I think he’s referring to the devs, not people here giving feedback…
I agree! But you could also consider having a roadmap of the features you’re aiming to introduce — similar to Enshrouded’s roadmap. Not necessarily tied to a timeline, but more like a list of planned features for the future. This approach avoids the pressure of deadlines and rigid release orders, while also setting clearer expectations about what will be coming, rather than when it will arrive.
Example
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yeah, but the classical understanding of a roadmap is still "this will come first, then this and after all that we get this. like the first “roadmap” that was only leading to misunderstandings.
for quick sales though i recommend to weigh currents players wishes and expectations and advertise what makes the game unique.
also, what we have here on the forum with FAQs and patch previews, class previews etc. might also be good to have on the store page.
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Sorry bro, I was referring to the devs lol
Yup, these are the same ridiculous Steam users that are labeling Expedition 33 a soulslike when it’s literally a turn based combat JRPG with QTE ala Super Mario RPG, and nobody labeled Super Mario RPG as a soulslike.
Granted, Wicked is less clear a case because the combat with animation commits and stamina management and weight system and poise definitely borrow from soulslike combat systems.
The difference however is that these systems are all still a work in progress and subject to change, especially with the upcoming class revamp.
Steam users are genre illiterate. If you want to go insane, check out the Shoot 'em Up tag on Steam. As in the arcade shooter games where you scroll through levels and dodge bullets. Gradius, Ikaruga, etc.
Literally 90% of the entire page in that tag are not shmups. I think Crysis 2 is on there, which is absurd.
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that’s not a Steam issue tho, not even isolated… is a community wide problem… too many people employ terms very loosely and often wrongfully… when corrected go hiding behind: “you are pedantic”
and all that on top of having games that overlap multiple genres… XD
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I submitted a few ideas but one that really bothers me and necessary besides obvious co-op Is communication.
- Clear communication of In game mechanics.
Currently there’s a lot of obscure contradicting information mechanics not explained, mechanics seemingly orphaned. Erroneous or missing tooltips for features that can only be understood through copious hours of extensive testing. Unclear and inconsistent behavior between game systems. Ex. Confusing drops rates, Runes. They are a mess and the current “Rune library” is not updated and is a manual repository relying on a guy keeping up a website and youtube. You cant have a “rune library” that needs to be updated manually for a game that has rune list that grows with each update. It will never be up to date(already is not). And outdated, contradictory tooltips/help material is the WORST thing you can have for new system/game adoption. You need an in game system that will be automatically up to date as runes are added. So there needs to be an in game way system to test runes.
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- Better feedback mechanisms. Centralized area for news. Posting on a forum as the only way to submit feedback errors and issues is a good way to have players to just not bother. No feedback, no game improvement, no sales1. Have an in game button that dumps the logs and has a field to type something and/or attach screenshots. Same with having to dig 10 different sources (twitter, steam forums, youtube, discord)to submit information and to interact with devs.
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- Better communication of roadmap. Dropping vague hints of total systems redesigns does more harm then good IMO. If you gonna say to paraphrase “we are removing FEATURE A and replacing it with FEATURE B. FEATURE B, will be green with purple sparks” creates more harm then good.
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I personally don’t mind the game being obscure.. adds mystery and some charm… but you are right, needs be consistent, and contradictions are a big no-no…
Agree on the feedback completely… every company seems to have profiles on every available platform to maximize engagement, but the quality has gone down substantially, even back when there was only twitter or whatever… and the official forums, well, not that many engage, and a portion of those who do don’t seem interested in productive feedback… unfortunately… an in-game alternative would be the best (and maybe the platform where you bought it from too, obviously) dunno what this entails tho…
roadmaps are good, even if subject to change, they could even put this disclaimer in the roadmap itself… “even if people really don’t read, they can’t say it hasn’t been communicated” LOL
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Roadmaps are mostly a benefit for people who already purchased.
The most critical feedback I have is that the game needs its hook improved in several ways:
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Establishing the player character and their background more clearly and in a compelling fashion. The player character’s background should not be more a mystery to the player than it is to NPCs. The Cerim simply need to be better presented, and this needs to happen early.
