[Feedback] UE5 New Direction a Little Confusing

[Necro-Drake]

Looks good and, though not unexpected, a little glitchy here and there, especially in the menus. Not too sure I'm jiving with the current direction of the game though.

Before, the story was fine and getting new forms, appendages included, was fun. Either explore around and find jars or do a quest and find new forms that way. Being able to flip forms on the fly was also nice, though the story having no explanation for why you could do that was a little jarring, adding an explanation would have fixed that problem. Of course the main point was the sex, finding new sexual partners, and finding new forms and parts to change into, with the story kinda supporting this. Combat and the overarching plot didn't seem to be the focus and that was fine.

The new direction seems to be focusing more on the plot and making combat a more central focus. More plot focus is fine, though I liked the sandboxy nature of the previous iteration a lot more as what we are currently being shown seems very linear to start. Having options for questing from the start, or after one or two things, would be great. Being more combat focused just seems to harm the experience a lot however... For something like that to be good in a game like this it either has to be very easy with some variety or extremely well put together with some sufficient reward for doing it, neither of which it seems to have as a focus at the moment. In the previous iteration, I wouldn't call it extremely easy as you could absolutely get f'd over, but that was mostly due to polish not being present yet, and I can honestly say I didn't mind it because it didn't feel like a slog to get through. Leveling is also kind of a pain because we don't sufficiently understand a lot of the stats presented to us and as far as I can tell, there is no way to respect at present.

As to the transformation system being changed... I really don't like it as it stands. Being able to change on the fly to me was a good thing as I could try different forms at a moments notice. It being bound to a "cosmetic station" has you trekking back over every time you want to try out something new and its just plain inconvenient (edit: And having no zoom function for the editing is killing me). Having to find essence to buy forms also just feels bad. Before it was an adventure and a reward for exploring and doing quests (which you could benefit from immediately), and now you have to find specific shrines to obtain a very specific and limited resource. Having some forms available at the start and having to unlock the others was also a good idea in my book as you had something to play around with and were motivated to get more after you were done trying your small amount of options at the start (when forms were first unlocked, having some free would have been great).

Sex... I know its still very early with the new iteration, but the previous one allowed you to participated almost immediately and perform quests for others and get it as a reward for some of the more "exotic" or spicier scenes. Currently its extremely sparse and time consuming to actually get into it... not a great design choice in what amounts to a porn game (I've also found a few sex partners, where its either not implemented yet, bugged, or I'm missing something and I need to do something beforehand). I understand rewarding the player for completing goals, but it is a slog to get through, especially with how combat is handled currently. We need options and immediacy. If I played this before I played the previous iteration, I would have dropped it within the first hour, probably less and probably not have come back to it.

I understand this is still early access, and the new iteration even more so at this point, but I saw potential before and I see a lot less with this one so far... nicer graphics not withstanding.

[<W F> Ævil-Blondi-E]

To me change to UE5 feels like step back. Everything is simplified. Stuff that has worked fine removed.

Optimisation is very bad. I have good pc and game doesent run well. Theres lots of other better looking games that runs way better than carnal instinct.

Also a lot of glitches, bugs, glitches, bugs, glitches.

Just as they polished a bit ue4 version they changed to ue5 and set game back by like a year on technical side.


Sure game do looks better, but at what cost?

[teg]

I'm enjoying the more RPG like direction. The camp fires and the like. I found the UE4 version to be pretty dull going. Sure there was a large area to wander in but there wasn't much to find.

I like the idea of having a mystery to solve a real plot progression.

It's glitchy but I already prefer the way the UE5 version is working. Just hope we don't have to wait 6 months again for fixes.

[bobbie046]

If you find UE5 confusing , then you must be very easily confused. It seems very clear what the objectives are, although it is some what linear, which I am definitely not a fan of. AS for the bugs the post anouncing the upload of UE5 clearly stated they would exist and please just report them on this forum. On that note, please take your time fixing the Damaris sword glitch, I quite happily looted it a dozen times and sold most of them to Damaris for a nice bit of coin tyvm :). And ty for reinstating the jump function, I understand why it was nerfed now, but am so happy I can finally climb.

[][-Stormshadow]

Haven't had a chance to jump into the UE5 version, but I kinda expected the feedback I've seen. UE5 is so much different from UE4 that it's effectively an engine change, and switching engines is a colossal pain in the ass. All the custom infrastructure (scripting, etc) breaks due to changes under the hood, all the models/anims almost certainly need revisiting or even complete overhauls because underlying engine components changed.

On the plus side, the UE4 code still exists and can be adapted, thus potentially saving time... but 'potentially' has a big downside in that the new engine has its own issues so even if you could directly import a segment that runs flawlessly in UE4, there's no guarantee it won't suddenly be buggy in UE5-- presuming you can import it in the first place.

Way I anticipated it before the devs revealed much, the first UE5 version was going to be purely proof-of-concept, so just enough content to prove out critical systems (or prove out non-critical bugs in them, anyway.) Between that and what the devs had to say later, sounds like that's basically what we got. Next few UE5 versions are probably going to be bridging the new start point with new content to the point where they can dovetail in the converted UE4 material without leaving a ton of odd gaps (or at least minimizing the size of those gaps)

[Azirahael]

Having been through MANY EA games, i can tell you that this was ALWAYS going to change.
Not because it's EA and they change ♥♥♥♥, they do.

