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v0.7.11 suggestions, praise, and criticism

A place for general discussion about the content and gameplay of Andor's Trail.
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T-rex2298
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v0.7.11 suggestions, praise, and criticism

Post by T-rex2298 »

Two points firstly
1. I had no idea what to name the topic, so forgive the cringry title :oops:
2. I might be a bit blunt, just a forewarning and apology.

Quests:
Fairplay, Work for Debts, and Inventory are great. Really enjoyed the memory game in "Inventory".
Honor Your Parents is fun and involves your first settlement. Only thing I dont exactly ship is the whole use of the word, "father". It never really has been used before and I always knew him as Mikhail. If you're trying to transform him more into a father (hence calling him "father") Im fine with it, just really stuck out when I done that quest.
Also, can the necklace have a different name? You can buy it multiple times, and I'm sure not all of them will make it into your father's hands. :lol: (It is also listed as a quest item)
Lessons Learned was crazy fun, learning history of the world you are playing in, having it repeated if you said anything,
and finally the sparring match. I was in stitches when I kept on killing the boy or teacher and the kids fled. I tried everything to save them. Unequipped everthing and fought bare-handed ect :D . (The only very minor thing is maybe hint that fleeing is a possible route and have the kids outside afterwards if you kill someone.)
Much Water was a bit lackluster. The breaking of the dam didnt feel that impactful. The story wasn't very conclusive, the guard is bribed, and that's all there is to it. Whether you help or not, it's basically the same outcome. It needs:
1. A moral dilemma. The people of Loneford need the water but can't get it due to the Brimhaven's greed. This is touched on during the quest but never to its full potential. Entertwine it with Loneford more.
2. Consequences. Possibly have a careless child playing in the riverbed (or hiding from you lol) that gets swept away when the dam is broken
3. A path that prevents the dam from being broken. After you kill the brother you have the chance to foil a second attempt (could even make it a night mission)
4. Reactions. Guards swarm the area, residents freak out. A dam just got broken and someone died (point 2). This would greatly help in creating an atmosphere.
5. Have an ending. I am almost certain that this quest isnt completely finished. But for the moment, have a satisfactory ending. Rich guy is locked up, you're the hero, next update the captain is bribed. It would feel more complete as this is the main quest of the area.
Nevertheless, I still enjoyed it :) .
A Quick Glance. Great idea, a few hitches though. Going though the cave wasnt a challenge. If I'm going to imagine anything, it's going to be that coding the Basilisk and the areas of dialogue and effects were pretty hard, it was well done and I loved it. However in terms of the storyline a few improvements can be made.
1. Have the mirror in the hands of a crazed pyshco who has managed to survive in the little corner where the mirror lays. This serves the two purposes of making another mini boss, and creating a bit more excitement and variety.
2. A lot of minor issues are in the dialogue, I'll list and suggest some below -
"Hello my name is Anakis. I hope you can help me." - "Thank goodness someone came! Can you please help me!?" (Anakis's sis is missing, he would be a bit panicy. Introduce the name later)

"You killed the basilisk and the blood flows out of it's wounds." - "Blood flows from the basilisk as it lays dying on the ground."

"Slowly the statue gets colorful and starts to move. You healed the woman!
After she comes back to life, she thanks you and tells you that she is Anakis' sister, Juttarka
She will leave the cave now and meet her waiting brother."
To make this a bit more immersive with minimal work: being turned to stone temporarily loosened one of her screws. You already know the stone woman is Anakis's sister.
"Minuscule cracks appear everywhere on the statue, and colour bursts through the harsh grey stone.
Suddenly, the statue collapses as all its' bodily functions are returned to their rightful owner. You approach Juttarka carefully.
Glazed and diluted pupils meet your own.
Stunned, you don't have time to react before she darts back through the cave system toward the surface.

Likewise, "Thank you so much for rescuing my sister Juttarka! She just came out of the cave and told me what you did for her. I will go home now, too." -
What happened! Juttarka just bowled me over at a full sprint! She was babbling on about escaping back home."
After that you could go to their house and have the thank-you's and the same ending. Roughly the same amount of dialogue but more effective in my opinion. It portrays excitement which engages the reader, and also gives a reason why Juttarka didnt thank you then and there (she was disoriented), end of story.
3. Map design is good but the one thing it needs is choke points. You can pretty easily dodge all the way to the boss. Insert some stationary monsters to block the path or smaller passageways.
4. More of a question than a point. I am curious why you used snakes instead of basilisks leading up to the big basilisk? And I think the damage (and associated stats)needs to be nudged up a bit.

I really hope this hasnt come across as harsh, and I hope you expand or revise this one as I loved completing the quest. If you do need a hand doing something just give me (or any devs for that matter) a shout. Keep it up as you have done way more, way better than me in any case
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Antison
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Re: v0.7.11 suggestions, praise, and criticism

Post by Antison »

No worries. We want to hear your thoughts!

Mikhail has always been the father. That's not clear from the start? Really?

Lessons Learned:. I like the idea of them being outside the school (with adult help) ready to attack or punish you.

Much water: Great points!

