A list of improvements/sugestions.

Big Pharma General Discussion
1

So…I’ve been waiting for a game like this since forever, and now that i finally have it…it’s FU***** aWeSoMe!!! First day a clocked a 12 hour session with barely a toilet break. I generally refuse to play beta games but since I’m making an exception this time…hell, might as well take part in the feedback/suggestion rollercoaster.

[size=150]1. “Serious game changes”[/size]

1.1 It would be great if all machines had a left/right mirrored versions of them selves.

I do mechanical engineering work IRL and as such, i appreciate efficiency. On the other hand I’m an extremely OCD person and can’t stand messy and ugly designs.

In the game, I’m generally forced to chose between cheap, compact and efficient lines that are ugly, or beautiful and clean designs that take up half of the building for a single T2 production line, and require as much money in the belts as in the machines. Since I’m always going for the master rank achievement, and the game currently has performance issues (as posted in the bug section), it’s hard to blow cash on extra building’s and endless belt loops for the sake of aesthetics.

Having all machines in a left/right mirrored version would solve this issue as production lines could be made a lot prettier without taking up half the building.

The reason why I’m calling this a “serious game change” is because i know some people would feel that this would take away from the “puzzle solving” factor of the game and is therefore a bad idea. I think it would take away maybe 5% of the puzzle solving factor while returning a lot as far as the esthetics go. In a way, it would even add to the complexity since you wold have twice as many machines to think about, and would often have to make a decision about weather to buy new or reuse old machine’s when building a new line and the old machines don’t quite fit.

As a matter of fact, I would even suggest to bring back the importer/exporter machine the way it was before release instead of the fixed versions.

I shouldn’t be a big deal for the dev team since the machine graphic could simply be mirrored. Something to consider i suppose.

[size=150]2. Mayor annoyance’s[/size]

2.1 Option to disable massage prompt’s about the competition and market events

Man these are annoying as well as useless.

I already know that the competition is going to build competing products within minutes. And i already know that I’m going to fight back by having a diverse production and rushing to higher level drugs. I already know that I’m going to win the game. And the market spike/drops due to certain event’s…implying I’m going to hire 83530 explorers and cannibalize everything i have just because the painkiller demand is up…

I don’t need that info and I have to check the market periodical anyway to see what kind of impact on the saturation there was so it’s just an annoying pop-up that I’m constantly having to right click to remove from the screen.

So there should be an option do disable them while letting the research/exploitation messages go through.

2.2 Right click sell while in drag mode

While right click selling is very useful for belt’s…it’s problematic while in drag mode. Often, I’m moving the machine around and realize i can’t place it properly so i instinctively right click to “cancel the move” and drop it and than it gets deleted because the cursor is automatically centered on the machine in drag mode.

So i would recommend that the right click sell is disabled while dragging machines and simply drops the machine, same st the left click.

2.3 Belt re purpose

It would be useful if belts could be dragged and dropped just like machines. Frequently i find my self in a situation where i end up short on cash because of many scientist/explorers, and payments on a loan i already have. I just unlocked a possibility to make a next level drug and save my self. I setup the new line 100% with machines and 90% for belts just as my cash reaches 0. At that point i just need a 5 more belt’s to complete the line and save my finances but i can’t afford it. I simply don’t have 500$. Meanwhile i have 5 belt segments laying around from an old line that i cannibalized to reuse the machines for the new one and i can’t help my self. I end up being forced to take a new 375k loan whose payments i can’t handle just so i can buy 5 belts for 500$.

So yeah, a drag-drop mechanic for belts that works in the same way it does for the machines would be very useful.

[size=150]3. Small annoyances[/size]

3.1 Belt waste

When you mess up and you you have a bad drug on the belt line, you have to sell the belt and rebuild it in order to get rid of it. This causes an unnecessary loss of 50$ per belt. I remember the problem being recognized in the v-blog once, but it still hasn’t been solved. Perhaps a simple “cleanup” icon that one click cleans everything from the belts from the point of click downwards?

3.2 Old drugs saturation info

When checking for over saturation of the market by hovering the pointer over the % number, the game shows a breakdown of which drugs are responsible in what ratio for the saturation. This is very useful, however when i delete an outdated drug in the company tab, it doesn’t get deleted from the saturation info, instead it just goes to 0%. It ads to the clutter, especially for T1 drugs that all the competitors make i multiple versions.

It would be great that when i delete the drug from the company tab because I’m completely done with that drug it also removes it from the saturation lists.

