My issues with the game as it stands and how I think it can be improved.

[DougS2K]

I imagine it's to late at this stage of development for changes but this is a list of things/issues/suggestions I think could improve the game: 

1. Implement a Bobby Ray's and Tony equivalent. Our highly skilled mercs shouldn't rely on scavenging for gear off enemies. Bobby Ray's gear could unlock as you progress throughout the game like in JA2.

2. Expand inventory to include different backpacks and LBE gear and factor in weight and size of weapons like JA3 1.13.

3. Get rid of the shared inventory system for ammo and make mercs actually have to carry magazines. The magic box of shared bullets is bizarre and lazy.

4. Allow ammo mags to be purchased instead of crafting or finding boxes of bullets. Again, magazines, not magical shared boxes of ammo.

5. Make weapon mods purchasable and swappable between weapons instead of being built from scrap which is a weird system. It doesn't make sense to make a scope, a barrel, etc, out of scrap. Plus, if you find a better weapon, you have to do this whole mod with scrap mechanic all over again from scratch on the new weapon.

6. More weapon variety. More guns is always better amirite?

7. Add NVG's, sunglasses, etc, like JA2 had. Was shocked these weren't in the game.

8. Add more portrait/outfit options for IMP.

9. Do away with magically getting money from hacking devices. Another weird design decision. Income should be based on controlling mines and selling gear you find. This is where a Tony would come into play along with different backpacks to carry the stuff your going to sell.

10. Chance of bleeding should be increased. Happens to infrequent.

11. Number of maximum militia per sector and enemies should be increased.

12. Add sort functionality to sector inventory.

13. Remove or rework perks and special abilities. Personally I don't like them at all however if they are to remain, I think the way the perk system is done isn't very good.

14. Add more mercs. Just like guns, more is better.

15. Allow signing mercs to contracts for more than two weeks at a time. Two weeks is the maximum right now it seems but some mercs we know we will keep using forever so why can I not lock them in for more than two weeks at a time?

[Xeth Nyrrow]

I agree with a lot of the list. #1, #4, and #7 are basically confirmed in the game in some fashion if you watch the dev streams.

The one thing I'm not set about is that the new inventory system is bad or at least all bad. Is it realistic? Hell no. Does it save time so that I can play the game more instead of micro managing inventory? Yes. The missing part is that inventory is a non issue in combat now which takes away a strategic element. From that point of view I think reloading from sector inventory is bad and should not be allowed.

A lot of the game play elements like perks/traits, bleed chance, militia size, etc...those will probably be moddable. I hope the same is true for adding your own custom merc pics.

#9 is definitely a convenience thing to keep the player moving and not micro-managing to make a buck. Similar to inventory it's, "busy work" that isn't really fun so it's trading realism for more fun game elements. It's only of those things realism people want but after playing with it feels really nice and convenient.

[Godzilla]

1 hour ago, DougS2K said:

I imagine it's to late at this stage of development for changes but this is a list of things/issues/suggestions I think could improve the game: 

1. Implement a Bobby Ray's and Tony equivalent. Our highly skilled mercs shouldn't rely on scavenging for gear off enemies. Bobby Ray's gear could unlock as you progress throughout the game like in JA2.

2. Expand inventory to include different backpacks and LBE gear and factor in weight and size of weapons like JA3 1.13.

3. Get rid of the shared inventory system for ammo and make mercs actually have to carry magazines. The magic box of shared bullets is bizarre and lazy.

4. Allow ammo mags to be purchased instead of crafting or finding boxes of bullets. Again, magazines, not magical shared boxes of ammo.

5. Make weapon mods purchasable and swappable between weapons instead of being built from scrap which is a weird system. It doesn't make sense to make a scope, a barrel, etc, out of scrap. Plus, if you find a better weapon, you have to do this whole mod with scrap mechanic all over again from scratch on the new weapon.

6. More weapon variety. More guns is always better amirite?

7. Add NVG's, sunglasses, etc, like JA2 had. Was shocked these weren't in the game.

8. Add more portrait/outfit options for IMP.

9. Do away with magically getting money from hacking devices. Another weird design decision. Income should be based on controlling mines and selling gear you find. This is where a Tony would come into play along with different backpacks to carry the stuff your going to sell.

