Orcish
08-07-2011, 03:27 PM
I have to say overall Star Legends has been a great new gaming experince and most players will find it very enjoyable. I was given the opportunity to beta test the new release and here are my thoughts.
1. Throughout various levels you will find rooms that contain chests that can only be opened by using characters of a particular class. Commandos destroys doors, Operatives hack door consoles, and Engineers repair door consoles. STS has changed the game dynamics by getting players more involved with their classes in relation to the environment just another added layer to the fun factor. During my exploration I found that I could open chests without having to hack, destroy, and repair. Most chests within these rooms are far back enough where players can't open them, however I found a few rooms that weren't (I'll add those areas at a later date). Suggestions: I would push back the few chests that are closer to door or add a game restraint, that prevents player actions beyond the entrance way.
2. In Star Legends maps are more involved, players must use there heads to solve various puzzles to gain access to rooms, chests, etc. What was ok in Pocket Legends isn't so much good for Star Legends. What am I referring to? The "Map Complete" screen is a great tool giving players a choice to go to the next map or head back to town, but in Star Legends it's big, obnoxious, and isn't transparent by any means, because there is so much going on these maps you'll often miss chests or rooms that you hadn't explored before you finished the map. In many maps there are several environmental hazards that will kill a character in one hit, so when you have a gaint "Map Complete" screen taking up 80% of the screen you'll wish you had x-ray vision. Suggestions: Allow players to adjust menu transparency or shrink the size of the menu.
3. The new skills look amazing! Like Pocket Legends, your first few skill points are auto assigned to various skills to get players use to the idea of using their abilities. What I found in Star Legends is that if you respec during this default "auto assigning phase", when you gain a new level the game will reinvest that new skill point into the first default skill. While in this phase, the game is locked into setting up skill points into a particular order so player beware! Suggestions: Keep the default skill distribution but remove the intial default skill step.
4. What's one feature that makes Star Legends stand out from Pocket Legends? Animated cut Scenes! When you load up a map a particular animated scene is played for that map while the longer animated scenes allow for tap to skip, the mission brief animation does not. Even though 2-3 seconds isn't a whole lot of time that's 2-3 seconds that prevents me from playing Star Legends (a little bit of justice for all those iOS users out there)! Suggestions: Add tap to skip feature on all map scenes.
5. The "Go To..." button has always been one of my favorites and I use it often, but in Star Legends it waste time. 90% of the time when you use the "Go To..." button it will take you to a map that is almost or already completed. You can hit it several times only to be taken back to that same map, or to another map in about the same state... This really kinda defeats the whole convenience of this tool and it needs to be fixed! Suggestions: Make the "Go To..." feature only transfer players to maps that are less then 50% complete, or when player selects the "Go To.." button to teleport player to a whole new map for that quest/mission.
6. One cool idea that was used was exploding objects that not only hurt your character, but damages the enemy as well! The problem is this, these exploding objects appear red on the map just like the enemy! When your trying to plan for then next room without wanting to get to close you won't know what's an enemy or what can be used against that enemy, and let me tell you your going to need all the firepower, health, and strategy you can muster. This isn't the wild west like Pocket Legends was. In Star Legends it's a brain game and if you just head into something without even thinking about a plan of action your putting your team at risk. You have to utilize everything and anything for your advantage. Suggestions: Change the exploding objects color on the map.
7. While keeping the enemy within your sights is great, Star Legends seems to go to the extreme! I feel like the enemy is kept on target about twice the length it was in Pocket Legends before it releases that target. It's an issue to select a mob thats moving around while your running, using abilities, avoiding hazards, etc. Changing targets is extremly bothersome and our touch screens don't always work when we want them to, so with all of this is going on, I feel like there could be an easier way. Suggestions: Shorten target hold length (maybe by line of sight?) and or create a target nearest enemy(auto attack does this already)/release target button.
8. Tons of new objects and overall eye candy to look at, but are all of them supposed to be ethereal by nature? I found it odd how I could walk through rooms and hallways covered from floor to ceiling with rubble and such. This is a very cosmetic issue that doesn't really sway from the gaming experience, it's only here to be noted. Suggestions: Keep this issue for last its not all that horrible. In the future add collision boxes so players can't bypass particular areas.
9. The menu display above your character health doesn't allow for the device button "back" to close this menu. Suggestions: Make it so that it does!
10. I was like a child in a toy store when I found out there were so many objects that players could interact with! So what's the issue? Well when one person uses a door terminal for example, another player can access the same chest, terminal, etc at the same time... So you end up with a few ppl out of the fight while they finish up their actions. Suggestions: Allow for only one player at a time to access interactive objects or allow for the action time to deplete faster the more players utilizing that object.
11. Skills are essential to any mmo player and especially in Star Legends where everything is out to get you. Star Legends as of now, makes it difficult to know which skills to invest into when the descriptions of the skills are so vague. One skill I wish to touch on is "Lurch". This skill reads as follows; "10 energy, 6 sec. cool-down, 12m range, 24-33* damage + knockback". What it doesn't say is it only affects a single target, and the knockback will push back mobs a football fields length (often pushing an enemy beyond the target hold threshold). While I had high hopes for this skill, I quickly discovered as of now it wasn't as useful as it should of been. Suggestions: Add more detailed information regarding skills. Cutdown the knockback distance by 30% and turn it into an aoe skill.
