Whew, many replies. Thanks all for taking the time to comment in so much detail. So, messages in order:
Miki #1 - I see what you mean. For the next major release (I'm releasing 0.3.1 with a few fixes in the next week, but I mean 0.4) I'll do some experimenting with that system. I take your point though - right now, turning-without-moving is the default, but that's actually likely to be a very rare situation. I'll make move-and-turn the default, put turn-without-move and move-without-turn on Ctrl/Alt or whatever, and see how that works. But I think it'll work well, and I think you're right.
Endorya #1 - understood. Yes, indeed, there needs to be more to do per map grid, and that's why I intend to focus on traps for 0.4 to add more gameplay. I take your point about the main menu borders - I'll just have to see how I feel about it when I return to the game for 0.3.1 in a few days! See, in principle I know you're right about mono-spaced text, yet it doesn't bother me. But I'm not sure if I've just become used to it, or I've never been bothered! Nevertheless, again for 0.4, I'll do some messing around with different font types and see how things look. For the Travel/Minimap thing, for instance, I double-spaced the text, and I felt that made it a lot more readable. Am I imagining that, or does it really make a difference? Got it re: persistence. Yeah, the entire world rerolls upon death. Your comment about knowledge between characters is one of the big issues - if Character B has Character A's knowledge - how?! If Character B doesn't, it encourages the player to slow down the game and if near death, suddenly scribble down loads of notes about the world, and that's rubbish. Thus, the world rerolls. Haha, thanks, and you really have! All constructive criticism is good.
Endorya #2 - haha, glad you like the opening menu. I specifically didn't want to have a key to generate new landscapes as I wanted it to be a long-term variation (like, say, the subtitles on DF), but maybe I should add a regenerate-main-menu key. Anyway, about the puzzle, I think there's two things here. Firstly, memory, secondly, the process of understanding the puzzle. As for memory, I always scribble down clues when I'm playtesting them, either in notepad or on paper (though paper is better since I can write down the right orientation more easily than in notepad). If you aren't doing so, I'd suggest doing so. I know a lot of other people playtesting have been doing so, and I think it's the best system. Think somewhat akin to Fez, where if you don't have a pen and paper handy, you're in trouble!
As for the second issue of ease-of-viewing-clues, I think the idea of having "unsolved puzzles" recorded in a journal is an excellent one. I've been thinking for a while about the kind of functionality I want in a finalized journal system. I hadn't thought of adding something like that, but the idea makes a lot of sense. I can't say when I'll implement it, because if I'm going to start working on a journal system I want to get the basics of the infrastructure right first time, but I like the idea a lot.
Endorya #3 - I very much like the sound idea. A lot. And I do see your point about being able to detect enemies behind you. If you are moving north, say, then it might print fairly accurate '?'s behind you to denote where you hear sounds, or some similar system. I really like the idea, and will include it, and definitely tie to a stealth/sneaking system. I had been intending to have sounds, though I hadn't thought about how just yet, but that mechanic sounds really good to me.
Vanguard - first, thanks
. Glad you like it. Huh, I hadn't considered the lifegiver. Believe me, I deleted a LOT of clues that were ambiguous, but I hadn't realized any vagueness in that one. Will remove. That clue is meant to mean BCAD, basically. So the first two are the two in the middle, and they are between the other two, in that order. I was expecting the player to "learn" what that wording means, but I agree, that's very vague. I'll change that. I put a lot of work into making the clues "ambiguous but explicit", which is a weird combination, but you've found two issues where that didn't work. Thanks, and I'll change those for 0.3.1.
Anvilfolk - yeah, memorizing is definitely a good idea. I'll think about how to best implement it. The block colours are designed to aid recognition, and when you grab a block, the message saying "You grab the block" tells you what is on the block ("You grab the block with a sun pattern", or something similar), to prevent you having to endlessly re-look. I have considered mouse support, and maybe I'll need to include that. Hmm. One easier way would be to remove the "press enter" step and have it automatically print/list everything on a tile by simply moving the cursor over. Thoughts?
Miki #2 - Hmmmm. Looking rotating you... I'm not sure about that. I'll have to think about it. But I agree looking takes too many keypresses - what do you think about the "removing pressing enter" as a variation, so it always prints the list of things on that tile? I am reluctant to make looking rotate the character since rotating takes time, and again, I don't want to get the player, if they're trying to look at something, maybe accidentally turning in combat. But maybe I should incorporate that. Hmm.
