Alpha Based Ideas

Gameplay
#1

Hi.

This is not a buglist. I got a few ideas when playing the alpha pre-release. You could join me with your feature requests. Note that this is not a general feature request topic, it’s all just based on the alpha experience.

I know this is only extremely early alpha, but I still want to mention these things. If some of these improvements are to be made or already have been made, than it is great and I applaud to developers once again :smile:

1) NPCs should definitely react when you walk into their homes. And the hens and chicken should flee in front of you. (at least move out of your way)

2) When an NPC is bussy, it should not end its activity straight away when spoken upon. There should be some kind of salutation. Imagine a situation when you walk up to the archery range and the archer is practising and do not want to be disturbed. You walk up to him and say “hello sir”, or “excuse me” and he replies “not now, I’m busy” and after a while he comes to you and starts the dialogue himself. This would add much to the immersion. The dialogue could also happen while the archer continues practising with a camera shoot from a little more distance.

3) I know it is not that important or even technically easy to do, but I would love to see footprints. When you walk up to a puddle with some soggy mud around, you just expect to see your footprints in there. You just expect it to work somehow and it feels almost disappointing. (EDIT: I have noticed already)

4) First point also implies when you wait at their workplace. Like when you are in the smithy in the morning and the smith comes to work and see you in there, he could salute you and ask if you need anything. Or the archer in the quest, you walk up to him and he says to meet him at the archery range. You go there, sit on the bench and wait for his arrival upon which he starts the dialogue himself. This would make the NPCs much more alive and the world immersive.

5) Also double click equip in the inventory please.

6) NPCs should dress accordingly to the activity. A soldier using a hammer should at least put down his gloves, or remove his helmet in a hot day when moving wood.

7) You should be able to talk NPCs into changing their life-cycle. It should not be for free, but a bard could be able to talk the archer into going to the archery range with him right now. Or a soldier could do the same by intimidating.

8) As Suite and Trebron pointed out, the healthbar should autohide when iddle and there should be toggle HUD option

EDITED

9 Likes
Atmosphäre im Spiel
#2

Nice thread!

I’m really into immersion so I hope for a real “walking”. Now we have running and faster running!

It would also be great if we are able to interact with the items like sitting on a chair or lay down.

7 Likes
#3

Well, I just found out, that there are footprints! Just do not appear at every pool and not exactly under your feet. But they are there and it is excellent :smile:

Another thing I noticed not to be exactly nice looking. I would like more movement animations for the main character. Especially small moves. When you quickly push an arrow repeatedly, the body just kind of weirdly floats backward/forward. This kind of movement is rarely animated in games and it doesn’t look good. The character should either barely move on a quick hit of the key or make a small step or just push one foot in the direction of the move.

1 Like
#4

Continuing the discussion from Alpha Based Ideas:

Try using a gamepad.
With it, you can control your movement and head turning speed with the joysticks.

[quote=“Klogg, post:3, topic:19346”]
Well, I just found out, that there are footprints! Just do not appear at every pool and not exactly under your feet. But they are there and it is excellent :smile:[/quote]

Great!

Remember, this is Pre-Alpha, the will definitively fix this.

#5

Not exactly an idea but…an option/key to hide the HUD would be very nice :slight_smile:

5 Likes
#6

Chickens are pretty retarted i dont think they should really flee from you. After all they are domestic animals so they really dont fear humans that much.

#7

Nice list. I was also hoping for some kind of salutation or acknowledgement from the AI. Like when walking down the path, people would look at you and nod, say hello, or might ignore you based on their personality.

Also I don’t see the need for a dialogue screen. Not using one would allow the AI to do things such as talk to you while continuing to work. Farmers might take the time to be friendly and visit, or they might be too busy and talk to you while continuing to tend the crops. the Blacksmith would certainly ask you first if you wanted to buy something, then continue working when he realizes you are just there to chat.

Really like the idea of the AI telling you to come back or wait a second.

2 Likes
#8

Those are pretty valid points. :thumbsup: I hope the dialogue screen is a placeholder (it would be absurdly ugly and as it seems to me in contradiction with both the more stylized - UI/inventory - and at the same time the more realistic faces of the game’s visuals).

