Pirotess
02-02-2004, 04:40 AM
Hello! I just started playing LOTGD, and thought of a few things. I apologize in advance if I suggest anything here that's already been thought of (or...thought of and suggested a billion times already...)
Feature Requests/Bugs/Etc:
1) It would be nice if a few items were added to the information screen on the left. For instance: gold in bank and number of days played. (I realize that you are deliberately hiding Charm, but that would be nice to see also.) Perhaps also the entry number of weapons and armor, for instance: "Adze (4)"
2) It would be really nice if there were more favors that Ramius could grant. Say...a few things for those who experiment and go way over the 100 for ressurection. Maybe 500 to permanantly increase a hit point, or add an extra skill use point?
3) In most places, gender pronouns are given...but the "Joe Shmoe was hunted down by their master" messages in the Daily Log say 'their' instead. A small thing, perhaps, but it should be easy enough to force the pronoun.
4) A different keyboard character is being used to browse the inventory of the Weaponry vs the Armor stores. MightE's Weaponry is "P)eruse" and Pegasus Armor is "B)rowse" I suppose it's possible that there are hidden options which only become available at higher levels or something, but if not, for ease of use, it would be convenient if the keyboard shortcuts were the same.
5) How about converting names in mail and daily news and so forth to links to a character's bio? For mail, in particular, it would be nice to quickly be able to see a characters stats.
6) Along that line...with a few thousand characters in becomes amazingly tedius to find another characters bio if you only know their name and not their level. How about allowing an option for alphabetical sorting? Or, if you really wanted to go gung-ho...sorting by *any* criteria? (But really, just being able to sort by name would be very helpful.)
Followup: I just notice that there are sorting options under the Hall of Fame. Perhaps consolidate the two lists, and add the ability to sort by name? Also...an option to allow ALL players to be listed so that the user may perform searches within their own browser instead of tediously clicking through all the pages would be nice.
7) A minor point: The text descriptions of the proprieters of the weapons and armor stores appear not to be gender specific. For instance, I would probably not be affected so much by Pegasus's: "and it is almost (but not quite) enough to make you look away from her huge gray eyes and flashes of skin between her not-quite-sufficent gypsy clothes."
8) What's the deal with Riposte'ing? I mean...it seems like fully 50% of all strikes are countered. Isn't that a bit excessive? Wouldn't something more like % = (Attacker Level * 2) + 10 * (Difference between Monster and Character levels) be more reasonable? Or maybe Attack skill instead of level, as in: % = (Attack Skill * 2) + 10 * (Difference between AttackSkill and DefenseSkill)
9) It might be worth considering swapping the top vs. bottom location of the command option window and the character attributes window. After you play for a while, you don't really need to look up the commands anymore, but it's nice to see your character stats. Maybe include an option under preferences to allow either view?
10) I haven't actually tested it...but since Masters only appear to go hunting for truant characters when they return to the village from the forest...wouldn't it be theoretically possible for a character to avoid being tested FOREVER simply by closing their browser window and timing out after their daily forest fights are up, instead of returning to the village and logging out normally? I was able to get 300 XP on my first day simply by bumping up my defense early, and getting free forest fights for perfect fights. Couldn't someone very patient use this method to allow them effectively infinite fights per day? In actual practice it would probably be less than infinite, because random events would eventually eat up those turns (although most random events appear to be avoidable by refusing them with no turn loss) but it seems like it would be very realistic for anyone to get as many turns per day as they want simply by investing a little time to get a high defense.
11) It would be nice to add an extra option on the fight screen to "Wait" or perhaps to "Parry/Defend" Why? Well...several reasons: a) Let's say you're regenerating. Your opponent is almost dead and you could wait a few extra rounds to get the full value of your regeneration before you killed the monster. b) It would allow you to intentionally die, or to intentionally lose fights with your master (Though this might create problems...and would have to be carefully considered.) c) If Parrying increases your defense, it would allow you to decrease the chances of taking damage, while you allow your mount to kill your opponent.
12) I notice the game is considerably more "G" rated than the original. I guess this is deliberate? I mean...not that I really miss being raped by the half troll, but well...the prospect did add a certain...umm...*gravity* to the game. I see that the troll rape scenario is still possible, (it's one of many possible resolutions of the damsel in distress event) but it is very rare, and the description has been sanitized somewhat. Please consider making the game a bit more risque, or...if you want the "G" quality, perhaps consider adding an option for the administrator to create the game allowing or disallowing "R" rated events?
13) How about adding some sort of incentive or bonus for characters who have NEVER died? Maybe...they always start the day in high spirits? This would also prevent newly created characters from starting their first day in low spirits. (It's a bit depressing when that happens.)
