So, first I played 2.08...
I actually skipped 2.10, going directly to this version (3.01). And I'm quite impressed by progress. I really like it and am looking forward for future releases. Trust me, I've never before spent 5+ hours on a flash game before :O
However, I've noticed numerous issues:
- 1) First off, there is a programming error - on Moth encounter, an Inuax is born (on second play Scrapper was, so there is definitely some bigger error). Also, When I reached 5x Dubois, further attempts produce Scrappers. Also, after "bonding" with Cirrus, another Scrapper spawned. I consider this to be a vitally major problem, because well... it's not like player breeds Lilith with a certain species to get a random one :D
- 2) And yes, an aforementioned food supply problem. Even as Dubois gets 3-5 food per hunt, usually 4, that means if we sacrifice an entire round for hunting, and if we are very lucky, the maximum potential food production per round is 25 – which is equal to monster number cap in this respect. However, every hunt costs 30 stamina, while a monster regenerates 20 stamina per round. This means that for every turn in a round we have to have 2 food gathering monsters, which will hunt interchangeably between rounds. The result is that player is forced to have 10x Dubois (after getting 5 of them I started getting Scrappers from breeding Lilith with Dubois [WTF?!]) in order to sustain a 25 unit strong population - and we assume you're getting 5 food from every hunt and spend all turns on hunting only. I comply with former suggestions about creating hunting parties, just like Royal Army is done. Or perhaps being able to add multiple monsters to a single hunt. Bottom line, food economy was a bit hard on economy even before, with added stamina it quickly makes you lose random monsters. Usually it's a freshly born one that is about to mature into the kind of monster you wanted. - really, at my second play, I just kept low pop, bred Dubois only and stockpiled a ton of food before I moved on to breed an army. Though I suspect it won't last for long. Generally, after like 12 units you get bottlenecked on supply.
Correction: With 12 units I'm generally able to keep a positive supply of food, having 4x Dubois. Still, this system could be better. As I consciously have to ommit hunting in order to get rid of monsters that no longer support the immediate tactics.
- 3) Also, dismissing monsters. That would be a major utility, to keep control of food drain, while keeping precisely the monsters you need. At the moment, the only way to get rid of monsters is to starve them. But again, it takes either a random one or „the least loyal one”. Usually a newborn if there is, which is bad. Couple this with point 1) and you're losing the whole strategy in this game, because you get a random monster which you have no way of getting rid of other than getting 0 food.
- 4) Then, I was pleasantly surprised with the addition of "Bonding" feature, but still, it has issues. Primarily, I don't see what monster level gives. I have a lv4 and lv3 Dubois and they seem to have actually lower stats than freshly matured ones. Perhaps level could give an increased stamina regen instead? That actually would make "bonding" feature worthwile. And would be a lot simplier in programming, and as such, less prone to bugs. Because, every monster has different stats so you have to manually set which ones are advanced (unless all are, though +1 for every level is... little, considering they usually have 40-70 points on a trait). Bonding with a certain monster is simply... not economical at all as it is now.
- 5) Also, the Royal Army problem I've seen in reviews on NG (where I originally found your artwork) and had it confirmed in-game – if a monster gets injured in combat, it retains „R” even though it's removed from army. Thus, if it heals, it can never be reassigned anymore.
- 6) Other thing, what I also saw mentioned on NG and support would be a button to immediately return to base without the need of clicking a lot.
- 7) Round counter. It counts from
round 99 downward, eventually reaching negative values. The system
from 2.08 was better, counting from round 1 upward (as far as I
remember). Unless, well, this is a WIP time limit.
- 8) Army size. I've noticed that after
conquering neighboring territories, the next ones have 9 or 10 enemy
units, and further ones probably more and/or higher tier ones. It
remains to be seen, but I suspect it's an unwinnable situation in
current release. Seeing the combat „tutorial” above, I notice
that this army size will probably increase (queen nest upgrade?)
And these are my thoughts and notes so far. Anyway, keep up the good job. It looks absolutely promising :)