My Thought about key (Echos,Terror,Fuel,Combat)

Sunless Sea
1

It has a real lot of potencial, the idea is amazing, and the game itself is looking pretty good, I like it, and i am really looking foward for it.

Here are my thoughts for the game how it is right now:

ECHOS- I don’t think it is balanced yet, like in the beggining everyone fight pirates and sell to Victor for 100. Don’t think exploring gives enought echos too…

FUEL- I see lots of people complaining about the fuel… Don’t think it is really a big deal, maybe in the beggining you may need to have more attention to it but later in game is pretty basic stuff. (maybe if they get out the Victor stuff it will be harder but right now, nothing to complain)

TERROR- In the begging it was really hard to me, now it is a lot easier since a got my house (100 echos for -11 terror), and learned to always sail near to shores (having to sail near the shores, makes the game a lot slower, and boring, but since I like permanent death, it is my only way…).

COMBAT- Here is where I see the problem, it is just too basic, too obvivious, no real strategy, no skill, no thinking, just who have the best atributes win… FTL had a genius solution for fights, making them pretty exciting. Neoscavenger have a turnbased fight not that good but at least have a lot of options, and diferent results that could appear depending on distance of enemy making you have to think what your strategy will be. But in sunless sea I am seeing the most basic rpg [color=rgb(37, 37, 37)](new roguelike games don’t need it, like FTL, Don’t starve, neoscavenger, etc). [/color][color=rgb(37, 37, 37)]where you must stay grinding repetedly hours to improve your skills and enjoy new content (new roguelike games don’t need it, like FTL, Don’t starve, neoscavenger, etc).[/color]
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My suggestions:

-More weapons types (like FTL).
-A real lot of Artefacts could be added to increase skills (like Heroes of Might and Magic 3).
-Officers could not add skills, instead could add especial moves to combat.
-Diferrent results to attacks.
-overall combat improvement

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2

This way of combat you must stay grinding repetedly hours to improve your skills and enjoy new content (new roguelike games don’t need it, like FTL, Don’t starve, neoscavenger, etc).

3

It’s basic stuff but it’s crucial to doing anything in game. It is the reason you need money at all. It costs 200 echoes to have enough fuel to do a reasonably long trip across the Zee, and double that if you buy fuel anywhere else but FL. The fuel consumption rate basically makes players stress out over every navigation decision until 1) have a ship with a huge hold and 2) can make tons of echoes doing relatively simple things. Neither of those happen until mid to late game, which means until then you have to think basically 1 trip ahead of everything you’re doing.

Fuel should remain important, but it should not be a stopwatch that players have to constantly monitor for fear of overshooting it.

And…it just feels wrong that it takes 1/2 a barrel of fuel just to get out of sight of Fallen London. I know the game is partially intended to be played by the seat of your pants, trading and refueling as you go. But it’s not that way right now. Things are planned in advance, and every preparation step requires money. Just making money takes money.
edited by Nenjin on 6/27/2014

4

I still have a lot of trouble with Terror. Despite trying to stay in lighted areas I still have to put down mutinies on long voyages, or make it back to London barely below 100 points of Terror and get Nightmares.

Lighthouses and lightships sweep their beams very fast such that it’s impossible to ride the beam around in the default/beginner tramp steamer.

I agree that Fuel seems to burn through too quickly but for a different reason - I’m OK with the fast burn rate for propulsion but when I’m sitting somewhere without moving, just having my prow light on seems to burn really quickly. In real life, an amount of light sufficient to see by takes a lot less energy to generate than motion. Also seems rather unfair that it’s basically impossible to keep your lights off any more without taking a gigantic hit of Terror, so you can’t save Fuel by skirting coastlines with the light off.

Does anybody know if buying the more powerful headlights makes Terror increase more slowly?
edited by Lashkar on 6/29/2014

5

I believe that terror, fuel, and supplies are well balanced now. I can make a great profit every trip keeping low the terror. In this game, you will have to do trips over and over again until you had a good ship well equiped. And it is possible.

Keep in mind that the game will not let you sail over the dark zee easily. Every scrap of the map unveiled will cost you a hard work. Long voyages men to be very hard.