Playtest Results Are In, Mercenaries.
First off, thank you to everyone who jumped into our first open playtest, battled monsters, broke things, survived extractions, and took the time to tell us exactly where the game needs improvement.
How much did you enjoy the playtest?
Overall Rating: 3.5 / 5
Not bad for our first public expedition into monster-infested territory.
With some more polish and expansion of features, the next playtest should leave a longer-lasting impression.
How was the core combat?
Overall Rating: 2.5 / 5
You all made it clear that the combat needs more work, and I agree. I’ve taken your feedback and have already changed how the core combat works. This new build I'm working on now allows you to attack while moving. This will make battles feel more engaging and less punishing. In the playtest, if you attacked, you were locked into a predetermined animation that would cycle through after each input; now it will feel more deliberate. I'm also exploring how elemental attacks will affect combat. You can see more on that update in the game's Discord, along with the other additions I’m adding to the game.
How exciting was the monster transformation?
Overall Rating: 3.6 / 5
For only 2 transformations in the playtest, this scored pretty decently. This rating definitely shares parallels with the combat and will also need some heavy revisions to create that power fantasy that I’m envisioning with the Monsters. Right now, I plan on making more progress with the game's core combat. Once that's in a better place, I will be spending more time on expanding the combat once transformed.
How did the game perform?
Overall Rating: 4.3 / 5
This was the highlight of the playtest for me. I put a lot of time into making sure the game runs smoothly on old and new hardware. Unreal Engine has the stigma for being hard to optimize, and I hope that I was able to show that it can be done. More performance improvements and quality of life changes will be added to the next playtest.
I will be improving all other aspects of the game to the best of my ability for the next playtest. Thank you again to all of you who took the time out of your day to share your thoughts about the game and what you would like to see from it. Please keep following the game's development and share your input through our Discord. More updates and announcements on the way!