So much still to improve on :(

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vgsmart

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vgsmart

Newcomer

2 600g2g pts

4 years ago

Jun 16, 2021, 7:38:43 PM

Now in my second open test of the game there's a really wide variety of things to improve on, but I think the vast majority of it boils down to communication with the player and the impact of certain actions.

For instance:

How do I know if my culture is starting to push into other regions and what mechanical benefits is it providing (I know there is a warscore benefit)? Same for religion.
What will the immediate, current, impact be of building infrastructure? Sure, a district tells me what I get, but what about a stone quarry? I certainly don't want to have to count up how many current stone tiles I am working in a every city by hand to make a decision.
Why doesn't the tooltip tell you what the stability cost is for attaching or absorbing a city will be?
Why can't I see the resource gains when trying to build an outpost if I don't have enough influence? Like, I know I can't build it, but I want to know where to send my guys in advance.

Beyond that I still have some gripes with the pacing. I like that you can't build everything, that is very good, but there's at least one or two eras per game where all of my cities do nothing but produce the special building of the era and by the time they are done I am into the next era (these are games I am winning at high difficulty). As a result all of my cities feel kind of bland and generic because almost every special building is simply better than anything else you can build; and this problem gets more and more out of hand the further you progress in eras.

I'd much rather have to consider both the goal of the city I am looking at and the benefit. Is this a food city designed for building troops? Is this a production city designed for building wonders? Is it a science city designed for... science? Instead I just get "this is like the city next door, but with fewer people." And sure I could AVOID building the national building and focus my cities, but the decisions are usually SO lopsided that it would harm my ability to compete to do it. E.g. Do you want 6 science from a research district or 40 production and 20 food from a Baray.

And lastly... the AI is still awful at winning wars. Wars in Humankind are incredibly dangerous and deadly. It takes a lot of resources to build an army, especially in the early game. Not only does the AI not confirm kills (I saw numerous instances of the AI deciding to attack a higher health unit instead of finishing off a low health one), but it often sends in smaller stacks against larger armies, only to retreat and cost warscore. In fact, you can win a war by simply trapping a couple stacks of units somewhere in your land and force them to retreat every other turn (you have to wait a turn otherwise they can't retreat). Because the penalty for retreating ONE scout (5 each) twice is worth more than defeating a massive army of 24 units (8 total)... well you get the idea. Warscore should not be based "win, lose, retreat" fixed values, but something way more meaningful to what just happened. Did you just devastate half the troops of the nation you are fighting? I'd rather that be worth a lot more than "I killed one scout."

Anyway, as a result of the AI just not committing to win the war they pose little risk and really feels necessary to wage war to win at the highest difficulty. There's a lot of stars to be gained from not only killing troops, but the income from vassals (again, this should be clear how much tribute they'll be paying you) AND the territory gain. In short, war is the fastest way to gain era score and also... the least satisfying currently.

That all said, I really hope some or all of these items and more can be addressed prior to release, I don't dislike the game or its concept, but these problems really hold it back.

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StarCleric

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StarCleric

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21 500g2g pts

4 years ago

Jun 17, 2021, 2:38:11 AM

Exactly. You'll see a building; you'll consider building it or not; but the tool tip offers NO info to help you decide. For example, I consider building the building that improves industry on stone areas. Do I have any stone areas? How many? How much will it increase it in total? You don't know until you esc out and count/tally every time. Super un-helpful.

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Dayvit78

History Pro

"How do you know the fish are happy? You are not a fish." "How do you know I do not know? You are not me."

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Dayvit78

History Pro

12 500g2g pts

4 years ago

Jun 17, 2021, 4:58:54 AM

Really nice feedback. Have you put these thoughts in the Closed Beta forum? It may get more attention there.

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Veah

Hunchback in Disguise

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Veah

Hunchback in Disguise

4 000g2g pts

4 years ago

Jun 17, 2021, 9:41:35 AM

StarCleric wrote:
Do I have any stone areas?

If you don't have stone areas, the game doesn't allow you to build something that only works in stone areas. Just like you cant build Fish market without a Harbour.

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StarCleric

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StarCleric

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21 500g2g pts

4 years ago

Jun 17, 2021, 5:47:20 PM

Then that's a good start. But still: How many? How much will it increase it in total? You don't know until you esc out and count/tally every time. Super un-helpful.

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So much still to improve on :(

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