Posted February 07, 2021
dtgreene: I tried that game, but found that level ups were very stressful, and ended up quitting because of that reason.
It's the game that really cemented the notion that skill point systems are inherently flawed.
gog2002x: The time limiting elements (such as food) are probably one of the main things that had me put the game on pause. The skill system...could have used a few tweaks and maybe been a bit more generous. It's the game that really cemented the notion that skill point systems are inherently flawed.
I may have to tweak it a bit to restart it again. I hate to spend money on a game and not play it through, not unless I truly abhor the game.
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* Decoupling skill points from level ups would have really helped. At the very least, removing the "one point per skill per level" rule, and instead capping skills based on level, would have still made a difference.
* Skills like learning and the one that makes permanent stat ups give bonuses should be removed.
* Stat growth should be different. Perhaps giving everyone speed every level might have helped (or change the battle system so that high speed doesn't give you extra turms). Perhaps a system where it takes more points to raise stats to higher values, but you get more points per level, so a character with a horrible stat could fix it with a level up would help.
* Individual active abilities, particularly spells, should work differently. I'm thinking something like having the skills improve through use or take fewer skill points to improve might help. Also, the cost to use the skill shouldn't increase as it is leveled. I'm thinking, also, that hybrids shouldn't have to pay more for the same skill than the more focused classes; instead, the difference should be which skills are available and when.
As for food:
* It would be better if food only decreased when resting; this would allow food to be a limiting factor for rest (like it is in Nox Archaist, for example) while avoiding having it limit exploration. (This would make the danger of the desert irrelevant.)
* The skill that affects food consumption would be removed, as it would no longer be important.
(At least the food situation isn't as bad as in Ultima 7, where you have to *manually* feed your characters, reaching into your inventory (which is poorly set up in said game).)
Also, shops should either be non-random or easier to re-roll. Treasure should either be fixed or respawning. Enemy encounters should not be limited, so that the player can get into extra fights to get more XP and gold if they need to without limit.
While less critical, I think the game would have been better if you could create your *entire* party, rather than have one of the characters forced (and that character is always male, which is another thing I dislike, as it means I can't make an all female party).