I missed it:
A PARTY!
Not because I've been brainwashed by RPGs that you need a party, but because combat is unsatisfying. It is completely completely reliant on stats and dice rolls. I'd like having a small party just so that combat feels tactical.
The only times I replay RPGS is when they have fun tactical combat.
Maybe in a different, future basilisk game
10) Enough of that 'DOOR CLOSES BEHIND YOU' stuff please.
I got it the first time, but by the 20th time a door shuts behind me for no apparent reason except a gamey 'pressure' reason I found that I just wasn't feeling what the design of the game intended for me to feel
11) Maybe draw distance can go a little further so that bows aren't just weird (wait, what, if something is more than 10 paces away from me, I can't hit it with a bow?).
Even without that, as I wrote, bows need expensive ammo that also weighs a lot and are generally crappy. their saving grace is that they need DEX and dex is also the prime ingredient in many other skills, so the bows points aren't such a horrible spend, but hopefully skill trainers will work as I outlined in book 3, meaning there's no way in hell I'd waste points in bow skill...
so something has to be adjusted I think.
love!
THANKS BASILISK, YOU'VE MADE MY WEEK WITH THIS AWSOME OLDSCHOOL GAME!
