First of all, thank you for trying out the Frosthaven demo during Steam Next Fest and during our temporary extension this week! We were more than happy to give you all a few more days of play time after we saw the popularity of the demo, which had put Frosthaven into the list of the Top 50 most-played demos during Steam Next Fest. Thank you all so much for your support and feedback for the demo – this is exactly what we want to see when Frosthaven enters Early Access, so please keep the support coming! During the time of the demo, we went out with hotfixes to address some issues, including fixing issues with multiplayer desyncs and improvements with Short Rests. That said, based on your demo feedback, we already have a lot of additional and major improvements in the works (see below!)
YOUR DEMO FEEDBACK
We’ve been browsing through your feedback and a lot of things are already in the works on our side:
UI Improvements, Mainly with Ability Card UI
Cards’ iconography is a work in progress, and we are always looking for improvements. Actually, we have made a lot of changes already, but they didn't make the cut for the demo. If we use the same exact cards as in the board game, they will not be very readable because some cards have really long descriptions. We did add a few new icons which might be even harder to decipher, but we are checking feedback and can change things as we go. We are looking for the option to be able to use a key to change to the original cards from the board game, but it might happen after Early Access and not for the initial release.
Adding the Ability to Undo
An Undo option is already developed but was not tested enough to be safe to use in the demo, and that is why we did not include it. Also, the UI around the confirm button is currently in the process of changing and will be very different in Early Access.
Adding the Ability to Speed Up/Skip Animations (Turns)
Speedup/Skip animations are something that we test internally, but it was not tested enough for the demo (causing bugs), and that is why it was not included, but it will be a part of Early Access.
Tutorial Improvements, Including Adding an Outpost Tutorial
We’re working on multiple improvements to the tutorial based on feedback we’ve received from both Steam Next Fest demo players and players who had a chance to check out the demo in-person at events. By Early Access launch, the tutorial will be more polished and in-depth to ensure that all players, including those who haven’t played the board game, have a solid understanding of the game’s mechanics. Additionally, we know there’s been a major request to add in a tutorial on the Outpost – we already have that in the works! That tutorial was a work in progress on our side prior to the release of the demo, and we didn’t quite have it ready in time to be included in the demo. We know the game’s complex, so we definitely want to make sure all players know how to play properly and enjoy the game to the fullest.
Save System Improvements
Our Save system is about to be reworked with a completely new UI along with most menus. There will be more than one save per campaign unless ironman mode is selected. You will be able to either custom save the game or use the autosave/quicksave options.
Keybinding Improvements, including the Inspect Feature
We’re working on multiple keybinding-related improvements based on your feedback. One improvement is changing the keybind for the Inspect feature (the feature where you can see more details for certain in-game elements) to a different key. We’re considering changing it to be on the ‘T’ key and be available via Right Click, which we believe should make it even easier to inspect things in-game. This is just one example of keybinding improvements we plan to make as we prepare the game for launch.
Adding Gloomhaven Elements, such as Characters, Into the Game
We have heard you about implementing Gloomhaven 2e and Jaws of the Lion characters in the game and we really want to do that, but we are focusing first on the base game.
And More
Many of the other smaller feedback cases are already in the works or done and will be by Early Access launch. Some of those were either features that did not make the cut for the demo or were bugs. We are looking at some Drifter changes and tons of UI improvements.
All this said, our adventure doesn’t just end here; it continues and will be even better than before! We’re back to focusing on development on the game and getting it ready for Early Access, but don’t worry, we won’t be silently working. We will still be giving you all updates as we continue development. Updates will include sharing news (yes, that includes news of the Early Access release date – we’ll have news on that when we’re ready!), videos and trailers, dev team blogs, and more.
Along with giving wider updates, we also want to call out our Frosthaven Community Council, our new community program where we’ve hand-picked and will continue to hand-pick a group of players – including from Frosthaven board game veterans – and give these players the chance to connect directly with us and share feedback! For the program, folks that are in it are getting exclusive access to in-development builds of Frosthaven (under NDA, of course) and have the chance to give us feedback in real-time to shape the future of our game. We’ll be kicking off the first Community Council meeting soon and are thrilled to get things started for it as we continue development.
Thank you all once again for trying out the game and giving us incredible feedback and support. Let’s continue the development journey of Frosthaven together!
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