Unfortunately, I still have to find a suitable computer to play imachination on. I am on windows now, but the internet connection is excruciatingly slow down here

Considering the limitations, you surely made the right choice in adding customization of the vehicle.. it’s a simple mechanic that a 7-yearold can relate to, but it adds depth and ownership. It’s probably the best use of the left-mouse-button-only interface around; think of the sims, for example, and how it has immense depth with basically nothing but this interface.

In terms of concepts, I think perhaps you’re lacking powerups – another mechanic that gives the player a sense of personal entitlement because he has earned a reward. It’s a key component of shmups and other arcady type games, particularly those considered kids games, so yea, pretty straight forward addition. Double speed or super-powered-weapons for instance. But that’s all that comes to mind for outright additions.

But you’re right that the biggest problem is that the player does not directly interact with the game to fire the weapons. As a result, it’s much harder to hit stuff, to the point that it feels like luck rather than skill (I tried really hard to shovel the little creatures in the first level, but I couldn’t make it without them damaging me!).
It takes away ownership of the individual kills with, for example, the big shovels. And you’re right…It may be that it isn’t perceived as a problem by half the players but then, players don’t know whats good for them much of the time, so it easily remains a problem regardless of that.

You’re not the only one to have made this mistake though…the first dungeon siege is much less fun than diablo was, for example, precisely because it automates too much. To the designers at gas powered games (probably chris taylor in particular), it must’ve seemed that the incessent imprecise turbo-clicking most diablo players do when playing the game was a problem to be solved…turns out, the alternative that gpg thought up robbed the players of their feeling of skill and accomplishment.

Is it comparable to universal ammo? Sure, in that it’s probably come about in a somewhat similar manner, from what you describe. The real lesson to be learned, then, is how to avoid making a mistake in this manner. Now how the heck you’d do _that_, I’d like to know. Particularly given the time constraints of the project…not enough time for real iterative development in self analysis, and your entire team thinks it’ll work…given those conditions, how are you supposed to catch it?

Should I propose a fix in your specific instance, well, I would have the digger always drive towards the mouse curser, and have it “dig its feet in” when you click it…like a siege tank from star craft. You even have this functionality, you just use it for something else. It still overloads the left mouse button with more functionality than I’d like, but from a UI standpoint, that _is_ what has to happen.

Problem is, I don’t think I would have protested in any vocal way had I been on the team, so the fact that you can come up with something that seems like a workable solution doesn’t mean you’ll be able to tell that there’s a problem in the first place.

Your suggestion – to be extra careful about where you innovate – is perhaps the best bet. If you’d played a similar game, and were able to test out your innovation in as similar setting as possible, directly comparing two solutions to the same problem (one traditional and one innovative) – perhaps you’d be able to tell what’s better…because I’m not sure just “being extra careful” would have saved IO from universal ammo, do you?

Ah, anyway, I ramble on too much. Hope you find some of it useful.