Post by Ood on Apr 17, 2013 12:37:44 GMT -5
!Warning!
Wall of Text Imminent
Foreword: I realize that Grid 12 is not Realm of the Mad God. However, they are not without comparison, any feedback/comments/suggestions I have that relate the two are not trying to turn Grid into Realm, they are trying to make Grid a better game.
Feedback:
The Good
Overall, the game is very smooth in my opinion. You jump in, find a target, go up to it, pew pew (automatically), it dies, you get stuff, hurray!
Graphics.
The graphics are nice and lend an arcade feel to the game, while the theme, sci-fi, allows for near limitless potential for further content.
Gameplay.
Gameplay is a breeze. The tutorial explains things, but even without that the HUD gives a sense of obviousness to gameplay that lets people figure things out on their own past what information the tutorial gives and do so easily.
Exploration vs. Clearing.
I know lots of people have different ideas on which is better, which gives more gridshards, etc. The fact that there's two such distinct different methods of playing the game is a very good thing.
Scale.
The scale of the game is very nice, and the variety of zoom levels also are quite good.
HUD.
The area of the screen right around your tank showing shields, health and such are quite nice.
The Okay - a.k.a. the Mixed Feelings
The 'Grid'.
I get that the game is called Grid 12, but the ultra-organized enemy layout eventually gives way to monotony. Killing one specific structure is virtually the same as killing the same specific structure at any other location. Sometimes I like this if I want to just go out and mindlessly kill things (it's what really got me into Realm and the Godlands). Other times, however, I want some variety. why can't the small circular structure and the small quadrilateral structure occupy the same 'gridspace' so that I have to figure out the best angle to take out each without dieing (which is something that the Godlands in Realm also gave). The organization is nice at times, but other times I want something more interesting, without necessarily adding significant levels of danger.
Tanks.
So far, tanks have been fun to unlock and switch out to try and get a different angle on things. The variety is nice and the method of unlocking is nice. The only thing I dislike about them is that they don't feel personal at all. Even after buying a few augments, I don't get the sense that the tank is mine but just another one straight from the factory.
Balance.
Yes it's early in development still, but really the balance isn't all bad. Some things could use buffs and nerfs, but I think so far the balance is alright.
The lack of 'items'.
Currently there are 3 drops. Gridshards, Splinters, and Prisms. Having such a simple drop table is quite excellent for new players, and those who just want a few minutes of fun killing stuff. However, I personally would prefer having more... elaborate things as well. Being able to loot weapons, triggers, armor, and shields for my tank. Being able to loot walls(?), doors(?), etc. for buildings in the city. Having more drops is bad for newbies, but keeps players playing longer, in search of better things.
VP.
It's not good, it's not bad. The way it's implemented currently works. That's about all I can say about it.
The Bad
Splinters.
I'm not sure if I just don't like them, or if I'm missing the point. I've saved up 250 or so of each now, and have never really given as much as a second thought of crafting them into something. Perhaps ideas from grid12.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=119 would help. Though as I said there, I still don't really see myself using them even if more options are added.
What exactly am I doing in this world?
Am I reconquering the world? Am I evicting natives from a distant planet? Am I in an arcade game? Is it something else? I'm not sure why I'm killing these things, but damnit I'm going to do it anyway. Some sense of what the hell is going on would be nice.
UI.
Aside from the HUD, the user interface is ... bad. By bad I don't mean dysfunctional, I suppose the appropriate word would be ugly. Perhaps tonight I'll try to photoshop a 'reimagining' of what would make a better UI (I'm by no means a photoshop expert), but in the suggestion section I'll try to paint the picture using words for the time being.
Cities and Buildings.
These were the biggest letdown for me after finally getting to play the game. I thought buildings were going to be elaborate structures that made cities bigger, better, more efficient, etc. I was imagining gridshards as a building block (bricks if you will) that would be used to constantly upgrade structures and cities to better repel enemy forces. What I see cities as after playing the game? Just a dump for my gridshards so that I can get VP.
Suggestions
Items & Tanks.
If it were my game (I realize it isn't) buying a tank (still with VP) would just be purchasing the hull, basic weapons, triggers, armor, and shields. The layout of the weapons and the actual triggers do not change, but simply are upgradeable with loot. The armor and the shields would also be upgradeable but also somewhat interchangeable. Weapons would come in laser, missile, shotgun, sniper, etc. varieties (you'd need the specific type of weapon to fit your specific slot [no snipers on avenger, for instance]). Triggers would come in bomb, teleport, overdrive, etc. varieties (again, needing the specific kind (which would probably mean a reduction/reorganization of triggers so that they fill general 'types') . Armors would be different sorts of metals (interchangeable across all tanks). Shields finally would be in different classes but be a bit more loosely fitting across tanks than triggers/weapons. Using the realm analogy: weapons would be like weapons; triggers would be abilities; armors would be like rings; and shields would be like armors, but weapons and shields wouldn't be as class restrictive (we could have a wand heavy for instance).
Where does that leave augments? Still there.