Edit: while trying to get rid of the Ui in screenshots I noticed that slight curves adjustment (darkening the shadows and balancing the highlights to boost contrast slightly while protecting whites) seems to enhance the picture a bit. I take the liberty to post it here. What do you think? I must admit I don’t notice the lack of contrast while playing because the lighting seems absolutely natural and “realistic”. But in case of screenshots it’s perhaps a shame. :smile:

Original:

After curves:

2 Likes
#9

This game looks so damn good.

1 Like
#10

My main idea would be to implement alchemy on the next Alpha update in 2 months. It looks like the workplace with components and stirring spoons are already in there in some form (floating spoons).

If possible I’d also love to see skill/attribute enhancement in the next update. Then we can playtest Henry building up his archery skill. Maybe not implement all the skills (leave some room for future development) but implement the ones that the player would use in the alpha.

That’s my two cents worth…

#11

First of all I want to say I thought the game was absolutely gorgeous. My few complaints were addressed in their livestream as simply being a byproduct of it being in alpha stage, buggy animation, floating characters, slow door opening etc. The one thing not addressed is perhaps my biggest problem. Not sure if it’s alpha related and will be addressed later but I hope it is.

The building interiors are all the same. I went into a few buildings and even my 7 year old son pointed out that each house is the same inside. You go in the front door into a foyer and have doors to either side of you. To the right is a kitchen/dining/sleeping room and to the left is a store room. Not sure if this is actually how they all were back then and they’re being realistic but for the sake of interest I would hope they mix things up a bit more than that. Again, this is alpha so maybe they just haven’t gotten to it yet.

1 Like
#12

Agreed!
I like making Screenshots that show the whole beauty of the scene I am looking at.
Furthermore the gameplay is more immersive, when you get the chance to toggle your hud on/off whenever you want.
Additionally I would therefore propose that the Healthmeter should be placed in one of the lower corners of the screen.
I feel slightly irritated by this beautifull but, because of its ammount of red colour, dominant picture element.
Whenever you have to watch your step, your eye get’s caught by it and I think this can be done better.
As an example I like to show you one of my screenshots:

The more darker it gets, the more annoying it is.

Sorry for my bad english, but I hope that you will understand me.

2 Likes
#13

Agreed. Autohide for the health bar would be nice and of course a button to toggle on/off. I will add this to the list on top, if you guys do not mind.

#14

I didn’t imagine them running across the whole village when they see you, just move out of your way like chicken do

#15

Normaly when you are in a forrest you can hear different bird sounds then in the open landscape.
I think it would be nice, to have some cuckoo or woodpecker sounds in there, just for the immersion. :wink:

3 Likes
#16

Despite the glitches that are to be expected at this stage, I think that there is already a very nice and authentic look and feel for the medieval village.The clothes, gear as well as houses, furniture and equipment.

Gameplay suggestion: the key NPC’s needs to be easily found with a marker or based on the specific description (for ex. my husband is there and there, he has a black trousers and blue cap)

Technical suggestion: NO motion blur please. Not cool and definitely not realistic for a human person just looking around and not galloping on a horse

Furniture suggestion: Did you see a bed in any of the houses? Where do the poor people sleep?

Historical suggestion: I understand that the authors need some easy to grasp money system and the rewards and wagers in the alpha are just placeholders, but I think that groshes as a basic money unit are too big of a value. In real 13-14 century, an original Czech Grosh was a large coin from pure silver and was one of the “hardest” currencies in medieval Europe. 10 - 20 groshes would be a true fortune for a villager back then, probably worth more than his field, house and cattle put together.
It would be a shame if the authors use such valuable currency as a basic unit for normal goods. It would be like making a movie about USA during the forties but using today’s dollar prices for the cost of petrol, Coke or houses 70 years ago.

4 Likes
#17

:thumbsup: for the grosh remark

I am not so sure poor people living in rural country house slept in a bed actually. But they should use some mattress and blanket or coat.

1 Like
#18

one of their bench/beds had a photorealistic fox fur on it :slight_smile:

#19

@molik I don’t think many people had bed where sleep… even in the '40 here in Italy most of the farmers were sleeping in fields during the harvest and in stables during the winter months… I don’t know in North Europe which is colder but I would guess a similar situation

Suggestion Would be cool if the diary reflects the choices made by pc… I mean when the peasant ask you to steal the flute the mission log reports something like “It’s not right”, but if we play as a thief would be nice something like “the peasent asked me to steal the flute… finaly another job!”

#20

If I recall correctly, Dan mentioned the interiors during the live stream, they are also placeholders, and more variety will be probably added.

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