Not sure if the mod maker still visits here, but just in case (registered to post this).
This is by far one of the best mods I've ever played, and the author should be immensely proud of his work. Was extremely enjoyable, if very difficult in places (I made the mistake of starting on medium, not easy - the beginning game is brutal). So, many thanks for making it - enjoyed it loads, sad that technical memory issues stopped you making it bigger
No, really: this is 100% what modding is for, and it really shows why games companies should keep including SDKs and so on - thank you for preventing the Grey Goo of Locked Content Corporate nonsense prevailing!
Here are my end stats:
http://imgur.com/RI6J3Rj
23/24 secrets, 15/11 epic items (I presume this is due to crafting), 23 hrs played.
Levels visited confuses me - 56/59? I was fairly sure I'd completed most of the game (!). The secret I missed was probably early game, was still playing like GRII, not "ultra sneaky puzzler" - I actually found the Sleeper's dungeon very easy due to the fact I was in pure puzzle thinking mode by that point.
Some positive feedback / criticisms:
#1 The author is not a native English speaker, and it shows in the dialogues. For future projects, it might be a good idea to get a native speaker to help out - the English is passable, but doesn't "read" as correct. Then again, I suspect he probably speaks 3+ languages so that's not a put down.
#2 The puzzles were brutal, esp early on (the weight one in particular - for the love of my sanity[1]) - it would have been a bit kinder not to make the experience so linear early on, since banging your head against a brick wall is frustrating! i.e. it would have been great if a few of the later zones opened up before the crypt puzzle, even if they ended up destroying the player. Balance wise, I found the early boss fights (giant cannon rat + summons) far harder than later fights due to lack of resources / skills / gear.
#3 HEIGHTS! THANK YOU! This is 100% what I found odd about Grimrock II - everywhere is so flat and barely multi-leveled, which is disappointing given the engine. The swamp level and the Neth ruins are absolute brilliant usage of the engine - although I thought one part of the Neth ruins was a bit mean (view distance? couldn't see pressure pad in the distance). It would have been great that once you got the
helmets of water breathing
in the Neth ruins that exploring the deep underwater parts would have been rewarding - given the ruined temple details down there, I spent a bit too long exploring / looking for secrets / hidden parts
- given the map memory limitations, you could have added bits of what you wanted to put in the deeper dungeon down there with the breath requirements preventing players exploring before they solved the puzzle.
#4 Buried Treasure chests - only got 7/8, and I've read that there are a few more hidden around the place... but no clues. It would have been nice to have a few more clues, even if they were cryptic.
#5 River tiles / underwater - was weird that although the swamp connected to the map north of the city, the others didn't connect at all - especially since the secret triggered by the
did connect. Not sure why you prevented this.
#6 Although you get to buy skill books later on, the new skills (6 or so) coupled with the effective level cap of 15 means you don't really get to use them much.
#7 Wai you hate earth magic? +40% combined damage on the two endgame staves... but no spells to use with them! Then again, Frost Magic Blizzard / ultimate = OP, frozen mobs = 100% backstabs.
#8 Later levels felt like they had less secrets / non-essential areas to explore to them ~ perhaps I'd just got conditioned into hunting everywhere. Although, given what I've read in this thread about memory issues, I suspect author was feeling the pinch by then.
#9 Due to the preset NPCs, you're kinda bound into roles making some content nonviable. e.g. you get the special
2-H sword from the obelisk treasure
but you're unlikely to ever use it - this goes for early items such as maces, 2-H swords etc, which are all worse than the default gear you get. Also, given the firearms slant on Mord... if you pump bows & upgrade to mithril + crits, your DPS is massively larger (esp. if you unlock the special x4 arrow attack) - and not just a bit larger, we're talking x4-5 larger.
Will post more if I think of them.
Questions: On Atlantis level 4, with the spiders / walking around the edge, you can throw a stone onto a pad and open up a 1 square walkway with a mini-altar on it. What does this do, if anything? I couldn't get the game to register anything I put on it, I assumed it would trigger a secret. Unfinished or did I miss anything? (Note: I watched author's walkthrough vid & he didn't use the plate / even open this up?)
[1] SPOILER TO WEIGHT CRYPT PUZZLE FOR SEARCH INDEXES:
The solution is to place the exact WEIGHT IN KG in the alcoves - SIX (6) - FOUR (4) - TWO (2) - ONE (1). Wood Logs are exactly 1.0kg which is useful here
[2] SPOILER TO 4 alcove item puzzle - FIRE BOMBS DO NOT WORK. This stumped me for ages, I thought it was bugged (not helped by the posts on this forum): Correct answer
HEALING POTION - FORTUNE COOKIE - SILVER COIN - FIRE NAPALM (these are the ratkin special ammo)
. You cannot use a fire or napalm bomb, they do not trigger.