A quick glance: is a mid-level quest.
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Re: v0.7.11 suggestions, praise, and criticism

Post by CUCHULAINN3 »

don't forget you can kill the kids and teacher but you can flea after you equipped the cheap stuff.
But you can also destroy the statue
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Re: v0.7.11 suggestions, praise, and criticism

Post by Antison »

"Lessons Learned" is one of the best quests in AT. It's not binary! Many choices.
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Re: v0.7.11 suggestions, praise, and criticism

Post by Gonk »

Thank you very much for your valuable feedback and especially for your ideas for the Basilisk quest
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Re: v0.7.11 suggestions, praise, and criticism

Post by T-rex2298 »

A few more things I missed. :mrgreen:
Screenshot_20200611-234349_Andor's Trail.jpg
I am either missing something, or there is a trap door on the roof. There are stairs on what appears to be a single story building.

For the Diamond Necklace that costs 555,000 gold. Could a description be put in to somewhat explain its crazy price? "An exquisite and stunning necklace for those who have saved up their money."
I just feel for someone who is playing through for the first time will really wonder at that mindblowingly expensive item (I know why its there and I like it).
This settlement has the most dialogue in the game poking fun at the player:
"I'm a heavily armed little child, so maybe it's you that should not be so rude to me!"
*kicks and misses the ball making you fall over.*
Kids - "You kick like a baby. Ha, ha." (Thats harsh :lol: )
"I used to be an adventurer like you."
"Then I took an arrow to the knee. " (You got me there. I wasn't expecting that when I pushed 'next'.
Screenshot_20200609-223230_Andor's Trail.jpg
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Antison wrote: Thu Jun 11, 2020 5:21 pm "Lessons Learned" is one of the best quests in AT. It's not binary! Many choices.
'Roses' is my favorite quest, but this one is in my top five. :D
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Re: v0.7.11 suggestions, praise, and criticism

Post by rijackson741 »

T-rex2298 wrote: Fri Jun 12, 2020 2:33 pm I am either missing something, or there is a trap door on the roof. There are stairs on what appears to be a single story building.
It has a second story. Just not where the steps are :lol:
I guess we should fix that.
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Re: v0.7.11 suggestions, praise, and criticism

Post by QQkp »

Piggybacking on this thread, but some thoughts for "Lessons learned" (includes spoilers for "Fair play?" and "Much water").
I played Brimhaven for the first time on my Very hard (10 lives, 1 save) file - meaning, no ability to load and retry the nonlinear options in quests. I came across "Fair play?" first, which can result in a tavern brawl where you "kill" the gamblers - but the quest text clarifies that you've actually only beaten them up, not truly killed them.

Shortly afterwards, I stumbled across "Lessons learned" - where the teacher insists that you must spar with your classmates, but only using the provided wooden sword and paper shield. I assumed that, in the same vein as "Fair play?", the skirmish would result in the target simply being "beaten up" or "knocked out".

Two turns later, my goody-two-shoes character had irreversibly murdered Golin and made an awful lot of people terrified and angry. Oops. :lol:

A couple suggestions, then:
  • Maybe some pre-fight flavor text suggesting the player character's doubts about seriously injuring a student (even with the school-approved equipment) would help out the limited-save crowd to explore and discover other options?
  • Perhaps some additional consequences for murdering a schoolchild would make sense? It feels odd that the teacher merely scolds you and tells you to leave, while the rest of the town ignores it. Even the prison guard next door threatens that you better not give him a reason to fill the vacant cell. Murdering a child in school seems like a good reason for that, and it could probably still fit naturally in the game - I'm sure Al Capone would be willing to pull some strings to bail you out, in exchange for your cooperation in "Much water" :D
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Re: v0.7.11 suggestions, praise, and criticism

Post by CUCHULAINN3 »

QQkp wrote: Sat Jun 13, 2020 5:58 pm Piggybacking on this thread, but some thoughts for "Lessons learned" (includes spoilers for "Fair play?" and "Much water").
I played Brimhaven for the first time on my Very hard (10 lives, 1 save) file - meaning, no ability to load and retry the nonlinear options in quests. I came across "Fair play?" first, which can result in a tavern brawl where you "kill" the gamblers - but the quest text clarifies that you've actually only beaten them up, not truly killed them.

Shortly afterwards, I stumbled across "Lessons learned" - where the teacher insists that you must spar with your classmates, but only using the provided wooden sword and paper shield. I assumed that, in the same vein as "Fair play?", the skirmish would result in the target simply being "beaten up" or "knocked out".

Two turns later, my goody-two-shoes character had irreversibly murdered Golin and made an awful lot of people terrified and angry. Oops. :lol:

A couple suggestions, then:
  • Maybe some pre-fight flavor text suggesting the player character's doubts about seriously injuring a student (even with the school-approved equipment) would help out the limited-save crowd to explore and discover other options?
  • Perhaps some additional consequences for murdering a schoolchild would make sense? It feels odd that the teacher merely scolds you and tells you to leave, while the rest of the town ignores it. Even the prison guard next door threatens that you better not give him a reason to fill the vacant cell. Murdering a child in school seems like a good reason for that, and it could probably still fit naturally in the game - I'm sure Al Capone would be willing to pull some strings to bail you out, in exchange for your cooperation in "Much water" :D
You can flee from fighting the kid or teacher. You can even fight the statue instead and (to me it's a better outcome)
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Re: v0.7.11 suggestions, praise, and criticism

Post by QQkp »

CUCHULAINN3 wrote: Sat Jun 13, 2020 6:42 pm You can flee from fighting the kid or teacher. You can even fight the statue instead and (to me it's a better outcome)
Yeah - after I botched it, I poked around in ATCS to see what could have happened otherwise. The statue outcome would have probably fit more consistently with the other choices I'd made in this save file, but it isn't possible to back up when you're using one of the limited-save modes.
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