What's missing??

[niek]

I selected more quests and more enemies, since those were 2 of the main shortfalls for me. It started out nicely but after I came to Port Kuudad I think I only had three new quests not tied to the main storyline (not counting shortest quest ever...) IMO that's not much.

In the difficulty topic I already mentioned it was quite easy playing as a true mage, more and perhaps stronger enemies could have made the game a lot more challenging.

Also it felt to me like the game wasn't that much bigger than Book 1. Maybe that's because we had a few maps with not much ground to cover, and a lot of maps with so much open space. Here too I felt like the start was doing great, but later in the game it almost seemed as if less time was put into it to get the game released.

Maybe not quite what's missing but other comments: I thought the main quest was not very imaginative and the story around it just plain bizarre. (Edit: Spoiler alert!) here too the start was great with the viewing glass as the only clue leading to a secret guild, all very mysterious. I was a bit shocked to find the Forsaken Coast so close to Port Kuudad, and the entrance was pretty easy to find even without using the viewing glass. And they remained secret for centuries sitting right next to a huge port??? Also the part where I had to retrieve the Crux of Fire to keep it away from General Ghorr, only to take it right into his stronghold seemed pretty weird to me. The guy with 10000 HP will give me his help to do this (YAY!), but only after I kill each and every one of the Taurax including Ghorr (...)

Still, I had a really good time playing the game. I just feel it could've been a lot stronger with more side quests, a bit more difficulty (but maybe i'll change my mind after trying with a fighter) a better story and a bigger (relevant) world.

Edit: I forgot to mention I missed wealthy merchants! pretty close to the start I found a spear worth 5000 but I ended up hauling it around for all the game because none of the weapon merchants was at any point rich enough to buy it. At some points I was ready to sell the thing for 1000 or so but alas not possible...

[silverkitty]

The only problem with this is that it will impair cross-platform usability, as Mac-users who have single button mice use cntl-click in place of right-click. Perhaps if these were linked to cmd-click instead (or would that inconvenience Windows users?).

or shift-click. I think in the game that currently only ever means 'break up a stack' and could be moved to right-click-which-is-control-click-for-mac.
I guess macs have command instead of alt?

Also the part where I had to retrieve the Crux of Fire to keep it away from General Ghorr, only to take it right into his stronghold seemed pretty weird to me.

Aha! I was beginning to think I was the only one.

[Kreador Freeaxe]

The only problem with this is that it will impair cross-platform usability, as Mac-users who have single button mice use cntl-click in place of right-click. Perhaps if these were linked to cmd-click instead (or would that inconvenience Windows users?).

or shift-click. I think in the game that currently only ever means 'break up a stack' and could be moved to right-click-which-is-control-click-for-mac.
I guess macs have command instead of alt?

Macs actually have four different modifier keys: Shift, Control, Option (Alt) and Apple (Command).

[avv]

More sandbox. More caves and locations to search. The game had lots of almost empty maps which only served as time sinks. Put more hidden treasures and npcs there.

[bkrueger]

The only problem with this is that it will impair cross-platform usability, as Mac-users who have single button mice use cntl-click in place of right-click. Perhaps if these were linked to cmd-click instead (or would that inconvenience Windows users?).

If the possibility was added to map keys/mouse clicks (including modifiers) to in game functions as you like, this kind of problem would be irrelevant. For example different key/mouse mappings could exist for different platforms without influencing the core game design.

For other current games this is standard.

By the way I like the way how Drakensang uses right click for help on nearly every attribute, skill, object etc. in game. Something like that should be standard.

[Oshkell]

I'd like to see more difficulty options, too. Using them to scale engame score, bonus xp, better loot, and nifty misc. rewards like angels singing would be grand. Here are a few (okay, I lie) thoughts.

- Base Monster Adjustment (I like micromanaging a bit, so it would be great to scale up the HP/MP, ToHit%, AR, Skills, and maybe even AI, for the enemies. For those that don't care to micromanage, it would be nice to see a broader, more nearly general way to adjust, as well.)

- Tougher Monsters/More Monsters (What if in the starting area, there was a monster that might be too tough for you? Such as, a Bonebiter, amongst the Catacombs Rats. Run away! Other areas might see their tougher cousins hanging out with the weaker nephews and nieces, too.)

- Alpha Monsters (An option to have one "boss" monster on each non-town map could be fun. It would almost be like a mini-quest, in and of itself. The Farrock cavern with Jawbreaker the Blacksmith comes to mind. Gosh I loved that encounter. )

- Monsters Respawn (Maybe every game month or so? It would also be nice to [if you have Foraging] get a notification when you re-enter an area that monsters have respawned. I don't think that this should necessarily add to endgame score/bonus xp and all that, since it could promote grinding to levels a bit... but it might be fun to consider, and would add much more gravity towards us 'Journeymasters' that don't use Quicktravel.)

