I confess, after studying the feedback on yesterday’s Limitless Legend 2 early entry impressions, I’m mortally afeared that I am a type of accursed “constructive outliers” I maintain studying about within the Gamer Witchfinder Almanac. Seemingly, a good portion of you had been turned off by the current Steam demo. Chances are you’ll have an interest, then, to learn specifics about how Amplitude have modified the sport in response to demo suggestions.
As detailed in a brand new Steam submit, this is what they assume you favored. Firstly, the Tidefall mechanic, whereby the ocean retreats periodically to disclose additional playable terrain, and the common Monsoons that sweep the land. “This was a core factor of the sport, and we had been pleased to see it having an actual influence,” the devs write, including that they tinkered lots with the amount of Monsoons and Tidefalls. Apparently, there have been as soon as eight smaller Tidefalls to each sport of Limitless Legend 2, so many who gamers started ignoring them.
In addition they reckon you are eager on the asymmetrical faction design – “at all times a spotlight of Amplitude” – and that you just’re principally having fun with the artwork and sound, together with the map design, characters and jingles for stuff like minor factions, or the bizarre echoey thudding you would possibly hear throughout Monsoons.
Now for weaknesses. In response to Amplitude, the majority of the destructive suggestions involved the person interface. “1 / 4 of critiques talked about UI and solely 30% of these feedback had been constructive,” they notice. “In studying all of your suggestions we notice it isn’t so simple as making a couple of modifications and we’re taking a look at one thing bigger. There are situations the place we displayed the incorrect or not sufficient info. There have been UI and textual content bugs to repair and we expect extra is required right here, which can take a while.”
Specifically, they’re taking a look at making the town screens extra intelligible. “Adjacency, leveling districts, managing inhabitants, and having clear selections on what to construct subsequent had been all muddy,” the devs write. This can be a “movement concern”, apparently, which I assume refers to how your eyeballs and a spotlight transfer from one UI factor to the subsequent in the middle of city administration.
Amongst different issues, they could change up Districts so to choose them from a development listing like Enhancements, reasonably than selecting a tile to construct on first. “It will take time to vary and will not be within the preliminary Early Entry, however we can be sharing ideas with you to get suggestions,” the devs remark.
To belatedly replace my impressions from yesterday, I have never had a lot of an issue with the UI within the early entry construct, however there have been undoubtedly a few moments this week when the verdant tile designs made it exhausting to discern, say, metropolis centres, or items inside cities. It is undoubtedly reasonably busy, which is to be anticipated for a 4X technique sport with such florid factions and a turbulent increasing map. I additionally typically forgot what right-click and left-click do in numerous contexts. I do not take into account any of those deal-breakers, nonetheless.
Following on from these UI ideas, Amplitude acknowledge that some gamers have discovered the colorful world just a little too hallucinogenic. They’ve addressed this in early entry by making metropolis foundations clearer, so you realize to construct there, whereas eliminating bugs (not the Necrophage) that precipitated blurriness, and including extra graphics choices. They’ve additionally decreased the color saturation of the terrain just a little and made the all-important hexagonal grid traces extra outstanding, whereas shrinking sure fancier vegetation that gamers stored complicated with Anomalies.
“It is a troublesome steadiness between offering a lush, detailed world the place you may see the leaves blow within the wind throughout monsoon, and nonetheless not must pressure or be confused when making an attempt to see info it is advisable play,” the builders observe.
In my impressions of Limitless Legend 2, I used to be most important of the character writing. Demo gamers had been additionally iffy about this aspect of the sport. Of their Steam submit, Amplitude notice that there are a lot of extra phrases in Limitless Legend 2 than the 2014 unique, together with reams of character dialogue. “We would like heroes to really feel private and deep,” they write. “They might be members of your council, have their very own pals and enemies, and so they discuss on to you and one another. However this extra granularity additionally got here with points.
“For Early Entry now we have up to date the presentation of the dialog, we’re slicing traces and occasions to give attention to solely the most effective and best suited,” the devs proceed. “In some circumstances, the incorrect character would say one thing, or a personality it did not make sense for, which we’re fixing.” I undoubtedly picked up on a couple of situations of the latter, however my overarching downside with the character writing is that the give attention to characters would not do sure factions justice. The Necrophage are a horde, not a solid. The Side are a reef, not an ensemble. That is what I discover enticing about them conceptually, not less than.
Limitless Legend 2 launches into early entry on twenty second September. It’s going to begin off with 5 factions. They’re planning so as to add a sixth plus multiplayer and customized faction assist earlier than the 1.0 launch subsequent yr. If you find yourself disliking it please do not burn my home down.
