Hi, thank you. I'm glad you like the game so far. But also thanks for your feedback and criticism.
Regarding the graphics, well, yes, it is a low budget production. There's probably not much I can do there - except to replace them with a totally new, up to date and professionally done set of graphics. But since this is a large quantity of graphics (about 3,000 objects and 2,000 different ground tiles, and more than 70 sets of NPCs and equipment (each consisting of 64 animation phases), plus inventory, paperdoll, user interface and so on), that'd cost an awful lot of money, much more than I could likely recoup via full version sales, i.e., it'd probably increase my losses by a significant amount.
Flaws: What you describe may have been intended that way. Since this is meant to be a historical, realistic RPG (not Fantasy), killing people does have consequences. (Though there should still be a fair amount of combat, against robbers, or in duels with henchmen etc, or later (in the full version), against Ottokar and his henchmen, and some Roman squads.)
Full Version price: That has come down a bit: It's now $17.50 (plus $2 shipping, = total $19.50) (you're probably playing an old Demo Version, with the old pricing info).
That still isn't cheap; but that's partly due to the exchange rate: In Euro, the price is EUR 14.95 + 1.60 = total EUR 16.55. Over the past couple of years, one dollar always used to buy about EUR 1.00 to EUR 1.10 - i.e., under normal circumstances, the total price in dollars would be less than $15. But over the last one or two years, the dollar has lost more than 30% of its value against the Euro - therefore the current $ price is 25% higher than it would usually be.
Finding the right price is quite a balancing act anyway. You see, the problem is, pretty few people are willing to pay money for shareware games, regardless of whether they cost $9.95, or $24.95. In the experience of most authors, the number of people buying full versions does not go up when prices are lower: It seems as if those few people who are willing to pay are willing to do so even if the price is comparativly high, while most of those who won't pay won't do so even if the price is drastically lower (which is their good right, of course). Since developing a game does cost a lot of time and money, and since, regardless of the price, comparatively few people will buy a full version, I've got to ask a comparatively high price - not in order to make huge profits, but simply to recoup at least part of my development costs. (And while I can understand everyone who's unwilling to pay $17.50 plus $2 shipping for the Full Version CD, I am sincerely grateful to all who are willing...)
