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A Few Suggestions
marcioandre
Member Posts: 19 Arc User
Hello everyone
Altough I'm a recent player to Neverwinter, I have some experience on a few other MMOs. I must say I do like many aspects of this game and will continue to play for quite some time.
However, I also noticed a few minor things that I do believe could be better if changed / adjusted. I was looking for a suggestions section or existing thread, but the only decent suggestions merge thread I found was already "dead" (more than 1 month since last reply).
So I'm placing here a few ideas, and would encourage other players to do the same too. Feel free to merge this with another existing thread I haven't noticed.
So, here they are, in no special order:
1. Mouse Wheel Zoom
There are a few ways to change this by changing the FOV in the command line. While I've read somewhere the devs kept the zoom locked because of dungeoning stability in closed spaces, I must disagree on that. There are many many other MMOs out there with the same game mechanics (closed spaces, 3rd person view) that do allow zoom changing in place, using the mouse wheel (or another key). In fact, changing the zoom to our character can really help us in those tight places, instead on depending the "stick to the wall" camera, wich can become unpredictable to the player. Please, add in the possibility to control the zoom in/out our character. Thank you.
2. Determination icon
When I first saw this icon, I really thought it was some warning about the server going down in half an hour (I knew I was playing just before a scheduled down time). I was on my Greatsword fighter, wich just had achieved a new power using the level of Determination. For those who don't know what this is, its a quite visible yellow icon in the middle-left of the screen, just beside our character. When not in use, it stays almost translucent and very subtle. But when I start to fight or to get hit, the icon starts to fill up with a yellow color. This is when it bugs me, as I don't feel ok playing with that huge icon just standing there in the middle of the screen. I would opt by a more side-placed icon (to the left, to the right, as long as it doesn't stay so close to my character). We can change the position of every HUD item, except this icon. Please, give us an option to change this fill-up icon position, or even its style (let us make it a bit smaller or bigger, as people prefer).
3. Astral Diamonds
Ok, so we have a few different currencies in-game, that is normal on any MMO. What I do feel weird is the existence of two Astral Diamonds type (Rough and Refined). Couldn't they be the same, one and only, earn & spend type, without having to refine them? Yes its an automatic procedure, but wouldn't it be more linear and process-saving if there was only 1 type of Astral Diamonds? But the worse is the sheer ammount of diamonds a player need to buy a few Zen coins even for the cheapest buy in the shop. Even more worrying and a bit capitalist, is the huge ammount of Diamonds required to replace an armor visual by another piece of armor. I would pay gold, plat, diamonds, to keep my armor visual the way I like, but 4.000 Astral Diamonds to replace a belt visual? And 3.000 to replace an armor visual? These numbers don't make any sense, but they were around those values. I would have posted a print screen here, but I can't seem to make any (see next suggestion). My character is currently now at level 27, and she has 5 gold and around 3.200 Astral Diamonds. I don't know if most players have much more than this, but I suggest a value decrease in those less-than-necessary things (visual change, dye change, etc.).
4. Screen captures
I know I have pressed the PrtScr key a few times by now, but there is no Printscreens folder in the Neverwinter game folder or sub-folder. Can this be fixed? I don't know if we need any .ini change or if is there any special method to have a simple screen capture (with or without UI, that is not the point here). Please, make the Print Screen function properly.
5. Pick-ups
Woot, a greatsword on the floor!! *I pick it up* What?? A wizzard orb?? Yes this is for real. I have the feeling a lot of items are missing their respective pick-up icons on the floor. I've seen armors, bracers, boots, belts, all have their own unique icons so we recognize them before picking them up. But greatswords are still displaying for every available weapon (orbs, daggers, long swords, all have a greatsword icon before we pick them up on the floor). I suggest correcting this.
