Just put two playthroughs in after not playing since April, some late night thoughts in no particular order.
With the current tuning, I feel like I am kicking a bit too much ass with a relatively simple 4 4 6 8 10 8 mastermind build. I've got rifle, biotech, and all social skills tagged on my main duder; blades, evasion, electronics, and computers on Faythe; Shotgun, Critical, and Lockpicking on Jed; and Evans being muscle with pistols/critical/evasion (I gave Educated to everyone at the first availability, of course.) By the end of Factory I've got all the aforementioned non-combat skills at 5 and the combat skills at 4-5, and it feels like I was able to explore every little nook and cranny and beat every battle that didn't have an option of talking my way out of (though some optional fight did require resource expenditure or preparations, many were trivialized by a single Stasis grenade.) Not a problem for the early game, but hopefully there will be more demanding specialist content in the middle/late portions of the game.
It is a little silly that the Black Hand just throws you in jail with all of your equipment. I don't think they would take your entire kit due to the siege conditions, but surely they would at least take your guns. Perhaps you keep all of your melee weapons by default, but can pass a Steal or Stealth check to conceal the rest?
REALLY enjoying how vertical the exploration is in the new locations. Got Fallout 1 Glow vibes in Mission Control, and with (planned?) proper implementation of fog of war that would only intensify.
Since I'm guessing what we've got now is more or less the entirety of the first chapter of the game, I am mentally trying to compare this to AOD's pre-Maaaaaaadoran stretch. I think Teron is vastly better narratively realized than the Pit, the latter feeling far more static due to scarcity of encounters and its linear layout. On the other hand, the Pit is absolutely packed with content, and the side locations blow anything pre-Hellgate out of the water. So it seems like the focus has been deliberately placed away from the "hubs" in favor of the "dungeons." Here's hoping the changes to the Pit in chapter 2 and the habitat will make the game a bit more lively in the hub department, though.
I feel like some colored lighting could help locations like the Armory and Mission control to feel more distinct. I am not expecting the in-game locations to look as vibrant as the gorgeous concept art, but tweaking the saturation for each area could go a long way, I think. The Armory is very flat and gray when it could be red (or green, as the concept art suggests) with emergency lights. The first stage of Mission Control appears to have a tasteful blue/purplish filter as suggested by the concept art, which then degenerates into samey gloominess. I think Hydroponics and Factory could use being a little more saturated. It is a shame because the game has some really gorgeous architecture, textures, and models, which are let down by a lack of personality IMO. Everyone's mileage will vary, but to my eye the game looks slightly white-washed I recommend dropping gamma to 0.9 and raising brightness to 1.5- seems to have improved contrast and vibrancy (and eyestrain, too, but who gives a fucc lmao) without sacrificing visibility.
