Suggestions from another game developer

I don't agree with everything you said but you made you're points and at least gave reasoning behind them.

3 main things I want improved in PoE

- More enemy variety. Double it. Have a community contest and let the community design some enemies for you and give them Shop Points to the winners.
- Ability to move and cast some skills, not all but some of them, or more of them should i say.
-Camera. More zoom and angle options.

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Spathinator wrote:

I don't agree with everything you said but you made you're points and at least gave reasoning behind them.

3 main things I want improved in PoE

- More enemy variety. Double it. Have a community contest and let the community design some enemies for you and give them Shop Points to the winners.
- Ability to move and cast some skills, not all but some of them, or more of them should i say.
-Camera. More zoom and angle options.

This. In fact, the more I play my ranger, the more I feel like the character should be able to move while firing, at the expense of accuracy for exemple. That would be a cool mechanic.

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i've recently acquired 30% movespd boots on my maurader, and i think he moves a bit too fast. i dont think adding more atk and move spd is balanced cuz you would too easily be able to run in to a pack of mobs, hit them (maybe even a couple of times), and run out before they even get a chance to hit you.

I'm only talking about an incremental increase from the default cap. Moreover I think it would be more effective for ranged classes.

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I am sorry but near the end of your post it start to get more and more as if you are telling them that everything they are doing is wrong like when you say "This is actually wrong in contextual and game design terms." and "I believe this is the wrong idea." Throughout the entire post you are also comparing this to Diablo 2 and 3. This is a game of its own. Telling them that they should change this because it was a popular feature in another game seems less than fair and takes the uniqueness out of the game.

Actually I'm not entirely comparing the game to diablo 2 and 3. I'm simply comparing the envelope theory with Path of Exile. Chris Wilson has stated that he would like the game to be extremely similar and almost a successor to the series. So to possibly implement such similar and successful game mechanics is a benefit to say the least.

The quote "This is actually wrong in contextual and game design terms." is actually based on a game development theory I learned in my 2 year game development and design course that is used around the world.

This is known as the Envelope theory. Basically it predetermines the characters feeling by the stance, world and capabilities the character is involved in. In a game such as Path of Exile, it is one where the single player is a part-protagonist part- world dweller. Meaning that the mere focus is the feeling of "linear progression" based on a bell curve.

So psychologically, the amount of hours spent on progression in combination with amount of power created relies on this bell curve. After an existing period of time if the player still feels weak, the player will have lost the sense of potential power thus, satisfaction with them self and there progression. That is why I support the alteration that players should develop not instantly become "god-like" in potential power.

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I just have one question. Have you seen the skill tree? Now about the mobs. How far exactly have you progressed? Also what's wrong with there being humanoids such as tribes and monkeys on an island?

Yes I have seen the skill tree and analyzed it thoroughly. I'm pretty impressed, even though it still is a little linear because of the only choice of stat points- to ability ratio. Looks like not enough I suppose, but I do want to play this for years to come.

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Movement speed is lowered when you wear heavy armour as it should be check in defence to see your movement speed modifier. I don't think its very realistic to sprint with plate armour on you. There is also no Amazon class as you said. That is just more Diablo 2 talk which is not this game when I last checked. Lastly about the casting animations. Lets talk about this from this point of view: a world where magic exists.

I don't mean to call you out as a hypocrite but you stated sprinting on armor wasn't realistic and a world where magic exists in the same paragraph. Technically no, I did not say sprinting, I said incremental value to the initial default cap. Moreover on ranged characters if you read my other replies. I know this game has no amazon class, but the similarities to the ranger are quite significant, if you have played D2 yourself?

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just because you made a game because right now

This is not exactly a mature comment and response I was hoping for. Actually I've worked on a total of 15 games in 7 years, I'm not saying I know everything, I'm just giving some feedback from the things I've learned and the experience I have gained over the years.

Yes I understand what you mean, I do support anything they do, and I'm grateful for a lot of things they have implemented. I'm not telling them how to do there job and such, maybe a lot of people don't really understand this from a game development and design theory point of view from the comments I've had but that's completely fine.

Thanks for the feedback!

I hope players providing the feedback could take into the following accounts:-

1. Its not easy to balance out skill animations, cast speed, attack speed, movement speed with the current Internet speed. (remember the de-sycning with the Flicker Strike?)

2. head for these 2 url http://www.pathofexile.com/about/ http://www.pathofexile.com/faq/ to learn more about this game.

3. there is a discussion forum on custom league, where things suggest for default and hardcore league is not possible. It can be made possible in custom.

4. the game is still in CBT.

