I've noticed the following problems while playing (a lot). These are
on a Mac 9500/G3-266:
- The different music themes run over each other. To reproduce,
recruit some farmers as the second action of Storm season.
The "recruit" music will play the same time as the "Sacred Time"
music.
- The map is not correctly reset after a restore. To reproduce, save
a game. Then (successfully) explore some territory. Use
the "Restore" button to revert back to the previous game. Check the
map -- you will still see all the newly explored territory! This is
a minor bug; the map reverts back to what it should be after a season.
- I cannot get some ring member's statistics by double-clicking on
their picture. Instead, I just get their word balloon.
Consistently, at least 2 out of 7 fail.
Here's my #1 gripe:
* The sliders act like PC-sliders, not Mac-sliders. To reproduce,
click on a ring, and slide diagonally, rather than horizontally. The
ring moves a bit, then zips back to the starting place when you get
to far above or below the slider. Since there is no way to duplicate
this via keyboard commands, it is very hard on those of us with sore
mouse-hands.
Now, some enhancements. Some are related to the GUI, so I don't know
how much control you have over them.
- Related to the slider bug, above -- if I click on a spot in the
middle of the slider, I want the ring to jump to there, dammit! (And
I do appreciate the fact I can click on the numbers on either end,
btw.)
- The method to set wheat/barley/rye percentages, and to set
wildlands/pasture/farmland, is not very intuitive and takes far too
many mouse click-and-drags. I suggest you look at Spaceward Ho!, and
see how they manage allocating a fixed amount among 3 choices.
- I want to be able to double-click (or single-click, maybe) on a
clan name in the map, and select it. This should work in both the
Relations and Trade sub-maps.
- I want persistence after selecting a clan. This happens in one
occasion that I know of. If I select a clan in the Relations screen,
it is remembered in the Emissaries screen. I'd like to see this done
everywhere, especially between the Relations and Trade screens.
- I want to be able to use the uparrow and downarrow keys to scroll
when I'm picking a clan. My hand is getting worn out, clicking down
from the Andorlings to the Wise Ass clan everytime I want my ally to
do something.
- I don't know whether this is a bug or a feature. I almost created
a clan that was not geographically contiguous. I was feuding with
the Turtle clan, way south of me. An event had a "Make peace with a
feuding clan", and next I had a choice of "Ask to join in forming a
tribe." Would have gotten away with it, except those stupid potters
insisted everyone use their jars instead of sensible baskets.
- I want the "m" key to work on the Explore screen.
- There should be a checkbox that does what the "m" key does on the
Map screen -- same as there is one for tribes.
- I have no idea what the different colors mean when I select the "m"
key. Is this a documentation problem?
- Some indication needs be made as to whether what you've done on a
screen will cause an "action" or not. For example, telling those %_at_!
#$% WAW(1) weaponthanes to get back on patrol does not take an
action. Switching your shrine to Varya from wyrdwomen to pathfinder
does.
1 Woosey-Assed-Women
- Likewise, if I want to undo an action, I should be able to. Once
you change prayers like the above, you've used your action, even if
you change the boxes back. There is no "X" undo button in the lower
right corner.
- I've never had the nerve to try it, but what happens if you
click "Reorganize", keep the exact same ring, and then accidentally
click the "Reorganize" button instead of the "X" button? Does it use
an action? (Every year, I do a "Reorganize" to see which new
stripling nobles are available, and am always worried about this...)
- The distinction between "Relations" and "Trade" is, I think,
cumbersome. Every time, I use the "Relations" screen to find out who
I'm going to trade with -- because it is there that I can find out
who owes me favors. Is there a game-based reason to keep them
seperate, instead of having one screen with "Emmisary" and "Trading
Party" buttons? AFAIK, they are both Issaries functions...
- Since you can only have one treasure in use during a battle, it
might make more sense to have the "Treasure" button be a popup. Then
again, it might be a design rule of the game that there be "No
Popups!"
- I've played about a century, all told -- and I still don't know
what the economic model is. I don't know how many trade routes I
need + how big a temple to Issaries I need, to keep crafters
employed. I don't know how big a temple + how many points during
Sacred Time I need, to keep trade routes from failing. This sort of
stuff would go great in an appendix, for us mini-maxer gamers, or
maybe a web article.
- I consider the lazyness of the weaponthanes, in shirking their
patrol responsibilities, to serve little game purpose (other than to
make it easy for me to be raided.) Sure, clicking on the "War"
screen and adjusting the sliders isn't an action. But I'd rather not
do it 8 times a year. I'd rather set percentages: "40% of you on
outer patrol, 50% on inner patrol, and 10% of you can be slothful."
Then, as I recruited thanes, or they returned from escort duty,
they'd take their places patrolling.
- I'll agree with earlier posters. Right now, which god-worshippers
you get is a far too much crap shoot. Is it fair to say that an
Orlanthi tribe would have at least *one* god-talker of each of the
(important) Lightbringers? Failing that, I'd be happy to marry one
of my young nobles off with a heap-o-goods, *if* I can choose which
religion he marries into. (I got a pointed reminder last night
that "The Ring arranges marriages!") For example, imagine the
following: "I've got 5 Ernalda worshippers -- sure, you can marry
one. And if you have an abundance of over-enthusiastic Storm Bulls,
we've got just the wife for one of them!" :-)
- Make the "Easy" level easier. Guarantee at least 2 nobles
with "Renowned" ratings, and one with "Heroic." It's up to the
beginner to figure out how to get them on the ring and then use them,
of course.