So after about five hours of playing the purchased alpha, I've jotted down a list of suggestions I'd like to pitch.
- Line of sight system: Currently, both the player and all NPCs can see in a 360 degree radius around themselves. I don't know if this is planned to be changed, but it really throws me off when I'm trying to sneak, since my first instinct is to get behind whatever it is I'm trying to avoid. This was especially offputting when I was in the SSG bunker and the security bots would 180 and blast me away every time I thought the coast was clear. Maybe the Perception attribute could modify how wide of a viewing angle you/the NPCs have, as well as view range.
- Interactions: I began to notice that there would probably be a more efficient system of interacting with objects using your inventory items: For certain context interactions (such as clicking on a locked object or vent shaft), make the right mouse button bring up a drop-down list of inventory objects that can be used with the selected object. So for example, right clicking on a locked box would bring up a list of lockpicks of your inventory if any, a vent shaft cover would bring up any objects you can use to open it with, etc.
- Min/max weapon damage: Consider if it's actually necessary to have a weapon do a random amount of damage. Statistically, there's little difference between a weapon doing a random amount between 10-20 damage, or a flat 15 damage. Most modern RPGs have dropped the random diceroll for damage simply because it's an unneeded additional calculation to perform on top of a critical hit and resist chance. It also can be frusturatingly unpredictable: like when my 9mm Hammerer had the same minimum damage as the 5mm Hawker, and consistently hit near that minimum for about eight turns of combat.
- Weapon degredation: I put two magazines of 12 rounds through my 9mm Hammerer and found it had already degraded to half its' durability. This is probably unintended, but it's really annoying, and I can't afford the amount of repair kits required on top of ammunition expenses.
- Run and Gun feat: Should probably restore a flat 25 movement points upon landing a successful hit once per turn, instead of only when under 25MP.
Finally, out of curiosity, how do you animate your sprites? If it's by hand, then I applaud your masochism, but I'd suggest making 3D models to represent NPCs and certain objects, then rendering any animations you need from these models into frames. Far easier, far more efficient, and allows you to create far more animations far more quickly.