6. Dungeons
One of the best ways to run content with other people (or wasn't Neverwinter called a MMORPG). However, the game feels a lot more optimized for single player content. And I'm talking only about the graphic system. I normally play with medium fps, playable and steady most of the time. Even with many mobs around me, I can see them coming, I see my character moving well and my own attack animations and so on. BUT, the moment I enter a dungeon, all is ruined. I can't barely fight, sometimes I don't even see mobs approaching (and I've died a few times because of that). I can't see some scenario textures and meshes, while they are loading and I am already on top of them. The game just lags in a graphic way. And before you say something, yes, I did lowered the video options to a bare minimum, having no effect in the gameplay. Its not a connection issue, neither my graphics card issue (I repeat, I play the game ok, this only happens inside dungeons; on skirmishes, not so much, since I play them with not much of a problem). When we finished the dungeon I did today with a few random players, it was all fine. We were outside the quest entrance and started to fight some random mobs in the surroundings, and the graphics were plain normal again. So this is not either a matter of "several players in the same area, causing lots of meshes and polygons in the 3d models to increase GPU use", because we were ALL there in the outside, and we all had our own companions to add to the poly count. I suggest the devs to seriously optimize and fix this problem in the dungeons.
7. Companions
There was I trying to struggle and keeping myself alive in that last dungeon I mentioned just before. At a point, my character was put to the ground by a lot of mobs, then they went I don't know where (prolly after another player). And I was staring at my companions HP bar, full and not moving. I thought I saw that cleric around me, but anyway, she just was NOT healing me. My character was not dead, I was waiting for other player to come by and help, but any decent cleric under attack elsewhere could just simply throw me a heal and I was ready to fight again. So, the big question. Why don't the cleric companions heal their own player when he/she most need? I suggest fixing this cleric companion too-much passive behaviour. I would go one step ahead in the companion improving, by adding a small companion control bar, with 2 or 3 basic funcions and stances, like Fight/Passive, Heal Selected Player, and maybe an Attack Selected Target button. The middle function could change depending on the companion class (rogue would have traps disable, for ex.).
8. Traps
The traps in Neverwinter seem a bit dull. I walk on a trapped floor, the spikes go up.... And my character simply gets frozen in place, almost like stuck as in a bug or game glitch. I wait a second or two, then she is free to move around. This trap mechanic doesn't feel very fluid, neither diverse, neither truly dangerous. I am not aware of work currently being done with the traps, if any, but I would suggest one or more minor changes to the traps system, like:
- Remove those very visible spike holders, place two or three holes in the floor just to alert to the trap presence.
- Allow the character to slowly move out of the trap when it activates, taking a minor amount of damage while moving each second, but not dealing damage if the character is still.
- Create a few more trap styles. I've seen mostly spikes on the floor, darts coming out of holes in the wall and sometimes, rotating blades. Try colapsing floors with lava or acid underneath; false tiles floor, with some real, some false with abyss straight falling, like the ones we see in one of Indiana Jones movies; acid sprays pouring out of the walls; visible rotating blades / spikes / whatever dangereus hazzards we see from start and are not really a "surprise trap", but require some timed sprint or run through them; etc.
9. Visual Styles
Now that my main character has reached level 54, I'm 6 levels from the end content, but I have only seen around 3 different greatsword styles since level 1. This feels a little low, dull, and makes my greatsword fighter visually identical to other greatsword fighters. Even if we had 1 different style each 10 levels (thats acceptable, I guess), I should have seen by now 5 different greatsword meshes. I know most goodies come after level 60, but why not give some love to the other players who haven't reached that level yet, be it for personal reasons (job, lack of time, etc.), be it because they just want to play new characters with new classes and try out different things thorough the game. I suggest adding a few more weapon styles (aka meshes, or 3d models) not only the swords, but other weapons and items too, and scatter them through the levels depending on the sword name. The re-style cost reduction I have mentioned in nr 3 could greatly help here, allowing a player to pick any style for his/her weapon, as long as the player has the "style" weapon in the inventory to "merge" it with the "stats" weapon. This would help players to have a different character, visually unique, and that is what most people want and like to have.
I will update this thread with more ideas and suggestions whenever I remember more things.
Thanks for reading!
Altough I'm a recent player to Neverwinter, I have some experience on a few other MMOs. I must say I do like many aspects of this game and will continue to play for quite some time.
However, I also noticed a few minor things that I do believe could be better if changed / adjusted. I was looking for a suggestions section or existing thread, but the only decent suggestions merge thread I found was already "dead" (more than 1 month since last reply).
