Hello,
I have just started playing the beta. I have been playing the alpha for a long time, and I appreciate the chance to play the beta this week. I will be pre-ordering once the beta expires. I have been finding the game really fun and an overall improvement on the original, which itself was an excellent game. Below are a few (mostly) minor changes that I would like to see. Feel free to ignore them completely.
1.) Potions - One small change that I have noted from the alpha is that potions are no longer automatically picked up. I understand the reason for this because there is not always a guarantee that there will be room for potions, unlike in the alpha. However, it makes sense to me that if a player already has a mana/health potion, then picking up an additional potion should be automatic, since holding 8 mana potions takes up the same number of slots as one mana potion.
2.) Restocking Fee - I like the new locker system. I like how when an item is lost in the dungeon, it just doesn't magically reappear. I like the idea of having to pay a restocking fee to get it back. However, I think this fee should be somehow related to the item itself, specifically the original price paid for it. Having all items cost 100 gold seems odd since the cost to restock an expensive item should be higher than a cheaper one (e.g. the spoon should not cost the same as the tower shield). This would be in keeping with the mantra of meaningful decisions; one should think carefully about taking an expensive item to a difficult dungeon in case it is lost and costs a bunch of money to reacquire.
3.) End-mission screen - I really enjoy looking at what I've killed at the end of a mission and the badges that I have won. There is a small section of stats that I think would be more effective as a chart. In most RTS games (and I realise that this ids not one) such information is presented in charts at the end of a mission and is usually more readable than what is currently in the DD beta.
4.) Artwork - I admit that changing artwork is not a *minor* change, but I do have some suggestions in this area. I apologise if they have already been mentioned. A.) The altar artwork when you step over it seems out of place compared to the rest of the game. I really enjoy the art style, particularly how each race/class combination has specific artwork, but the altar seems more like something from a paint-by-numbers book. I'd really like an image that is more in-tune with the game for each altar. B.) I'm not sure if this is temporary, but I'd really like a better town screen. Specifically, I would like to have visual representations of each level of guild (etc.) that change when upgraded. I understand that this would be a difficult task, but it would make more sense if the physical image of the town changed when buildings are upgraded (much like the old Sierra Caesar games).
Those are all my minor issues. Everything else, even balance-wise (which seems to be a contentious issue on these boards) seems fine to me. I really enjoy the depth of this game, and the replayability (and seemingly unendingness) of the game are huge drawing points in this sort of game. Excellent work!