I've been playing the Early Access / Alpha for a couple of releases now and I thought I'd share my feedback.
I love the game. It's really enjoyable even at this stage and I cannot wait to see the full thing once it's finished.
My two issues are:
I'm unhappy with the way XP is doled out when NPCs (& summons, I think) are in the fight. XP goes to the killing blow. I've actually had the first Orc encounter end without getting a single bit of XP, despite doing most of the damage. I find myself meta-gaming and trying to figure out how to stop the NPCs kill-stealing instead of fighting in the best way I can.
The first Orc fight is where I get my first impressions of the classes, and I've tried all of them. The Knight and Survivor class really disappointed in that fight. I think they just had too few action points, it felt like they never got a chance to hit or just didn't do any damage. The Knight especially is weird, because I love the warrior class and they really should be very similar.
The rest are smaller things, mostly interface/game-play improvements:
I'd like inventory/skills to change when I click on a character portrait on the left. I have the use the arrows at the top.
I'd like to be able to target spells on my part members by click on their portraits.
I'd like more quick buttons, or failing that, I'd like the ability to cast spells directly out of the spells list. Currently if I have a large number of spells and I want to use one not usually on my list, I have to drag it bar, cast it, then drag the normal spell back again.
I love the little tutorial windows that pop up, I don't know if they'll be replaced for the final, but I think they do a great job already of getting you into the game. A couple of improvements though, I'd put a "suspicious mound" right next to the shovel, instead of around the corner, to help players understand what they are looking for. I'd also like to see some crafting tips in those messages. The first time I crafted something was entirely by accident.
Would it be possible to have a "craft database". Once you've crafted something the first time, or found a recipe, it would be nice if this was stored somewhere, I'm currently carrying loads of books around with me waiting for a chance to try out some of the recipes I've found.
I love the turn-based-combat, it's really great and enjoyable. I would like the option to change the action speed though, at times I find myself getting annoyed that the animation is taking so long. The original XCom did really well here by having a "speed" control for Friendlies, Enemies and "shots". I think something similar would be nice to have for the tactical fights.
I know the inventory stuff isn't done yet, but I'd really like to see a "sort" or compact" button really soon.
I'd like it for the map to automatically put POIs on it once you've discovered them. I find myself doing that manually each play-through. It would be great that when I walk into the Barracks, the map would have a "Barracks" label on it.
For the map labels, why can't I use apostrophes? I can't write "Evelyn's House" for example.
Keep up the great work!