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The player character needs to be aspirational. People pick up games where they think the player character they control looks good and they aspire to.
Unfortunately, this is the weakest part of the game.
Most people are gonna play the female character. The male character is pretty much Fiddlesticks from League of Legends.
The arms are passable, but the chicken legs with nonexistent calves are an eyesore.
Moreover, most armors in the early game are super goofy and comical. The lack of transmog makes you walk around like a patchwork clown.
People want to play characters they think look cool. But when your character looks like a hobo or most of the armor is like little red riding hood or a chef or a pig head is not exactly promotional material to get people to buy your game.
The character has to look cool and aspirational, and fitting to the serious storyline being told. Some comical outfits are fine, but in general if the story is about some hellish plague and political turmoil while we traverse as a silent warrior of a famous sacred order, we should look the part.
Right now, the Inquisition seems to look much more the part than the Cerim does. The Keepers look cool and imposing, and so does almost every important character but the player.
The player needs to look cool and aspirational earlier and not just be a hobo in rags or a heavily goofy ill-fitted tin can in plate due to how bulky the body armor and arms look but how skinny the stick legs are.
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It’s also that the female looks a lot more normal and well proportioned, while the male looks as if the Pestilence had twisted him into an unsightly abomination.
A lot of people play male characters, if the developers let them.
But very frequently male characters get stuck with the experimental and goofy and outlandish while the women always get the safe and attractive character looks.
Well, to be honest.. most of the armor covers up the mass majority of the character model.
When you combo that with the isometric camera distance, it can be quite trivial what your character looks like.
That said, if they ever add a “glamour (photo) mode”.. things will be much different (especially if they add a bunch of stylized emotes).
On bulkier plate armors it’s less obvious, but try anything like druid pants or cloth/leather sets where there are no wide waistplates covering the stick figure legs, and the male model really stands out compared to the female one in terms of unsightliness XD.
Especially because the popeye arms are even bigger and longer on the male and the tiny little skinny legs create a contrast for the worse. I basically use the Balak Taw feather pants to pretty much cover those horrid legs and give it a sense of bulk.
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Have you noticed some armor pieces make the female legs skinny like the males?
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lol, really?
*I mainly play the male.
I’ve bought Wicked without much reasearch. I watched the trailers, watched a bit of gameplay, read the reviews and bought it. It was on sale though, which might have been a significant factor.
And here is the thing. If I did more research first, I wouldn’t have bought it.
The promises that the devs make give me some serious Peter Molyneux vibes. Super ambitious (without a publisher), constantly changing, overly optimistic… If I read them before buying, I would have just wishlisted and moved on. I enjoyed my playtime, but I also have no idea what the game is going to be like in a few years. Might be completely unattractive to me in the end.
The only promise the devs should make in early access is: “There will be more of what is already in the game. (And it will be more polished)”.
P.S. Characters’ body proportions were a serious put off. I like the artstyle overall, but those arms and legs… Eugh.
A bit better on the female model (as others have mentioned), but still pretty unpleasant to look at.
The character’s body proportion has always been an issue right from the beginning. That might be true but the overall game is what you should look for. The ‘philosophy’ behind it. Who knows, maybe they will decide to change it, its not a secret that for a game to be successful people must identify with the avatar and at this point its not a pro for the game. I played well over 200 hrs and enjoyed the game, but one of my tips to Moon Studios was to make some trasmogs for sale that would help people identify more with their avatar, at the same time it would help Moon financially. Lets see what happens.
The current trends of designing women in games with more than just their body in mind?
Or the trend of male gamers not having women in games they can jorking it to? lol
I think the armor parts work as independent bodyparts that shapes how the character will look like, so even if the calves on the character was bigger it wouldn’t really matter because of some armors make them thin and others thick?
I mean some helmets is thinner than the head of the character so I think you can imagine what would happen if you then could change the width and size of your characters head but I hope there will be more features to the character creation overall and maybe have the armor adapt itself to each individual body part size value..
-or a wardrobe feature where you can manually refit any armor you put on your character to your liking just like little big planet (bad example I know).