Here's a list of some issues I found jarring. I tried writing about everything that bothered me even in the slightest, to give feedback from a new players perspective. Just got outside Serpent's Bastion but wanted to post my notes so far:
- I'm not a fan of info dumps immediately when you start the game. It's fine for the demo, but in the full game I hope you can discover the things said in the beginning message through gameplay somehow, more fun that way too.
- I wish the text box was more near the skill you hover over in the character creation screen, you have to clance from one side of the screen to the next constantly. Why not just next to the mouse cursor?
- There is a tip in the loading screen that changes immediately to another tip before you can read the first one, there should only be one tip per loading screen so you have enough time to read.
- ESC should bring up the system menu on the center of the screen when there's no other menus, I dont like that the system button is on the inventory screen, kinda immersion breaking imo.
- ESC in general should close any menus you have open (and TAB maybe), and if there's no menus, pause the game and bring up the system menu on the center of the screen, and close the system menu also.
- Why is there an expensive looking cup on the shrine that's not stolen? It feels silly to have it there.
- You can't press ESC to close the shrine menu, or press tab, you have my click the close button with mouse. The game could ask for confirmation if you try to exit with changes to attribute/skillpoints.
- Again, I wish the item description box was next to the equipment screen or just next to the mouse when you hover over an item so I don't have to glance so far away from the item.
- When you have an item picked up from inventory on your mouse and you close the menu, the item drops on the ground. It should return to the spot where you clicked it.
- I wish I could just drag-and-drop the items on the inventory screen without letting go of the mouse button to pick them up.
- When you jump without holding anything, your hand awkwardly flashes on the screen.
- When you kick, your leg always doesn't go where you're quite aiming (looking up or down while kicking has some issues).
- You can kick down doors and other wooden stuff, therefore saving on your weapon durability, which means you should always just use kick. Is it intended, or maybe the kick should do slight damage to yourself if you start kicking down doors and stuff too much? Maybe the kick could damage only some weak doors, but weapons could damage a bit harder doors?
- You have to put an item to the correct slot on your equipment screen, it would be a nice quality of life feature to just be able to click your characters paper doll and the item goes to the correct slot automatically.
- I wish you could hold the R button to just put away all weapons you're holding (and hold R to bring them out again), like when I have a torch selected then you could put it away easily and bring it out again without switching weapons. Or when I am in a safe area I like to put away my weapons, then you could do that without having to change loadouts constantly and/or moving stuff to inventory.
- The loading bar at the bottom (like when switching loadouts) would be nicer if it was more modern. I'm thinking something like Dark & Darker for example where it circles your aiming reticle. Or something what dungeonborne does, idk.
- When you loot a torch, I'd rather have it go into my inventory instead of being held automatically if my offhand is empty.
- When you hover over quick items, the item description isn't shown.
- You can't grab the ledge of those small barred openings (windows) in the beginning.
- When reading notes there should be a page number and an arrow only to the direction the note can go.
- The red highlight kinda hurts my eyes in the dialogue screen, also the topics you can click for more dialogue should be more near the actual dialogue box (have to glance constantly right and left). In general I'd like the dialogue to be more centered on the screen, in NWN1 for example I hated that the dialogue box was this small screen in the corner, Baldur's Gate did it better.
- The NPCs sound way too cheery for the situation they're in. They should sound more surly. They also have that Oblivion thousand yard stare.
- Sprinting changes your FOV, there should be an option to disable it.
- When you drink water from the fountain a status effect box appears on the top left corner, what does it mean? Or when you get slowed by the enemies by their scream in the sewers, I wish you could read a description of the status effect somewhere. Maybe there could be a small text next to the icon that says something like "slowed" or "HP regeneration".
- When you sit on a chair or bench, just attempting to move your character should remove you from the sitting position.
- I don't like the way your character holds the bow, I think just a normal position would be better. You should also be able to cancel a drawn arrow by pressing block for example so you won't waste the arrow if you want to cancel the shot.
- The trader doesn't react when you unlock his store room, or go into it. Are there zones in the game where you're trespassing? Or he just doesn't care?
- In the trading screen your quick items can be seen behind your inventory slots.
- What does the sparkling light you drop on death mean, that you can pick up after reviving? XP?
- Stealing feels janky, if I take a coin pouch Trystan gets mad and won't talk to me but that's it, everyone else is just friendly to me as always. He yells for guards but no one comes for help. Maybe add an option of being able to give back what you took to the npc so he might forgive you, and then get attacked if you actually are gonna steal something and get caught.
- The trading window looks a bit messy. All these separate floating boxes, the trade screen should look more unified somehow. Six boxes for coin amounts, looks really confusing at first. Is there a way to get rid of at least two of the coin amount boxes, maybe the trader could balance the sum automatically in the total value box when you add or remove stuff, but then after that you could just alter the sum for consideration?
- When you can peek through a keyhole, the aiming reticle should turn into an eye or something for a better hint.
- I got one of the fishmen stuck trying to run through the plank that you have to duck under a bit earlier before encountering the fishmen. Enemies should break simple wooden obstructions that the player can also break if they try to get to you. It should slow them down of course.
- When you loot a body I think a "corpse" would be a better term, not a "container"
- Please please please add a "sort inventory" button.
- I can already tell you that the guard code is gonna annoy some people, even I was wondering if I'm trying to insert the code in the right place since the note clearly showed numbers, but then you gotta count symbols all of a sudden. Yes yes git gud and all that.
- Why is there a wheel to open the portcullis outside Serpent's Bastion, that's a bit silly. You could just add a note inside that says the portcullis is broken or something and doesn't close fully, so you could duck underneath it and even operate it inside, it just won't go fully down.
