Criticism / suggestions

[linus]

Hello!

I've just finished the demo and all in all I was really impressed. I especially liked the music and the voice acting. The plot seems to be very interesting as well.

Here's some suggestions and criticism:
- I'd prefer if the cursor cycle order was walk- look - interact - talk like in all Sierra Point'n'Click games with four different action cursors. The switching of the walk and look cursors just irritated me.
- It would be nice if there was a run mode (activated by double-clicking or SHIFT-clicking a spot with the walk cursor).
- Topic selection font is too small IMO. It is part of the interface, after all, so I think there should be large clickable buttons or something similar.
- The subtitle font could be a bit larger as well.
- Graham and Hassan don't face each other even once while talking to each other. At first I thought that intentional to show some kind of disregard on side of Hassan, but after a few dialog lines it just becomes awkward.
- When examining the door to King Calliphim and Queen Allaria's room in the upper castle hallway, Queen Allaria's name is mispronounced as "Alliara" in the description message.
- It seems a bit implausible that a fallen tree is an unbypassable obstacle for Graham. If you don't want Graham to be able to visit the beach, you should find a more logical reason (maybe he just doesn't want to there).
- Generic replies might be used somewhat less often. Sure, most of them are really funny for the first time, but not after the 100th time.
- Some areas slow the game down REALLY heavily (almost beyond playability), e.g. the main hall and the lower hallway left to it. I have an AMD Sempron 2600+ processor, 512 MB RAM and a Radeon 9250 graphics card and I played the game in 800 x 600 resolution.
- Very often, Graham slides rather than walks.
- Sometimes you can watch scenes being assembled in 3D "layers" while entering them.

Maybe you can still change some of the things I mentioned above. Overall, I really enjoyed the game, it just has a great KQ feel to it

[TrueCrusader]

One thing you always need to consider is that This is like One level after Beta Testing, So Any Graphical poblems or slow FR will probably not be there in teh real game. Lol I've done some computer programming and What I've come to decide is that Alpha levels (or beta levels) are always Different then the Finished versions (duh!).


Also I liked the tree falling down. (I know what you mean though) Maybe they should light it on fire .

[linus]

I know it's a very early version. I just wanted to help make sure the team knows of all the problems some people have with it, so they have a chance to address them. If some aspects are already taken care of anyway, that's great as well, of course.

Yes, the tree falling down looks great. I just think the fallen tree should not be used as an explanation why Graham can't continue south.

[koko_99_2001]

I guess the question is: how many times in the KQ games has nature been used to keep people from directing the character from walking a certain direction?

[Delling]

MOUNTAINS! In KQ1, I believe one or more sides of the map are bordered with mountains going .
This is also used in Kolyma and Tamir. Llewdor and Serenia employ deserts for their border control. Kolyma, Llewdor, and Tamir all use oceans as well.

So, the answer, I guess, is often. A number would be harder to say specifically. Do we include natural or possibly supernatural forces such as the snake, seamonster (KQ5), sharks (KQ2,3&4 ), and KQ4's living forest (possessed?); and do we break it down by game or  individual instances? (Of, course individual instances would include the chasm from KQ2).

[doom saber]

I am don't think the beach would do any good if tsl lets us go there anyway.  It is like the mountain that Delling mentions, a boarder

[linus]

I guess the question is: how many times in the KQ games has nature been used to keep people from directing the character from walking a certain direction?

Yes, but we know from KQ6 that the beach is easily accessible and one fallen tree doesn't really change that. It's really not important, the narrator's message just seems nonsensical to me, that's all.

[Baggins]

MOUNTAINS! In KQ1, I believe one or more sides of the map are bordered with mountains going     .

KQ1 had mountain blocking the north side if an island. It also had rivers blocking access to certain screens. However it also had Magical Law of "Containment" keeping people from getting out of Daventry.

In KQ3, it was chasm, fences and walls blocking access to places outside Daventry.