So I'm placing here a few ideas, and would encourage other players to do the same too. Feel free to merge this with another existing thread I haven't noticed.
So, here they are, in no special order:
1. Mouse Wheel Zoom
There are a few ways to change this by changing the FOV in the command line. While I've read somewhere the devs kept the zoom locked because of dungeoning stability in closed spaces, I must disagree on that. There are many many other MMOs out there with the same game mechanics (closed spaces, 3rd person view) that do allow zoom changing in place, using the mouse wheel (or another key). In fact, changing the zoom to our character can really help us in those tight places, instead on depending the "stick to the wall" camera, wich can become unpredictable to the player. Please, add in the possibility to control the zoom in/out our character. Thank you.
2. Determination icon
When I first saw this icon, I really thought it was some warning about the server going down in half an hour (I knew I was playing just before a scheduled down time). I was on my Greatsword fighter, wich just had achieved a new power using the level of Determination. For those who don't know what this is, its a quite visible yellow icon in the middle-left of the screen, just beside our character. When not in use, it stays almost translucent and very subtle. But when I start to fight or to get hit, the icon starts to fill up with a yellow color. This is when it bugs me, as I don't feel ok playing with that huge icon just standing there in the middle of the screen. I would opt by a more side-placed icon (to the left, to the right, as long as it doesn't stay so close to my character). We can change the position of every HUD item, except this icon. Please, give us an option to change this fill-up icon position, or even its style (let us make it a bit smaller or bigger, as people prefer).
3. Astral Diamonds
Ok, so we have a few different currencies in-game, that is normal on any MMO. What I do feel weird is the existence of two Astral Diamonds type (Rough and Refined). Couldn't they be the same, one and only, earn & spend type, without having to refine them? Yes its an automatic procedure, but wouldn't it be more linear and process-saving if there was only 1 type of Astral Diamonds? But the worse is the sheer ammount of diamonds a player need to buy a few Zen coins even for the cheapest buy in the shop. Even more worrying and a bit capitalist, is the huge ammount of Diamonds required to replace an armor visual by another piece of armor. I would pay gold, plat, diamonds, to keep my armor visual the way I like, but 4.000 Astral Diamonds to replace a belt visual? And 3.000 to replace an armor visual? These numbers don't make any sense, but they were around those values. I would have posted a print screen here, but I can't seem to make any (see next suggestion). My character is currently now at level 27, and she has 5 gold and around 3.200 Astral Diamonds. I don't know if most players have much more than this, but I suggest a value decrease in those less-than-necessary things (visual change, dye change, etc.).
4. Screen captures
I know I have pressed the PrtScr key a few times by now, but there is no Printscreens folder in the Neverwinter game folder or sub-folder. Can this be fixed? I don't know if we need any .ini change or if is there any special method to have a simple screen capture (with or without UI, that is not the point here). Please, make the Print Screen function properly.
5. Pick-ups
Woot, a greatsword on the floor!! *I pick it up* What?? A wizzard orb?? Yes this is for real. I have the feeling a lot of items are missing their respective pick-up icons on the floor. I've seen armors, bracers, boots, belts, all have their own unique icons so we recognize them before picking them up. But greatswords are still displaying for every available weapon (orbs, daggers, long swords, all have a greatsword icon before we pick them up on the floor). I suggest correcting this.
6. Dungeons
One of the best ways to run content with other people (or wasn't Neverwinter called a MMORPG). However, the game feels a lot more optimized for single player content. And I'm talking only about the graphic system. I normally play with medium fps, playable and steady most of the time. Even with many mobs around me, I can see them coming, I see my character moving well and my own attack animations and so on. BUT, the moment I enter a dungeon, all is ruined. I can't barely fight, sometimes I don't even see mobs approaching (and I've died a few times because of that). I can't see some scenario textures and meshes, while they are loading and I am already on top of them. The game just lags in a graphic way. And before you say something, yes, I did lowered the video options to a bare minimum, having no effect in the gameplay. Its not a connection issue, neither my graphics card issue (I repeat, I play the game ok, this only happens inside dungeons; on skirmishes, not so much, since I play them with not much of a problem). When we finished the dungeon I did today with a few random players, it was all fine. We were outside the quest entrance and started to fight some random mobs in the surroundings, and the graphics were plain normal again. So this is not either a matter of "several players in the same area, causing lots of meshes and polygons in the 3d models to increase GPU use", because we were ALL there in the outside, and we all had our own companions to add to the poly count. I suggest the devs to seriously optimize and fix this problem in the dungeons.
