Checked out this game. Very promising and right down my TBS alley. A few early impressions, both good and bad. I am aware that this game is a product of a small studio and still in early development. So I am going to try to avoid addressing the standard issues that inevitably emerge in that context, like how there is so far a small roster of enemies to fight or that there are basically only three types of tactical maps (plains, forest, and marsh?). I am also going to suggest several possible solutions to the "bad" stuff I've found so far.
The good:
*Superb tactical combat: This is easily the best part of the game. Tactical combat is simple without being simplistic and colorful without being silly. The hex-based grid (which unfortunately cannot be seen or toggled on as an option) is superior to the square alternative, and the tactical combat system elegantly incorporates every relevant factor, such as terrain, weapon type, and even stuff like morale and fatigue. The only thing I can think of that is missing is weather effects, and I don't know whether this will remain so, nor is it essential in a TBS.
*Robust character "customization" and progression: Even though this is a TBS, not an RPG, game, each individual soldier among the 12 in your party can be customized to your heart's content to look and function differently starting from their "backgrounds," starting traits, the "perk" tree, and level-up stat allotments, equipment choices. And backgrounds, traits, perks, stats, equipment are amazingly well balanced for an early access game, save a few ugly exceptions (like swordmasters being glaringly inferior to alternative backgrounds, perfect focus being too overpowered relative to alternative apex perks, etc.)
*Realism: For the most part, I like the decision to hew closer to the gothic, "low fantasy" medieval setting, with a few supernatural elements thrown in. It's a good compromise between the traditional "high fantasy" setting and the historical setting featured in games like Total War. I also love other injections of realism such as perma death and consumable limits.
*Characterful art style: This is an aesthetic opinion, so I won't bother to justify or elaborate it. But within the understandable limits of a small studio budget, the art style at the "micro" level (characters, equipment, etc, as opposed to "macro" level of things like strategic map features) is vivid and gripping.
The bad:
*No incentive to utilize the quest system at all: I see this as the biggest issue with the current game. I understand that there may be more types of quests that may be added, and that the quests are not balanced currently in terms of rewards. Still, am flummoxed over the basic design of these quests, as there is very little incentive to do them. Let me explain. There are currently three basic quest types, and none of them really work. First, there are the "delivery" quests that ask you to act as a courier from one town to another. I don't think any player actually does these, because the monetary reward doesn't even cover the cost of the supplies consumed during thr trip. Second, there are "escort" caravan costs. These are incredibly tedious, time-consuming, and also do not cover your expenses for larger parties. So again, there is no motive to do them. Finally, there are the "raze" quests that ask you to destroy enemy headquarters. These quests are at least productive in the short-term, because the monetary rewards are in fact large enough to cover your expenses several times over. Still, these are not slam dunk choices. The problem is that enemy headquarters are needed to spawn enemy units, and killing enemy units and selling off the gear you obtain from them is the only way to sustain your economy over the long-term. So while doing these raze quests worth it in the short-term, they may not be in the long-term, because doing so kills the proverbial chicken that lays the egg.
So what to do? My ideal solution is the most obvious and the simplest: Increase the monetary reward for all quests, especially the delivery and escort quests. As of now, the quest system is simply not utilized at all, except the raze quests, and even that is optimally only utilized as a last resort option where you need a quick, large cash infusion. The escort quests can also perhaps be sped up to lessen the ennui.
*Lack of character customization at game start: Although the game does offer a lot of character customization, I feel more is needed for at least the "founding" brothers. In an RPG game, or a game with a lot of RPG elements, people want to identify with the "original" character or characters and have full control over them.
So a more elaborate system for the founding brothers may be looked into, rather than one that assigns them randomly. Perhaps we can choose the backgrounds, traits, and stats for point cost. For instance, a "positive" trait would cost more points, but a "negative" trait would actually refund points. And so on.
*The questionable:
*I put some things under the "questionable" umbrella, because I am not sure whether these issues are due to the game being in early access, or products of dev design. But the game at the moment has some usability issues like the combat log being fairly threadbare, the lack of an autoresolve option, and the tactical map missing some toggle features that make the tactical situation more transparent. None of these things are game-breaking or urgent, but resolving them would save a lot of player frustration.
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Topic: Battle Brothers - a turn based strategy RPG mix (Read 210976 times)