10. Chance of bleeding should be increased. Happens to infrequent.

11. Number of maximum militia per sector and enemies should be increased.

12. Add sort functionality to sector inventory.

13. Remove or rework perks and special abilities. Personally I don't like them at all however if they are to remain, I think the way the perk system is done isn't very good.

14. Add more mercs. Just like guns, more is better.

15. Allow signing mercs to contracts for more than two weeks at a time. Two weeks is the maximum right now it seems but some mercs we know we will keep using forever so why can I not lock them in for more than two weeks at a time?

More is more and thats great but does it solve any base issues with the gameplay?

[scope112]

I fully agree with this list. Especially the current inventory system with automatic squad inventory is wrong. 

 

Compared to JA2, inventory management can be streamlined, but this is just fully dumbing down the game, and leaving out even the need for basic ammo management. I am not in favor of this at all. I think it makes the game much worse, giving me a mobile phone game vibe.

Edited May 8, 2023 by scope112

[Godzilla]

54 minutes ago, scope112 said:

I fully agree with this list. Especially the current inventory system with automatic squad inventory is wrong. 

 

Compared to JA2, inventory management can be streamlined, but this is just fully dumbing down the game, and leaving out even the need for basic ammo management. I am not in favor of this at all. I think it makes the game much worse, giving me a mobile phone game vibe.

I really think inventory simplification is not the biggest of deals would it be nice if we had vests and different item slots yes, but there are much bigger issues here like the lack of cth and overall XCOMification of everything.

[DougS2K]

1 hour ago, Godzilla said:

More is more and thats great but does it solve any base issues with the gameplay?

You'd have to be specific as to what you feel are "base issues with the gameplay". What are these issues?

[Godzilla]

2 minutes ago, DougS2K said:

You'd have to be specific as to what you feel are "base issues with the gameplay". What are these issues?

cth inventory unique abilities of mercs...

[DougS2K]

2 hours ago, Xeth Nyrrow said:

I agree with a lot of the list. #1, #4, and #7 are basically confirmed in the game in some fashion if you watch the dev streams.

Are you sure on that? Last I saw devs said there will be no Bobby Ray's equivalent but there would be a merchant on map which I guess would cover Tony but I used Bobby Ray's more personally. I didn't hear any mention of ammo mags or NVGs in the dev streams and I've watched them all. Maybe I just missed it???

2 hours ago, Xeth Nyrrow said:

The one thing I'm not set about is that the new inventory system is bad or at least all bad. Is it realistic? Hell no. Does it save time so that I can play the game more instead of micro managing inventory? Yes. The missing part is that inventory is a non issue in combat now which takes away a strategic element. From that point of view I think reloading from sector inventory is bad and should not be allowed.

I can understand that some people don't like to micro manage inventory. I on the other hand enjoy it. I like equipping each merc with enough mags of ammo and such to withstand the battle. To each their own but at least we agree that the shared inventory is not a good design.

2 hours ago, Xeth Nyrrow said:

A lot of the game play elements like perks/traits, bleed chance, militia size, etc...those will probably be moddable. I hope the same is true for adding your own custom merc pics.

Yeah this is what I'm hoping at the least.

2 hours ago, Xeth Nyrrow said:

#9 is definitely a convenience thing to keep the player moving and not micro-managing to make a buck. Similar to inventory it's, "busy work" that isn't really fun so it's trading realism for more fun game elements. It's only of those things realism people want but after playing with it feels really nice and convenient.

Again, I enjoyed this element in JA2. Having a mule merc run guns back to Tony for income and worrying about getting attacked was fun for me. Maybe I'm just weird like that and like all the little details/micro managing. Haha

[DougS2K]

8 minutes ago, Godzilla said:

cth inventory unique abilities of mercs...

I addressed inventory and abilities in my list. So the only gameplay issue I left out in your opinion is CTH but that's not a gameplay issue in my opinion.