Augments become more of 'crew upgrades'. Your VP are spent not on making your tank directly better, but on hiring a better crew to man it, increasing the efficacy of your tank.
UI.
As I said before, the UI needs some help. Overall the UI I envision is more consolidated. ( I'll try and post an actual picture later)
Triggers would be moved to the bottom center of the screen.
Tank select would be in the bottom right corner. Augment would be directly left of it.
Teleport to town would be directly right of trigger 4, and perhaps get another hotkey of '5'.
Crystals could stay the same, or become square boxes with item icons for the things crafted in them, and go between teleport and augment.
Splinters would become a bar-graph thing of sorts on the right hand side of the screen, above tank select/augment. The number would disappear, the splinters would be moved to the edge of the screen, and a small bar to the left would fill up as you collect more splinters.
Prisms would remain where they are (I'm thinking of a different way to represent them, but so far nothing is turning out well) or get adjusted down and right to accommodate other changes.
(Picture coming soon, hopefully)
Splinters.
To me, currently splinters are useless. This thread is a decent suggestion: grid12.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=119.
Splinters could have various applications in my opinion:
Crafting consumables.
Crafting items.
Crafting prisms.
Upgrading triggers (if triggers aren't made into items).
'Outpost' construction (more in a section below).
City construction.
Cities
In my mind, cities need a lot of attention. Currently I don't really think I'm in a city. The center of the city is just a little pentagon, why can't it upgrade and grow with each level of the city that we upgrade to, and then off of the main building be able to attach upgrades that we choose, and then are able to upgrade that upgrade as well. Having a socket for each structure isn't necessarily bad (how it is now) but I think cities would be more interesting as more of a conglomerate than a series of individual structures.
Enemies
As pointed out in the feedback section, the restrictive grid is both nice and monotonous at the same time. I know larger (multi-space) structures are in the works, but what about also letting some of the smaller structures mingle with each other to allow for more variety in enemy encounters without having to create additional structures.
Outposts
Potential use for splinters could be the creation of an outpost. What's an outpost? Basically it's a small beacon that allows players to teleport to it. This let's players make an outpost, then continue to explore and if necessary retreat back to a town, then be able to resume their progress from an outpost. They'd be like a non-upgradeable level 0 city that you can teleport to. They would also likely be non-permanent with a lifespan in terms of 5 to 10s of minutes.
Statistics
It's a sci-fi game, where's my DPS output data, my fire rate, damage, shield capacity, health, speed, etc.? What about my number of enemy kills, structure kills, deaths, deaths to what, etc.? The statistics are there, can we see them?
That's it for now... Thanks for reading.
Wall of Text...
CLEAR!
Wall of Text Imminent
Foreword: I realize that Grid 12 is not Realm of the Mad God. However, they are not without comparison, any feedback/comments/suggestions I have that relate the two are not trying to turn Grid into Realm, they are trying to make Grid a better game.
Feedback:
The Good
Overall, the game is very smooth in my opinion. You jump in, find a target, go up to it, pew pew (automatically), it dies, you get stuff, hurray!
Graphics.
The graphics are nice and lend an arcade feel to the game, while the theme, sci-fi, allows for near limitless potential for further content.
Gameplay.
Gameplay is a breeze. The tutorial explains things, but even without that the HUD gives a sense of obviousness to gameplay that lets people figure things out on their own past what information the tutorial gives and do so easily.
Exploration vs. Clearing.
I know lots of people have different ideas on which is better, which gives more gridshards, etc. The fact that there's two such distinct different methods of playing the game is a very good thing.
Scale.
The scale of the game is very nice, and the variety of zoom levels also are quite good.
HUD.
The area of the screen right around your tank showing shields, health and such are quite nice.
The Okay - a.k.a. the Mixed Feelings
The 'Grid'.
I get that the game is called Grid 12, but the ultra-organized enemy layout eventually gives way to monotony. Killing one specific structure is virtually the same as killing the same specific structure at any other location. Sometimes I like this if I want to just go out and mindlessly kill things (it's what really got me into Realm and the Godlands). Other times, however, I want some variety. why can't the small circular structure and the small quadrilateral structure occupy the same 'gridspace' so that I have to figure out the best angle to take out each without dieing (which is something that the Godlands in Realm also gave). The organization is nice at times, but other times I want something more interesting, without necessarily adding significant levels of danger.
Tanks.
So far, tanks have been fun to unlock and switch out to try and get a different angle on things. The variety is nice and the method of unlocking is nice. The only thing I dislike about them is that they don't feel personal at all. Even after buying a few augments, I don't get the sense that the tank is mine but just another one straight from the factory.
Balance.
Yes it's early in development still, but really the balance isn't all bad. Some things could use buffs and nerfs, but I think so far the balance is alright.
The lack of 'items'.
Currently there are 3 drops. Gridshards, Splinters, and Prisms. Having such a simple drop table is quite excellent for new players, and those who just want a few minutes of fun killing stuff. However, I personally would prefer having more... elaborate things as well. Being able to loot weapons, triggers, armor, and shields for my tank. Being able to loot walls(?), doors(?), etc. for buildings in the city. Having more drops is bad for newbies, but keeps players playing longer, in search of better things.
