My feedback is split into the following sections:
- Melee combat
- Respawn time
- Visual design
- UI design
- Level design
- Map variety
- Marketing
I did not dedicate a separate section to sound design because all I have to say is that the voice acting is outstanding as always! :D
1. Melee combat
Melee combat feels too slow.
It also feels too stripped down compared to Chivalry. My entire experience with melee combat in Mirage so far has been a loop of attack --> parry --> riposte --> parry --> riposte… Occasionally it gets broken up by spells and abilities as they come off CD. However, take the spells away, and you’re left with a sad, bare-bones shadow of Chivalry’s rich and rewarding combat. The current melee experience in Mirage is not fun to me.
Looking back at Chivalry, I know that many players had their pet peeves (feints, etc.). However, it is a combination of feints, drags, z stabs, reverse overheads, waterfalls, etc. that made the game fun and rewarding. None of this seems present in Mirage.
Perhaps you are trying to respond to existing criticism towards Chivalry’s core mechanics. If that is the case, I fear that you are going about this the wrong way by dumbing the melee combat down. Instead look at what Modrhau is promising. That game will be your main competition when it comes out.
What I hope to see in Mirage is a melee combat experience at least as rich and varied as that of Chivalry. Magic abilities should offer extra fun, not be the only fun in the game. If you release a game with boring, simplistic melee combat, you will quickly lose your core player base (Chivalry fans).
2. Respawn time
The respawn timer feels too slow. I was playing the game 1:1 in Capture the Glyphs mode on Courtyard. I got killed midway through capturing a glyph and received a 20 second respawn timer. By the time I respawned and ran back to the glyph, it was fully captured by the opponent.
Fun fact: waiting 20 second to respawn is not fun.
3. Visual design
Overall the game looks amazing!
That said, some details look jarringly poor compared to the overall beauty of the game. In particular I am thinking of trees and bushes in the desert. See examples below.
This tree looks bad even on the highest graphics settings…
As do these trees in the distance…
My hope is that the above examples demonstrate placeholder art and the final product will blow me away with all of its visuals.
4. UI design
Overall I am happy with the UI. However I cannot comprehend your decision regarding team colours on Capture the Glyphs and TDM trackers. See examples below.
Why is the opposing team always represented in its correct colour while my team is represented in teal?
Same issue but in TDM…
You have two perfectly good team colours. If you stick with those, the visual design will be more consistent and less confusing.
5. Level design
Currently there are places which are not safely accessible by players. However, the game does not offer clear visual indication that it is not safe. See example below.
Jumping one floor down from here is fine…
Jumping one floor down from here is death…
6. Map variety
I’ve only seen about 4 different maps and there was no TO dedicated Australian server for me to swim in. As it stands, I don’t know enough about the final product’s map variety.
However I hope that you remember the main mistake of Chivalry: Deadliest Warrior and put as much of your map variety focus as you can on TO. And I am saying this as a fan of DW! But I’m pretty sure that barely anybody in Australasia was playing DW a month after its release and I am fairly certain that the main reason for this was its lack of TO. TO is the mode that made Chivalry: Medieval Warfare shine. I recommend having at least as many TO maps in Mirage as you have in all other game modes combined. More TO maps = more lasting power for the title.
7. Marketing
Personally I am a huge fan of your work and will support this game no matter what. But I am not the one you’ll have to convince.
Your marketing efforts must make it very clear why this game is worth playing instead of (or as well as) Overwatch (premium price) and Paladins (free-to-play). Without further product differentiation, these other two games appear to offer more, as they have more playable characters. You’ll have to be crystal clear in your marketing that your game offers more variety through spell loadout.
Once you get past that hurdle, you’ll need to convince Chivalry players why this game is worth playing instead of (or as well as) Chivalry. Yes it is pretty. Yes it is in a different fantasy setting. Yes it has spells. But if the melee combat is as basic as it currently is, I fear that the bulk of the Chivalry crowd will not stay in this game. Especially once Mordhau comes out - forget about it!
This brings me back to my point about map variety. If your game has fewer playable characters than the perceived opposition, try to crush them with your map variety.
That’s all from me. I hope this helps. Keep up the good work. I look forward to falling in love with the game when it’s out! <3