[Image Miroir]

Why not @DougS2K, but will they have time to do it?

After, maybe they can fix these problems with patches, little by little once the game is released.

[DougS2K]

1 minute ago, Image Miroir said:

Why not @DougS2K, but will they have time to do it?

After, maybe they can fix these problems with patches, little by little once the game is released.

Yeah that's possible that they make changes with future patches. Never really thought about that. Probably unlikely but still possible.

[Image Miroir]

It could be "part" of a DLC as I don't expect developers to work for free.

[Xeth Nyrrow]

50 minutes ago, DougS2K said:

Are you sure on that? Last I saw devs said there will be no Bobby Ray's equivalent but there would be a merchant on map which I guess would cover Tony but I used Bobby Ray's more personally. I didn't hear any mention of ammo mags or NVGs in the dev streams and I've watched them all. Maybe I just missed it???

I can understand that some people don't like to micro manage inventory. I on the other hand enjoy it. I like equipping each merc with enough mags of ammo and such to withstand the battle. To each their own but at least we agree that the shared inventory is not a good design.

Yeah this is what I'm hoping at the least.

Again, I enjoyed this element in JA2. Having a mule merc run guns back to Tony for income and worrying about getting attacked was fun for me. Maybe I'm just weird like that and like all the little details/micro managing. Haha

No Bobby Ray's but merchants at least. Sounds like more local merchants which would be less wait time for equipment than Bobby's Ray's. On the most recent stream one of them said NVG very casually, I think near the end.

Inventory management simplification is often seen as a big QoL thing in games. I tend to agree with this, but maybe wouldn't have 10-15 years ago until I was spoiled. In JA3's case it takes away a significant game play element of ammo/gear managedment so I am against that part. There's nothing wrong with enjoying micro management of inventory but it's likely not popular with most players these days.

[Solaris_Wave]

I wonder if the inventory could be modded? At the moment, the idea of a shared inventory just sounds like your mercs have a medieval squire pushing a weapons cart behind them and waiting for them to call him, so he can run up with some ammo.

I went into quite a lot of detail with my own Weapon Characteristics thread, on the inventory (simplifying it a little as I continued to post in the thread) and that was before I saw the current, basic looking setup. Surely, there can be something better than what is there now, without being too complicated, but not reaching implausibility for the sake of simpler gameplay?

[Xeth Nyrrow]

52 minutes ago, Solaris_Wave said:

I wonder if the inventory could be modded? At the moment, the idea of a shared inventory just sounds like your mercs have a medieval squire pushing a weapons cart behind them and waiting for them to call him, so he can run up with some ammo.

I went into quite a lot of detail with my own Weapon Characteristics thread, on the inventory (simplifying it a little as I continued to post in the thread) and that was before I saw the current, basic looking setup. Surely, there can be something better than what is there now, without being too complicated, but not reaching implausibility for the sake of simpler gameplay?

Not likely something that can be modded without extensive work, not an, "off the shelf" type mod. Anything in games dealing with the UI tends to be an order of magnitude more difficult.

[Solaris_Wave]

That is why I can only hope that the inventory system is not set in stone at this point. Hopefully, Haemimont might be open to changing it. Unlike the CtH debate, I don't think I have encountered one person so far that is truly positive about the inventory system in JA3.

[Godzilla]

4 hours ago, Solaris_Wave said:

That is why I can only hope that the inventory system is not set in stone at this point. Hopefully, Haemimont might be open to changing it. Unlike the CtH debate, I don't think I have encountered one person so far that is truly positive about the inventory system in JA3.