7. Companions
There was I trying to struggle and keeping myself alive in that last dungeon I mentioned just before. At a point, my character was put to the ground by a lot of mobs, then they went I don't know where (prolly after another player). And I was staring at my companions HP bar, full and not moving. I thought I saw that cleric around me, but anyway, she just was NOT healing me. My character was not dead, I was waiting for other player to come by and help, but any decent cleric under attack elsewhere could just simply throw me a heal and I was ready to fight again. So, the big question. Why don't the cleric companions heal their own player when he/she most need? I suggest fixing this cleric companion too-much passive behaviour. I would go one step ahead in the companion improving, by adding a small companion control bar, with 2 or 3 basic funcions and stances, like Fight/Passive, Heal Selected Player, and maybe an Attack Selected Target button. The middle function could change depending on the companion class (rogue would have traps disable, for ex.).
8. Traps
The traps in Neverwinter seem a bit dull. I walk on a trapped floor, the spikes go up.... And my character simply gets frozen in place, almost like stuck as in a bug or game glitch. I wait a second or two, then she is free to move around. This trap mechanic doesn't feel very fluid, neither diverse, neither truly dangerous. I am not aware of work currently being done with the traps, if any, but I would suggest one or more minor changes to the traps system, like:
- Remove those very visible spike holders, place two or three holes in the floor just to alert to the trap presence.
- Allow the character to slowly move out of the trap when it activates, taking a minor amount of damage while moving each second, but not dealing damage if the character is still.
- Create a few more trap styles. I've seen mostly spikes on the floor, darts coming out of holes in the wall and sometimes, rotating blades. Try colapsing floors with lava or acid underneath; false tiles floor, with some real, some false with abyss straight falling, like the ones we see in one of Indiana Jones movies; acid sprays pouring out of the walls; visible rotating blades / spikes / whatever dangereus hazzards we see from start and are not really a "surprise trap", but require some timed sprint or run through them; etc.
9. Visual Styles
Now that my main character has reached level 54, I'm 6 levels from the end content, but I have only seen around 3 different greatsword styles since level 1. This feels a little low, dull, and makes my greatsword fighter visually identical to other greatsword fighters. Even if we had 1 different style each 10 levels (thats acceptable, I guess), I should have seen by now 5 different greatsword meshes. I know most goodies come after level 60, but why not give some love to the other players who haven't reached that level yet, be it for personal reasons (job, lack of time, etc.), be it because they just want to play new characters with new classes and try out different things thorough the game. I suggest adding a few more weapon styles (aka meshes, or 3d models) not only the swords, but other weapons and items too, and scatter them through the levels depending on the sword name. The re-style cost reduction I have mentioned in nr 3 could greatly help here, allowing a player to pick any style for his/her weapon, as long as the player has the "style" weapon in the inventory to "merge" it with the "stats" weapon. This would help players to have a different character, visually unique, and that is what most people want and like to have.
I will update this thread with more ideas and suggestions whenever I remember more things.
Thanks for reading!
Post edited by marcioandre on
0
Comments
screen caps do have a specific folder. wherever neverwinter was installed on your computer (which by default would be c:\Program Files\Cryptic Studios\Neverwinter\Live) there is a folder named "screenshots". when you press the PrtScn key, those should appear in that folder. also, that key will take a screenshot without the UI. if you want to take a screenshot including the interface, you would need to type /screenshot_ui (which generates a tga file) or /screenshot_ui_jpg (which generates a jpg). you can also bind those to specific keys using the /bind command. /bind <command> <key> is the in-game command if i'm not mistaken.
there is a way to bind your mousewheel to the field of view but i'm not sure if i would call that zoom. when you are in inspect mode (key command
I imagine that on level 60 these numbers pop up quite a bit. But the game itself, has lots of intermediate levels. You are saying that a player can only feel comfortable changing minor options like the armor visuals at max level. When the hard work is already done. For me, I rarely stay too much time in the max levels, I do prefer the roleplaying experience while leveling up. The path I take is the objective, and not the goal itself. In other words: it sucks having to wait so much time only to change little things. I'm not complaining about mount costs or so, only the visual customization. Simple. Like the intermediate level characters don't have the right to be customized. I see a lot of plain equal characters (this would be another set of suggestions; will update when I can).
