The gold thing ticked me off a little. Without gold you have access to ONE skill. With gold you can have access to up to FOUR depending on level. That's a problem.
You see, at higher levels (obtained by playing the game for a while) you gain access to some unique character skills. But if you can have only one skill, the only way to make use of said unique skill appears to be by replacing your original starting skill, thereby most likely completely neutering your character from performing the role he or she is supposed to do. So the only way to make have sort of progression appears to be by purchasing a gold account. Which is rather expensive. $30 for a month expensive. In fairness, you do unlock a second skill slot if you have at any time ever bought a gold account, even if it is currently inactive.
Another thing, the game is a bit reliant on people staying interested and not going afk. Something which is a little tough to do when you only get one movement and action point every 3 hours. That means, every 3 hours, you can move one room and do one action (some actions take 2 AP). That is quite slow. Personally, I feel there is no reason for the game to progress this slowly and I would love to play a 'turbo' version that awards AP and MP every hour, every half an hour or even an 'ultra turbo' that awards it every minute so a round can be finished in a single day.
The game is also quite reliant on communication between players. Now I understand that is an important game mechanic as it gives the Mush (the alien invader) something to disrupt and exploit, but unfortunately, not everyone will do it. Newbies tend to be very very shy and unwilling to talk to others. This makes them lose interest in the game faster which could result in lower retention and a ruined game for the other players as half their crew goes afk. Not to mention the rather catastrophic results if the Mush(es) go afk.
The in-game help is pretty flimsy, mostly focusing on fluff, and the tutorial is downright misleading, teaching you how to do things that your character is actually not supposed to be doing (due to his role/skill) and leaving you to figure out how to perform your function on board the ship by yourself through trial and error with only 1 action every 3 hours. In game tips help, but in the end you are very reliant on other players telling you how things work. Or not.
All of that said, the game looks and plays like a very polished version of SS13 and I think it can be great fun. Be aware though, you can't just join a game 'just to check it out' as you are considered part of the crew as soon as you pick a character and if you stop playing, you go afk, robbing that particular round's players (a round can last upwards of a week, it seems) of that particular crew member.
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Topic: SS13 + Die2Nite + FTL = Mush, the new game by Twinoid! (Read 20268 times)