Message From High Command: Temporary Demo Closure & New Feature Preview
Captain's (Developer) Log #3
[p]Good afternoon, Commander![/p][p] [/p][p]In today's log, we want to share our evolving plans for the Starforged Legacy Demo, including its temporary closure on March 14th as we move from recruitment to refinement. We also want to give you an early look at two major features making their way into the game: Narrative Encounters—where your choices could have lasting consequences—and Ship Customization! Let's get into the details.[/p][p][/p][p][p]Player Feedback[/p]
[p]Our Response[/p]
[p]Ship controls feel unintuitive, especially for players coming from other survivors-games who expected screen-relative movement (press 'D', player moves right). Others felt the ship was slow to respond to turning inputs.[/p]
[p]We're adding an alternative movement scheme as a settings toggle. You'll be able to choose between the current ship-relative controls (space sim style) and a new screen-relative mode where your ship moves in the direction you press and auto-rotates to match. We're also tuning ship responsiveness so every ship class feels tight to control from the moment you start flying.[/p]
[p]Button mapping didn't follow standard conventions, creating friction across the entire experience for controller players.[/p]
[p]We're working on updating gamepad controls to better follow platform conventions. We're a small team on a tight schedule, but this is a priority, and we're going to do our best to get it done.[/p]
[p]Enemy behavior didn't sell the fantasy of commanding a warship in deep space. Combat worked mechanically, but close-range enemies felt more like a zombie horde than a space battle.[/p]
[p]We're reworking close-range enemy behavior so combat reads and feels like a space battle. We want every enemy encounter to reinforce the fantasy of piloting a warship, not just surviving a swarm.[/p]
[p]Players wanted more story, more meaningful choices, and a reason to keep coming back between runs.[/p]
[p]Narrative encounters are a new feature we've been developing behind the scenes that, unfortunately, wasn't ready in time for the demo. See below for more details![/p]
[p]Players died without realizing they were in danger. There wasn't enough feedback when taking damage, and the transition from 'I'm fine' to 'I'm dead' happened too fast.[/p]
[p]We've improved player damage audio, added more distinct visual indicators for hull damage versus shield damage, and added a low-health screen indicator, so you always know when your ship is in trouble. You should always be able to feel the difference between a scratch and a crisis.[/p]
[p]Newer players struggled to understand what pickups do, how upgrades work, and what they should be paying attention to early on.[/p]
[p]This is our top priority during the demo hiatus. We're rethinking how the game communicates its systems in the opening minutes and taking a close look at what the first few minutes look like, especially when you play for the very first time. The goal is for every player to understand the build system well enough to start making interesting choices in their first run.[/p]
[p]Difficulty could spike unexpectedly, with enemies scaling faster than intended, creating frustrating, unfair spikes.[/p]
[p]We've overhauled how enemy difficulty scales. Previously, difficulty increased while you were on a map, which meant slower players were punished unfairly. Difficulty now increases based on how many nodes you've completed on the star map, with different node types contributing different amounts. This makes difficulty progression more predictable and puts you in control of the pace.[/p]
[p]Multiple players reported FPS drops in late-game combat, and some experienced crashes.[/p]
[p]Performance optimization is a priority. We take this seriously and are actively working on it.[/p]
[p]Players wanted to see their current weapon stats and augments when picking upgrades. Without knowing what you already have, it's hard to make informed build decisions.[/p]
[p]We're adding a 'Ship Info' screen that you can access whenever you need it. It will display all of your ship's components, their augments with full tooltips and stats, and any upgrades or enhancements you've collected.[/p]
[p]Players asked for text size options, colorblind support, and more flexible controls.[/p]
[p]Accessibility improvements are on our roadmap. We want as many pilots as possible to be able to play, and we're working toward that goal.[/p]
[p]Players want more to work towards between runs. The current skill tree feels thin, and some players wanted more options to customize their starting loadout.[/p]
[p]We're expanding the meta-progression system, and the skill tree is getting deeper. We'll also have twice as many ships and loadouts at launch, with more to come through updates after release.[/p]
[p]The current layout feels too linear. Players want more branching paths and meaningful choices on the star map.[/p]
[p]We've restructured the Star Map to make the decisions more interesting. Major boss encounters now serve as clear convergence points in your journey, giving you a visible milestone to prepare for. Shops are no longer guaranteed at fixed intervals and instead appear naturally alongside other node types, making path selection a real strategic choice about what your build needs most.[/p]
- [p]The current Starforged Legacy Demo will close on March 14th, meaning you have one week left to complete expeditions and provide feedback.[/p]
- [p]The Demo will return! We plan to relaunch a more polished, feature-complete demo closer to our Early Access debut.[/p]
- [p]We may run focused, private beta tests via Steam to collect feedback on in-development features during this hiatus. If you want to help shape the new user experience and new features, be sure to join our official Discord![/p]