Last version from itchio "MercTacticsDemo", and main screen ingame says 1.4
The "optimum cover" algorithm seems to make the allies too afraid maybe ?
I don’t know, i’ve seen them run out of a building, around a corner, and next turn, more or less the same path but in to the house again, and next turn again... During this times my mercs were going to the next house to spot and kill an enemy without line of sight on the outside.
Tooltips to show AP, i mean, not tooltips, but like you do with AP per shot/burst/auto... It’s written on the GUI, so maybe just add to kneel and stand, the AP cost in a similar way ?
About tutorial messages, i mean the hints, like friendly fire first alert, or how to pan the view etc. They are removed as soon as i click or move the camera even with the arrow keys from keyboard.
My PC is :
Linux Manjaro (Arch) 64bits Xfce
Intel Core i5 4590 (4 x 3,3 GHz)
GeForce GTX 1060 @ 6 Go
Nvidia Drivers
16 Go DIMM DDR3 PC12800
SSD Crucial 480Go
BENQ GL2460 16/9 24" 1920x1080
Ah also, some features are not in the demo version, but in the Beta version ? Can i access the beta somehow ? Reserved for a Patreon or something ? Or simply not yet ingame ?
I forgot, anyway we can control the NPC when battle involve allies too ? They often do... useless stuff, like running back and forth in/out a house, shooting at very long range almost always missing, standing in the middle of a street on my line of sight, etc. They are barelly good to keep some of the enemy’s attention...
About AI, enemy tend to throw grenade easily now, even if firing the gun could be more effective or safe.
Also, the game crashed once, i was doing nothing special, in battle, waiting for IA to end its turn, and clean crash to desktop without any visible message.
Something else, tooltips to show AP cost for Kneeling or changing direction ? A way to re-read the tooltips from tutorial messages ? A way to remove the roof from buildings even if we are not directly inside ? A way to tell how well covers cover ? A way to reserve AP to kneel or shot, etc ?
Is XP shared between the mercs, or is it really only the one doing damage ? Some sharing would be nice, maybe 50% to the merc acting, and 50% shared in a common pool for the team ?
On the campaign map, see further so we have more time to hit Pause and turn back if the level appears to be too high ?
Do mercs heal a little outside of hospital with time ? I think i saw they didn’t but not sure.
Anyway we can jump over some obstacle ? Sometime it’s just a small broken wall, it feels really weird to have to run all around while it looks like a could step on it very easily.
About retrying a mission, yes i like to be able to do so. However i don’t like "roguelite" stuff we see everywhere these days : play, die, unlock one new item, play the almost exact same but with some slight variation, die, unlock, play the almost exact same....
In Mercs Tactics it’s different, but i feel i could easily waste a game not being "really good". Healing cost a lot, mercs and items are expensive and quite rare, and money is scarce. So a few bad steps could lead to certain failure without possibility of return. I simply want to be able to be just an average/bad player, and still have fun.
i never played a full game yet so maybe it changes later.
Good about the random map, i felt the games i played before (months ago) were within the same map, but it seems it’s only "similar".
I have more time these days i will see how far i go, if i go !
Faster, i mean having 3-4 mercs and a few items to use and spare. Currently, as a noob, i find it a bit slow paced to reach that point.
The Ctrl + mouse to check the overwatch only gives a very narrow vision, like 2 tiles large, that’s all the merc sees ?
About sneaking, then what about silenced tools and guns ? I’ve seen them ingame, so why i should use them if i cannot approach unnoticed ?
Challenge level is relative to player’s taste. I like more room to try and fail, vs have too little options if i fail one i mostly need to restart. I usually prefer one long deep playthrought more than retry more. It’s your game sure, but options > no options.
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Also, how random is the campaign ? The map is always the same i think ? What about events ? Is the first merc always there to recruit for a gun ? The secord merc always there for 3500 credits ? The shops always in the same village ? The cellphone etc ?
Nice "little" game you have here, curious to see how it will grow. also, thanks for Linux support.
- I’d like a free camera as it seems it’s 3D anyway. Also, rotate with MMB maybe ?
- I’d like to (double) click to move, instead of drag the path, that’s the most annoying thing right now, for me. I often select a merc, find a spot to go, click, and... I can’t, i have to find my merc again, click and drag a path to the spot.
- I’d like to sneak/walk/run to do less or more noise and use less or more AP per move. Run could be 1/3 more distance per AP but can’t fire this turn.
- I’d like to see a cone or something to be sure what is in my field of view.
- I’d like to peak in corner, so i could fine from behind a wall, maybe more AP needed. per shot.
- I’d like to see an icon when i target an enemy showing my chance to hit as a raw number instead of a picture.
- I’d like to open/close doors at will from any 3 tiles next to the door. Unless i’ve missed something, it’s only from the one tile in front of the door, and i didn’t see the option to open/close many times while i just sit next to the door ?
- I find everything too expensive. Healing cost a lot (400) before you can really afford it. Recruiting the third merc is 3500 while i have 2000. The second one with the gun was fine, as it’s "just" a good loot to give. Shops buy very low and sell very high. So as a begineer to the game, first couple of hours feel really slow and quite laborious. IMO, the start should be faster, to ease the introduction.
What about giving the more abilities as the player brings item to the mothership ? Could be repeatable. An antenna to remove a alert level. A Radar to increase zoom level when flying up. A battery to have more energy. A paint brush to select a new color for the ship, for fun. A butterfly net to capture faster. An umbrella to increase sneak time...
Hi ! Something about thi GUI : add tooltips for everthing. IE, the big arrows with the sneak in between, bottom right, tooltip could say "lift", "sneak", "drop".
I’m not fond of voice and robot style. Could be simply "blibabjzz" noises so it’s international and way easier to fit with any text, keeping a comic aspect.
I usually find tutorial quite useless, and often over done, for many games that don’t actually need them. A simple page with some explanations would be enough. Less time consuming to work on, more time to actual gameplay.
What i’d like to see first beside accessibility options (key rebinding etc) is more precision en everything : target, flying, shadow to spot and be spotted, interaction etc. All feels a bit clunky.
Hi ! Probing Bob is fun, but following him, less fun, i think. It’s kind of reverse-escort mission, and i hate escort mission. Maybe just probe is enough, as we already have to find Bob.
Bug or i missed something : after abducting Bob and scanning him for Uranium, i wanted to drop him at my base. Now he sits there, not moving, and i cannot recharge energy anymore, and i cannot abduct Bob again to move him away. I explored away, took a dwarf, sent it to my base, get XP for it, but the Bob guy is still there, locking me from recharging.