How the hot air balloon breaks the game

[anonym]

First of all, I generally like the idea of being able to escape missions if you are stuck and the graphical depiction of the hot air baloon is absolutely stunning.

The problem however is, that the most exciting part of the game, when your track is going insane and you are unable to find the pyramide, the whole "will i make it!?"-feeling is lost with the option of the hot air baloon.

The punishment that you don't get fame and you can't take all your stuff i relativly mild - leave your donkey, take the precious stuff. But even if there was a severe punishment ("loose everything but your explorer") players woulnd't have to think a second of their decision since the other option is to die.

Another problem is the possible exploitation of the feature. You can just grab some precious stuff and off you go without caring about triggering voids or things alike. The pyramid is not the main thing that gives you fame anyway. Also you can "skip" the last mission by just collecting a lot of fame in mission 5, and then leaving mission 6 after one day.

For that reasons it should be only allowed to use the balloon, if theres no possibility to finish the adventure.

[Viperace]

Kind of hit a point... Definitely need more balancing

[ByteRiot]

Thanks for the feedback! It will definetely need more balancing and this the kind of feedback we're looking for. We wanted to get the base functionality quickly into the game, but it will be ironed out further in Alpha 13.

[Llotyhy]

Just beat the game by playing four expeditions, then ballooning the last two expeditions immediately after the start. Still won with quite a margin.

I don't dislike the option per se, but it needs some work. It shouldn't be possible in the final expedition at the very least.

[License Expired]

well maybe death by air balloon is a an option :O or.. you started the burners but the blew down and the burning balloon set the whole area in a blaze... would fit the fire death mechanic nice :D
to make escape a bit more trilling

[Xaz]

Maybe you could have a limited number of air balloons per playthrough. 2 or 3 maybe. You could also maybe gain more by finding an air balloon on one of the maps, or purchasing one (though it'd be really expensive).

[The Space Ferret]

I thought ths same. Having this cool hot air balloon to escape in seems like a copout. The thought of being stranded in a jungle with no hope of escaping and your companions are eyeing you hungrily as you sleep for the night is completely lost. Then again, you could just choose NOT to go up in a balloon too. Just 'cause it's there doesn't mean you have to actually use it. Maybe I should just follow my own advice.

[License Expired]

Quetzalcoat, i lke that but depending on the final difficulty maybe just 1 or max 2 with a change of failure.. :D
also on a other point, we have played many hours and for beginners it might less discouraging to being able to go on..

[Edelgris]

Perhaps negative fame for escaping in a balloon, then? After all, you're effectively failing your expedition and returning home disgraced.

[License Expired]

hmm extra days for balloon travel... or "the wind blew us in the wrong direction" making the trip an even bigger embarrassment on homecoming T.T lol maybe even a simple dice game result can be made, disaster, prolonged journy, normal, quick return, it would give the game something extra wen in need of using the balloon than just a get away option

[License Expired]

D6 1 quick home, 1 normal journy home(-fame), 2 prelonged journy home(-big fame), 2 disaster.. missing etc
everytime the dice is trown, the side up will be replaced by a disaster side making it more and more unpleasent to use. if you use it ones and get home than next time 50% disaster :O
)the balloon button could be the dice itself :D

[AceHangman]

Not allow Hot Air Balloon on Expedition 6?

[Pinky]

Posible fix: Using the Hot Air Balloon doesn't count as a completed mission.

So if you use it on Expidition 4 - the next mission will be a new Expidition 4.

[Also skip the screen where you can trade your treasures for fame or cash. adter using the balloon, you go directly to the 'chose your next location' screen with only the inventory/companions you saved.]

[ByteRiot]

Thanks for all the feedback! Two thoughts on the hot air ballon in general:

If you really want to reach the first spot in the competition you really shouldn't be able to afford using it since it will cost you too many points and resources. So the fact that its too easy to be in first place now, kinda taints the whole discussion about the hot air balloon mechanic. We will push update 12.1 later today, which will contain a few bug fixes and also some new tuning, most importantly making it much harder to win the competition and giving you a bigger incentive to really push yourself and go after extra treasure and not use the escape option.

The other thought is that the balloon is mostly for players that are in a really good state overall (plenty of resources, fame etc) and then screw up a small thing and the game is over. By design it is not intended for situations where you are just one person close to death and use it as a get-out-jail card. So an additional idea could be to restrict its usage to only when you're still in good state. I'm not sure yet how to define that, but it could be something simple like needing at least three party members to set up the balloon.

[anonym]

>Posible fix: Using the Hot Air Balloon doesn't count as a completed mission.
>So if you use it on Expidition 4 - the next mission will be a new Expidition 4.

Thought about that as well. The problem here is, that there is a big chance of abusing the feature. Don't like the map? -> hot air balloon and repeat. Didn't find enough treasure -> hot air ballon and repeat.

>Maybe you could have a limited number of air balloons per playthrough. 2 or 3 maybe. You >could also maybe gain more by finding an air balloon on one of the maps, or purchasing one >>(though it'd be really expensive).

>The other thought is that the balloon is mostly for players that are in a really good state overall >(plenty of resources, fame etc) and then screw up a small thing and the game is over. By >design it is not intended for situations where you are just one person close to death and use it >as a get-out-jail card. So an additional idea could be to restrict its usage to only when you're >still in good state. I'm not sure yet how to define that, but it could be something simple like >needing at least three party members to set up the balloon.

The problem with those two is, that it would hinder you from using the hot air balloon for the function it was designed to - escaping a situation when you have no possibility to finish the mission.
In the first option you kinda would be forced to buy a hot air balloon all the time to be save (kind of like the issue with ropes&torches used to be). In the second option you'd still be screwed if you are all alone, but know where the pyramid is and have enough moonstones - you'd be still unable to finish the mission.

[Pinky]

Originally posted by anonym:

>Posible fix: Using the Hot Air Balloon doesn't count as a completed mission.
>So if you use it on Expidition 4 - the next mission will be a new Expidition 4.

Thought about that as well. The problem here is, that there is a big chance of abusing the feature. Don't like the map? -> hot air balloon and repeat. Didn't find enough treasure -> hot air ballon and repeat.

The downside to using the balloon [to reset the map] is that you get only a limited number of companions and/or items. So unless you were already in a sorry state, it wouldn't be penalty-free. (and if you are in a sorry state - you might want the break)

Plus if you save only treasure, you won't have a chance to sell it. So when you start the reboot expedition, instead of torches and ropes, you'll have feathers and gold masks.

Either way I think it's better than treating the escaped map as 'successfully' completed.