First of all thank you for Underrail, the game is awesome, I have finished storyline in 100 hrs (not counting all time I spent on save/load) and I'm very satisfied, but still there are some things which can make it even better.
Character model and portrait. From the very beginning there is a problem with character portrait. Not the problem with the portrait itself, they all look great, but character model portrait does not fit to player portrait. I was playing as black male, but my character model had white pale skin, it's not cool, but I understand that it's hard to render all ingame models with different weapons and all armor types, but maybe there is a way just to change skin tone on default player model?
Inventory needs one small tweak: just change the placement of all items icon and non plot items icon. It's ok when there are only 8-10 keys in the bag, but it's awful when it's 20+ of them, they took half of slots and you cant throw them away because you dont know if they will be useful in future.
Or you can simply add key ring like in Jagged Alliance 2 where all keys can be stored:
Because as for now they took to much space, single slot for single key in main inventory window is too much. Yes, we have only plot items window in inventory even now, but still all those keys are shown in first inventory window and took half of space.
Lost Vault. Can you please expand Lost Vault territory? For now there is nothing interesting there, only few boxes with random loot. Even a single computer terminal with information concerning vault's past will make this location more interesting.
The Arena. Arena is hardcore, Arena dominates, but maybe there is a way to add some more hard fights after player becomes Invictus? And Arena need some design improvements, it looks a bit to simple if you ask me (maybe you should make it darker with flaming barrels as a light source, add some more blood and explosion tracks etc.)
Oculus. I was so impressed when I saw Oculus base at the very first time: amazing design, amazing idea but in fact we have only one simple quest from this interesting faction, why so? Please, I beg you, add some more quests for Oculus! Maybe it is possible tol add Constantine's quest line?
Trader Constantine tells us about lunatics and how he hates them for trying to climb Oculus from it's basis:
He also tells us about horrible creatures living under Oculus building. There is an elevator right next to Oculus leading somewhere with "no power" description and misterious power box in Hanging Rat bar (it currently disables lights in the bar):
Why there is no way to power elevator and go down to Oculus basis to deal with the Lunatics and other creatures? When I heard Constantine talking about them I was 100% sure that he will give me this quest and a bit later I was really disappointed that there is no such quest in the game.
In game description of all environment elements. One more important thing. I know that Underrail is not new Fallout, but there were many cool things and ideas in old Fallout games that can find good use in Underrail. For example
in game description of all environment elements:
It seems like something slight and unimportant, but this minor feature allows player to feel the game and it's world much better! The same effect gives all old world items and structures (like unique weapons in Underrail). This location from Fallout 2 on screenshot is useless from a point of game walkthrough, but combined with description of all location contents it's great as element of in game lore, some NPC's can tell us a story concerning it and it helps player to belive in Fallout world, and make it look and feel like real.
Fast travel. Please, add fast travel option in Core city, Junkyard, SGS and Foundry. It's fun to explore area for the first time, but when you came there for 10th, 20th, 30th time it's not fun anymore! For example: Foundry quest to kill the Beast - player has to run all over Foundry to metro, than to SGS, than back to Foundry and again run through all the locations and back to metro and SGS. it is so BORING! A simple fast travel window when you arrive at location would help much, like the one in Fallout or Fallout 2:
The same story with Core city mansion for example. If player wants to visit it to store some items he must take elevator to residential area, run two locations, enter mansion and than back the same way. It takes too much time! It would be grate if you will add fast travel menu like it was in Fallout with atmospheric location related art as background.
More Crossbow enhancements. What do we have now? Only 3 enhancements: super string, scope and pneumatic reloader, two of them are sugnificantly better than the last one, reloader is good only with adrenaline shot because of 3 shots per turn. Anyway 3 upgrades = not much choice (I'm not counting that there are 3 types of scopes) and crossbow user usually have only crossbow as offense skill, so there is no way to use something else like guns characters, who can use pistols/SMG's/assault or sniper rifles, all with the same skill.
Please, add one more crossbow customization slot and few more enhancements for it. For example, attachable
crossbow quiver, all modern crossbows has it:
If a quiver is attached - it grants extra utility slot for special bolts for example (like a belt). Also you can add
pulley system, most part of modern crossbows has it too:
If attached pulley system grants you 10% critical chance (or something else). The same with
smart module, why it's impossible to install it on crossbow if it works fine on firearms?
Game also needs a close quarters scope like collimator sight/RDS for crossbows and assault rifles/SMG's which grants +20% to close quarters precision and +10% to move and shoot precision for example (mostly like rifle barrel retractor for sniper rifle).
