Some tips for improvement

[Aged Code]

Aki-doki, let's PERCEPTION this!

[DaMi]

I have another proposal. On the sea, there is possible to press C which opens lower panel on the contracts tab. Would it be possible to close this window also from keyboard?

And would it be possible to change view to different tabs (in this window) also via keyboard shortcuts?

Hi Piotr, can you please have a look also on this older issue? It can be helpful to close the window when searching the right place of Algae, Iron Ore or Coal mining place. If the whole thing is too complicated, i would appreciate just to close this window from keyboard. Thank you.

[Aged Code]

Hi Piotr, can you please have a look also on this older issue? It can be helpful to close the window when searching the right place of Algae, Iron Ore or Coal mining place. If the whole thing is too complicated, i would appreciate just to close this window from keyboard. Thank you.

Yes, this is next in line.

[Cool_amigaN]

Hey there, I don't know whether this thread is applicable for the below discussion or if it has been covered already (though I prior searched the forum) but I have some questions/ideas regarding the "Story" mode:

When "Prawn" ownership is transferred at Hamburg, both the player and Krispin (NPC) are getting a penalty (-45 reputational points) due to the illegal type of action.

1) Is there a way to avoid it? I have selected different answers' path till that point but outcome remains the same.

2) I find the penalty highly illogical given that police isn't aware of the illegal transaction. As if you buy/load Alcohol without a proper license, you transfer it successfully, don't get caught by the police during routine checks, yet you get penalized.

3) Furthermore, the extent and impact of the penalty (-45 points) greatly increases time is needed to recap your player's reputation and finally embark to more interesting aspects of the game given that: a) all available trade contracts offer you just 1 reputation point. b) Given that most NPCs don't even talk to you (due to low reputation, so no side quests), the soonest path to recap is to undertake 45 cheap contracts back and forth between Paris and Hamburg, a really tiresome process which has cost me so far approx. 6 hours (including some minor sea exploration), without things starting to really take off.

Right now, the penalty looks as if it's placed there to punish the player (in case there isn't a way to avoid it) and artificially prolong the Story mode, while you miss all the fun for a more open exploration and variation of side quests, thus having a negative factor.

I think, the penalty should either be avoidable or in case it is forced, it should be either a lot less than -45 points or the cities should offer the player contracts with more than just 1 reputation point.

[CptJohnArcher]

Regard 1): No, it is not possible to avoid this.

This whole situation was already addressed and I really see your points. I suffered from the same problem. And yeah, your point 2) makes also sense to me. On the other hand, well, it is the story mode so it is ok to me.
So for me, setting the points loss to way lower that -45 would be the thing to go for me as well. Because this can really bore new players etc. like it is now.

[Aged Code]

Re.1. I feel your pain and completely understand your point about the limitation those penalty points introduce for a starting player. When we beta-tested the game, many things were different and no one complained too much about being punished so severely. To be honest, I was planning to add a side quest that would act as a counter-balance for the negative reputation. But having to work on so many other aspects of the game pushed it aside and was never released. However, since I've almost done the new dialogue system, Marc and I can add that forsaken side quest. It will be available for all players up to some level only, as I'm confident others have changed their reputations a long time ago .

Re.2. It is true that the police are not aware of this transaction. However, reputation changes not only because the player was caught by the police, but it also changes on many other occasions, as people who "saw" the player change their opinion of him. In this way, he loses or gains a reputation. The transaction made by Krispin was nothing light. Admittedly, they did not steal any vessel, but registering it to someone without the presence of the legal owner was serious, hence the high number of negative points given.

The bottom line is, it will be handled better

[Cool_amigaN]

Nice to hear I am not the only one having these ideas

Anyway, I dug deeper into the Aquabyss' world and still think that Story mode requires a bit of further rebalancing since after 8+ hours I finally managed to purchase the Medusa submarine in order to dive into deeper waters (specifically to visit London), only to find out that a hull upgrade is required but basically costs the same amount of my new sub. To that point I stopped 'cause there is no way I 'll invest +5-6 hours into back and forth sole trading.

Ultimately, what needs to be refined is the overall completion time of the game, which should be set within a reasonable frame. Not too much, not too fast. Would 10, 12 or 14 hours suffice before going into online mode? I don't know. But if it's too much, then players might loose interest even before meeting others online.

There are ways to speed up the pace I think. Enable 4 contracts (wholesalers) instead of max 2 into low Skills players: this way a player can export 2 contracts simultaneously to a city, reload its cargo into destination and take additional 2 for an export into an intermediate city stop. Have Contracts offering greater than 1 reputational point (at least for the people who have wasted a skill point into "Trade"). Rebalance the cost of subs and general sub equipment. But overall, I think that max completion time of Story mode must be re-set.

[Aged Code]

Thanks for your remarks, @Cool_amigaN. They will be analyzed. I already see room for some of your suggestions. Others will be very difficult or impossible to make. We'll see what can be done. At the moment, we're still working on the new dialogue system and story handling. Several new aspects have emerged that need to be properly addressed before a new [significant] update can be rolled out to the server. Stay tuned.

[marmacc]

As far as possible, I am a keyboard-only player.
Is it possible to make all the start buttons/areas keyboard-operable?

Suggestion:

• F1 to F3/F4 selects the respective entries on each page
  Exit/Quit with ESC
  Forward and back with arrow keys
  Things where you have to confirm something (e.g. load) with Enter
  Option on/off twice with the same key. So e.g. 2x F1 switches on, switches off

[Aged Code]

There are a lot of keyboard shortcuts and not without a reason - I like them too . The ultimate goal is to make the game 100% keyboard controllable (even if you have an Amiga without a mouse connected).
Of course, more will be added over time. It's not the right moment but when it is, we may discuss with other players keys (re)assignment.