Various rantings about BD & suggestions for DD2 - 25/05/04 01:30 PM
I think Larian Stuidos have done a good job for BD. The game premise is, well, unqiue, when you compare it to almost every other RPGs out there. The music is terrific (though I wish there are more new tracks. DD boasted of 44 tracks, and BD has less, considering some music re-using) and the graphics, well, is bearable.
However, there are some issues that I wish to raise up...
1) The designers have obiviously put in heart and effort to make the game more than 'hack and slash', but unfortunately hack and slash is still the optimal solution to go. Consider...
a) Putting the first Battlefield Key in one of the spider's cage. The strange thing is the 'right way' seems to be jamming the cogwheel with the iron bar so you can avoid the spiders. But an even better way is to kill the spiders (for the XP!) and get the Battlefield Key so you can go for even more H&S action! If I were not too slow in jamming the cogwheel, I never would have found out, and trust me, getting to Battlefield early is a great boon.
b) A neat diversion from the usual H&S action is the Metal Gear Solid-style sneaking on one level of the citadel. But many players have pointed out - it is frustrating, and it is even better in the long run to kill all the patrols!! You get experience, you get the freedom to roam the corridors at will and you may get some cool items!
2. The Battlefields are cool concept, but sadly lacking. THe random dungeon generation code needs some tweaking - not the map-generation, but rooms-generation. The dungeons are boring. Oh, for a hack and slash portion of the game, it doesn't seem to matter, but it does. Diablo mostly features random dungeons generation, and it is really varied. You get shrines, mana pools, fountains, champion packs and objects related to the theme of the dungeon.
The random dungeons in BD lacks theme. Please, if there ever is going to be a Battlefield in DD2, please make it more exciting and varied. And the monsters...if Act I mainly consists of skeletons, perhaps we shall fight less of those in the Act I Battlefields?
3. The One-Handed with Shield, and One-Handed Weapon skill seperation. This may be one dead horse being pounded to death, but this seperation is one of the most insane, INSANE concept I have ever heard off. No other RPGs I know (computer or pen and paper) practise this.
4. Lack of information does not make a game challenging. Some games, such as FF, thinks to by leaving out information about spells and etc and let the players find out by trial and error makes the game 'challenging'. I don't agree. Sure, the manual describes the spells. But what about Alchemly and Charms?
There are a lot more I could raise up -- improving the AI of the 'other' party member so that they don't have to be babysitted all the time.
In the end, at any rate, great game still!
However, there are some issues that I wish to raise up...
1) The designers have obiviously put in heart and effort to make the game more than 'hack and slash', but unfortunately hack and slash is still the optimal solution to go. Consider...
a) Putting the first Battlefield Key in one of the spider's cage. The strange thing is the 'right way' seems to be jamming the cogwheel with the iron bar so you can avoid the spiders. But an even better way is to kill the spiders (for the XP!) and get the Battlefield Key so you can go for even more H&S action! If I were not too slow in jamming the cogwheel, I never would have found out, and trust me, getting to Battlefield early is a great boon.
b) A neat diversion from the usual H&S action is the Metal Gear Solid-style sneaking on one level of the citadel. But many players have pointed out - it is frustrating, and it is even better in the long run to kill all the patrols!! You get experience, you get the freedom to roam the corridors at will and you may get some cool items!
2. The Battlefields are cool concept, but sadly lacking. THe random dungeon generation code needs some tweaking - not the map-generation, but rooms-generation. The dungeons are boring. Oh, for a hack and slash portion of the game, it doesn't seem to matter, but it does. Diablo mostly features random dungeons generation, and it is really varied. You get shrines, mana pools, fountains, champion packs and objects related to the theme of the dungeon.
The random dungeons in BD lacks theme. Please, if there ever is going to be a Battlefield in DD2, please make it more exciting and varied. And the monsters...if Act I mainly consists of skeletons, perhaps we shall fight less of those in the Act I Battlefields?
3. The One-Handed with Shield, and One-Handed Weapon skill seperation. This may be one dead horse being pounded to death, but this seperation is one of the most insane, INSANE concept I have ever heard off. No other RPGs I know (computer or pen and paper) practise this.
4. Lack of information does not make a game challenging. Some games, such as FF, thinks to by leaving out information about spells and etc and let the players find out by trial and error makes the game 'challenging'. I don't agree. Sure, the manual describes the spells. But what about Alchemly and Charms?
There are a lot more I could raise up -- improving the AI of the 'other' party member so that they don't have to be babysitted all the time.
In the end, at any rate, great game still!