Here is a quick look at what you can expect and what I hope to get out of the test.
What can you expect from the Alpha test?
- First thing first. I want you to see this version of Seablip as a "Small Sandbox", showing off some of the main functions of the game. Sea battles are going to evolve a lot from this version, but it stills gives you a good indication of what to expect
- Seablip has 3 main scenes: Island Scenes, The World Map, and Sea Battles This is the core function of the game. I want to build the story and content within these scenes. The main scenes offer different kinds of gameplay material. Right now they don't offer you all the functions I want, but I hope you see the link between them all and can help me get inspired to build the game further on this foundation.
- You start with a good chunk of gold and resources, and you can get gold and resources by winning sea battles or you can get resources by harvesting from Alpha island (but the resources here are limited and trees/rock does not yet come back if harvested). ***In some rare cases, you will find yourself without more gold, and no ammo/cannonballs. If you are really unlucky you will probably get stuck and have to restart the game
- Get lost in lack of explanation. There is not yet added an in-game guide telling you what to do. So it is "Learning by Doing"
- "Boarding Mode" and "Close Combat" is still quite messy and it can be hard to have a good overview of your crew in a big battle (Critical errors can also happen, but I have tried my best to remove the most serious bugs)
- Items in Close Combat": Weapons in Combat is implemented, but does not yet offer different specs/stats. They all give the same amount of damage and speed. Therefore close combat is not very balanced, but feel free to test it anyway! :)
- Each time you travel on the map one day passes. Some events are triggered by a specific day. (Not many events like this in the Alpha, but a few, for instance, Kira the Ship Merchant is selling you different stuff based on days and other factors)
I could go on with this list... The most important thing is playing the game as it is, and having fun with the current state. After that, I would appreciate it a lot if you can contribute with feedback! :)
What feedback do I look after with this test?
- What do you want to see from Seablip in the future?
- What do you like about the current version of Seablip?
- Is it something that you don't like with the current version?
- Did you encounter some serious bug while playing?
- Jardar