- You should get a list of patch notes if you click on the patch number on the bottom of the screen of the main menu.
- I wish the text box was more near the skill you hover over in the character creation screen, you have to clance from one side of the screen to the next constantly. Why not just next to the mouse cursor?
- There is a tip in the loading screen that changes immediately to another tip before you can read the first one, there should only be one tip per loading screen so you have enough time to read.
- ESC should bring up the system menu on the center of the screen when there's no other menus, I dont like that the system button is on the inventory screen, kinda immersion breaking imo.
- ESC in general should close any menus you have open (and TAB maybe), and if there's no menus, pause the game and bring up the system menu on the center of the screen, and close the system menu also.
- Why is there an expensive looking cup on the shrine that's not stolen? It feels silly to have it there.
- You can't press ESC to close the shrine menu, or press tab, you have my click the close button with mouse. The game could ask for confirmation if you try to exit with changes to attribute/skillpoints.
- Again, I wish the item description box was next to the equipment screen or just next to the mouse when you hover over an item so I don't have to glance so far away from the item.
- When you have an item picked up from inventory on your mouse and you close the menu, the item drops on the ground. It should return to the spot where you clicked it.
- I wish I could just drag-and-drop the items on the inventory screen without letting go of the mouse button to pick them up.
- When you jump without holding anything, your hand awkwardly flashes on the screen.
- When you kick, your leg always doesn't go where you're quite aiming (looking up or down while kicking has some issues).
- You can kick down doors and other wooden stuff, therefore saving on your weapon durability, which means you should always just use kick. Is it intended, or maybe the kick should do slight damage to yourself if you start kicking down doors and stuff too much? Maybe the kick could damage only some weak doors, but weapons could damage a bit harder doors?
- You have to put an item to the correct slot on your equipment screen, it would be a nice quality of life feature to just be able to click your characters paper doll and the item goes to the correct slot automatically.
- I wish you could hold the R button to just put away all weapons you're holding (and hold R to bring them out again), like when I have a torch selected then you could put it away easily and bring it out again without switching weapons. Or when I am in a safe area I like to put away my weapons, then you could do that without having to change loadouts constantly and/or moving stuff to inventory.
- The loading bar at the bottom (like when switching loadouts) would be nicer if it was more modern. I'm thinking something like Dark & Darker for example where it circles your aiming reticle. Or something what dungeonborne does, idk.
- When you loot a torch, I'd rather have it go into my inventory instead of being held automatically if my offhand is empty.
- When you hover over quick items, the item description isn't shown.
- You can't grab the ledge of those small barred openings (windows) in the beginning.
- When reading notes there should be a page number and an arrow only to the direction the note can go.
- The red highlight kinda hurts my eyes in the dialogue screen, also the topics you can click for more dialogue should be more near the actual dialogue box (have to glance constantly right and left). In general I'd like the dialogue to be more centered on the screen, in NWN1 for example I hated that the dialogue box was this small screen in the corner, Baldur's Gate did it better.
- The NPCs sound way too cheery for the situation they're in. They should sound more surly. They also have that Oblivion thousand yard stare.
- Sprinting changes your FOV, there should be an option to disable it.
- When you drink water from the fountain a status effect box appears on the top left corner, what does it mean? Or when you get slowed by the enemies by their scream in the sewers, I wish you could read a description of the status effect somewhere. Maybe there could be a small text next to the icon that says something like "slowed" or "HP regeneration".
- When you sit on a chair or bench, just attempting to move your character should remove you from the sitting position.
- I don't like the way your character holds the bow, I think just a normal position would be better. You should also be able to cancel a drawn arrow by pressing block for example so you won't waste the arrow if you want to cancel the shot.
- The trader doesn't react when you unlock his store room, or go into it. Are there zones in the game where you're trespassing? Or he just doesn't care?
- In the trading screen your quick items can be seen behind your inventory slots.
- What does the sparkling light you drop on death mean, that you can pick up after reviving? XP?
- Stealing feels janky, if I take a coin pouch Trystan gets mad and won't talk to me but that's it, everyone else is just friendly to me as always. He yells for guards but no one comes for help. Maybe add an option of being able to give back what you took to the npc so he might forgive you, and then get attacked if you actually are gonna steal something and get caught.
- The trading window looks a bit messy. All these separate floating boxes, the trade screen should look more unified somehow. Six boxes for coin amounts, looks really confusing at first. Is there a way to get rid of at least two of the coin amount boxes, maybe the trader could balance the sum automatically in the total value box when you add or remove stuff, but then after that you could just alter the sum for consideration?
- When you can peek through a keyhole, the aiming reticle should turn into an eye or something for a better hint.
- I got one of the fishmen stuck trying to run through the plank that you have to duck under a bit earlier before encountering the fishmen. Enemies should break simple wooden obstructions that the player can also break if they try to get to you. It should slow them down of course.
- When you loot a body I think a "corpse" would be a better term, not a "container"
- Please please please add a "sort inventory" button.
- I can already tell you that the guard code is gonna annoy some people, even I was wondering if I'm trying to insert the code in the right place since the note clearly showed numbers, but then you gotta count symbols all of a sudden. Yes yes git gud and all that.
- Why is there a wheel to open the portcullis outside Serpent's Bastion, that's a bit silly. You could just add a note inside that says the portcullis is broken or something and doesn't close fully, so you could duck underneath it and even operate it inside, it just won't go fully down.
- You should get a list of patch notes if you click on the patch number on the bottom of the screen of the main menu.
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? It just breaks the suspension of disbelief, the player should at least be able to ask in dialogue how the hell it can talk. Are talking rodents/animals a thing in this universe?
