Feedback: 2nd time playing (levels 3-9)

following on from this:
alpha.glitch.com/forum/gene...

First of all I have to say this is totally addictive.
It is 6am and I've played all night. And I've needed to go to the bathroom for at LEAST the last hour or so, but couldn't tear myself away. I just needed to mine a few more sparkly rocks, and then, well, there was a tree that needed harvesting, and so on and so on.

To pick up a few points from my previous impression:

Navigation:
I'm still finding the maps and areas impossible to memorise. Without the map and the (new?) wayfinder feature I would be going in circles around the same five streets, which is kind of a shame. As I'm constantly having to consult the map I feel I just can't get a feel for the place, and I really want to. I want to feel that i know where I'm going, that I'm becoming familiar with the glitch world and feeling at home there. And I don't.
The areas that work and that I remember and am able to picture in my mind seem to contain big landscape features- cliffs or drops that connect one map area with another. When the signpost is next to a cliff face and I follow that sign post to the top of the same cliff, my brain can connect the two. I can make a mental picture. When a signpost takes me somewhere that seems totally disconnected from where I've just come from (even though all I've done is turned a corner, according to the map), I can't put that together.

Skills/Learning
In today's session I was using the greasemonkey skills queue, which removes the whole skills thing even further from game play. I checked on how the queue was progressing now and again, and was congratulated by the rock for completing this and that skill, but it was all a bit abstract, as it required no input from me.

Areas/ Visuals
While in my first test I mostly poked around groddle forest, this time I really tried to get all the way around all the areas and explore as many streets as possible. One thing that would be useful is a slight colour change (in the map?) of the streets you've previously visited, so you can differentiate new places you haven't been to yet.
I really love some of the other places/areas and would recommend that groddle forest (as the first landing place of new players and the first impression!) should be made a bit more fun! It's nice that it's kind of safe and simple, and there are lots of fun animals wandering about, but it's a big area, and I found it very monotonous on my first visit. Maybe the safe, 'more of the same trees' area could be somewhat smaller and other areas of the forest could change somewhat, to introduce more elements?

I very much like how the items and vendors work, and had fun buying and selling things (I haven't made much yet). The items are all fun, and I like the kooky logic that connects things in fabulous ways.

My only real dislike so far is the lack of player interaction. I can't see anyone playing with anyone. I kept an eye on the Help channel chat this time, but it doesn't really work. Too many people talking about the same thing, or different things... conversations can't be followed, plus the chat window is so small, you keep losing track of who might be answering what question...
I'm pretty sure it wasn't meant as a game-wide chat channel, and I can't see how it would work with many more players...
The local chat window is equally useless as it's full of a running comentary of what I and everyone else in the area are doing. Again, there isn't room in the window to have a conversation. I'm not sure what the plan is for these chat windows. Somehow player interaction needs to be encouraged (or as a start just made easier). For such a friendly world and friendly looking place, I really want to be able to play with people. Instead, I see avatars running past, or standing in twos or threes around a project, each one reading what they might be able to contribute.
This part is not really working for me.

Having said all of that, I am completely hooked and can't wait to get online again tomorrow.
So, it can't be that bad, can it!?

Posted 13 years ago by Wrendolin | Permalink