Post by Fantastish in So crafting got a little out of hand…

Viewing post in So crafting got a little out of hand…

Yeah, no. Really dislike the No AI tag after this post.

Game is... lacking a goal. You can grind things. There's nothing to grind towards. No point of becoming all powerful when the strongest boss is defeated with lvl 10 equipment. And when I say lacking a goal I dont mean to make 17 tiers of rats from common rat to a world rat, I mean it in a meaningful way. Maybe there will be a dungeon chain quest. Maybe inapropriately good loot will be gated behind a boss that is easy to beat, but with a catch that you have to syncronise its defeat with another boss across the world, giving more reason for this game to be, yknow, MMRPG instead of a singleplayer RPG

I really want this project to continue. But it puts a sour taste in my mouth in its current state.

~Merlin

Fortisq4 days ago(+1)

Thanks for taking the time to play and leave detailed feedback, Merlin. I think your central criticism is fair: progression needs meaningful reasons to exist.

Your synchronized-boss example is exactly the kind of idea I find interesting. I want professions, equipment and character progression to eventually feed into hand-authored dungeons, quest chains, bosses and shared objectives that actually benefit from other players. The procedural world gave me a huge foundation, and I’ve been concentrating on getting crafting and progression working. The next challenge is filling that foundation with memorable places and reasons to use everything you’ve built.

I also read your in-game feedback. I’m planning changes to make the map less visually noisy, along the lines you suggested. The middle chests should be working in the current version, but please let me know if you still find one that isn’t.

Regarding the No AI tag: I used it to mean that the game contains no AI-generated artwork, audio or game content. The art comes from the well-known Urizen 1-bit tileset, which predates the current generative-AI boom. I hand-code and design the game, while using AI as a programming assistant. I’ve tried to be upfront about that. However, if itch intends “No AI” to mean no AI assistance anywhere in development, then I’ll correct the tag rather than misrepresent the project. If any AI involvement is a deal breaker for you, I completely understand.

You’re right that Bitiverse currently has more systems than meaningful destinations for those systems. I appreciate you being direct about itand especially that you want to see the project continue. That is exactly what I intend to work on.

- Fortisq

Fortisq4 days ago(+1)

Quick correction: I genuinely misunderstood itch.io’s “No AI” label as referring to generated art and content. After reading the full policy, I realized AI-assisted code also counts, so I’ve corrected the tag. That was my mistake, not an attempt to hide anything. Thanks for pointing it out.

Fantastish4 days ago

Wow. Im really impressed with your stance, usually people who use AI are very defensive about it, respect for wearing it proudly. I dont dislike AI content in itself, i moreso dislike when Im being told that it isnt, it changes the expectations I have a little.

All in all, game needs a lot of time in the oven, but I can see all the visions working out! Im glad that you've posted this game as brebones as it is, it helps with feedback and playtesting in real time!

All the best.