I just finished the game. The first I want to say is that I enjoyed it very much! Thank you people at The Basilisk Games! There just isn't too many good RPGs out there nowadays.
Of course I have some suggestions to make the next episode even better.
Maybe someone mentioned these things already. If some of this sounds too familiar, then just skip it over.
FIRST OF ALL:
1) Do not change the battle system
It's so simple, it just rocks! KEEP IT TURN-BASED!!!
It's so nice to start a fight, then fight some time, then go to sleep and continue the fight next morning... =)
2) Do not change the user interface
The only thing you could add is a quick button which opens all windows at the same time (inventory, character information and wielded equipment). And if you could make it possible to move while inventory is open?
3) Let same artists to compose music for the next episode as well.
Yeah, the music of the game was just like a breath of Ultima VII to me! Good work, musicians!
[NPCs]
The greatest flaw of the game was the cities and the people living in them.
1) There was too few people to chat with.
2) People had too little things and stories to tell.
3) All NPCs were too static.
Some suggestions:
Make daily schedules to all NPCs. It was weird to see that smiths were at work 24h/day, they should sleep at nights and keep their shops closed. And after a day of hard work people could visit a tavern for a beer or two, or maybe visit a friend or a neighbour... At least everyone should have home to stay at nights.
Make some life to taverns and inns. People should gather and gossip there. Taverns are also good places to add some random encounters as well.
[World]
1) It would be nice to travel freely in the wilderness. I didn't like much the paths in the forest I had to follow...
2) Make bigger cities. Where lives more people. Who all have their own history and some points which ties them to the world and to the story of the game.
[Overall]
It was really good idea to let people play in a window instead of full screen. For me it was a disappointment; with my 24" widescreen (1920x1200) monitor the game window was too tiny to watch without glasses, and fullscreen looked too crappy. Maybe you could raise the resolution for the Book II, and maybe leave some more graphic options for us players to choose from..?
But one thing you guys (and gals?) at The Basilisk Games have understood: things which makes a game good is the content, not the outlook! Keep following that virtue! I can say this as an old Ultima fanatic =). Keep up the good work!
Mmhhmm.. I found also that the game was very difficult at the start (it was really difficult to stay alive), but it eased when I progressed, leveled up and found good new equipment. Maybe it should be just the opposite way..? Propably you designed EB1 for us old RPG veterans, but difficult start might scare off most newcomers.
[Some minor nagging...]
I wondered why litting up a torch used a turn, but changing a weapon didn't...
The drops. Salamanders don't drop anything. They should at least drop their fangs which I could sell at cities. Thugs and mercenaries should drop their weapons and armors etc... Makes things more realistic!
There was too many raptors at the Camp Thorndike. Really. Too many. =(
And... if you didn't understand a word of this, the reason might be my bad english =)
Anyway, I support you and hope that EB2 comes out soon... =)
- Von Z
My opinions about EB1 and some suggestions
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Von Zalzberg
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- Joined: February 14th, 2008, 8:14 pm
Good post. I agree with most of it.
I also would like to add that the developers should REALLY think long and hard on spending time on proper content creation tools! I loved everything that I found in Eschalon: Book I, except.. there just wasn't enough of it! There should be MORE recipes, more equipment, more maps, more weapons, more random unnecessary things, more quests, more books. Basically just more of everything. As it was now it felt rather bare. It felt as if the developers thought it was a hassle to include stuff in the game and I'm guessing they didn't spend enough time on tools.
A neat side-effect (if you can call it that) from making robust content creation tools is that you can release them later for the mod community. That's a sure-fire way of making your game's longevity go through the roof. Eschalon: Book I has a very nice little game engine going for it. I am sure a lot of people would be eager to get their hands on mod tools (content creation tools).
I also would like to add that the developers should REALLY think long and hard on spending time on proper content creation tools! I loved everything that I found in Eschalon: Book I, except.. there just wasn't enough of it! There should be MORE recipes, more equipment, more maps, more weapons, more random unnecessary things, more quests, more books. Basically just more of everything. As it was now it felt rather bare. It felt as if the developers thought it was a hassle to include stuff in the game and I'm guessing they didn't spend enough time on tools.
A neat side-effect (if you can call it that) from making robust content creation tools is that you can release them later for the mod community. That's a sure-fire way of making your game's longevity go through the roof. Eschalon: Book I has a very nice little game engine going for it. I am sure a lot of people would be eager to get their hands on mod tools (content creation tools).