But because the 'do whatever you want' was very obviously put out there to keep people entertained, while the game gets built.

Forcing a small amount of inconvenience or cost on people causes them to make a character, and not just wear an appearance. IT also encourages engagement.

Don't stress, someone will release a 'Shapeshifter' mod.

[LordMcMarshall]

I have to say that I like the UE5 version. In RPG aspects you can finally pick your preffered form from the beginning, almost, and your not stuck in a body you don't want to roleplay in. For the state of the Build I am kinda surprised how fleshed out it already is, i mean there're other games which transfered a while ago to an new engine and are nowhere near the state this game is in (I look at you wild life) and do have quite larger budgets.
My gripe is more with the combat and movement.

The Combat:
Feels as if you had an input lag
You cannot jump
The enemys do not telegraph their attacks
Still a big improvement to what it once was.

The Movement
It feels like steping on ice
its almost impossible to hit a certain point when jumping, I gonna kill myself for every plattform sequence in this game
Running still looks awkward, needs more swing and fluidity. Easiest way to describe it behaves like a car with a rigid axle suspension.
The turning, while I can see the idea behind the turning radius, it is far to wide and should not be there when walking.
Did I mention the jumping it is not timeable
Also the Jumping

[Curt]

UE5 has a lot of promise, it looks good so far, but we have to realize it is just like a brand new game with bugs and all. On top of all that, transitioning the game will take time too. I was happy with UE4, I suspect I'll be happier with UE5.

[Michelle]

Originally posted by bobbie046:

And ty for reinstating the jump function, I understand why it was nerfed now, but am so happy I can finally climb.

It's not entirely clear what you meant. Other than jumping insanely, hoping to hit a protruding piece, this is not at all what I personally expected from a fix. And taking into account the fact that the character often stumbles into the void and falls down, this only means that the visual component and the obstacle map do not always coincide.

[Michelle]

Originally posted by Curt:

UE5 has a lot of promise, it looks good so far, but we have to realize it is just like a brand new game with bugs and all. On top of all that, transitioning the game will take time too. I was happy with UE4, I suspect I'll be happier with UE5.

The main problem is not that UE5 looks bad or good, and not even in the shortcomings that have now come to light. Personally, I am very much afraid of further deadlines. Now the game looks frankly empty. And if it took so much time to implement such a small piece of the plot, then what can we say about the timing in order to repeat or at least come close to what is already in UE4.

A game can be developed forever, come up with new ideas, change engines, and much more. But still, do not forget, this is not a developer forum, where a free game is tested for free. It's still Steam and it's a store. Yes, you can tell me for the thousandth time about early access, etc., but this will not help the cause. You can't experiment all the time at someone else's expense.

[Necro-Drake]

Originally posted by Michelle:

Originally posted by Curt:

UE5 has a lot of promise, it looks good so far, but we have to realize it is just like a brand new game with bugs and all. On top of all that, transitioning the game will take time too. I was happy with UE4, I suspect I'll be happier with UE5.

The main problem is not that UE5 looks bad or good, and not even in the shortcomings that have now come to light. Personally, I am very much afraid of further deadlines. Now the game looks frankly empty. And if it took so much time to implement such a small piece of the plot, then what can we say about the timing in order to repeat or at least come close to what is already in UE4.

A game can be developed forever, come up with new ideas, change engines, and much more. But still, do not forget, this is not a developer forum, where a free game is tested for free. It's still Steam and it's a store. Yes, you can tell me for the thousandth time about early access, etc., but this will not help the cause. You can't experiment all the time at someone else's expense.

Feeling on that end to. Games go into development hell a lot of the time simply due to constant expansion of scope and taking on too much to actually get anything done.

[Spyronius]

My only issue with the UE5 one is that Inversion doesn't work even with it selected on everything else is fine

[tonicmole]

Honestly, I don't like the UE5 version at all. Playing for HOURS just to reach the basic functionality of the game seems strange. It's simply not the game I already paid for. If I wanted Assassins Creed, I'd bought Assassins Creed. Constant fetch quests that go no where all promising the game will actually start any second. I get the need for some form of intro, but HOURS? It's absurd, and honestly I feel a bit like I was hoodwinked. They had a nearly complete game and dumped it in favor of something completely different. Would have been far more practical for them to have finished the UE4 version, and released this as a sequel. As is though, I'm not happy at all and feel my time and money were wasted.

[AnabsoluteMonster]

I’m loving the RPG aspects, but I HAAATE a lot of the changes! Especially this ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ about finding essence and shrines to change your form! It’s ridiculous!! The quests are VERY unsatisfying! Honestly feels like such a mess! They should’ve kept atleast SOME of the good aspects of UE4. This seems like such a HUGGGE backstep for the devs and a big spit in the face to the fans

[Necro-Drake]

Still not feeling it after all of this time and being trickled content after they started remaking it doesn't feel great...

[Beach Head B82]

A lot of you are comparing this to mainstream AAA games and this isn't a AAA. Its an indi crowdfunded game. Cut them some slack. Its not going to be perfection. As it is I find UE5 to be far more interesting. There's an actual plot now. Goals to work towards. I rather enjoy the changes.