Thoughts on the game

[Roccandil]

Hey, everyone! Been playing for two/three weeks, and have had a blast. Project Gorgon has a distinct Might and Magic 6 vibe, which for me is very good! :)

The website advertised an immersive experience, and by far, the most immersive aspect of the game for me has been the depth and interconnected-ness of the skills. I feel very small compared to how many of them there are, and what it will take to learn them.

Here's some more detailed feedback:

Upsides

- Very little to no RNG in combat. This is huge for me!
- Timed potion/food bonuses don't run out while I'm offline (I wouldn't have appreciated this, except I played Wurm Online, where they do).
- The in-game humor (I love seeing the undead say "Not again!" when I kill them!)
- Very flexible control configurations: I found them clunky at first, but was able to get a configuration that works well for me.
- EXP bonuses for doing something for the first time: I really like this! (Again, see Wurm Online's grinding system for a contrast!)
- Curses for dying to a boss: very cool.

Downsides

- Consistently high lag in places with many avatars (generally Serbule town/market)
- Inventory management hell. I just want to keep everything I can pick up. :)
- Nearly every skill is NPC-gated, which means many fetch quests.
- Dungeon mob respawn is such that I find I can't solo a dungeon where I can handily kill one or two mobs at a time, but no more. I've backed off to doing dungeons where I overmatch crowds, which is fun, but not the same feel as being in a dangerous place, wondering what lurks around the next corner. Having a nasty mob respawn on top of you while you're dealing with the next one is no fun, and pretty much kills that kind of exploration. :(
- This is more of a wish, but recipes are static: there's no exploration of ingredient combination. (Think Might and Magic 6's potion system, or even Morrowind's ridiculously unrestricted system!)

Perhaps the biggest downside, however, is the combination of RNG-gated loot (crafted or otherwise) and severe shortage of storage. I just quit playing a game that had the same problem (Wolcen), and what that does is strangle my desire to try out multiple builds, because I only have space/time to support one build.

If endgame is nothing more than getting better gear to defeat a bigger monster, and the ability to experiment with different builds is gated behind layers of RNG, knowing myself, I probably won't stick around to try very many combinations.

But, based on how deep the skill tree is and how much fun I'm having, I think I still have a ways to go, and whatever else may happen in my approach to endgame, I've definitely gotten my money's worth. :)

[alleryn]

Agree with a lot of what you wrote. Wanted to add a couple of comments:


- This is more of a wish, but recipes are static: there's no exploration of ingredient combination. (Think Might and Magic 6's potion system, or even Morrowind's ridiculously unrestricted system!)

Take a look at brewing. That kind of breaks the mold a bit.


Perhaps the biggest downside, however, is the combination of RNG-gated loot (crafted or otherwise) and severe shortage of storage.
This is somewhat alleviated once you get enough favor with enough NPCs. You will end up with a pretty huge amount of storage (and i'm a hoarder). And some of that storage is exclusive to equipment, leaving you with space for multiple sets in storage (though of course it isn't infinite and you would run out after some number of combinations).

Between the equipment-only storage (Tyler Green) and out-of-the-way storage that is really only useful as long term storage (stuff like lawara, the crypt chest, the crystal cavern chest, Sir Arif) you can probably fit close to 100 items so maybe 12 sets or so, without encroaching on your "main" and "medium-term" storage.

[helga99]

Your detailed feedback is invaluable for both developers and fellow players. Drift Hunters (https://drifthunters2.org/)

[Elindir]

I would also like to add, that storage issues get better with your skills improvement. For example, get better at riding to be able to use better saddle bags - much more room! Or find some friendly tailor (guildie?) who will set you up with pockets in your gear. It is quite a lot in the beginning, but step by step you figure out this world and make it your home. Have fun!

[Archibald]

Do you think the combination of RNG loot mechanics and limited inventory management will impact the ability to explore and experiment with different builds in Project Gorgon?

papa's scooperia (https://papasscooperia.io)

[Grettna]

Also a new player here, so thought I would also chip in on my views so far. Completely agree with the respawns. Enemies seem to respawn in sets rather than individuals based on when killed, so I can reach the other side of a room with many enemies in and 3 will respawn on top of me without a grace period to get out of pull / social aggro range. It also means I have to be very careful exploring when I have seen other players run ahead of me as I've been caught by their group respawns too. I appreciate that dying only sends you to the start of the dungeon rather than town so it's less frustrating to re-clear but it's my biggest annoyance so far.

The rng gearing makes this feel more like diablo/poe rather than a regular mmo experience and while this has the potential to be awesome with build diversity in the mid/end game, it's rough for a beginner because most gear I am finding is not an upgrade or even equippable. I initially had fire/archery but then swapped to fire/mentalism when I unlocked it so fire had a skill gap. The majority of gear I've found has needed equal fire / mentalism levels, let's say 20/20 on both, so I have to lv ment up first. No problem, but my concern is as I lv both and fire goes higher will I start to find gear with 25/25 needed and always be finding gear a "tier" ahead so to speak. The pool of enchants also includes skills not on the main skill track, I have mentalism gear giving buffs for pain bubble which is not on the mentalism info tab so no idea when I'll see that. Low level itemisation could be tweaked a bit to weigh loot in favour of more useful upgrades to smooth out progression. There's no passive strength gained in comparison to a regular mmo like char lv or main stat on a higher ilvl piece so if the grand majority of my power is coming from my gear which I have no control over then playing for hours and finding 50+ pieces of loot of which 10 are useable right now, 5 buff skills I don't have and the remaining 5 none are upgrades feels pretty demoralising.

Storage has been fine for me though, the base inventory is generous and npc storage + community chest has been more than enough for my current needs.

One other thing I'd like to add though because I feel it's important. I was initially put off from trying the game out because activity on the forum in the news and announcements is low. The last update post is July 2024 on the forums so it gives the impression it's no longer seriously being worked on but the game launcher has plenty of updates from Feb back to Nov and earlier! Big ones too. If I had not tried the demo by chance and seen the update list I likely would have passed.