After dipping my toes in the water alone occasionally I connected during the last pre-arranged period and actually conversed with a person. At least, I assumed so because there was a definite aspect of themed response to my move-speech acts; unfortunately I had not collected sufficient phrases in the Beta to be a very dynamic conversational companion, so after a glass of wine I rather undermined the whole experience by running up and down the beach like a five-year-old until I had a bunch of things to say... and didn't find anyone to talk to when I got back.
I don't think I've given feedback before, but my general reaction is that this is a really nice experience. My girlfriend was looking over my shoulder and even at this extra remove she complained far less than she usually does when I'm gaming; and when I'm non-gaming - she had no patience with
Dinner Date at all, and quickly did other things while I was soaking up
Dear Esther. I think she liked it, in fact.
I found it odd that there was no apparent visual difference between a simulation player and a real one. Having the simulated partner be clearly simulated is logical but I guess I wonder why, being able to create such a vivid and pseudo-real environment, my long-anticipated encounter with another person would be realised via the same trappings of artificiality. It was obvious once my
player-partner began to interact that this was what it was, but then I remembered that when I stand at the edge of the holodeck what I saw was another person, physical, not a holo-figure, so there is a precedent set in the game for seeing a "real" person (I assume I'm not describing a fault, but whichever gender I picked for myself my "reflection" was the other - hence my assumption that this was intended to be me "seeing" through the glass wall to another holodeck with another user).
I also spotted that, when my partner smoked a cigarette, the exhale appeared to come from ME, not from THEM. Not exactly disorienting, but odd - more so when I note that, while they are a holo-smoker and they smoke a holo-cigarette, the smoke they produce is just as cloudy-grey as my own; perhaps two layers of smoke could be generated, one with the blue-y tones of the simulation.
I had one instance of the game crashing (the same as mentioned by someone else above); I can dig up the report if you would find it useful. Only one though. While playing the Alpha build there were a few moments in which the avatar glitched. It was when standing/turning on the walkway above the beach (I think); the avatar's foot clung to the surface, twisting in a rather painful-looking manner... Not sure if this is still an issue with the Beta, I'll see if I can make it happen again the next time I play.
A final observation. I think someone else has mentioned this but when I went out, desperate to find new phrases, I activated the visions immediately and at long-distance. Then I didn't mind because time was a factor, but in general I feel the game loses something with this being possible. The most satisfying aspect so far is the sedate pace of walking the beach; the addition of these new features means a hint of anticipation is added to this experience through the "laborious" process of slowly approaching (or of running, eyes closed), watching the thing grow in ones perception, etc.; however, because the new object fades away as the piece is retrieved, that opportunity is quickly lost. I would make some degree of proximity required before the object (and maybe the hotel) can be "clicked".
That said, I find the whole experience
strangely satisfying. And if you want two words for the poster quote, I'd make it those...
