So, my quick review of v21.
+ loading times improved over v20
+ game better optimized, runs nicer
+ new map (can't really comment since I was there at night and desperate to find the way out to go to sleep)
+ can now alter enemy spawn multiplier
+ choose how good the enemies are (probably the best addition of this update)
+ ability to unlock corpo-rat guns
- unbalanced, horribly broken primary needs
- lots of stuff that's only half implemented
- fully cyber upgraded Ivy on permadeath start (had to waste time removing them, since I don't have motivation to play if there is nothing to strive for)
- no needs-lock while in menus, inventory or trader window, theoretically you can die from scrolling through inventory for too long
- this is obviously a cyberware update
- still nothing under "other" in customization
- no new lootboxes in the world, especially first compound, which are desperately needed now that we also need food and water
- no way to turn off primary needs
- for whatever reason it's no longer possible to jump/climb over 0.5m tall obstacles... wtf?! So much for realism...
- rushed job cause of Political 2, something dev admitted
still waiting for:
- ability to set stage length with "from" and "to" instead of fixed length
- actual pregnancy and birth
- DRAWBACKS to getting pregnant other than just being slower
- good reason/incentive to get rid of sperm and eggs
- larger belly and tits inflation
- more animations and different priority (sick of constantly seeing the same anim with tentacles grabbing the tits on all fours)
- ability to save position, even if it's like Resident Evil with set points
- enemies interrupting Ivy's masturbation session and auto-raping her
- due to new inclusion of primary needs, the task rewards should now change and include either food or money (to buy food) rather than gun parts or upgrades. after all, food and water for naked survival would be the primary concern of anyone in that situation
Personally I like it when games add primary needs management, it makes gameplay more interesting.
Not here though.
By the time I finally found that rolling ball at the very start of play, my food, energy and water were already plummeting. I'm sorry, but
that's just insane. Nobody gets up in the morning, has breakfast and drink and is already crashing from starvation and thirst by the time they're dressed and ready to get in their car.
It's
impossible to finish a single map without dying from primary needs. I am doing rags-to-riches start and found only one piece of salad in the highway map, no actual water. On Swamps I found 3 salads. 0 water. How the hell am I supposed to play this game? I can't even imagine what the Streets level has to be like! Dead 5 times from thirst before getting to the end.
What is the loot drop for food and water set to anyway? 0.1%?
By the time I was leaving Highway for Swamp my sleep notification was already blinking and screaming. I actually had to turn on the no-death cheat (which doesn't work for bullets anymore btw.) to continue testing the game.
Also, noticed the cheats don't really work that reliably. Despite having no-death and no-bullet-damage cheats turned on I was killed by raiders. Considering how annoying and catastrophic for inventory it is in the early states of the game, it would honestly be better to turn on permadeath rather than go through the bullshit of resurrecting. I can't recall if we still have to deal with stupidity of healing after resurrection, but at some point we had to, which is another kick in teeth after already losing everything we carried.
I don't know what point is there to the cyberware implants that lower the weight? Slower energy loss maybe? Doesn't make sense otherwise. Not a fan of chroming up, my V was always as human as possible, so the only upgrades i really took were uterus and ovaries. I noticed an upgrade that claims to allow bigger expansion of V's womb, but that does nothing. Honestly, I'd rather if Ivy's womb and tits could get fuller/bigger than right now.
Not sure what point coming milk feature will have, since Ivy gives birth only to tentacles and those don't need milk. Alchemy, lol?
EDIT: As I was writing I started a new permadeath playthrough.
By the time I was done removing all the cyberware that I didn't want and was about to
leave the hideout, my water food and energy were down to 2/3. By the time I got into the very first scav compound on Highway (like 20m from hideout) my energy was already plummetting. Before reaching Hawker my primary needs were down to 50%!!!
This is insane. Unacceptable.
Unplayable. To make it worse I have 0 food, 0 money and very little to trade with after throwing away the cyberware.
The first raider that I ran into killed me instantly. Just full burst of into my face, even though Ivy was completely unarmed and even naked. #MakesSense. Losing the flask of nutrient and a single piece of salad I managed to scrape enough money to buy... Next playthrough, the first seven boxes were completely empty and I was again running out of food and water. Brilliant update, dev! /s
Dev needs to do something about this, quickly. I anticipate this update will have several more patches if he will fix his mistakes.
This update offers some very nice new things, but due to the primary needs inclusion and how broken they are it's no doubt THE worst and game-breaking update of them all.
Yeah, agreed. Just too bad about the hair.