- Burglars (Unless you leave your excess loot in some kind of secure container, pesky gremlins might spirit it away! Use it or lose it, noobs! This might require the introduction of a bank, as seen in many popular MMO's, but that could make for a great convenience, as well.)

- Weather and terrain can cause illness (I don't know about you, but if I was trompin' about through the Devil's Slough, in a thunderstorm, at night... I'd probably catch a cold. It might not be anything serious, and I'm sure I could just tough it out with proper rest, but I'd still catch a miserable cold. And I want a % chance for stuff on screen to be struck by lightning, gosh darn it! >:D I know that's not an illness... but Gamer's Psychosis is, so eat it.)

- Food Spoils (I'm hesitant about this one, especially concerning how long a handful of rat meat can last in the backpack of a ranger with 12 ranks of Foraging... but just the other day I pulled a Biscuit Ration off of a corpse in a marsh on the Forsaken Coast. The description said that he'd been there so long the bog had mummified his corpse. I fail to understand how his biscuit survived, and maybe I picked my belly by eating it, but it sure was nummy. If this is an option, maybe you'll have to carry around ice or something? Or, alchemically put an icy enchantment on a gem/bauble/etc. to keep the food fresh. On this thought, I present another post, below.)

[Oshkell]

More stuff I've been thinking about!

- Hunt for Game (It would be fun to use a skill of some kind [our friend Foraging comes to mind] to find wild game - deer, rabbits, quail - and hunt them. Of course, they're faster than we are, [maybe they should move 2 squares to our 1?] so Bow Users might excel here. After all, have you ever seen someone hunt a deer with a cudgel? O.o I'm beginning to see how this would be tricky to implement... however, fishing would be really cool... especially since Book II says that's how you made your living, in the first place. I found it odd that I haven't found any fishing poles, or fishing holes, in the entire game.)

- Aquatic Travel (Anyone remember the old Wizardry games? You know, where if you stepped into a wading pool and had fewer than 10 ranks in swim, you would instantly drown and die? That stuff was so cool. I would like to see some kind of swimming and boating come into play, and for there to be aquatic monsters, as well. I'm not looking for 3D by any means, but I'd also like to be able to swim underwater stealthily for a short period of time, in order to sneak up on enemies on the coast at night. It might require a lot of skillpoint investment in this alleged 'Swim' skill, in addition to Hide in Shadows and Bow/ranged, but the satisfaction of going straight up Navy Seal on a camp of brigands would be epic. I also hope that one's encumbrance comes into play when/if you swim, in addition to whether or not you're wearing Heavy Armor. I think this would encourage the use of Light Armor a bit more.)

- Travelers on the Roads (I know that in every Eschalon game so far, the world is in trouble and the roads are not safe, but am I seriously the only one going from town to town? Where do the merchants get their supplies from, anyway? Don't they get deliveries? What if these deliveries are being attacked by monsters... and we just happen to be passing by and saving the day? Or how about a farmer just moseying along with his goods, tempting us to be evil and ambush him? I don't know how hard this would be to implement... but I thought it'd be cute. )

- Divine Punishment (While it might raise the question of, 'why aren't the gods doing anything about this crisis?' and make the Atheistic character pretty appealing, if you do things to tick off a diety, it would be cool to see something come of it. For instance, if you kill to many peasants, the 'god of justice' will smite you, or some baloney like that. It could be as simple as a curse, or maybe divine minions will appear and spank you in combat for a few rounds, before flying away, [meaning no XP unless you're just that hardcore!] or whatever. Of course, this might also be able to work in reverse, should you garner the ire of an evil diety... not sure how to balance this one, exactly.)

- Banks (as per a previous post I made about burglars. I get tired of hunting down my own hiding places sometimes.)

- Gambling (I can see how high-stakes gambling might be outlawed by the crown, [since betting the farm and reloading if you lose it is just silly] but what about small wagers with the use of Goblin Dice or cards in taverns? And, since tavern gamblers are rarely rich, have them restock the little 25 gold or however much they have, each week - just like shopkeepers.)

[Dragonlady]

- Food Spoils (I'm hesitant about this one, especially concerning how long a handful of rat meat can last in the backpack of a ranger with 12 ranks of Foraging... but just the other day I pulled a Biscuit Ration off of a corpse in a marsh on the Forsaken Coast. The description said that he'd been there so long the bog had mummified his corpse. I fail to understand how his biscuit survived, and maybe I picked my belly by eating it, but it sure was nummy. If this is an option, maybe you'll have to carry around ice or something? Or, alchemically put an icy enchantment on a gem/bauble/etc. to keep the food fresh. On this thought, I present another post, below.)