Im not positive about it I just dont care about it I dont think it matters, or is the biggest issue in front of us atm

my complaints about the simplified inventory are firmly down on page 10 or 5 somewhere

Edited May 9, 2023 by Godzilla

[Reloecc]

1. I believe it should be AIM we order weapons from.. they are supposed to cover their mercs backs. Make sense for me. + local vendors.
2. 1.13 LBE is too horrizontal for me. I'd welcome vests, backpack and pouches. But I don't want to unequip backpacks during combat, to unzip them, and store packs in pack in packs to save a space. ~Three universal vests with vertical progression (more slots), ~three spcialized vests (grenadier, medic, ammo carrier), three holsters (pistol + mag, pistol + 3 mags, small submachine + mag), three backpacks (small, medium, large) and I am ok.
3. yes
4. yes
5. yes
6. not for me.. I don't like having too similair weapon types with no purpose .. especially when I don't want to use 80 % of them. It's just clutter. Weapons in Zero Sievert are great imo; only few base types (10 subs, 10 auto, 5 semi, 5 snipers, 5 pistols) but they all can be heavily modded, so you can build them endlessly.
7. nvg yes, around 70 % of game progression, not before. sunglasses are just clutter imo
8. I don't care
9. mines yes.. selling to vendors yes.. selling magically to sector no.
10. I don't care if it's balanced around ways of healing them.. 
11. too early to judge
12. ofc yes
13. REMOVE IMMEDIATELY
14. no if you need to restrict gameplay development because of money going to mercs' assets (portraits, models, voices etc.)
15. whatever.. minor issue

[chr_isso]

14 hours ago, DougS2K said:

1. Implement a Bobby Ray's and Tony equivalent. Our highly skilled mercs shouldn't rely on scavenging for gear off enemies. Bobby Ray's gear could unlock as you progress throughout the game like in JA2.

YES.

14 hours ago, DougS2K said:

2. Expand inventory to include different backpacks and LBE gear and factor in weight and size of weapons like JA3 1.13.

Don't overcomplicate it. I didn't like the complicated 1.13 LBE System and a lot of others neither. Find a suitable way in-between.
 

14 hours ago, DougS2K said:

3. Get rid of the shared inventory system for ammo and make mercs actually have to carry magazines. The magic box of shared bullets is bizarre and lazy.

YES. This current system is a catastrophy.

14 hours ago, DougS2K said:

4. Allow ammo mags to be purchased instead of crafting or finding boxes of bullets. Again, magazines, not magical shared boxes of ammo.

yes. magazines. BRING. IN. MAGAZINES.
Ammo boxes *could* still be in, but only to fill magazines.

14 hours ago, DougS2K said:

5. Make weapon mods purchasable and swappable between weapons instead of being built from scrap which is a weird system. It doesn't make sense to make a scope, a barrel, etc, out of scrap. Plus, if you find a better weapon, you have to do this whole mod with scrap mechanic all over again from scratch on the new weapon.

true. But the crafting is now implemented in almost every game. Far Cry Series, Tarkov, DMZ(Cod) .. so it's more of less standard.
And i actually like the system, if the mods make sense (as they more or less did in ja2).
So a spring + a rod = bolt update.
Lens + some Pipe -> bad scope.

make them in "normal" = bought quality and a little worse "self-made" quality. 

14 hours ago, DougS2K said:

6. More weapon variety. More guns is always better amirite?

only if they're useful. But yes, more options = better. but we don't need 10 pistols that we're never going to use.

14 hours ago, DougS2K said:

7. Add NVG's, sunglasses, etc, like JA2 had. Was shocked these weren't in the game.

Sunglasses are only needed if no sunglasses mean a malus during sunlight.
I mean, we're in africa. Sun should be burning and visibility should be reduced because it's so fkng bright during daytime.
 

14 hours ago, DougS2K said:

8. Add more portrait/outfit options for IMP

i don't care, but more variety = good.

14 hours ago, DougS2K said:

9. Do away with magically getting money from hacking devices. Another weird design decision. Income should be based on controlling mines and selling gear you find. This is where a Tony would come into play along with different backpacks to carry the stuff your going to sell.

yes please. hacking anything should bring intel, storylines, rpg elements etc. but not money.
at least: money could be a 5% chance so it would be worth hacking something. or maybe give you data you could SELL. But not "instant" money on your bank account. add an item and increase RPG elements.

14 hours ago, DougS2K said:

10. Chance of bleeding should be increased. Happens to infrequent.

should be depending on difficulty setting. but generally: yes.

