Greetings!
I've played a good few hours and I must say, Impire is definitely not as bad as some say. I'm loving it. However, there's a few things that really should be looked at.
Firstly- I've been an avid gamer and beta tester since the very beginning of the industry so I know most of the games relevant to this one.
Secondly- I'm aware you're working on stability and multiplayer- this is merely a list of things you might want to look at after you get the important things sorted
1. Ladders. These implement an idea of randomness, requiring improvisation. They are needed to keep things interesting. however, there's been a lot of complaints about them and the system can be improved further, by adding more ladder systems in the start game menu:
--ONE ladder shows up in a random location, cannot be destroyed, gives the player a moment to prepare before releasing heroes, then despawns. 5-10 minutes later a new one spawns randomly. This is in my opinion the way to go and this is what I'd select.
--ONE ladder shows up in a random location, can be destroyed but has a lot more hitpoints than currently, gives the player a moment to prepare before releasing heroes, then despawns. 5-10 minutes later a new one spawns randomly.
--NO ladders show up. Increased power and/or frequency from the hero entrance gate. This will stop everyone else complaining about them.
--The ladder timer should be randomised with a relatively large margin. I have not timed it but it feels like a constant 5 minutes now and gets predictable. A random value between 5 and 12 minutes should do.
2. Minion control. The current system is quite restrictive, and while I do not dislike it, some things are MANDATORY to be added, to allow smooth play.
--Allow multi-select. SHIFT-click adds units to the selection. This REALLY needs to be added, specifically on the minion screen.
--Allow right-click menu on minion screen. The different states appear all the way on the right side, while the minions you'd be selecting are all the way on the left. A right-click on the unit icon will be a lot easier.
--Allow right-click menu to affect multiple-selected minions. Mandatory. This'll solve my biggest problem. Go to minion screen, shift-select a few single minions from the left, right-click, and send them all for food or training.
--Add keyboard shortcuts for the different minion states, such as go to eat, go train, follow, guard, patrol, and so on. Further streamlines control. Open minion menu, shift-click the needed units, hit the right key, and BAM! All your loose minions go for a snack. No fuss.
3. Minion management. The current system, where one drags the single minion icon to the group slots, works but is very cumbersome in the heat of battle. It should be possible to implement a system where you can assign a selected unit to one of the groups, using CTRL-1 to CTRL-5. When the group is full, a brief negative sound or vocal is played. (No message popup "Group is full!" please, we'd be seeing that a LOT)
4. Construction is limited due to the pre-made rooms. This definitely adds to the look of the dungeon, but does not allow the creative design as, say, dungeon keeper. So I STRONGLY suggest the ability to destroy rooms and corridors (refill the earth) to allow moving things around. Destroying rooms will COST materials, it does not refund you anything. Rooms that were already present at the start of the level cannot be destroyed.
Another suggestion, but much less important, would be a rework of the agression system. right now, when idling, a minion regenerates to 50%. Patrolling minions simply drain to 0 and require human intervention. While it'll require some additional programming, may I suggest forgetting about the regen, and implement minions returning to have a bite to eat when they reach 0%? This'll make the kitchens a lot less idle. Perhaps when a minion returns for food automatically, it'll only recharge to 80%, so only minions sent to eat manually get the 100% agression bonus. One thing that needs to be considered though is minions currently being controlled by the player suddenly breaking off and returning for food. that is undesirable of course. Perhaps a proximity trigger? Just a thought.
I hope this is of some help! (and gets read by the right people )
I've played a good few hours and I must say, Impire is definitely not as bad as some say. I'm loving it. However, there's a few things that really should be looked at.
Firstly- I've been an avid gamer and beta tester since the very beginning of the industry so I know most of the games relevant to this one.
Secondly- I'm aware you're working on stability and multiplayer- this is merely a list of things you might want to look at after you get the important things sorted
1. Ladders. These implement an idea of randomness, requiring improvisation. They are needed to keep things interesting. however, there's been a lot of complaints about them and the system can be improved further, by adding more ladder systems in the start game menu:
--ONE ladder shows up in a random location, cannot be destroyed, gives the player a moment to prepare before releasing heroes, then despawns. 5-10 minutes later a new one spawns randomly. This is in my opinion the way to go and this is what I'd select.
--ONE ladder shows up in a random location, can be destroyed but has a lot more hitpoints than currently, gives the player a moment to prepare before releasing heroes, then despawns. 5-10 minutes later a new one spawns randomly.
--NO ladders show up. Increased power and/or frequency from the hero entrance gate. This will stop everyone else complaining about them.
--The ladder timer should be randomised with a relatively large margin. I have not timed it but it feels like a constant 5 minutes now and gets predictable. A random value between 5 and 12 minutes should do.
2. Minion control. The current system is quite restrictive, and while I do not dislike it, some things are MANDATORY to be added, to allow smooth play.
--Allow multi-select. SHIFT-click adds units to the selection. This REALLY needs to be added, specifically on the minion screen.
--Allow right-click menu on minion screen. The different states appear all the way on the right side, while the minions you'd be selecting are all the way on the left. A right-click on the unit icon will be a lot easier.
--Allow right-click menu to affect multiple-selected minions. Mandatory. This'll solve my biggest problem. Go to minion screen, shift-select a few single minions from the left, right-click, and send them all for food or training.
--Add keyboard shortcuts for the different minion states, such as go to eat, go train, follow, guard, patrol, and so on. Further streamlines control. Open minion menu, shift-click the needed units, hit the right key, and BAM! All your loose minions go for a snack. No fuss.
3. Minion management. The current system, where one drags the single minion icon to the group slots, works but is very cumbersome in the heat of battle. It should be possible to implement a system where you can assign a selected unit to one of the groups, using CTRL-1 to CTRL-5. When the group is full, a brief negative sound or vocal is played. (No message popup "Group is full!" please, we'd be seeing that a LOT)
4. Construction is limited due to the pre-made rooms. This definitely adds to the look of the dungeon, but does not allow the creative design as, say, dungeon keeper. So I STRONGLY suggest the ability to destroy rooms and corridors (refill the earth) to allow moving things around. Destroying rooms will COST materials, it does not refund you anything. Rooms that were already present at the start of the level cannot be destroyed.
Another suggestion, but much less important, would be a rework of the agression system. right now, when idling, a minion regenerates to 50%. Patrolling minions simply drain to 0 and require human intervention. While it'll require some additional programming, may I suggest forgetting about the regen, and implement minions returning to have a bite to eat when they reach 0%? This'll make the kitchens a lot less idle. Perhaps when a minion returns for food automatically, it'll only recharge to 80%, so only minions sent to eat manually get the 100% agression bonus. One thing that needs to be considered though is minions currently being controlled by the player suddenly breaking off and returning for food. that is undesirable of course. Perhaps a proximity trigger? Just a thought.
I hope this is of some help! (and gets read by the right people
)
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