I did pressed that key. Several times. Several days ago (today too). And there is no such folder in Neverwinter folder or sub-folders. Anywhere. Note I'm playing on a desktop computer and the Print Screen key is 100% dedicated for that purpose (there is no alternate use with Fn key whatsoever, this is a normal keyboard).
I also did that. In fact I managed to set a few commands to assign the mouse wheel to change the FOV according to a thread somewhere in this forum, but I do not like the fact that it steals my Inspect mode mouse wheel away. I'm trying to reverse that by now.
2. Every class except cw has something displayed there, its not a gwf specific issue., you can modify the ui in the esc menu.
3. 24k/day rough ad is the only thing that keeps the economy balanced. while the transmute costs are high, Theres no point in doing it before 60. You will replace every piece of gear within minutes/hours of equipping it while leveling up, which only takes 3 days following the main storyline quests to go from 1-60.
4. Unless you change it via command line mentioned before, screenshots only save to your ss folder if you are in inspect "b" mode. Otherwise the screenshot key saves the screenshot to your clipboard. You can open any img viewer program and paste the screenshot from your clipboard.
Anyway, my suggestion is..
Offer a ranger class! I'm happy with the Guardian Fighter, but I know two others that won't commit to the game until an archer/ranger class is introduced. I get the feeling I'm not alone on that. Getting tired of seeing mount after mount, or even companions offered.. and I don't hear any whining that there aren't enough mount/companion options. ^^
I failed to explain before: from all the times I've pressed the print screen key, most of them I was in Inspect Mode. Hence my problem. There is no screenshots folder wherever I look. If I do a search for that name, it only comes up with the screenshots folder in Forsaken World and other MMOs I have installed. Nothing Neverwinter related. This remembers me of Skyrim, wich required a small .ini change in order for the Prt Scr key to work.
I can't seem to find any option to move that icon out of place. The option to change the HUD in the main menu only changes the other parts (toolbar, map, skills bar, etc.). Even the chat can be dragged out of the way. But not this indicator. This is my only high level character, so I don't know what comes up on the other classes. But I can say for sure, this icon on my greatsword fighter is not going out of there. I can't move it.
I consider myself a regular, non-zerging player. I mean, I'm out of a job, I've been playing a lot this game the entire day, for the last few days (other MMOs I have installed, I don't even open them most of the time). And I only reached level 30 yesterday. So, not going to happen for me, to reach level 60 that fast.
My only suggestion regarding Astral Diamonds is the reduction of the cost for those "day to day" things like customizing our outfit/armor. Since its out of question buying a mount, or even a subscription (at least for now), I don't have too much to play with. I've been on a number of another online games, and all of them allow some visual change at some cost. Yet, we must play and put some effort on it so we can pay those minor changes. And it is not hard to do that on early levels. But paying 3,000 diamonds to change the look of an armor? Yesterday I made another preview of it was asking me 10k+ diamonds to change the appearance of another armor... And I don't even have 4k. Whats the point in only letting players customize their gear in the very last max level of the entire game?
I passed by the auction house just to see out of curiosity, how much Astral Diamonds cost some very basic and worthless stuff (+1 defense shirts and all that). They go up to a few thousand diamonds.
Why so high values for so low level things?
Leprechaun was a nice touch with some humor....how about a "Man eating Rabbit" AKA Monty Python style or similar?
The ONLY way they have made money so far is by visual costs. They don't charge for content, haven't charged for races yet, and I don't think they're charging for classes. So if you want visual customization you need to pay some money. If you don't have any money, you have to suck it up for now. I can't afford a 300,000 dollar house, nobodies gonna drop it to 200,000 for me. It's how economy works, and they've done a pretty good job of keeping the game accessible without charging for it. Either you wait until 60 when you can grind lot's of AD fast, or you buy zen.