14 hours ago, DougS2K said:

11. Number of maximum militia per sector and enemies should be increased.

Depends - it's about balancing, right? We will have to see that i guess. In JA2 militia system was too simple. two mercs who train militia all the time and you never lost anything back to the enemy. that was boring.

14 hours ago, DougS2K said:

12. Add sort functionality to sector inventory.

YES! YES! YES!

14 hours ago, DougS2K said:

13. Remove or rework perks and special abilities. Personally I don't like them at all however if they are to remain, I think the way the perk system is done isn't very good.

i need to play the game myself to judge on the topic. not quite sure how bad/good they affect gameplay.
 

14 hours ago, DougS2K said:

14. Add more mercs. Just like guns, more is better.

I never needed most of the mercs. But variety is good, so .. maybe add more with patches/free dlc..

14 hours ago, DougS2K said:

15. Allow signing mercs to contracts for more than two weeks at a time. Two weeks is the maximum right now it seems but some mercs we know we will keep using forever so why can I not lock them in for more than two weeks at a time?

No. If I'm a Merc, I maybe don't want to get hired for more than two month. Maybe I want to negotiate my salary again after 2 weeks? Id adds to immersion if I can't hire forerver but have to prolong the contracts.

[MateKiddleton]

1. They said there would be vendors, so don't care if there's no Bobby Rays.

2. Not a big issue for me, more of a UI thing for immersion.

3. Yes. Shared inventory is good for other games, but not JA. Every merc should carry their own ammo/gear.

4. Not a deal-breaker, but yes preferable to have magazines over boxes of ammo.

5. I don't really mind crafting.

6. More guns is unnecessary if most players end up just min-maxing and picking the "best" gun anyway.

7. Yes, I like sunglasses, NVGs, etc. Dunno if canteens are in the game, but I liked those too.

8. Not too important for me, sounds like something that can be added later/modded in.

9. Hacking things to get money seems fine to me.

10. No idea how it is atm.

11. Also no idea how balanced it is without personally playing.

12. Yes. QoL is always good.

13. Also yes, to special abilities. But perks can stay. JA2 also had perks (night ops, lockpicking, stealth, knifing, autoweapons, etc).

14. I won't say no to more mercs, budget pending.

15. Low priority for me.

[WILDFIRE]

@DougS2K: I agree with the points you mentioned. The inventory is too simplified and I also would like to see merchants where you can buy weapons, ammo and mods.

[DougS2K]

14 hours ago, WILDFIRE said:

@DougS2K: I agree with the points you mentioned. The inventory is too simplified and I also would like to see merchants where you can buy weapons, ammo and mods.

Yeah, inventory is one of my biggest gripes right now. I mean, we don't need 1.13 level of inventory, as much as I would love that; but it would be nice if it was a little more intricate.

[WILDFIRE]

I like that the overview in the inventory is good but overall it feels too simplified. Elements like weight, different weapon sizes, backpacks, LBE gear and weapon mags are definitely missing. And as I often mentioned a sort function is also very important.

[DougS2K]

2 hours ago, WILDFIRE said:

I like that the overview in the inventory is good but overall it feels too simplified. Elements like weight, different weapon sizes, backpacks, LBE gear and weapon mags are definitely missing. And as I often mentioned a sort function is also very important.

These changes would make a huge difference. I'm really hoping these things are addressed before release as most wouldn't be to hard to do I imagine.

 

[Solaris_Wave]

JA3 definitely requires further development and testing, not just big fixing at this point. I am certainly not in a hurry for the game. I can fully appreciate the fact that it is Haemimont's game but there have been lots of posts that have the same opinions about things that people are concerned about. If they are not keen, they will probably still buy the game but it might be seen as another missed opportunity. Good and certainly better than the previous games after JA2, but not great. Not memorable.

Once a game is out, it is out and is judged accordingly. Even if something gets greatly improved (like No Man's Sky, although I have not played that), a negative view is there to stay. Plus, many games don't get improved if the publisher decides to abandon it and move onto the next game.

There are enough games to play right now (strangely, games now come out faster than people can play them all it seems), so as I said, I can wait for JA3 to be improved and released further down the line. I think others feel the same way too.