'Kay, I got to spend some serious time playing TA during a flight from SFO to SYD. MAN it was fun learning things from scratch all over again.
Initial thoughtsBig ticks for the game itself - it's just starting out in beta-hood, yet plays really well. In my sleep-deprived state I could actually see the corridors that the templars were marching down, aliens moving up out of the gloom. Very very cool. Sucks that those aliens have so many teeth as the templars got chewed on something fierce.
I like the way that in the help section, you list the formulae used to determine movement/attack/defense modifiers. It helps you understand the relationship between the different skills and stuff
BugIF you have only one CP left, and you click on the "back" movement option (which consumes 2CP), you can't actually move, but you shouldn't lose that 1CP either. You should still be left with 1CP to do a legal move.
Wishes1) virtual keypad controller in left or right hand side of the screen. I know you're working on this, but I guess it's a vote for the implementation.
2) Option for "fog of war". Only see the locations of aliens in your line of site. That way you can't see them moving around unless you can actually see them. Happy for this to be an option or a setting at higher difficulty levels
<Edit>2a) Yes, there's now a 2a - it could have been #17, but it fits better with #2. Anyway, having a mini-map, or a piece of equipment that is like the Colonial Marines motion tracker (ala Aliens). That would lead on to #2b
2b) Have an option to STOP watching all of the aliens move one by one. Having a mini-map would allow you to see the enemy move without having the screen flit from one alien to the next.
</Edit>3) Weapons swapout during a mission. I get the no reload thing ... well actually, I don't because really you should be able to reload your weapon during a mission. However, during the Squad Management thing, you have differentiated "Equipped" with "Carried". That would make me think that I am carrying some extra weaponry. It would be great, during a quiet moment, to go into the inventory of your templar, and change the weapon he is carrying
4) Details about the squad member selected. Long-pressing on a squad member during a mission should open up a display about that squad member, specifically the attributes the unit has, weapons/armor loadouts, etc. It would help differentiate the different members in the team
5) Modes of operation. Like in the ole Rainbow 6 games (and other squad games), it would be great to be able to set a mode for a squad member: Assault, Guard, Protect.
- Assault will be the default option - usual running, killing, grinning stuff
- Guard means the character doesn't move, but is able to use all of his CP as defensive combat instead of just 2 CP
- Protect means that the unit will follow a designated squadmate and protect him from danger
6) Your squad member should be able to shoot an enemy as soon as the enemy moves into range. This means if an alien advances on a Templar who is placed at the end of a corridor, the Templar should be able to shoot at the alien BEFORE the alien actually comes up and leans on the Templar. At the very least, this should be in Guard/Protect modes, but otherwise it will be with the 2 CP remaining.
7) Doors - Templars should be able to open/close doors to help protect their flanks.
8) Destroying spawn points - Is there any way a Templar could take out a spawn point? It would be great if a Templar carried a few charges (old C4 or the 25th century equivalent). Then as you work on clearing out the alien scum, you can ensure that the scum won't spawn behind you.
9) Mines. Something proximity triggered allowing you to set charges in corridors and know that if aliens come up behind you, they'll get a surprise
10) Shields. Something that you can place like a mobile barricade. You can shoot over it, but Aliens have to go around it
11) It'll come to me ... I shoulda written notes while I was playing
12) Getting more XP than 1 point ... maybe I am playing too simply, but I'd think that if I dispatched 20 aliens, I'd get more than 1XP ...
13) Have the ability to determine the CP/MP/Attack Strength of an alien opponent using Tactics skill (or some other logical skill). As you become more wise in combat, you should be able to identify threats more effectively.
Oh ... 11) As you build in dexterity, you should have the ability to move backwards at the cost of only 1CP. Alternatively, have this as a skill available to particular character classes ... see, I knew it would come back to me
14) Shooting on the diagonal. If you're in a room, and an alien is directly diagonal to you, you can't shoot it. You have to move forward, turn, then shoot. Kinda nuts huh.
15) I don't have a 15. It's not like #11, which I did have but forgot.
16) Aliens shouldn't have the ability to kill one of your squad members in 2 hits (1 turn). It was kind of annoying watching a Templar go from perfect health to dead in one round, hit twice by 1 alien - front on. Surely these Templars are carrying state of the bad-ass art armor, and should cope with frontal assaults. Otherwise they'd just rely on their ranged weapons and blast as soon as the opposition came into range.
Okay ... I think I'm done.
<edit 2>Oh ... 17) Caches of weapons. It would be great to have the occasional cache of new weapons scattered throughout the level (randomly of course). This means that you can reload/upgrade/heal during a mission.
18) Heal Packs - I guess this is kind of like a Doctor Kit ... but it should be cheaper than 600
19) Ability to sell stuff. Surely you are able to salvage stuff while you are on missions so that you can make a little cash from the science geeks who want alien blood samples and stuff. No? At least you should be able to sell stuff that you have bought.
</edit 2>