3.3 Small loans

Sometimes i need just a bit of cash to get by but it’s late-game and the only thing that’s available is 375k+ for 26%+ interest.

Would be useful if there was more loan options and small loans available thru ought the game. Maybe a 10k/25k/50k/100k/250k/500k/1M option from the start and through the game? Or maybe just like IRL. You set the desired amount, and a desired return period and the bank sets the interest rate in accordance with the request and calculates the monthly payment. Basically a slider for the amount, and duration.

3.4 Time required/left for exploration

Research shows time required/left for each machine, but exploration doesn’t, so its difficult to plan. One could argue that it isn’t realistic that you could know how long its going to take to discover an ingredient however it isn’t realistic to know how long will development of a bran new technology take ether yet it’s still in game.

So it would be useful if the exploration showed the same time needed/remaining number as machine research does.

3.5 X belt sections/multimixer optimization

I know it has already been announced, but it can’t come soon enough :slight_smile:
I literally experience pain when a line isn’t a perfect process time of one from start to finish :slight_smile:

[size=150]4. Additional minor stuff[/size]

4.1 More/better color options

I know it’s probably just a matter of time since the game is still beta, but the 4 stock color choices are kind of bland. Would appreciate a lot more options with more saturated colors, or perhaps RGB sliders and custom color save slots. Also brush tools in 1x1/4x4/8x8 tile sizes for faster whole building repaints as well as a single click “between two machines” belt repaint tool.

4.2 Machine placement

Maybe an ability to plop down machines as semi trancelucid even before they are available so i can plan lines ahead of time while waiting for reaserch and than just click a buy icon on the machine when i have it unlocked a can afford it?

4.3 Restart game button

Some times i get lucky with the procedurally generated stuff and mess up anyway. A restart game button in the menu that restarts the game without changing the procedurally generated stuff would be useful.

4.4 Map editor

Custom map editor eh?

Well…that’s all i can think of for now…everything else seems pretty perfect. A spectacular and innovative game!!! AAA devs can eat their hats right about now.

2

I don’t know that mirrored machines are a good idea. The limitation of the machine sides is part of the challenge of laying out efficient lines. Especially for a machine like the dissolver where you could place a chain of mirrored machines without conver belts to easily link several together.

Yes it’d be fun to tinker around with, but it’d ruin a lot of the challenge of the game. What could be a good idea is a tech tree option that unlocks the ability to flip machines, or something like a bonus when you max out a machine’s research level. That way it keeps the game challenging and balanced, but gives a way for players to create really pleasing late-game production lines if they so choose.

3

I agree with Logo, yes I too would like to play around with the mirrored machines, but think about it; a line of 10 dissolvers goes from
(doing the best I can here with text, D is disolver, B is belt, I is Ionizer, underscores are just to show separation between machines)

DD_DD_DD_DD_DD_DD_DD_DD_DD_DD
__BB_BB_BB__BB_BB_BB_BB__BB_BB
to
DD_DD_DD_DD_DD
__DD_DD_DD_DD_DD

or Ionizers go from
I B I B I B I B I B I B I B I B I B I
I B I B I B I B I B I B I B I B I B I
to
I I I I I I I I I I
I I I I I I I I I I
I can think of other examples, but you get the point.

4

In general I would agree with these changes!

5

My feedback:

  1. It would nice if the game saved the name/CEO you used in your last game.

  2. Mirroring, I think, would be nice as an option. Pillars of Eternity provided a bunch of UI/gameplay options like inventory limits, explicit stat checks in dialogues, etc that you could toggle on and off in the options. I think the game would benefit from it being provided like that.

  3. I do agree about re-purposing belts and deleting while dragging.

  4. Please start the game in paused mode. I get really ticked off when I spend a month or so setting up the initial lines then realize that a) I’ve been burning money all that time and b) I could have had the initial upgrades researched a month sooner.

  5. It would be nice to see the demand/saturation values for cures in the Company screen, for your actual products.

6

Ah, one more. It would be nice to see the names of the drugs over the sockets (or, perhaps, you could toggle which effect shows up over the icon for the ingredients) , not just the icons. The icons don’t really tell us much. I find myself having to mouse to recall what the hell’s being produced in this line or that.

7

One more thing: I constantly find myself clicking Upgrade ingredient, when I want to Import. Consider swapping those buttons?

