Dev Notes
Hello, everyone. This is Ranger from Team SoulEve.
First off, I'd like to thank all of you who participated in the 2nd CBT!
The 2nd CBT was a great opportunity to find issues and even estimate possible problems in the long term.
We were glad we had the chance to test the game.
Known issues, development direction, and future plans
will be shared with you in detail through the dev notes.
We had the following goals in mind while we prepared the 2nd CBT.
1. Game Characteristics
2. Optimization
3. Identifying Server and Matchmaking Issues Found in the 1st CBT
4. Testing Server Stability and Newly Implemented Methods in Various Locations
About Game Characteristics
After internal discussion, the team was able to identify both the positive aspects and weak points of the game.
We've received a lot of feedback mentioning that the game is fun.
However, we also received feedback that the game's quality, the completeness of game art, and the system details were underwhelming. The internal team agreed.
We strongly believe that the mentioned weaknesses must be improved in order for us to progress and reach our higher goals.
About Optimization
After reducing the size of the game, game stability and optimization have received positive reviews.
However, there is still room for improvement. A higher level of optimization is required, tutorials need to contain more information, and the Training Grounds need to be optimized. These aspects are a player's first introduction to the game, and were found to be lacking. The internal team completely agrees.
In order to establish a higher level of optimization, we are going to partner with experts in this field.
Identifying Server and Matchmaking Issues
These elements have seen improvements since the 1st CBT.
The team has plans for further improvements for these elements.
Please read the corresponding section below.
Testing Server Stability and Newly Implemented Method in Various Locations
The maintenance performed during the 2nd CBT was to test a few theories and changes.
There was a positive impact on the servers, and the team saw that we could apply such features while the game is in service.
In addition, we have collected information from various regions. In the Middle East and South-East Asia particularly, we found very positive indicators just as we did in the main server.
Internal goals aside, the team received honest and thoughtful feedback from players
regarding the game's characteristics.
The team is making sure we take the time to thoroughly compile, organize, and analyze
player feedback.
Although we had goals for what we hoped to gain from the CBT, we believe listening to player feedback and improving the game are more important.
We are working hard to fully utilize player feedback to make the game the best it can be.
1. Improving In-game Art Aesthetics and Quality
While it's too early to share any details on this topic,
what we can tell players is that the quality of the in-game art is constantly being fine-tuned
and already much improved.
We promise that updates regarding these topics will be shared regularly through multiple channels.
2. Enhancing Game Characteristics
1) Hero and Item Expansion
The team has spent the past few months improving the back end and efficiently reviewing the game balance through statistics.
And we've seen some positive results.
We have been preparing for the live game release for months. Now we're getting ready
for Early Access by adding Heroes and Items.
We are thrilled to introduce the new Hero and Item combinations that will increase gameplay excitement and possible strategies.
2) Implementing Ranked Games and Utilizing Situational MMR
We received some complaints during the CBT because only the Quick Battle mode was included.
Players questioned the quality and sustainability of the game.
The team is planning to implement Ranked Games before Early Access as one of our primary focuses.
Various MMR such as Quick Battle, Ranked Games, and Placement Tests will be implemented
so players can experience different high-quality gameplay types
that are suitable for their play levels.
3) Changing Matchmaking Logic
We are planning to separate 5-player party and
single player matchmaking as much as possible.
Strategic play is key to the game, so queuing as a party vs as a single player is very different.
New players who are queuing as a single player could have a negative experience.
For the CBTs, we didn't implement the separated matchmaking system due to the small size of matchmaking participants.
We are going to make separate matchmaking for party and single players
available in the upcoming builds.
4) Changing Skill Point Usage
Starting with 3 skills forced players to invade, and this led to an issue where the early phase of the game was unbalanced.
The team felt the need to improve this issue, and we decided to change it so that only one skill
can be used per 1 Skill Level.
It will be up to players to choose what skill they want to start with. The initial skill leveling will promote strategic plays while
keeping it fair for everyone.
5) Simplifying the Map
The team had multiple debates regarding the map's difficulty and overall feel.
We wanted to review whether the map was too complicated to promote strategic play and fun,
or if the map was too difficult for new players.
We came to a conclusion that the map needs to be simplified so that players can come up with their own strategies.
The map design, Jungle paths, and buildings are going to be simplified and optimized to be more intuitive and strategic.
6) Adjusting Hero and Item Balance
We often saw that some player tier charts were very similar to the index
created based on the play data of top players.
We also noticed that our dedicated players' analysis was shown in the statistics and some were even more accurate than the statistics.
The team will continue to collect and review the actual data and player feedback, and both sets of information will be used to improve Hero and Item balance.
7) Implementing Player Feedback on Game Characteristics
The team has collected player feedback and expectations from players.
We are going to organize the topics and upload the list to Trello.
We will show that we reviewed requests from our players
by making improvements.
3. Actions for Third Party Programs and Cheating Players
1) Technical Actions
Protection via Game Guard, supported by Netmarble Security
2) Scheduled Actions
Consistent Action: establish a consistent data-oriented auto-restriction system based on the CBT results
Immediate Action: implement a system that performs an immediate analysis and implements restrictions when player reports are received
4. Official Release Plan
When the internal team is ready, we will run a brief test to check the aforementioned topics
when we can provide Early Access for players.
We are at the final polishing stage and are getting ready for the next phase: the official release.
It is indescribable how excited and nervous we are!
Thank you to everyone who has been with us and supported us from the very beginning.
Shout to all our moderators who have also helped us so much!
Thank you!