VP.
It's not good, it's not bad. The way it's implemented currently works. That's about all I can say about it.
The Bad
Splinters.
I'm not sure if I just don't like them, or if I'm missing the point. I've saved up 250 or so of each now, and have never really given as much as a second thought of crafting them into something. Perhaps ideas from grid12.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=119 would help. Though as I said there, I still don't really see myself using them even if more options are added.
What exactly am I doing in this world?
Am I reconquering the world? Am I evicting natives from a distant planet? Am I in an arcade game? Is it something else? I'm not sure why I'm killing these things, but damnit I'm going to do it anyway. Some sense of what the hell is going on would be nice.
UI.
Aside from the HUD, the user interface is ... bad. By bad I don't mean dysfunctional, I suppose the appropriate word would be ugly. Perhaps tonight I'll try to photoshop a 'reimagining' of what would make a better UI (I'm by no means a photoshop expert), but in the suggestion section I'll try to paint the picture using words for the time being.
Cities and Buildings.
These were the biggest letdown for me after finally getting to play the game. I thought buildings were going to be elaborate structures that made cities bigger, better, more efficient, etc. I was imagining gridshards as a building block (bricks if you will) that would be used to constantly upgrade structures and cities to better repel enemy forces. What I see cities as after playing the game? Just a dump for my gridshards so that I can get VP.
Suggestions
Items & Tanks.
If it were my game (I realize it isn't) buying a tank (still with VP) would just be purchasing the hull, basic weapons, triggers, armor, and shields. The layout of the weapons and the actual triggers do not change, but simply are upgradeable with loot. The armor and the shields would also be upgradeable but also somewhat interchangeable. Weapons would come in laser, missile, shotgun, sniper, etc. varieties (you'd need the specific type of weapon to fit your specific slot [no snipers on avenger, for instance]). Triggers would come in bomb, teleport, overdrive, etc. varieties (again, needing the specific kind (which would probably mean a reduction/reorganization of triggers so that they fill general 'types') . Armors would be different sorts of metals (interchangeable across all tanks). Shields finally would be in different classes but be a bit more loosely fitting across tanks than triggers/weapons. Using the realm analogy: weapons would be like weapons; triggers would be abilities; armors would be like rings; and shields would be like armors, but weapons and shields wouldn't be as class restrictive (we could have a wand heavy for instance).
Where does that leave augments? Still there.
Augments become more of 'crew upgrades'. Your VP are spent not on making your tank directly better, but on hiring a better crew to man it, increasing the efficacy of your tank.
UI.
As I said before, the UI needs some help. Overall the UI I envision is more consolidated. ( I'll try and post an actual picture later)
Triggers would be moved to the bottom center of the screen.
Tank select would be in the bottom right corner. Augment would be directly left of it.
Teleport to town would be directly right of trigger 4, and perhaps get another hotkey of '5'.
Crystals could stay the same, or become square boxes with item icons for the things crafted in them, and go between teleport and augment.
Splinters would become a bar-graph thing of sorts on the right hand side of the screen, above tank select/augment. The number would disappear, the splinters would be moved to the edge of the screen, and a small bar to the left would fill up as you collect more splinters.
Prisms would remain where they are (I'm thinking of a different way to represent them, but so far nothing is turning out well) or get adjusted down and right to accommodate other changes.
(Picture coming soon, hopefully)
Splinters.
To me, currently splinters are useless. This thread is a decent suggestion: grid12.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=119.
Splinters could have various applications in my opinion:
Crafting consumables.
Crafting items.
Crafting prisms.
Upgrading triggers (if triggers aren't made into items).
'Outpost' construction (more in a section below).
City construction.
Cities
In my mind, cities need a lot of attention. Currently I don't really think I'm in a city. The center of the city is just a little pentagon, why can't it upgrade and grow with each level of the city that we upgrade to, and then off of the main building be able to attach upgrades that we choose, and then are able to upgrade that upgrade as well. Having a socket for each structure isn't necessarily bad (how it is now) but I think cities would be more interesting as more of a conglomerate than a series of individual structures.
Enemies
As pointed out in the feedback section, the restrictive grid is both nice and monotonous at the same time. I know larger (multi-space) structures are in the works, but what about also letting some of the smaller structures mingle with each other to allow for more variety in enemy encounters without having to create additional structures.
Outposts
Potential use for splinters could be the creation of an outpost. What's an outpost? Basically it's a small beacon that allows players to teleport to it. This let's players make an outpost, then continue to explore and if necessary retreat back to a town, then be able to resume their progress from an outpost. They'd be like a non-upgradeable level 0 city that you can teleport to. They would also likely be non-permanent with a lifespan in terms of 5 to 10s of minutes.
Statistics
It's a sci-fi game, where's my DPS output data, my fire rate, damage, shield capacity, health, speed, etc.? What about my number of enemy kills, structure kills, deaths, deaths to what, etc.? The statistics are there, can we see them?
That's it for now... Thanks for reading.
Wall of Text...
CLEAR!