I don't think those biscuits were soft and yummy like we have today. We're spoiled folk. I think the biscuits were what sailors called 'hardtack'. So hard it would take months of dampness to penetrate and mold have enough to grow on it. Hard, extremly dry stuff. Might even make your water level go down it's so hard! Maybe even use one as a thrown weapon!

[RasterOps]

- Food Spoils (I'm hesitant about this one, especially concerning how long a handful of rat meat can last in the backpack of a ranger with 12 ranks of Foraging... but just the other day I pulled a Biscuit Ration off of a corpse in a marsh on the Forsaken Coast. The description said that he'd been there so long the bog had mummified his corpse. I fail to understand how his biscuit survived, and maybe I picked my belly by eating it, but it sure was nummy. If this is an option, maybe you'll have to carry around ice or something? Or, alchemically put an icy enchantment on a gem/bauble/etc. to keep the food fresh. On this thought, I present another post, below.)

New to Eschalon, like a babe. When I played my first few PCs I expected the food to spoil... I still second spoiling.

Let's see... Spell Casting 101: Professor Mage Instructor speaks: "Mages should not be seen to appear befuddled. Remember to cancel Gravedigger's Flame upon returning from a dark dungeon and entering a town during daylight hours." After casting a spell, it may be canceled by right clicking (control-click for Mac) on the spell icon in the players Active Effects panel.

[Oshkell]

I don't think those biscuits were soft and yummy like we have today. We're spoiled folk. I think the biscuits were what sailors called 'hardtack'. So hard it would take months of dampness to penetrate and mold have enough to grow on it. Hard, extremly dry stuff. Might even make your water level go down it's so hard! Maybe even use one as a thrown weapon!

Hmm. Well, maybe the fermented swamp water had softened it up nicely for me. You know, I absolutely love the descriptions ingame given when you eat food items.

And since you mentioned... yes, one should be able to use food as thrown weapons. It would give purpose to rotten apples, among other things. Heck, I'd like to be able to use almost anything and everything as a thrown weapon, including stuff you probably ought not throw. There was a game called "Arcanum" where you could do that... I recall at one point playing a female character who was skilled in thrown weapons, and ran out of ammo while a tough orc was bearing down on her. Having scant options from which to choose, she promptly disrobed herself of her chainmail, and hurled it at the brute, killing it. I think mechanics-wise, the weight of the item (plus her skill) killed the orc, but it was surely her sudden stripping that caused the monster to be distracted long enough for the attack to hit.

Let's see... Spell Casting 101: Professor Mage Instructor speaks: "Mages should not be seen to appear befuddled. Remember to cancel Gravedigger's Flame upon returning from a dark dungeon and entering a town during daylight hours." After casting a spell, it may be canceled by right clicking (control-click for Mac) on the spell icon in the players Active Effects panel.

Ooh... I like. And welcome to the wonderful world of Eschalon!

[Elwro]

I'm pretty sure food does spoil right now, just not the rations or other "special" stuff. I had a salted fish for a few weeks in my inventory and now I have a rotten fish. Same with apples and meat.

[RasterOps]

I have another thought. Am I the only one that could use more inventory space?

I tend to keep at least one of every reagent placed in value order so when I forage the new reagents stack nicely. I also have maybe a dozen rings and other swappable armor like lock picking gloves that consume space. Now add food and my inventory is 70-80% filled.

A tabbed system could be implemented to increase space... Or maybe a book could be written, "Packing for those Long Journeys" that increases space in your pack.

[IJBall]

I have another thought. Am I the only one that could use more inventory space?

I tend to keep at least one of every reagent placed in value order so when I forage the new reagents stack nicely. I also have maybe a dozen rings and other swappable armor like lock picking gloves that consume space. Now add food and my inventory is 70-80% filled.

A tabbed system could be implemented to increase space... Or maybe a book could be written, "Packing for those Long Journeys" that increases space in your pack.

Some of us have already requested a separate inventory for food & water, so yeah it's been mentioned.

In addition, I'd also like it if there could be a graphical/pop-up GUI interface for the new "key chain".

[Mongolian]

Gosh, I started playing book 2, so careful of my nooby comments. NOt missing, but the movement seems a bit annoying. I like when I click on an object and the character will move to that object. Would also have been nice to navigate via up-down-left-right arrow keys vs mouse (i'm sure there must bea way and im just a dolt).

[RasterOps]

Gosh, I started playing book 2, so careful of my nooby comments. NOt missing, but the movement seems a bit annoying. I like when I click on an object and the character will move to that object. Would also have been nice to navigate via up-down-left-right arrow keys vs mouse (i'm sure there must bea way and im just a dolt).

For the PC, the number keypad may be used to navigate. I'm not certain about the Mac.