Let me start by saying I think this is a great niche game that I have been following off and on for a while. I knew it was for a hardcore audience and think that the MMO market needs something like that. Since this is a hardcore MMO and knew I would never have enough time to put the amount of time needed into it, I never planned on purchasing the game. However, I was on mmorpg.com and entered a raffle to get a CBT key and I won! So I figured I would give the game a try in its current state with fresh eyes. (I never played LIF:YO)
I really like how you have to really plan things out and discover everything through trial and error or by talking/working with other people. It can be frustrating at times but when you figure it out it is very rewarding.
One flaw that I can see from my limited 3 days of playing is on the character creation screen. On this screen I am putting points into attributes and skill trees. However, I have no idea how this will impact the game. (It just states the name of it and nothing else) As a new player that never played LIF:YO I don't know what any of these states play into even if I have a play style in mind. So I would just at the lest suggest putting the skill tree with all of its info that is already in the game in the creation screen when allotting points. At least then you will have a better understanding of where you are driving your character and later on you wont be wondering why you put points into a talent you, now after reading the in game skill trees, will never want to use/level up.
Over all a great game I just think since the game emphasises planning so much this would make the early game much more enjoyable.