We as developers recognise the importance of having audience input during the iteration and polishing phase of our game cycle. We’re acutely aware that being attentive and genuinely taking feedback into account can be the difference between releasing a successful title or crashing and burning!
Changes implemented as a result of PlayTesting
We’ve been busy taking in your feedback and focusing on features that impact the widest group of players. Our goal? Make the game more fun and smooth for everyone.
Prioritizing What Matters 💡
With so many features in the mix, we’ve narrowed down our focus to improving things that matter most to you all. Better UX (user experience) means a better game, and this is at the heart of our design philosophy as we continue to iterate on features to facilitate this.
UI Improvements 🖱️
UI can make or break the experience, right? We’ve improved things like managing those idle workers (so they actually do their jobs!) and simplified the pre-game lobby. Now it’s way easier to jump into a game with friends. This has been as a result both of playtesting internally and really hammering down on the smoothness of the features, or several times with external playtesters who come in with a fresh perspective and point out a potential improvement for UX/UI we may have overlooked.
Combat Features and Unit Behavior ⚔️
We’ve fine-tuned combat and unit behaviors to make them more responsive as we continue to actively respond to player feedback and suggestions. Troops should now react a little more predictably when you give them commands, making the battlefield feel more dynamic. One piece of feedback we've gotten is that a melee unit's movement speed was noticeably slower than many of it's compatriots in the same unit branch. As a consequence, this unit felt sluggish and unresponsive to the fast-paced gameplay. We've been able to collate this feedback from several sessions, so felt it appropriate to give that unit a much needed speed buff! It's small tweaks like these that can translate over to the game in a big way, so the impact of these playtests cannot be understated.
Why is it Engaging?
Now that we’ve given a slight glimpse on the types of in-game content that can be shaped, in the same way Dwarves shape precious metals into weapons of war - let’s explore why this is engaging.
Casual Atmosphere Fuels Discovery 💡
The atmosphere is laidback, allowing for the playtester and person running the session to become acquainted with each other over Discord. Getting to know the devs first hand is a really nice feature that a lot of larger studios might not have, and equally presenting us with an opportunity to answer questions or explore undiscovered bugs!
Drawing on our network 🌍
We’re blessed to have a sizable circle of fellow devs, and people who may have expertise within the field of game dev taking part in our sessions. Their intimate knowledge of the landscape is really awesome as it often allows for a methodical approach to game features and offers scope for numerous improvements. An example from a recent playtest was that our eagle-eyed playtester and fellow dev was able to point out an element of UI which could stand to be enlarged in comparison to the unit portrait display. We felt this was a good change, as it allowed for users to see building construction choices more fluidly.
We love hearing your thoughts because your feedback is key to shaping the future of Apoceus. Engaging with the community through playtesting helps us see which systems are really clicking with players, and which ones might need a bit of tweaking. Sometimes, we even find that certain mechanics work so well, they’re worth replicating or expanding upon in new areas of the game. Your insights highlight where we need to focus our energies to create a more compelling experience.
UI system overhaul, idle worker animations shown in game (WIP).
Embarking on a path together ➡️
Playtests are great. They are important because they create an environment of mutual learning, of potential possibilities and improvements for the game. But they are also great because through creating a direct playground where player and dev can interact, they strengthen the bonds of community and allow for the player’s impact to be felt and heard. A player who feels this way is likely to want to stick around to see the game continue to evolve and that’s the most exciting part!
At the current phase, we’re always keen to conduct playtest sessions with prospective participants, whether you have a background in game development or are a casual gamer. The easiest way to connect with us and be a part of our journey is to join our Discord community - here you can keep up to date with the latest patch notes, and find out about opportunities to playtest the game! You never know, a feature you suggest or a bug you spot might immortalise your impact on Apoceus.