Hello!
This is Yusuke Shigeta, Director of Survival Quiz City Development Team. We’re happy to welcome everyone back to Survival Quiz City for the 3rd Steam Playtest on October 16 (Sat) and 17 (Sun)!
Once again, this version has been adjusted based on the feedback we received from the community at the 2nd Playtest. Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2nd Playtest and contributed feedback.
The purpose of this next test is threefold:
- Test the all-new Custom Match feature
- Incorporate feedback from the community at the 2nd Playtest
- Check that the newly implemented elements are OK.
I’ll break down each of these elements separately.
[h2]Custom Matches[/h2]
Since the very first playtest, we’ve received tons of feedback from players saying, "I want to play with my friends!" With the latest version of SQC, we've added the option to create "Custom Matches" that will allow you to do just that! In this system, the host player sets up a room where other players can join to play. No more than 30 players can enter the room, but it is possible to start the game with fewer players. You can start the game with as few people as you like, but we recommend having as many people as possible for maximum Quiz Battle Fun!
We would like to thoroughly check how players are experiencing the game with Custom Matches, so we’ll remove the Quick Match option available in previous tests. If you would like to play, please join an open room, or create your own room.
[h2]Improvements based on feedback from the 2nd Playtest[/h2]
One of the most challenging parts of balancing SQC is adjusting the disparity between winners and losers. In the last playtest, the stress of the losers was alleviated compared to the first Playtest, as it was easier for the losers to make money. However, on the other hand, we also received many comments such as, "Isn't it possible for the losers to make more money? There’s a very delicate balance in adjusting that gap, and we’ll continue to tune it based on your feedback. Here are some of the changes in the upcoming playtest.
- Changed the spawn time for high-value coins (500+) from 3 seconds to 5 seconds.
- Changed the coins placed in front of the goal from 1000 coins to 500 coins.
- Add a system that gives 500 coins as a bonus for finishing to the losing team.
- Increase the chance of discounted items in the first level shop
- Enhance machine guns and bazookas
In the previous playtests, we made adjustments to make it possible for players who are not used to playing the game to earn a little more money. But since the better players were able to earn more, players on the losing team had an advantage. Therefore, we tweaked items ① through ④ to make it a little more difficult for players on the losing team to collect a lot of money but still allowing new players on the losing team to enjoy the game.
In the last playtest, we received feedback that you can make a lot of money just by going back and forth to the high-coin area. The high-value coins are spawn in dangerous places, so there's a risk-reward system that players will have to evaluate to turn the tables on the winning team. We’ve always wanted to include these elements in the gameplay loop.
However, it was a little too easy to make money last time, so We hope that changing the respawn times and values of coins will prevent players on the losing team from collecting money too quickly.
Also, as a reward for the players who quickly reached the goal, we adjusted the coin values in front of the goal from previous tests. In this playtest, the quickest players can earn 1500 coins for round 1, 2000 coins for round 2, and 2500 coins for round 3. These are half the values of the previous playtest.
Changes ③ and ④ were made to help those who are not familiar with the game. These players are often too busy trying to reach the goal to collect coins, and even if they did reach the goal, they wouldn’t be able to afford anything in the shops between rounds. By giving the players a bonus for reaching the goal and increasing the chance that items will be cheaper in the store, we hope players will have more opportunities to experiment with different items and uncover more of the game if they can reach the goal each round.
For weapon enhancements, the following adjustments have been made to the machine gun and bazooka, respectively.
- Machine guns: Doubled the bullet speed
- Bazooka: Bullet speed increased by 1.3x
In the last playtest, we weakened the weapons, making it easier for the losing team to advance through the stage but harder for the winning team to earn money. This time, to make the winning team's attacks easier to hit (i.e., make it easier for the winning team to earn money), we adjusted the overall bullet speed to be faster.
These adjustments were designed with a 30-player game in mind, so the losing team may have a slight advantage when playing with a smaller number of people. With fewer people on the stage, the winners will have fewer chances to attack and make money, and the losers will have more opportunities to collect coins because they won’t be attacked as much.
[h3]Modification of the Conquest Stage [/h3]
In the last Playtest, some players purposefully went to go to the loser's side for this stage because it was relatively easy to finish the final stage and earn more money. We want players to aim to answer the quiz correctly, so we've made the conquering stage more difficult in this version.
We have also received feedback that there is no benefit to the person who presses the button (making money while climbing the Tower earned more money), so we have placed 5000 coins above the button.
[h3]Quiz Balancing[/h3]
In the last playtest, the percentage of sports quizzes given was high. This time, we have added additional new quizzes, so it is less likely that sports quizzes will be offered compared to before.
[h2]Other New Features[/h2]
[h3]Implementation of new quizzes[/h3]
In the last Playtest, we implemented a "5 questions quick push quiz" and a "3 questions quick push quiz", and in this Playtest, we have implemented a new quiz. It's called a "Quick Push Quiz"! We apologize for the confusing name (please feel free to submit suggestions for new names!). The "Quick Push Quiz" is a timed quiz in which the top 4 fastest players will be the winners. In addition, "5-Question Quick Push Quiz" and "3-Question Quick Push Quiz" have been renamed to "5-Question Correct Answer Quiz" and "3-Question Correct Answer Quiz".
[h3]Shields[/h3]
In the previous playtest, we received feedback that it was difficult to advance when you are bombed all the time, so we have added a new Shield item as a countermeasure for the losing team. By deploying a shield in front of GYAAR, you can prevent the winning team from attacking. Shields can be purchased in the store. Also, shields have a durability value and will break when it reaches zero. We hope that you will aim to clear the loser's course while using crawling and shields in different ways.
[h3]Implementation of a Streaming Privacy Mode[/h3]
In response to a previous request for a mode that allows you to hide your own and other players' names, we have added a "Privacy Mode". By enabling this mode in the options screen, you can mosaic other players' names, or both your own and other players' names. If you are a Streamer and want to protect the privacy of those playing with you we hope you will try it out.
We have many other new items and features in the works, but they didn't make it to the 3rd Playtest. We apologize for the inconvenience, and but we hope you will enjoy the new updates to the game!