Firearms weight. It seems like current firearms weight is wrong. Characters with light caliber weapons must have a bit more carry weight advantage over those, who use weapons with high caliber bullets (because they need to carry more bullets to kill the same target). As for now, for example, a 12,7 sniper rifle weights 4,25 pounds (like real SMG) instead of 25+ like Sledgehammer. And one more moment, weight of weapon with full magazine somehow is equal to weapon with empty magazine. As example - the same 12,7 sniper rifle with fully loaded magazine weights 4,25 pounds like empty one, instead of 4,25 + 0,36 (6 bullet magazine, each bullet weight is 0,06 pounds).
Alternative way to open locks. For now it's necessary to have either lockpicking or hacking skills or even both of them if player dont want to miss huge pile of items during game walkthrough, because there is no other way to open closed containers without those skills. Maybe there is a way to add some alternative ways to open closed doors and boxes? With firearms, for example: player will have to shot some bullets to open the lock with a risk of damaging lock permanently and with ton of noise. The same way with meele weapons, the higher strength character have - the higher chance to open the lock, of course with a chance to damage it permanently and some penalty to weapon durability + alternate way to use crowbar. Chemistry oriented players could use acid or small doses of explosives for the same purposes.
Come on, it should be another way to open those closed doors and footlockers, at least most part of them. Stealth character with high lockpicking skill still will have advantage over the others, because he will be able to open locks without noise and risk of damaging it, skill still be valuable. Perfect example - JA2, where you can shot the lock, you can use crowbar, you can use explosives, you can use brutal force or mechanic skills and lockpicks.
Upgrade low level monsters in northern locations. What am I trying to say is that all same monsters in Underrail are equal. For example: azuridae who lives near SGS has 110 HP, azuridae who lives near Rail Crossing has 110 HP, azuridae in Deep Caverns also have 110 HP. They all have the same damage, same HP, same abilities, but killing azuridae with level 1-5 character is not the same as killing it with 20+ level character. And as a result we have hard and interesting start of the game, when you need to use your brain to win the battle. After a while player becomes more skilled, grows in levels, gets more powerful weapons, but all monsters remains the same and the battle against those weak monsters (compared to more experienced player) becomes boring faceroll process.
Maybe you need to make enemies more powerful depending on place where they live? The more player goes to north - the more powerful monsters he should encounter. For example: azuridae near SGS can have default 110 HP, those ones who lives near Rail Crossing can have 200 HP and more PSI abilities, the ones who lives in vicinity of Core city can have 250 HP, and those who lives in DC can have maximum 300+ HP and even more PSI abilities. Of course high HP monster with additional abilities should drop better components. This way it will be interesting to fight same types of monsters on different levels and in different locations, not like now, when 10+ level character encounter two azuridaes and thinks "argh, another boring fight in Underrail, hate those useless time wasting weaklings, die fast and let me go futher". Fights should be interesting throughout all game, not during the first 5-10 levels like now.
The same thing with Rathounds, Alpha's, Siphoners, Pigs, Warthogs, etc. At a certain stage they start to die even if a player looks in their direction and it's not fun
Junkyard. Please increase interaction area of secret cave passage in Junkyard docks region, current one is too narrow, it s hard to notice it. And add a note on Tab that there is a passage there after Kohlmeier will tell us his story and will ask to bring him back his knife. I personally had a problem with this quest, because I knew that the passage was somewhere in docks region, but due to small interaction area of passage itself and none special note on Tab I had to go on Youtube to see where the passage exatly is.
Foundry. In Foundry citizens are complaining about bad air in the city, they cough often and informes player how hard is to live there. But that doesn't affect us! It will be great to add some perception or health debuff to player character while he stays in Foundry, so we will have to use gas mask to get rid of it. Or even add a questline so the player can help Foundry with air polution problem by finding ventilation system components or filters in some old biocorp facility/base.
And one more moment about Foundry: upgrade one of it's maps by adding a ladder to the eastern part, because now it takes to much time to get to other side of the location and during kill the beast quest we have to run across this locations for 4+ times.
CAU. We need more hardcore quests with CAU! You can add investigation line concerning Tchort institute underground laboratory, because it's hard to find it without any of the quests. I personaly learned information about it accidentaly when I discovered hidden ventilation shaft and later from the quest "Track down Rassophore Nevil", but what if player plays for Investigation? Without this ventilation shaft it's impossible to enter laboratory without starting a war with the institute. A stealth misson for CAU would be great and a player can get some more information about why Thortists are bad and why we must kill all of them. As a bonus it will explain why Protectorate invaded the institute after Faceless left it.
And if is possible - please make Fraser give us CAU armor right after we completed last Protectorate quest, because not all players will return to him in due time. I left Fort Apogee right after I comleted the quest and returned there after Deep Caverns and only because I got information from wiki about obtaining CAU armor...
