Sign In

### Topic

#### Posting my initial thoughts and some ideas (which might even be implemented some other way already o_O;):

I got in for this most recent round of testing, and although I didn't even make it to level 10, thought I'd share some impressions.
I've been dreaming of a game like this forever, and lacking any game development skills (or venture capital) I was just going to wait around until someone made it for me. And now someone has - hooray!
Here are some initial thoughts (and of course I know this is an alpha and things are likely to change; I also know that I probably just didn't SEE everything given my low lvl). *Also* I think my comments need to be prefaced with the admission that I am NOT a powerleveler. I like to take my time to explore and figure things out on my own (I did give in and look up how to get salt hah), and so a lot of my thoughts are going to reflect that. *ALSO* Also: some of these are more ideas than observations... sorry.
Generally:
I love the look of the game, the options to customize avatars (I hardly ever see similar looking guys), the sense of humor, the clever narrative... it's all just so so perfect.
Player Page:
Should definitely have more options for interactions. About Me stuff for sure, but also places to post messages to the community (eg: wanted/selling items, help wanted with a project), places to put in IM or email info, or a messaging system within the site would be awesome.
Skills:
I like the passive skill training, and I like that that aspect can be accessed outside the game/via mobile. At the same time, I'm glad that there aren't skill queues, but that might be my personal play preference.
Another thing that might be personal is that I love the complexity. I like that in order to do anything at all you need to jump through a half dozen hoops and figure out how to get certain ingredients (referring specifically to the first knife/board quest). It makes it more of a puzzle type game. I'd like to see the skill trees have a similar complexity. Like, say you need to get basic skills in a bunch of different areas in order to open up more specific skills, or to be able to use particular equipment (EveOnline style). This might encourage more diversity in skill building.
It does seem that there aren't that many skills out there yet, and I'm sure this is because the game is in alpha. A lot of the time I found myself training this thing or that thing just because I needed something to fill up time - the training times were so short that I rarely had a chance to use the skill(s) I'd already learned! I'd actually like to see the skill acquisition take longer than it does (although maybe the times are set the way they are while the game is only open for shorter testing sessions?). I'm probably in the minority there.
Quests:
So because of the short queue times, one thing I noticed is that I was positively flooded with quests - every time you learn a skill you get another quest related to it, plus the random quests. For a while it felt like I was getting pop up after pop up. While I think it's great that the game provides direction, I'd prefer it if there was a limit on how many quests were open at a time with the option to cancel out of one to request a new one.
OR maybe a better idea would be to chain quests so that you have to complete (say) 1 or 2 *general* cooking quests to access a third. And then at some point a quest along a chain might require a set of skills that you may not necessarily have yet: then the quests would drive skill development rather than skill development driving quests. It might seem to provide a little more structure to skill training other than "hm well i guess I need to train something so I'll just click this available thing".
At the same time, I have read a few people say that they have run out of quests, so my "problem" might be unique.
Recipes:
The problem with crafting games is that it seems to get repetitive and boring after a while. Part of it is that most interfaces generally just require you to click some items, then click combine and that's it. When there is a game built around crafting, it seems like there should be more.
One good idea may come from Everquest2 or Rune Factory Frontier, which require the user to play a mini-game with the item quality or straight up success or failure dependent on how well the game is played as well as skill level.
Another problem with crafting based games is that all recipes are quickly learned and wikified, meaning most players just churn through content. I'd love to see a game where there was some element of chance. Maybe when you shake milk you get butter most of the time but there is a chance you could also get yogurt or creme fraiche or KICKASS! butter or spoiled milk. I never played FF11, but always found their crafting system intriguing, where properties of the crafted item changed depending on when it was made and other factors. Not that it's a good idea for a game like Glitch, but it is interesting.
Items:
One thing that was really confusing to me was where to find certain things... it didn't seem like there was a lot of consistency. Say I need an egg or fruit or a spice... well there are plants I can harvest from. But if I need corn or a tomato, then I need to go to a vendor. And there are grocery vendors and produce vendors... which seem like they should sell similar things?? It just gets confusing.
Any kind of vegetable seems like it should be able to be grown, especially given the number of gardening skills there are. (And maybe they can be - like I said: level 7. Or maybe this is planned - like I said: alpha). I would think that there would be seed vendors and maybe general vendors which sell items but at a premium. The focus would be on player characters providing most ingredients for crafting. Which leads me to...
Stores/Auctions:
I haven't used the Auction system, mostly because I like to get things myself as part of exploring the different skills, and I don't have many high level skills which require specialty ingredients. But there SHOULD be a point in the game where it is near impossible or just terribly time consuming to do everything yourself, if only to foster community building. Auction houses are convenient, but they don't do much to encourage interaction. Personal stores might be more social but can also be crowded and confusing and usually just encourage afk shopkeepers who never log out. Maybe the auction page of the website takes you to the player page of the seller and you have to contact them directly to buy things? I don't know what an ideal solution is and I'm interested to see what eventually happens with this.
Social hubs:
Wherever happens with auctions/shops, I think it would be nice to have them centrally located; to have - say - a capitol city or a city for each area that has the auction house, player shops, maybe even minigame arenas or job posting boards for player created quests. Something else that would rule in a city/hub: a quick travel system that would allow a for-fee teleport to non-adjacent zones.
Housing:
I didn't get a house this time around - I hope to do so next time around. I hope that eventually carpentry, weaving, and other house decorating skills are introduced.
Yeesh this is long and rambly... how embarrassing.
Anyway I'm *super* impressed with what I've seen so far. I've alpha and beta tested a number of games before, and what I experienced of Glitch is better than some LAUNCH titles I've played. So, thanks! And I'm excited to see what more will be done!

Posted 24 months ago by nublet | Permalink

### Replies

- First of all..... Welcome :-).
  I just wanted to share that the produce issue is resolved when you buy a house. There are plots in the yard for your own personal trees (the number of which is determined by the price of the house.) There is also a place for you to garden. Each garden has 16 plots (I think) where you can plant seeds for produce. You buy these seeds at a Gardening Vendor. (Produce Vendors sell the actual veggies.....and strawberries.) The exception is the housing in the Gregarious Grange Tower. There you get 1 tree plot, but no garden. I hope this helps :-).
  Posted 24 months ago by Jade | Permalink
- Yes! Awesome, thank you!
  Posted 24 months ago by nublet | Permalink
- "One good idea may come from Everquest2 or Rune Factory Frontier, which require the user to play a mini-game with the item quality or straight up success or failure dependent on how well the game is played as well as skill level."
  i think there was a previous topic where this was suggested. it's a good idea. i don't think you should *have* to play a mini game every time you craft something, for a couple of reasons i won't go into, but it is a good idea for crafting items with a little something extra.
  you might lose in speed and thus volume of production by playing the mini-game version of the crafting, but a bonus to quality. i think that would be a good balance.
  Posted 24 months ago by striatic | Permalink