My thoughts after an hour of gameplay:)

[vkm]

I think I follow that other guys format and just point out what is good and what is bad.

Likes

• Not very buggy for my first time use (steady 50 fps except when panning way out into the large map view.
  
  
• I got to level 100ish tonight and I am enjoying the fury class and I put all my vp into it and it is very powerful. (2 hours work)
  
  
• although the leveling for solo noobs is difficult, the point to having fun(equivalent of wcs and tombs etc in realm) is much quicker than in realm of the mad god imo. The percentages in vp and in leveling are well balanced so that you can get into the action faster I think.
  
  
• I strongly like the part of the leveling system whereby everytime you upgrade the next upgrade costs 2 times as much, This strategy is what helps my above point.
  

Dislikes

• I understand there isn't a complete tutorial but the leveling system threw my head for a loop honestly.(still does kinda)
  
  
• Definitely more complex objectives than realm not hating just saying it won't be as easy to pick up and play for noobs
  
  
• it is very difficult to advance from tutorial to like lvl24 unless you have friends also playing. I suggest "lowlands" directly outside the starter town for noobs.
  
  
• On the opposite side of the spectrum, if one waits for a group to kill a "drill" then they can go from lvl1->lvl25+ almost instantly which seems kind of broken
  
  
• when there is no one on such as right now there is no point in playing solo because you get items/kill things infinitely slower.
  
  
• Shotgun ability is really generic, It would be cool if you could replace it with a more tank specific function like the long range tank gets one that does a aoe attack etc(I mean that tank will never ever use the shotgun ability without instadeath
  
  
• The blink forward ability is my most unused ability, There is almost never a situation where it is useful imo. maybe remove it? I would compare it to the trickster's prism haha
  
  
• On a side note, I haven't died yet...this may mean this game is too easy or something haha if someone could point out what happens when you die that would be great.
  
  

I want

• I understand you want to encourage cooperative play so when more people start playing maybe the noob solo problem will not be a problem.
  
  
• I was hoping for upgradeable individual guns when I was first getting into the game, such as you start with 1 gun and when you level up you can choose a bigger gun or 2 small guns and it progresses like that. ie (a choice between a laser cannon or 2 gatling guns etc you get the idea) I feel that this would make players feel like they had a bigger achievement upon leveling up instead of just getting a .5% upgrade to a part of their tank.
  
  
• Maybe a simpler leveling system/modified leveling system?
  
  
• +1 to a healing tank named "The Priest"
  

I will modify/edit this post in order to make it easier to understand/if I get any other outstanding feelings about how to make it even better, If anyone needs me to clarify on something please ask.

[tarbomb]

I got to level 100ish tonight and I am enjoying the fury class and I put all my vp into it and it is very powerful. (2 hours work)

although the leveling for solo noobs is difficult, the point to having fun(equivalent of wcs and tombs etc in realm) is much quicker than in realm of the mad god imo. The percentages in vp and in leveling are well balanced so that you can get into the action faster I think.

I am pretty sure that getting to level 100 in a day's playing wasn't the intention. A little background: before build 39 a drill station would drop 15k shards (around 40-50k counting minions). That meant it would take weeks of playing to get to level 100. The new facilities, while supposed to be limited to 10x buffs, don't seem to have any limit when it comes to prism drops, making the shard acquisition rate extremely high. I personally am enjoying the fast leveling and hope that it will remain, but I'm not sure if that will negatively effect player retention.

I strongly like the part of the leveling system whereby everytime you upgrade the next upgrade costs 2 times as much, This strategy is what helps my above point.

Agreed.

I understand there isn't a complete tutorial but the leveling system threw my head for a loop honestly.(still does kinda)

Definitely more complex objectives than realm not hating just saying it won't be as easy to pick up and play for noobs

Rob said a more elaborate tutorial might appear later. Right now, though, since the test playerbase is so small I think using word of mouth for instructions can replace a tutorial.

it is very difficult to advance from tutorial to like lvl24 unless you have friends also playing. I suggest "lowlands" directly outside the starter town for noobs.

Not if you pick your enemies wisely. A fresh silver, with its burst ability and cloak, has zero trouble killing a building (1k shards - enough to unlock corsair), and the game opens up around the time when you unlock herc and 'cane.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, if one waits for a group to kill a "drill" then they can go from lvl1->lvl25+ almost instantly which seems kind of broken

Really, I feel that shards shouldn't be a part of leveling at all, since the rate at which you acquire them varies so much with region buffs.

when there is no one on such as right now there is no point in playing solo because you get items/kill things infinitely slower.

Isn't that a good thing? Encouraging group play and teamwork in a multiplayer co-op game sounds right. When the game opens up and more players enter, I don't think it will be a problem anymore.

Shotgun ability is really generic, It would be cool if you could replace it with a more tank specific function like the long range tank gets one that does a aoe attack etc(I mean that tank will never ever use the shotgun ability without instadeath

See the triggers thread for discussion on triggers. Essentially the standard four triggers you see on a lot of the tanks (shotgun + boost + blink + shield regen) is a generic set originally added to test the idea. In the next few builds all the tanks will get unique triggers.

The blink forward ability is my most unused ability, There is almost never a situation where it is useful imo. maybe remove it? I would compare it to the trickster's prism haha

I used to think it was useless too, but now that I've gotten the hang of it, I'm actually finding it the second-most useful ability after the shotgun. Enemies on all sides blocking your escape, and you don't want to teleport to a town? Blink away. Stuck inside a drill station's walls and losing HP? Blink out of there. Trapped between a watchtowers and the exploding bombs? Blink = free get-out-of-jail card. It's like an ESC that doesn't force you to drive back to the battle.

On a side note, I haven't died yet...this may mean this game is too easy or something haha if someone could point out what happens when you die that would be great.

When you die you lose all the undeposited gridshards you're carrying and all your prisms lose one level.

Dying, until build 39, was considered an extremely hefty penalty since pulchs were extremely rare. In this build with debuffed enemies and buffed up drops I have to agree that it's a bit too easy.

I understand you want to encourage cooperative play and when more people start playing maybe the noob solo problem will go away.

I was hoping for upgradeable individual guns when I was first getting into the game, such as you start with 1 gun and when you level up you can choose a bigger gun or 2 small guns and it progresses like that. ie (a choice between a laser cannon or 2 gatling guns etc you get the idea) I feel that this would make players feel like they had a bigger achievement upon leveling up instead of just getting a .5% upgrade to a part of their tank.

So do I! See here for more discussion on the issue.