Devlog #5: first playtest feedback

[p]Wow - the amount of feedback that I've received after the first playtest went live was huge. When planning my work on the second playtest version, I clearly underestimated the amount of time necessary to dig through all the information. Great stuff, and I thank you all for that![/p][p][/p][p]Also, the great friend of indie game developers, Splattercat himself, posted a vid of his playthrough of the first alpha - how awesome is that?![/p][p][/p][p]The upcoming second alpha will give access to a small set of features related to character leveling, so that you can see and give feedback on the first iteration of the character skills system.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]As for combat, there will be some changes to it yet, based on your feedback. I have implemented QoL improvements, like a working side scroll in all directions, or the ability to see enemy movement range. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]There will also be changes to movement/attack ranges: the issue with too little character mobility was raised many times, so I decided to increase the movement range to the one from Shardpunk 1 (which was 4 tiles per action point), and the weapon ranges followed naturally.[/p][p][/p][p]I do know that the playtest does not do a good job on highlighting some of the keyboard shortcuts and UI stuff. I am confident that in the end, a good tutorial/introductory mission will solve this. Right now I've put some of the info under F1. That being said, too many of you did not know about the % to hit preview which worked in the same way as in Shardpunk 1. However, I did switch its default key from Alt to Shift, so it's me to blame. From now on, both Alt and Shift will do the work.[/p][p][/p][p]The combat in second alpha will use the same set of maps, but there will be a new enemy type present. This, combined with the possibility to level up the characters on your own will give more replayability - and more combinations to test.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]I am almost ready to release the new version. It will probably go live in the last week of February due to winter holidays I am having in the upcoming week. Man, I do need a break from programming.[/p][p][/p][p]Take care![/p][p]Sławomir "bryqu" Bryk[/p]