MERRILL'S PROFILE

Visual upgrades are very nice. I wouldn't implement it at the expense of gameplay, though, assuming customization is a big part of it. While it's very nice to be able to see your character (or, in this case, ship) gradually look coolor as they get stronger, well-rounded options and gameplay should come before visuals.

Drawing your own upgrades would be neat if it makes sense in the context of the game, but from the way you describe your game it seems like it would feel rather out of place.

author=Bonehead11
Planescape torment, anyone?

Oh yes, Planescape: Torment was wonderful. It's nice seeing people mentioning the likes of Planescape and Arcanum, because those were games where I could really feel for the character and create a personality for them other than 'saint' or 'thug', which is the case for all too many games that tout choice as an option.

Being able to make your own decisions, choose from multiple outcomes aside from "good ending" and "bad ending", having multiple ways to solve a quest, selecting dialogue and to a much lesser extent having the option to customize your character is a huge bonus for me. If the writing is good enough I can get into it regardless (just look at Nier) but general wRPGs are my favorite genre due to how satisfying it is to be able to make your character, decide who they are, and actually impact the world around you.