Post Posted: 06 Nov 2013, 23:51
Preliminary thoughts:
My main gripe is with the spaceship. I feel like that ship could have been made a lot easier to navigate; the jumping on it is a bit iffy. Of course I understand this is a beta, but I really think that's an area to focus on as far as technical improvement goes because it can have serious potential to make the campaign more memorable/fun if it works better. (Also, the enemy jets seem to be able to fire waaay more rockets than you can at some points. Not very balanced gameplay).
Other things I've noticed:
1) Music seems to spill over into the level if you reload the quicksave you were on (so far I am not having issues with saves). Maybe this can't be helped.
2) The audio is, indeed, a bit inconsistent. It's a downer really because I WANT to enjoy and sit back and take in the cutscenes/character comments, but am always distracted by how they are at times too low and other times too loud.
3) The elevator in that level where you choose which way to go (combat or stealth) is hard to get out of. Consider making the railings lower so you can jump out of it easily once it lands.
I'll end with some positive notes!
A) I like your approach to the characters. It's very reminiscent of Deus Ex, having these side-missions to go on and what not. I hope to see more of it and see it done in different, interesting ways.
B) The music vibed really well with me, helped in establishing the moods I'm sure the authors were going for (I'm referring to the custom music here).
C) Geometry and form of the maps is very unique. I try to veer away from being TOO critical of this aspect considering the engine we're working with as Unreal/UT level designers - we don't have too much allowance for super high detail and whatnot. I also acknowledge that, perhaps, what was being intended here was a very sparse, distopian universe, one that struck us as strange. I got that sense from the architecture used.
That comment pertains more to outdoor areas, though. Indoor areas (like the subway?? station) are generally very nice and detailed.
D) I like the cutscenes when they work! For example, the car-chase you stumble upon in those canals.