I hope you all enjoyed the read and I look forward to your thoughts.
1. Throughout various levels you will find rooms that contain chests that can only be opened by using characters of a particular class. Commandos destroys doors, Operatives hack door consoles, and Engineers repair door consoles. STS has changed the game dynamics by getting players more involved with their classes in relation to the environment just another added layer to the fun factor. During my exploration I found that I could open chests without having to hack, destroy, and repair. Most chests within these rooms are far back enough where players can't open them, however I found a few rooms that weren't (I'll add those areas at a later date). Suggestions: I would push back the few chests that are closer to door or add a game restraint, that prevents player actions beyond the entrance way.
2. In Star Legends maps are more involved, players must use there heads to solve various puzzles to gain access to rooms, chests, etc. What was ok in Pocket Legends isn't so much good for Star Legends. What am I referring to? The "Map Complete" screen is a great tool giving players a choice to go to the next map or head back to town, but in Star Legends it's big, obnoxious, and isn't transparent by any means, because there is so much going on these maps you'll often miss chests or rooms that you hadn't explored before you finished the map. In many maps there are several environmental hazards that will kill a character in one hit, so when you have a gaint "Map Complete" screen taking up 80% of the screen you'll wish you had x-ray vision. Suggestions: Allow players to adjust menu transparency or shrink the size of the menu.
3. The new skills look amazing! Like Pocket Legends, your first few skill points are auto assigned to various skills to get players use to the idea of using their abilities. What I found in Star Legends is that if you respec during this default "auto assigning phase", when you gain a new level the game will reinvest that new skill point into the first default skill. While in this phase, the game is locked into setting up skill points into a particular order so player beware! Suggestions: Keep the default skill distribution but remove the intial default skill step.
4. What's one feature that makes Star Legends stand out from Pocket Legends? Animated cut Scenes! When you load up a map a particular animated scene is played for that map while the longer animated scenes allow for tap to skip, the mission brief animation does not. Even though 2-3 seconds isn't a whole lot of time that's 2-3 seconds that prevents me from playing Star Legends (a little bit of justice for all those iOS users out there)! Suggestions: Add tap to skip feature on all map scenes.
5. The "Go To..." button has always been one of my favorites and I use it often, but in Star Legends it waste time. 90% of the time when you use the "Go To..." button it will take you to a map that is almost or already completed. You can hit it several times only to be taken back to that same map, or to another map in about the same state... This really kinda defeats the whole convenience of this tool and it needs to be fixed! Suggestions: Make the "Go To..." feature only transfer players to maps that are less then 50% complete, or when player selects the "Go To.." button to teleport player to a whole new map for that quest/mission.
6. One cool idea that was used was exploding objects that not only hurt your character, but damages the enemy as well! The problem is this, these exploding objects appear red on the map just like the enemy! When your trying to plan for then next room without wanting to get to close you won't know what's an enemy or what can be used against that enemy, and let me tell you your going to need all the firepower, health, and strategy you can muster. This isn't the wild west like Pocket Legends was. In Star Legends it's a brain game and if you just head into something without even thinking about a plan of action your putting your team at risk. You have to utilize everything and anything for your advantage. Suggestions: Change the exploding objects color on the map.
7. While keeping the enemy within your sights is great, Star Legends seems to go to the extreme! I feel like the enemy is kept on target about twice the length it was in Pocket Legends before it releases that target. It's an issue to select a mob thats moving around while your running, using abilities, avoiding hazards, etc. Changing targets is extremly bothersome and our touch screens don't always work when we want them to, so with all of this is going on, I feel like there could be an easier way. Suggestions: Shorten target hold length (maybe by line of sight?) and or create a target nearest enemy(auto attack does this already)/release target button.
8. Tons of new objects and overall eye candy to look at, but are all of them supposed to be ethereal by nature? I found it odd how I could walk through rooms and hallways covered from floor to ceiling with rubble and such. This is a very cosmetic issue that doesn't really sway from the gaming experience, it's only here to be noted. Suggestions: Keep this issue for last its not all that horrible. In the future add collision boxes so players can't bypass particular areas.
9. The menu display above your character health doesn't allow for the device button "back" to close this menu. Suggestions: Make it so that it does!
10. I was like a child in a toy store when I found out there were so many objects that players could interact with! So what's the issue? Well when one person uses a door terminal for example, another player can access the same chest, terminal, etc at the same time... So you end up with a few ppl out of the fight while they finish up their actions. Suggestions: Allow for only one player at a time to access interactive objects or allow for the action time to deplete faster the more players utilizing that object.
11. Skills are essential to any mmo player and especially in Star Legends where everything is out to get you. Star Legends as of now, makes it difficult to know which skills to invest into when the descriptions of the skills are so vague. One skill I wish to touch on is "Lurch". This skill reads as follows; "10 energy, 6 sec. cool-down, 12m range, 24-33* damage + knockback". What it doesn't say is it only affects a single target, and the knockback will push back mobs a football fields length (often pushing an enemy beyond the target hold threshold). While I had high hopes for this skill, I quickly discovered as of now it wasn't as useful as it should of been. Suggestions: Add more detailed information regarding skills. Cutdown the knockback distance by 30% and turn it into an aoe skill.
I hope you all enjoyed the read and I look forward to your thoughts.