I and really thank you for this game!.
I've completed most of it (I'm at 93% currently, nearly 9 hours of playing), and tested all of the extra modes so I'd like to report some bugs/difficulties encountered along the way (up to now).
[Bugs]
1) English translation is almost complete and understandable but there are some sentences still in Russian like the following ones (and I'm not sure if there are more of these since I've also skipped some dialogs here and there throughout the game for lack of time on my end):
- In episode 3-extra, after an "input code" option:
- In Spencer quiz, after the first 10 questions, all of the advanced ones, like this one:
- In Alex Wesker quiz, the 10th question:
By the way, in order to complete those quiz I've had to unpack the main .rpa game archive and analize the .rpy source files.
- The following texts in the achievements page:
--> (see "Explorer"achiev.)
--> (see achiev. with Elza Walker thumbnail)
2) Mercenaries-Mode boss battle page is missing a "return"/"exit"/"back" button, while the regular mercenaries mode battle pages don't:
3) The achievements page shows some issues:
- After completing the X-Episode all of the achievements got unlocked while there were many of those that weren't before that point, because I know I had not completed the required steps to unlock those;
- After that, achievements count shows an incorrect value of 33 unlocked elements over 31, as shown by in-game screenshots above (but if you count them there are 33 rows 31 of which are shown in English while the remaining 2 are in Russian);
- When all achievements are locked, their list is fully visible from start to end:
while, after more than 20 or so are unlocked, list height seems to grow so that the last row becomes partially/fully hidden (is the "Checkmate" achiev. in my case):
[ Gameplay Mechanics (Personal Opinion) ]
1) About the secret code required to unlock the X secret episode, game gives (only after some "extra-mode" activity) 2 options:
- find it in a place that is so generically described that it would be necessary to replay all of the chapters (and deal again with all of the included puzzles, routes and combat minigames) to locate said place in the first place;
- decode a secret (unlockable) message;
Since the first option was a little too much, I tried the second one; however, in that case, game does not give you all the tools required to fully decode it, but instead the last needed step forces the player to use a rather unusual procedure with an external audio program and the OS system mixer (I won't spoil too much for whoever is reading this and has not completed this task yet), which would most probably cause the less experienced PC useres to simply give up. Also what would happen if, for some OS/Hardware limitation/problem, that required procedure is not feaseble anyway?.
Even if, instead, you'd like to use an external recording device, like a smartphone with the right app and audio recording capabilities, that would also be discriminating between those who can afford a smartphone with those functions and those who can't.
A solution would be to give the player an unlockable tool at the end of some extra task to allow you to decode the code directly in-game.
Finally, the game does not give a really understandable clue on where the secret code has to be input in after been decoded (in my case I've found the code input location only by chance);
2) Since game mainly revolves around dialogs and place descriptions rather than images and direct environment exploration, remembering a place location only by its name is challenging and it's even more so to even remember in which main or extra episode that place has been reached.
So for instance, when the following key is obtained:
I simply cannot remember what place said "Aeolus Edge lab." is, nor that "door 505" and in which episode I was supposed to reach them, so without additional infos the only way to found that door is by replaying all episodes from start (this is the same problem decribed previously at point (1) ).
3) Save functions: by disabling the default RenPy in-game save function (that can be used at any time otherwise) and forcing to use only your custom save function (typewriter/tape recorder/floppy-disk drive) you could make this game even more similar to a real old-school Biohazard game. In fact, in its current state, exploiting the default save function, it becomes quite simple to solve certain types of puzzle and it's even simpler to win in turn-base combat.
For instance it could be disabled in a hard game-mode level while in a novice-easy game mode both save functions can be used.
4) It would be helpful to have a quick in-game tutorial about the turn base combat system, expecially as soon as the first match begins in the first main episode (at least in a easy game mode), rather than having to read an help guide with only some info about it in the extra section mercenary-mode menù and only when (and if) you notice it in there.
In fact, in my case, it has taken some time to fully manage this system, given that I had zero knowledge of turn base combat before playing this game.
5) Mercenaries mode could be an unlockable feature like in the original BH games (I know there is the Hunters mode already but that is a well enstablished tradition too).
Anyway, I'll be following any future progress on this project (granted you have planned further updates ofcourse) and
thanks again for your time, interest and hard work!