In MOE its mountains on all sides.
"

This is also used in Kolyma and Tamir.

Kolyma had ocean one side, and mountains on the other. But from north to south it also had the Magical Law of "Containment" to keep people stuck in the one area of the world.

In the unofficial remake however, it just has rocks and bushes and thick forests blocking the north and south.

Tamir also had Oceans to the west, and mountains to the east. North and south was blocked by Magical Law of "continment" yet again.

Llewdor and Serenia employ deserts for their border control.

Llewdor actually had "magical law of "containment" to the north and south. Endless desert to the west, and ocean to the east.

In the unofficial remake the south of Llewdor was blocked by crevasse to the south, and a mountain and swamp to the north.

Serenia had river to the south, and forest to the north. Desert had wall to the north, and endless stretches leading to death scenes. Ocean sections were endless as well.

Yes, but we know from KQ6 that the beach is easily accessible

Well some other examples in KQ6, that I could have easily bypassed in realife but where blocked by mundane barriers.

In real life on island of the Beast, I could have easily climbed up on the embankment surrounding the boiling pool to just pass the pool.

That large wall? With a bit of work I could probably climb over it as well, avoiding the archers.

[linus]

It looks like Graham won't be going to that beach any time soon. He's lucky that tree didn't fall on him.

That's the message I meant. It sounds like Graham couldn't reach the beach even if he desperately wanted to get there, just because of the fallen tree.

Personally, I would prefer if it just wasn't commented at all, so it's up to the user's imagination to decide why Graham won't just step over the fallen tree. Graham might have rethought his plan of going to the beach and come to the conclusion there's nothing important there anyway.

[doom saber]

There is a jumpin action by pressin the s. bar button or that is what the option menu tells me.  Never tried it, but we are able to jump in the game, would it be easy for us to jump over that log?

[Storm]

Personally, I would prefer if it just wasn't commented at all...

I was thinking the same thing when I played the demo... a tree trunk doesn't seem like a big enough obstacle for such a response. It would be better if it said Graham couldn't be bothered to go there, or didn't comment at all, as it often does in games where seemingly-passble obstacles (bushes, rocks etc.) are used

There is a jumpin action by pressin the s. bar button or that is what the option menu tells me.  Never tried it, but we are able to jump in the game, would it be easy for us to jump over that log?

Nope
The 'jump' option is a part of the engine default, it doesn't work in the demo (and probably wouldn't be implemented in the game). I hardly think they would bother with the falling tree just to have Graham jump over it, this isn't MOE

[Matt Vassar]

MOUNTAINS! In KQ1, I believe one or more sides of the map are bordered with mountains going .
This is also used in Kolyma and Tamir. Llewdor and Serenia employ deserts for their border control. Kolyma, Llewdor, and Tamir all use oceans as well.

So, the answer, I guess, is often. A number would be harder to say specifically. Do we include natural or possibly supernatural forces such as the snake, seamonster (KQ5), sharks (KQ2,3&4 ), and KQ4's living forest (possessed?); and do we break it down by game or  individual instances? (Of, course individual instances would include the chasm from KQ2).

I think this is possibly the longest answer I've ever seen to a rhetorical question.

[Sykodefunkus]

This is a little off topic from the mountains and nature blocking paths criticism that's going on right now, but I've played the demo and the demo with the patch and I'd have to say, and not to be mean, I didn't really see any serious significance between the two.  Graham still walked a few steps and glided the rest even after installing the patch, plus there is a lot of significant slow down in some areas and none in others... not sure if it's just my computer or if it's something going on in that area that's causing the game to bog down. One area in specific is the main entry to the castle... where the two staircases come down into the main hall.

Another thing I've noticed and haven't seen anyone comment on, which makes me think that maybe it's just my game, is that during conversations it seems the other chars begin their dialog seconds before the person speaking initially even gets done talking.