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to the OP author:-
I would recommend you to play the game more.( i am assuming here that you only played through the last weekend strees test)
I have some of the similar experiences as you did back when i 1st played POE. But after i spent more time into this game, then i realiese that there are reasons on why it is "that way" or "this way".

Also a programmer here.

In my experience, speed often works like this: determine the maximum possible speed you want of any creature in the game, whether it be a player or a fast mob.

Then work backwards; if you want the player to be, at best, only 50% as fast as the quickest mob, then you calculate how fast that could be. You calculate every possible speed boost, from items, skills, gems, levels, etc.

Then using the numbers you have set for those items/skills/gems/levels, you work backwards again until you get to your unboosted level 1 character speed. And that's the speed you use, providing it doesn't cause other conflicts with hardware, internet speed, etc.

IMO, the speed is just fine in PoE, but to each their own.

I agree with OP in most points, but mostly about animation canceling.

As for making default speed greater I would like them try that during Closed beta to see how it works. Better now then open beta if they ever decide to speed up the game.

I also hope the range of opponents to become more diverse but I like that not all are some demonic creatures. Bandits in act2 together with the bandit quest fit well. Maybe they should make them fit together better. Stone monsters should be attacking bandits as well and Bears should be used as mounts by bandits similar to D2 act5 monsters.

As for last point, players being Godlike. I don't like that. Players should feel more powerful towards the end but not necessarily that much. But I agree that in PoE currently you don't, and it is mostly felt when playing spellcasters which I stopped for that reason. Spells lack effects to make you feel like a powerful spellcaster. I mean D1 had that awesome Chain lightning and Apocalypse, D2 had Frozen Orb, Fireball, Blizzard, Meteor and so on. Even Spirit and poison spells of Necromancers felt powerful and awesome. Not to mention a lack of proper teleport spell killed the Witch in PoE for me. It also killed Wizard in D3 for me that teleport had a cooldown and didn't allow you to go beyond even simple obstacles.
In response to lackluster spells in PoE non spells are also lackluster most of the time. Whirlwind strike is probably most memorable nonspell at the moment.

Havn't played the game yet but what I've been hearing about PoE gameplay is that it feels quite tacky, clunky and slow early on. Apart from everything else, the game looks extremely promising and looks far better then what Diablo 3 came out to be. But the clunky-ness that I always hear about still bothers me :x

It's understandable that as you progress through the game you start to feel stronger, but there would be no point to it if players are already de-motivated during the first hours of trying to reach that threshold.

Some people may argue that this is a 'different' game, but at the end of the day it's another important game design that has already been heavily tested in modern gaming.

Would definitely like to know that the developers are taking this in and somewhat address the problem.

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geegeebro wrote:

D)The players need to progress into Gods
The reason behind this is because players need to feel like individuals, independent and an outcast from the game world. This creates connection with the character, and emphasis on entitlement of achievements and gear/stat progression. By doing so, the player will feel threatened, yet the monsters can be overcome with skill and the power the player has. Rather then the player unable to feel any sort of real progression just because they didn't have the right gear/stats.

I agree with this suggestion and feel there should be more depth to the story and character so the player can get a connection and "care" about the progression as opposed to just the right gear/stats.

I don't think being a "God" is necessary, but I do feel the connection part is very important.

+1 OP

These are probably the most important issues with the game at the moment relating to gameplay. You got everything spot on.

The herpderp contingent is very apparent in this thread. DrWood, ExileDude, Asayus, I'm looking at you guys. Ignoring all of OP's valid and constructive comments and responding with illogical nonsense. Well played to you OP for actually responding.

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A)Delay As soon as I played the game I noticed there is some kind of delay (possibly half a second) between clicking and the movement, as well as rotation of the player when the mouse is rotated. I do not know if this is server related issues, but a lot of other players seem to be experiencing it as well. If the response time is greatly shortened it will be a tremendous improvement for the initial "feel" of the game.

Expanding on this...

In Diablo 3 they implemented a feature where you don't notice ping on your client, as long as your are ~300 ping or lower. This was game-changing to me, playing from Australia. I understand they can't make oceanic servers, so this is the next best thing they can do. GGG are a NZ based company, hopefully they'll show us some love.

I really hope GGG sees this thread and takes your comments into consideration. It is obvious you're not some 10 year old talking crap on the internet, though that is a moot point anyway since all your points are completely valid.

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Torin wrote:

I agree with OP in most points, but mostly about animation canceling.

As I progress into the game, it is true that, the faster your character, the less you experience this delay and clunkiness, but it doesn't means it's not there. And it does not feel right.

I really think that correcting that and allowing some spells/attack to be usable while running would completely change the feel of the game. And to repeat something I already said, I think having these spell being less efficient/accurate while running would be an interessting game mechanic.