Stealth system and silencer on weapon. Silencers are useless! Because of too low damage of silenced weapons around 10-20 and also there is no need to use them at all. I was playing as a sniper with 12,7 mm sniper rifle, and I think all the bandits I killed had serious problems with ears, because they did not heard my shots from 30 meters, shots from half an inch elephant gun! And I cant see a way to use a 5mm weapon with silencer, or a crossbow. Improve enemy's ears, whole location must run to my position after I made a single shot from 12,7 mm rifle, and half of location if i used non silenced weapon with smaller caliber. Now all bandits and others dont pay any attention to my shots if I killed somebody outside their visibility radius.
Stealth system and dead bodies. NPC dont react on dead bodies, there is absolutely no reaction. So the patrolling units can even walk around their dead mates bodies as if nothing happened, no alarm, nobody looks for a person who killed his friend. Thats why current stealth system is broken and playing stealth character is like playing with cheats.
Persuasion are Intimidation. They are not equal, there are much more Persuasion options in dialogs. I personally spent 70 points in Intimidation because of my play style, but they became the most useless points i spent. Also there are no special items which can increase persuasion like intimidation (+5 from balaclava, +5 from belt +20 from robe).
Core city mansion. I have spent a ton of money on it, installed all the guard systems, bought all crafting tables, all furniture and what do I have? Semi useless place to store my items, but with the same result I can store all of them in the barrels near merchants for free. Crafting bonuses from the basement are semi useless too, because it's really hard to get something with the quality above 100 from local merchants and all high end stuff lies in Deep Caverns, obviously you won't be able to use your mansion bonuses there. We need some quests related to our mansion, how about some gang from drop zone will rob it? If player installed guarding system - some bandits will die during the robbery (and a player will be able to find their dead bodies and it will speed up the investigation), if there were no guard system - the player will have to fight with all gangsters after he will make investigation and will find out who robbed the mansion. Even hobo near mansion will be useful, if the player was kind to him he will told you what he have seen without persuasion or intimidation check. Well, something like that, it will be more fun anyway than a way mansion exists now (only a way for a player to spend money).
Deep Caverns. There are many threads concerning them, my personal opinion is that DC are really boring! The locations are awesome, but it's not much fun exploring them. Tchortists are sitting in one corner, Faceless in other and there is no action between them, all we have is one and a half quest for whole area. Maybe it is possible to add some quests to the area? Destroy faceless camp/destroy Tchortists camp or something else, because all we have for now is boring process of finding spare parts for the gate and it is not fun if you ask me. Add some more lore related information concerning Tchort, cube, etc.
One more moment here -
Faceless reward for the player if he was cooperating with them all the time - it is
stu useless. 3 x boxes of ammo, total 300/150 bullets depending on caliber, OH MY GOD, such a treasure! The problem is that there are thousands of different bullets in warehouse B section right next to the Faceless camp for free! Please, do something with this reward. Faceless should give a player a high end weapon or high quality components to craft the weapon and player should be able to choose what he wants: sniper, assault, pistol, SMG or energy weapon frame, because it's so damn hard to get decent frame for main hand weapon and new Faceless reward could be a way to get high grade item without depending on random.
About
Oneshort Tchort... Why must I kill him? Yes, he is disgusting, Tchortists stole the cube from Coretech for Tchort, but what do we know? Faceless needs that cube for whatever they need it, they dont say why it is so important, some energy source and nothing else and they kill innocent people for it, we also dont know why Tchort need it, he is sitting in his cave, he doesnt break into upper Underrail, Tchortists took the cube occasionally, they did not stole it directly from Faceless, but Faceless killed all of them in the institute. We know almost nothing about him and still we MUST kill him and there is no other choice.
Another issue is that Tchort himself is really weak: I killed him with two shots from my sniper rifle (73-210 damage, ~116 quality Corsair frame) and even
without smart module installed on it. With smart module it would be guaranteed oneshot in 100 of 100 cases. Why he is so weak? I entered Tchort lair just to see how fast he will kill me and to test my DPS, I did not solved mutagen puzzle, did not used special grenades, there were no allies on my side, and when I made my first shot and it took 80% of Tchort health... well, I was in confusion, 2-nd shot killed him. What am I trying to say is that giant 100x100 meters boss, who acts like a god of Deep Caverns and who is a god for the institute of Tchort dies from a pair of bullets (and from the single one if you have a smart module on rifle)! It was much harder to obtain Mycokardia in Mushroom Forest for the first time, I even died twice before realised a way to get it without problems. It's not fun when game boss dies from a single bullet, add Tchort some shields or something else, he shouldn't die from 1 bullet.
Also I wanted to blame ruthless random concerning crafting components offered by merchants.
A 17 quality sniper rifle frame in SGS armory, while my character was level 25 Invictus is not funny, but it's the last thing need to be fixed in Underrail, in fact game is more hardcore if it is hard to get high end components.
I hope at least some of my thoughts were useful
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