14) In a few places (Hall of Fame and News) the "Return to Village" option is at the bottom rather than the top of the command list (it's on top on the List Warriors page.) With thousands of players in a game this means a lot of scrolling for mouse users on 800x600 or smaller resolutions. It might be nice to move the command to the top. Compare the look of the List Warriors vs the Hall of Fame pages and you'll see what I mean.
15) How about an option to "Jump" to one's own position in the ranking lists?
16) The Hall of Fame entries don't include links to character bio's. They really should.
17) It looks like trolls going through the 'damsel in distress' event, get negative descriptive text even though they get good things for it. Perhaps this should be rearranged more like:
Output "Then you see the chests occupant: "
If UserRace=Troll
Output "a charming troll with the most beautifully bulbous warts you have seen since you discontinued your subscription to PlayTroll."
(Etc...)
Else
Output "a monstrous and lonely troll. After having his way with you..."
(Etc...)
Break
18) I haven't experimented with familiars yet, so maybe this already happens, but wouldn't it make sense for familiars to give sleeping players warning when somebody tries to attack them in the Inn? Maybe...people with canaries and so forth always get first strike against PvP attacks? In the field, both familiars and mounts could do this. (Canaries would follow players to their rooms...pnies probably wouldn't. This feature could either be broken down as famliiars vs mounts, or you could go through and arbitrarily decide based on the specific creature. Coconut halves probably wouldn't be very good at warning sleeping players about attackers.)
19) Maybe allow thieves to steal? There appears to be *fail to steal* code if you accidentally try to purchase an item you can't affored, but maybe thieves could be allowed to steal in lieu of attack other players, and have attempts deducted from PvP attack allowances. Success allows the thief to steal Level * 5% of their gold, for instance.
20) It looks like forest fight awards are hard coded. Since the base number of forest fights per day is configurable...as it is now, even if admin sets up a game to have 100 forest fights per day, there are still random events that reward players with 1 forest fight. It would probably make sense to add a global multiplier so that forest fight awards were increased proportionately to the base daily number. A forest fight bonus that would be 1 forest fight in a normal game, for instance, would grant 10 forest fights in a game with a base of 100.
21) I'm sure the prospect of new player FAQ's has been suggested before...how about a little note at character creation which described the game effect of choosing the various races? I'm sure at it is a lot of people create four characters when they start just to see what the different races do. There are several small little differences...like dwarves being resistant to mine cave-ins, but at the very least the starting stat differences should be mentioned.
Wow...the list was longer than I expected. I think I could come up with more, but that's probably enough for now. Let me know what you think!
Thanks!
Lady Pirotess
Feature Requests/Bugs/Etc:
1) It would be nice if a few items were added to the information screen on the left. For instance: gold in bank and number of days played. (I realize that you are deliberately hiding Charm, but that would be nice to see also.) Perhaps also the entry number of weapons and armor, for instance: "Adze (4)"
2) It would be really nice if there were more favors that Ramius could grant. Say...a few things for those who experiment and go way over the 100 for ressurection. Maybe 500 to permanantly increase a hit point, or add an extra skill use point?
3) In most places, gender pronouns are given...but the "Joe Shmoe was hunted down by their master" messages in the Daily Log say 'their' instead. A small thing, perhaps, but it should be easy enough to force the pronoun.
4) A different keyboard character is being used to browse the inventory of the Weaponry vs the Armor stores. MightE's Weaponry is "P)eruse" and Pegasus Armor is "B)rowse" I suppose it's possible that there are hidden options which only become available at higher levels or something, but if not, for ease of use, it would be convenient if the keyboard shortcuts were the same.
5) How about converting names in mail and daily news and so forth to links to a character's bio? For mail, in particular, it would be nice to quickly be able to see a characters stats.
6) Along that line...with a few thousand characters in becomes amazingly tedius to find another characters bio if you only know their name and not their level. How about allowing an option for alphabetical sorting? Or, if you really wanted to go gung-ho...sorting by *any* criteria? (But really, just being able to sort by name would be very helpful.)
Followup: I just notice that there are sorting options under the Hall of Fame. Perhaps consolidate the two lists, and add the ability to sort by name? Also...an option to allow ALL players to be listed so that the user may perform searches within their own browser instead of tediously clicking through all the pages would be nice.
7) A minor point: The text descriptions of the proprieters of the weapons and armor stores appear not to be gender specific. For instance, I would probably not be affected so much by Pegasus's: "and it is almost (but not quite) enough to make you look away from her huge gray eyes and flashes of skin between her not-quite-sufficent gypsy clothes."
8) What's the deal with Riposte'ing? I mean...it seems like fully 50% of all strikes are countered. Isn't that a bit excessive? Wouldn't something more like % = (Attacker Level * 2) + 10 * (Difference between Monster and Character levels) be more reasonable? Or maybe Attack skill instead of level, as in: % = (Attack Skill * 2) + 10 * (Difference between AttackSkill and DefenseSkill)
9) It might be worth considering swapping the top vs. bottom location of the command option window and the character attributes window. After you play for a while, you don't really need to look up the commands anymore, but it's nice to see your character stats. Maybe include an option under preferences to allow either view?
