Scyrons!
Early August we concluded our first public Playtest.
And what can we say, we saw hundreds of players experimenting with builds, breaking systems (in the best way), and giving us the kind of feedback that makes our job worth it.
Thanks to all of your help, we were able to gather a good number of insights, feedback and suggestions. Some were small, others were a bit more sophisticated, but all of them were great ideas. While some of them require more assessment and internal discussions, we should soon be ready to update our public list of “Community Suggestions & Ideas”.
So, feel free to keep an eye on it, and never cease to share your thoughts, suggestions and wishes with us 🙏.
But, what about that Playtest?
Well, let’s have a closer look.
The goal & result of the Playtest
With this first public Playtest, our main goal was to learn more about how you, the players, feel about the character controls and character progression. The onboarding process and in-game knowledge communication were additional points of our interest. The latter parts are especially since we are very aware that a game like EverSiege: Untold Ages can get quite deep very fast and for us it’s important to not lose anybody on the way.
What we actually learned
We received a lot of feedback throughout those 5 days. Playtesters shared their experience with the game, their ideas on possible additions, changes and improvements for the game.
This element of EverSiege’s development is very important to us. True to our vision, we believe that only by working together with you, we can create the strongest version of the game.
Without spoiling too much, here are some of our communities’ recent ideas that we are looking to implement into the game:
Rebinding skills and potions in an active run
Hotkey layout for MOBA players
A toggleable auto attack range-indicator
An easier difficulty for more casual playthroughs
Rework map design when maximized
Find more considered community contributions here from earlier tests and soon new additions.
With our next playtest happening very soon™️, please understand that we cannot add all the new suggestions and ideas yet. We are adding and implementing them in accordance with our development time frame.
What was played?
In this build players were able to choose between four different wargears, four different skill altering essences and were able to play just until the fourth Ascension.
“Wargear, essences and ascension? What’s all that about?”, you ask?
Well, maybe we should do very quick intro to those three game elements.
A wargear can be described as a predefined weapon loadout and each weapon loadout comes not only with the weapons but also designated 3 active and/or passive skills. The Dual-Daggers wargear for example comes with the ability to turn invisible at the cost of energy, and has two active damage skills with included mobility.
Essences are what flavors your run by giving your Scyron access to a select pool of abilities and twists on your skills. The nature essence for example allows you to find nature-inspired abilities around healing, entanglement and summoning friendly units, whereas the fire essence is all about engulfing your enemies in fiery flames.
And then there are Ascensions. Ascensions are different timelines and dimensions in which Bastion is being attacked. Because destroying the last hope of humanity in one timeline is surely not enough for this ancient evil. Each Ascension comes with its own challenges and boons because, in the end, time does not unfold the same everywhere.
What’s Next?
On track with our Summer Roadmap, we now finished our very first publicly pulled Playtest which was marked for July. Following that is a new playtest for August, with the goal to ‘Expand the Experience’.
Right now, we’d describe our community as a strong and engaged expert community that, by the looks of it, has a lot of experience with Warcraft III (maps), MOBAs and RTS. Which is exactly what we were hoping for.
With this next push of invitations for Playtest #02, we’d like to add some less experienced players into the mix. And we genuinely hope that their feedback on the onboarding and structure of the game can help us create an even smoother experience for all skill levels.
But don’t worry experts, there is still plenty of room for higher skill levels as well!
Especially our past playtesters might be happy to hear that we plan to add a new wargear into Playtest #02. And for all the folks who said the game is too easy, we also increased the number of Ascensions you can play at.
Now, how long to wait for the next playtest?
Well, with August already being in full effect, and a certain game-related fare happening soon, who knows when the next invitations will go out…
We can only recommend to better keep an eye on your inbox if you’ve already registered for our playtests. You don’t want to miss that invite, right?
💡More information on the actual date will be shared soon™️. Be sure to follow us on Steam, Discord or one of our social media channels to not miss the information.
If you have not registered yet, have a look right here and request access.
In case you have any questions about the selection process or others, check out the following special playtest FAQ.
Playtest FAQ
What are playtests?
Playtests are timely limited events where a select number of people are granted access to play the game in its current state in order to give feedback, report points of friction and possible major issues.
These sessions also allow the developer to observe how players interact with the game using anonymized telemetry data. Additional surveys can be sent out for dedicated, qualitative feedback.
What is the goal of playtests?
Every playtest will come with a different set of goals which can be anywhere from squashing bugs to tests of core game play or meta progression elements, to simply uncover points of friction.
How can I take part in playtests?
You can register for a chance to be part of the early playtests by clicking on the ‘Request Access’ button on the game’s Steam Store Page.
Please be aware that clicking the ‘Request Access’-button on the store page does not guarantee access. In a sense, clicking the button simply puts your name in the hat.
How do you select who gets invited to a playtest?
While we select the number of players required for the playtest, Steam randomly selects a group of players from the list of registered applicants. It's entirely random.
How do I know that I got invited to a playtest?
You will receive a notification from Steam to the email address linked to your Steam account.
We will also share a notification using the game’s Steam News channel for all playtest details. So, if you want to be sure you’re to remain up to speed, playtest and otherwise, go and click the ‘Follow’ button on our store page.
Does admission to one playtest give you access to all following playtests?
Yes, but you’ll only ever receive an email notification for the first admission. To make sure you won’t miss any following playtest sessions, follow the game’s news.
Will access to a playtest translate into a full copy of the game at (EA) release?
No. On Steam, the playtest application for EverSiege: Untold Ages is a different one than the future full game. The playtest app is only available and usable for the select time frame of the playtests. If you are interested in the game, you’ll still have to purchase it once available.
Will save files from Early Access or playtests remain usable with the full release of the game?
An Early-Access game is in active development and constantly evolving. In some cases, save files from earlier versions may cause unexpected conflicts when used with newer builds. To ensure compatibility, major updates during Early Access may require save file resets. We will always provide advance notice when this is necessary.
Playtest on the other hand will most certainly require a fresh start per playtest period.
💡Click here for a link to the full FAQ
And that’s all for now folks.
Eat your vitamins, do your stretches & stay healthy.