Few Suggestions

[georgio]

I have a quite a few hours of this game under my belt and so far I am extremely satisfied. However there are few things that annoy me and quite frankly I don't know how they could be there considering this is such a long series. If they were already suggested, sorry for the double post (I used search and nothing popped up). So here they are:

 

1. Using the same button to deactivate the action. I find it really annoying to have to hit "ESC" whenever I want to cancel my current action. Given how hard to spot items are in this game I would especially love to be able to hit "i" second time to close my inventory instead of cancelling it by mouse or hitting escape.

 

2. Better pathing #1: It is incredibly annoying to see my party member choose a path around the whole dungeon to attack a monster if some other party members are in his way. Especially when it seems that he does not have any problem pushing fellow party member him aside if following a simple move order. A simple rule "If it is possible to move while pushing aside a party member and attack in one turn when attack command was given, just do it" could solve it.

 

3. Better pathing #2: Sometimes moving to a tile next to a group of enemies is almost impossible task. It turns out to be a tedious process of finding that one pixel that does not highlight any nearby monster. Sometimes it is even impossible to find such a spot. Some "movement only, no attacks" toggle can help here.

 

 

4. Targeting #1: Why the hell was there this "center the AOE spell on monster under cursor" implemented on AOE spells like Icy Rain? AOE and any other non-targeted spells should ignore any "targets" Just select an area and shoot. Otherwise casting AOE spells turns out to be more frustrating version of issue #3 - because you have to do it more often.

 

5. Targeting #2: Can the attack cursor for single target attack (Melee, Bow, Single target spell) change if it is not possible to move and attack in one turn? It is less important for melee attacks - as you can calculate the number of tiles standing between you and your target. But for range attacks it is just too painful.

 

6. Targeting #3: If casting AOE spell and we are pointing out of "move then cast" range - can we have AOE effect area tiles change color from white to red?

 

7. Targeting #4: If casting beneficial spells (haste etc) that are centered on caster, can we have the range highlighted? Or even better, can we make it work like AOE spell with the range of the spell clearly highlighted so we can see if our priest can move somewhere and cast Protection on our Tank up front and also on our casters positioned safely in the back?

[Mosquito---Slayer]

Hello Georgio, welcome to spiderweb software, please leave your sanity at the door, that's if the issues haven't totally destroyed it already .

1.You can also hit enter to close inventory window, granted it's not much better than Esc. but it's still better.

2&3. These are incredibly annoying and have been there since A4, 3 is especially annoying in A:eftp though.

6 is a very good suggestion, I never really cared about 4,5 and 7 though, they are pretty minor in my opinion.

[Lilith]

My best advice is to email Spiderweb Software about these concerns directly. Jeff Vogel doesn't read the forums very often, but if enough customers contact him he does eventually fix things, sometimes.

[Jerakeen]

All of these issues have come up before, but this is the most concise and comprehensive list I've seen. Well done Georgio, and please do email Jeff.

[Earth]

1 thing i dislike on aoe spells like icy rain that its very difficult to get it to include all enemies wanted since moving cursor one square to left or right can move grid to up/downwards too so it takes time to get grid where wanted, worst is if 1 monster is topleft part of grid and other is downright part of grid.

[georgio]

Thank you all for replies, I already sent the email to the Spiderweb as suggested. I will let you know if I receive any new info.

[noname]

It's understandable why Jeff doesn't read these forums- he's too busy designing games. I am kind of surprised at how many games he has managed to turn out considering his almost one man operation. I certainly can't complain about that, I like his games.

[Earth]

due code recycling its easier than to start every game from scratch.

[Akhari Blaze]

I'll add my opinion: the most unbalancing thing about AOE spells concerns, imho, non-cone AOE spells like Icy Rain. It's absurd that they have unlimited range, and even more absurd that they can target squares that aren't in your line of sight (like an adjacent locked room where you know a certain boss is hiding). It makes me feel like I'm cheating, still only cone-shaped spells is boring and sometimes unpractical. The targeting reticule should be disabled (or made of another colour) for over-range and out-of-line-of-sight tiles.

[Mosquito---Slayer]

It's absurd that they have unlimited range,

They don't , at least in my version.

[Lilith]

Yeah, they do have a very long range, but the game will eventually complain if you try to target the AoE too far away. Also, most of the circular AoE spells are either not very powerful or quite expensive for the amount of damage they do; cones are much more efficient in terms of spell energy.

[Akhari Blaze]

What bothers me most is actually the fact you can hit things you can't see, like in locked rooms, with the monsters inside that can't get you. It's like cheating for me, yet you can do it. If you open a room to see inside, leave the area and come back, then the door is closed, but you can target the room inside and kill the stuff in it. Maybe it isn't efficient in terms of spell energy, but you don't die.

[Mosquito---Slayer]

Yeah this is probably one way in which the game mechanics can be abused, but and I'm probably being a bit ridiculous here, if you are bothered by something that seems like an abuse then you can always choose to not use it.

[Earth]

other way around enemies can shoot party with arrows or throw spears thru small window holes somewhat freely but party needs to get into line of sight.

[Akhari Blaze]

Yeah this is probably one way in which the game mechanics can be abused, but and I'm probably being a bit ridiculous here, if you are bothered by something that seems like an abuse then you can always choose to not use it.

 

Yes but I don't really like when I have to be more honest than the game allows me to be. It's like 'don't sell stuff if you think there's too much money' (not the case in EFTP) or things like that.

[The Reverend]

What bothers me most is actually the fact you can hit things you can't see, like in locked rooms, with the monsters inside that can't get you. It's like cheating for me, yet you can do it. If you open a room to see inside, leave the area and come back, then the door is closed, but you can target the room inside and kill the stuff in it. Maybe it isn't efficient in terms of spell energy, but you don't die.

I believe you have to at least be able to see the center of the AOE region (the spot that you target). As long as this is the case, it doesn't bother me much (or at all, really). If you threw a grenade through a window (aiming at a spot that you can see), it would also do damage to areas that you can't see. If you view AOE spells as magical explosions centered on the target spot, this makes sense for them as well. For the cone spells, on the other hand it's fire/ice/energy emanating from the casters location, so it makes sense that those would be blocked by obstacles.