10) I haven't actually tested it...but since Masters only appear to go hunting for truant characters when they return to the village from the forest...wouldn't it be theoretically possible for a character to avoid being tested FOREVER simply by closing their browser window and timing out after their daily forest fights are up, instead of returning to the village and logging out normally? I was able to get 300 XP on my first day simply by bumping up my defense early, and getting free forest fights for perfect fights. Couldn't someone very patient use this method to allow them effectively infinite fights per day? In actual practice it would probably be less than infinite, because random events would eventually eat up those turns (although most random events appear to be avoidable by refusing them with no turn loss) but it seems like it would be very realistic for anyone to get as many turns per day as they want simply by investing a little time to get a high defense.
11) It would be nice to add an extra option on the fight screen to "Wait" or perhaps to "Parry/Defend" Why? Well...several reasons: a) Let's say you're regenerating. Your opponent is almost dead and you could wait a few extra rounds to get the full value of your regeneration before you killed the monster. b) It would allow you to intentionally die, or to intentionally lose fights with your master (Though this might create problems...and would have to be carefully considered.) c) If Parrying increases your defense, it would allow you to decrease the chances of taking damage, while you allow your mount to kill your opponent.
12) I notice the game is considerably more "G" rated than the original. I guess this is deliberate? I mean...not that I really miss being raped by the half troll, but well...the prospect did add a certain...umm...*gravity* to the game. I see that the troll rape scenario is still possible, (it's one of many possible resolutions of the damsel in distress event) but it is very rare, and the description has been sanitized somewhat. Please consider making the game a bit more risque, or...if you want the "G" quality, perhaps consider adding an option for the administrator to create the game allowing or disallowing "R" rated events?
13) How about adding some sort of incentive or bonus for characters who have NEVER died? Maybe...they always start the day in high spirits? This would also prevent newly created characters from starting their first day in low spirits. (It's a bit depressing when that happens.)
14) In a few places (Hall of Fame and News) the "Return to Village" option is at the bottom rather than the top of the command list (it's on top on the List Warriors page.) With thousands of players in a game this means a lot of scrolling for mouse users on 800x600 or smaller resolutions. It might be nice to move the command to the top. Compare the look of the List Warriors vs the Hall of Fame pages and you'll see what I mean.
15) How about an option to "Jump" to one's own position in the ranking lists?
16) The Hall of Fame entries don't include links to character bio's. They really should.
17) It looks like trolls going through the 'damsel in distress' event, get negative descriptive text even though they get good things for it. Perhaps this should be rearranged more like:
Output "Then you see the chests occupant: "
If UserRace=Troll
Output "a charming troll with the most beautifully bulbous warts you have seen since you discontinued your subscription to PlayTroll."
(Etc...)
Else
Output "a monstrous and lonely troll. After having his way with you..."
(Etc...)
Break
18) I haven't experimented with familiars yet, so maybe this already happens, but wouldn't it make sense for familiars to give sleeping players warning when somebody tries to attack them in the Inn? Maybe...people with canaries and so forth always get first strike against PvP attacks? In the field, both familiars and mounts could do this. (Canaries would follow players to their rooms...pnies probably wouldn't. This feature could either be broken down as famliiars vs mounts, or you could go through and arbitrarily decide based on the specific creature. Coconut halves probably wouldn't be very good at warning sleeping players about attackers.)
19) Maybe allow thieves to steal? There appears to be *fail to steal* code if you accidentally try to purchase an item you can't affored, but maybe thieves could be allowed to steal in lieu of attack other players, and have attempts deducted from PvP attack allowances. Success allows the thief to steal Level * 5% of their gold, for instance.
20) It looks like forest fight awards are hard coded. Since the base number of forest fights per day is configurable...as it is now, even if admin sets up a game to have 100 forest fights per day, there are still random events that reward players with 1 forest fight. It would probably make sense to add a global multiplier so that forest fight awards were increased proportionately to the base daily number. A forest fight bonus that would be 1 forest fight in a normal game, for instance, would grant 10 forest fights in a game with a base of 100.
21) I'm sure the prospect of new player FAQ's has been suggested before...how about a little note at character creation which described the game effect of choosing the various races? I'm sure at it is a lot of people create four characters when they start just to see what the different races do. There are several small little differences...like dwarves being resistant to mine cave-ins, but at the very least the starting stat differences should be mentioned.
Wow...the list was longer than I expected. I think I could come up with more, but that's probably enough for now. Let me know what you think!
Thanks!
Lady Pirotess