And I find the current position for notifications (horizontal top) a little hard to notice. I think I’d personally prefer if they were bigger and appeared on the right side of the screen. I get that you’d have to rearrange stuff inside the non-Production screen for it, but top left is seriously not a great position for those.

8

I’d love to see the randomization go even deeper. I agree that the first two ingredients need to be controlled random in order to prevent dead games, but I think the randomization should reach even deeper.

For example… the “Nightmares” Side effect always has a red range on the higher end of the concentration scale (I think 13-20, I could be mistaken)

Every time I see “Nightmares” It’s always “Cannot be removed” Never a Catalyst and always at that concentration range. While the hot spot seems to vary from game to game… I’d be interested to see “Nightmares” sometimes show up at a different concentration band, sometimes having conditions for removal and sometimes carrying a Catalyst. The one thing that would remain static is how many pips it would cover.

Same deal with cures. TB is ALWAYS at concentration 1 and 2. I understand having a tiny effectiveness band for a higher level cure, but at least make it random which two pips. Likewise with upgrade paths, make what is needed to upgrade random, some without catalysts, some with. I’d be curious to see how it would all play out.

9

To add another one. I really think the Centrifuge should be a process time of 2 rather than 3. This would bring it in line with the Multi-Mixer’s process time. It is already a big, bulky and fairly unwieldy machine, but requiring 3 of them to get 1 full-speed line makes them almost unusable.

Maybe have it so that if you upgrade them enough, the process time goes from 3 to 2 the way that shakers give you the ability to shake ingredients extra spaces once you upgrade them enough.

10

Can we also get a ‘free play’ mode? Something where we can test out how machines work and simply play around without money, time, or research being an issue?

11

After playing around a bit (and finding and reporting a minor bug) I would love to suggest the addition of a way to move machines (and possibly conveyor belts) that have already been purchased.

If this is already in the game, then a better and/or clearer explanation on how to do so.

12

Suggestion for the Forum: Allow Post Editing
Edit: Correction Long-Term Post editing.
Suggestion for the Game: Auto-Pause during medication naming.

Edit 2:

One last suggestion: Selling Medication for the Side Effects, as an example, selling something that induces sleepiness as a sleep-aid.
Though barring a reasonable medical need it should be for a much lesser profit of course.

13

2.2 Happened to me multiple times. Always a D’oh factor

2.3 This would make belt placement too complicated, as then you would have to chose from 1 way all the way, 1 way half way, 1 way curved, and so on
And later on with the multiple lines and crosses this gets out of hand. You can use CTRL to fine tune placements.

No cash? Get a loan and pay it back as soon as possible

3.1 suggested that already, but in some ways we have to pay for our failures and I am ok with that

3.3 Just pay it back as soon as you can and grab always the smallest amount to pay per day.
We have to manage with our cash and not the game with our money wants. Even thought this may be annoying, but that’s life.

3.4 I agree with you

14

I disagree with mirrored version of the machines!

Hey, people with OCD should see this as a challenge and a possible way to tackle their OCD! :wink:
This game is a good way to see that sometimes messy is good. :wink:
The game is already easy, with these “improvements” it would be so much easier to the point of being boring. So I also disagree with repurposing belts (would make it easier), and a lot of the other things that would make it easier. This should be a challenging game, not Big Pharma Lego ;).

15

Theoretical you could do that, but i always put at least a single belt between machines, otherwise it looks to weird and simple. Perhaps disallow direct coupling of machines?

16

Somebody poked around the code and said that it’s pretty random, but i too have noticed that some drugs appear the same or very similar between games.

I would agree that maybe it would be better if it was truly completely random.

17

No i wouldn’t. if you had to “activate” the belt drag mode first. For example an icon below the delete button (or instead of the delete button since nobody probably uses it). Or perhaps only while holding Alt/Shift/Whatever. While not in belt drag mode via button, everything works normal.

18

Yeah but it already is Lego :slight_smile: Well…more like rubrics cube. If the game is to be made more challenging it shouldn’t be done trough artificial difficulty.
If you want to make the rubrics cube more difficult what do you do?

You don’t say “You may only rotate the cube to the left, and never to the right.” Instead you do this:

So any difficulty should come from game complexity, and not artificial limitation of freedom.

As captainperson said:

When in doubt…provide options.

19

You can already move machine’s by double clicking on them, and then you can rotate them with the mouse wheel. You can’t move belt’s at this point. Only delete and rebuild.

20

Yeah, found that out after posting, so I’ll solidify the suggestion of making that clearer during the tutorial.