Do I like this game or do I hate it?

[TheFinn]

I'm having a hard time deciding. I really like the concept of the game but there's a few things in the implementation that want me to put my fist through the monitor when I play.

1. Why does my auriga run INTO another chariot when letting go of the reins after a chariot spill? He could have calmly waited for the last team to go by and then WALKED to the stands. Why doesn't he ever make a break for the center spina when he spills in an inside lane? Obviously the skill stars don't equate to the least bit of intelligence (or self-preservation).

2. I'm behind another chariot coming out of a turn. I decide to accelerate.. he decides to switch lanes. I tag him just before the lane switch is complete and my speed freezes... I lose the remaining 7 or 8 seconds of acceleration. Really? I can't restart accelerating now that the lane is clear?

It feels like the 10 seconds turns are too long - they lock you into a choice that may be completely voided by the (sometimes not logical) choices the other aurigas make. If nothing else, if you're attempted maneuver is blocked, it should default to watch for aggression.

Part of me wants to keep playing the game. Part of me wants to uninstall it.

[Turnopia]

well, I do hope you choose to like! It is true some decisions could look strange from a god's view perspective, but it is different when you tried to guide four horses in the middle of a dust storm. In example, it could be difficult for an auriga to be dragged though the arena to get an idea of his current situation.
This game uses some abstractions to recreate races, this is why there are lanes, and lane changing could be frustrating when blocking by a team in front of you that partially invades your space. But this it is a mechanism to imitate historical line blocking tactics...if you do the trick the results are much more rewarding.

[TheFinn]

OK, the lane thing makes sense. I'd be unable to accelerate past him if he only drifted out partways and left me with half a lane. I can deal with that abstracted into the individual lanes.

I'm still miffed about brainless aurigas though. While I agree that *at times* it could be difficult for an auriga to get an idea of his situation (and the stunning effect simulates those times pretty well I think), in the game they're ALWAYS mindless. Their survival doesn't depend on anything other than whether there happens to be a free path to the outside of the track.

If your situational awareness is so awful that you run into the side of another team instead of waiting for them to go by, or try to run for the outside when the safety of the spina is only a lane away, you shouldn't be climbing into a chariot. It strikes me as poor programming - and it's still enough to ruin my enjoyment of the game (and made me caution a couple of friends who I'd excitedly mentioned it to while it was still 'coming soon' on Steam).

[IainMcNeil]

I think you could add more automation but then that takes away from the gameplay.

One thing I think would be nice is if you say accelerate and you are blocked and then it opens up, if you then accelerated. Right now if you get blocked at any part of your move you are reduced to the speed of the blocking chariot for the whole move which can be annoying!

[Sabratha]

I'm still miffed about brainless aurigas though. While I agree that *at times* it could be difficult for an auriga to get an idea of his situation (and the stunning effect simulates those times pretty well I think), in the game they're ALWAYS mindless. Their survival doesn't depend on anything other than whether there happens to be a free path to the outside of the track.

Yep. I think at least programing the auriga to run into the spina if he is on the inner lanes would make sense. Nothing fancy, just add a script taht makes him hide in the spina if he crashed at a lane that's nearer to the center than the outer ring.

[TheFinn]

I'm still miffed about brainless aurigas though. While I agree that *at times* it could be difficult for an auriga to get an idea of his situation (and the stunning effect simulates those times pretty well I think), in the game they're ALWAYS mindless. Their survival doesn't depend on anything other than whether there happens to be a free path to the outside of the track.

Yep. I think at least programing the auriga to run into the spina if he is on the inner lanes would make sense. Nothing fancy, just add a script taht makes him hide in the spina if he crashed at a lane that's nearer to the center than the outer ring.

I think that would be the very minimum required to make this game not leave a bad taste in my mouth. I still think the first time I watched my auriga head towards the spina and run into the side of another team I might be headed to the uninstall feature.