Greetings, Ravens!
Oh boy, we’ve got a lot to talk about! Maybe let’s start with the positive: We’ve received so much good feedback on Chapter Two since the Experimental Beta and now the release of the update. We wanted to thank you for coming back to the game and playing the new content, we know it was highly anticipated.
Now onto the problematic stuff about the update. We have read your feedback, watched videos and live streams, and looked at the data, and we can only agree with your reports and recent reviews. This huge and outstanding update that we had worked on and planned for months didn’t meet your expectations on some levels, but we are here to remedy that!
Addressing your concerns
Looking at the feedback and data
What really stands out from all the data we collected over the last few days is how difficult the game has become since the last update, especially in solo. It has become adamant that we went too far, and we need to work on this issue quickly. If you were doing alright before the update, you are now struggling too much with the recent changes; and worse: if you were struggling before, you cannot simply win a run now. Our data is pretty clear on that:
in normal mode, the success rate for completing Dark Hills before the update was 23%, and the success rate for completing both Chapters is now 8%.
You would believe that it’s pretty normal, right? We added a new Chapter to go through, thus making it harder to reach the end as you have to stay alive twice the time as before. Yet, we noticed that people now have a hard time reaching the end of Chapter One. Almost all the criticism we received was about the shorter timer, and how this is the reason the game is harder now. It’s true, since most people cannot reach Chapter Two, they do have less time to explore, level-up and win! (The initial intention was to have MORE time since now you can explore two Chapters, with 6 cycles instead of 4). We believe we need to explain a little bit better why we made this change and why it was necessary (whether now or later).
Why the change?
In our patch note, we explained we wanted a dense and intense experience. By reducing the timer, we anticipated the fact that a run is now 40 minutes long instead of 25 (that is also why there were a bunch of ‘nerfs’ in this update, we had to balance things for two Chapters instead of just the one). We’ve also anticipated the third Chapter, coming later during this Early Access, which will also increase the final time of a run. We are aiming for between 1 hour and 1h15 for a complete run. This is how we should have presented the idea of a dense and intense experience from the beginning because it is the identity of Ravenswatch.
We announced the reduction of the timer back in July, and we tested that idea during our Experimental Beta tests a few weeks ago. It seemed that it was well received by the beta players at the time, perhaps the beta was played by more hardcore players, resulting in positive feedback about the change.
1 = It's too restrictive ❌ / 5 = It's perfect now 👌
What’s the solution then? (if that’s possible to find in a few days)
Now this change resulted in a lot of negative feedback and worries, that are to be fair, completely valid! After analyzing lots of community content and feedback, we are trying to find solutions to the ramping difficulty issue, without changing the timer again as we know it is necessary for the future of the game (runs will be too long, and you won’t be confronted with choices to make…). Having a pocket-open world gives the impression that everything should be explored, whereas in a roguelike you still must make choices. Exploring everything won’t make you stronger, choosing to focus your time on Activities and participate in combat will. It was something that was possible only on Dark Hills as the time was extended, but now that Storm Island is here, goals are different. Changing the timer is not the solution, it will only push the problem for later when we add Chapter Three and the End game.
We believe XP is the most important resource in a run's success. While objects and Dream Shards are obviously crucial in building powerful synergies, it seems that a lot of people favor loot over Activities that offer huge XP boosts (Tumors, Quests...). The lack of positive feedback, when you complete those missions, is an issue we wish to address quickly in order to send the right message to the players during their run.
We are planning to rework the Difficulty modes system in our next Major Update (check the roadmap down below for details), but in the meantime, we will quickly patch the Shores of Storm Island update accordingly with the feedback we received and the data we collected. We will also rework in a future update how you gain Rank points in the meta-progression, as failing a run now makes it harder/slower to unlock new Talents.
We are rebalancing the whole experience, making the Normal mode and the first few Nightmare difficulties more accessible. Leveling up and reaching levels 4-5 before the end of Dark Hills won’t be a pain anymore. The modifier for Nightmare 9 (reducing the timer from 18 to 15 minutes) will also be updated.
We are also working on bug fixes, here is what we are targeting:
- Cyclop co-op issues
- Permanent combat mode, preventing you from doing anything
- Loading issues on Chapter 2
- Steam deck attacks zone issues
This is the first patch we are planning to address those issues. Your feedback and suggestions are always welcome and appreciated to finetune Ravenswatch during its Early Access period! Please remember the game is still in Early Access and everything is subject to be nerfed/buffed and rebalanced as we add more content and read your feedback!
Our main focus is to give you back the original experience in terms of difficulty and fun. You can expect the hotfix in the upcoming days.
Devstream on Friday 15th, come and ask your questions!
Still not totally convinced or reassured? Join us on Friday 15th for a Devstream on Twitch! Adrien (Game Director) and Margaux (Communication Manager) will talk about the Shores of Storm Island update, recent challenges, and answer any questions you still may have.
Follow us on Twitch to not miss out on the live stream:
https://www.twitch.tv/passtechgames
17:00pm (CEST) / 16:00pm (BST) / 8:00am (PT) / 11:00am (ET)
What’s next? Updated Roadmap
While we’re working on improvements for the Shores of Storm Island update, here’s a new look at our updated Roadmap for the rest of the Early Access!
Our next update will add:
- A new Hero joins the Ravenswatch! Any guesses or wishes?
- The first iteration of Matchmaking! This was the #1 requested feature, we moved it up on our planning to give you access to the first version of the Quick match system.
- Reworked Difficulty system, as explained above, we are working on this to improve the overall experience.
- And more!
News from the Passtech team
Gamescom
Passtech Games recently participated in Gamescom 2023! We held a booth to showcase the Shores of Storm Island update to the press, it was quite a fun experience!
Moving out
Last month, we said goodbye to our old office to move into a bigger studio! The team expanded quite a bit since the launch of the game in Early Access, and we needed more room to properly welcome our new team members!
- The Passtech Team 🍉
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