Otherwise demo is great guys can't wait to play the full game 

[ßytes]

Another thing I've noticed and haven't seen anyone comment on, which makes me think that maybe it's just my game, is that during conversations it seems the other chars begin their dialog seconds before the person speaking initially even gets done talking.

I've noticed this as well.  I've also noticed that when talking to the guard dog at the very beginning of the game,  he doesn't have a voice.

Overall i enjoyed the demo. 

[markornikov]

It looks like Graham won't be going to that beach any time soon. He's lucky that tree didn't fall on him.

That's the message I meant. It sounds like Graham couldn't reach the beach even if he desperately wanted to get there, just because of the fallen tree.

this message is also displayed when you use the "eye" icon on the tree when it's still standing 

[Yonkey]

Hello Linus (and everyone)!

I apologize for not seeing this thread sooner.

Here's some suggestions and criticism:
- I'd prefer if the cursor cycle order was walk- look - interact - talk like in all Sierra Point'n'Click games with four different action cursors. The switching of the walk and look cursors just irritated me.

Already fixed in Patch v.1.0.1.

- It would be nice if there was a run mode (activated by double-clicking or SHIFT-clicking a spot with the walk cursor).

I would prefer double-clicking, as it's more common with current games.  This was actually suggested to me by Allert a year or so ago, so it's definitely planned.  Please be sure to report this as a feature.  It may be added with RC2.

- Topic selection font is too small IMO. It is part of the interface, after all, so I think there should be large clickable buttons or something similar.
- The subtitle font could be a bit larger as well.

Already discussed here

- Graham and Hassan don't face each other even once while talking to each other. At first I thought that intentional to show some kind of disregard on side of Hassan, but after a few dialog lines it just becomes awkward.

I believe this was fixed in Patch v.1.0.1, but there is a bug remaining where Graham cowers in fear (I think it's been reported already).

- When examining the door to King Calliphim and Queen Allaria's room in the upper castle hallway, Queen Allaria's name is mispronounced as "Alliara" in the description message.

Already reported here

- It seems a bit implausible that a fallen tree is an unbypassable obstacle for Graham. If you don't want Graham to be able to visit the beach, you should find a more logical reason (maybe he just doesn't want to there).

Well, there's the reason of him being almost electricuted.   I would say that's enough for him to not want to go there as well.

- Generic replies might be used somewhat less often. Sure, most of them are really funny for the first time, but not after the 100th time.

This is intentional to prevent people from "pixel hunting".

- Some areas slow the game down REALLY heavily (almost beyond playability), e.g. the main hall and the lower hallway left to it. I have an AMD Sempron 2600+ processor, 512 MB RAM and a Radeon 9250 graphics card and I played the game in 800 x 600 resolution.
- Very often, Graham slides rather than walks.

Fixed in Patch v.1.0.1.

- Sometimes you can watch scenes being assembled in 3D "layers" while entering them.

Already reported here

Maybe they should light it on fire .

Actually, it is supposed to be on fire/charred, but there wasn't enough time for that back in November.  I'm not sure if we'll be adding a charred texture, or if we'll just use Torque's in-game fire.  I would like to play around with the fire a bit more, since the torches and burning banner looked fun.   So, please report this as a feature and maybe I can add it into RC2. 

Another thing I've noticed and haven't seen anyone comment on, which makes me think that maybe it's just my game, is that during conversations it seems the other chars begin their dialog seconds before the person speaking initially even gets done talking.

More or less fixed in Patch v.1.0.1, but there is an ogg processing problem that Torque has which was mentioned in the readme.txt file as a Known Issue even prior to the release of RC1.

I've also noticed that when talking to the guard dog at the very beginning of the game,  he doesn't have a voice.

Already reported here.

this message is also displayed when you use the "eye" icon on the tree when it's still standing 

Please report this as an issue in the Technical Support forum.


In the future, please fill out one report per issue and post them in the Technical Support forum.