Feedback

[Chains]

Hello.

First of all I just wanna say I have big hopes for Outliver. I love the concept of mixing survival horror and combat oriented game like Dark Souls. It's a really good idea and the execution is very close to decent in my opinion. I also love the unique setting, It feels fantastic to explore the caves and the lore bits are written really well. Usually I get tired of reading notes in games but here I was really into it, but let's cut to the chase.

I reached Omotoke boss fight and the problems with how the game plays start showing here. I ALMOST love this boss fight. It's challenging. Anticipating arrows and locating her when she teleports is a blast BUT. There are problems with how the dodge roll works.

1. You can't dodge while aiming. I could learn to let go of the aim button to dodge but even if I do, It will never be intuitive. It will never feel natural or right. And action based on reflex should feel intuitive, especially in a challenging game.

2. Bola always dodges in the direction she's facing. That creates a problem. For example, if you're going right and you change your direction to left, she takes some time to fully turn her body around. So if you're going right and you wanna instantly dodge left, you can't. Bola will still dodge somewhere in the right direction. I think you should be able to freely and instantly dodge in any direction to create a fair challenge. This also ads to the first problem. Bola's facing forward when she aims, so even if I let go of the aim button and instantly dodge, she will still roll somewhere in the forward direction.

3. Last but not least. I feel like the stamina regenerates to slowly. I'm not using dodge like a maniac. I dodge arrows when I need to and I still run out of stamina. In my opinion it should regenerate a bit quicker. I know you can get stamina regen items but I'm not sure if this mechanic isn't a bit unnecessary. I'm not saying getting rid of them is a solution but maybe look into it if you can.

This game is SO CLOSE to feeling just right, but these dodging problems are a massive issue for me. Please look into them. Like I said I have hopes for this game and I want it to be the best it can be. I truly feel like you have something special here.

If you need a good reference to a proper intuitive dodge in a similar game then I recommend you get your hands on Remnant: From the Ashes if possible.

I wish you luck on the development of Outliver. I'll be waiting for it for sure.

[GBROSSOFT]

Hi Mackewk
Thanks so much for your feedback.
We will definitely look into the points you made as we believe they will help make the gameplay more fluid and responsive. Thanks so much once again!

[Chains]

Hey, Just watched Your Dev update! Thank You for taking My points into consideration! I'm so glad You're improving the game. Also I can't wait to see how the game looks on Unreal 5! Good luck with development!

[GBROSSOFT]

Hi Mackewk!
Thank you very much for your very valuable feedbacks and words of encouragement!
Much appreciated!

[GBROSSOFT]

Hi Mackewk
I want to quickly let you know we have just released a new Demo with a lot of improvement to the the game (Outliver: Tribulation). Please check it out and let us know what you think as always.
Thanks.
Best regards.

[Chains]

Hey! Playing It right now! I have some feedback You hopefully find helpful. I'm currently at Omotoke bossfight. First of all, game looks absolutely beautiful. All the lighting effects really make the game shine. It's very nice to look at.

I did encounter problems that in my opinion should be looked into.
Mainly with the dodge mechanics. Don't get me wrong. It feels much more reliable than in the previous demo now that you can dodge easily in every direction. But there are two things that should be looked into.

1. Game needs Invincibility frames:
Even when I feel like I dodged Omotoke's arrow, the arrow still hits me. I feel unrewarded for even attemting to use dodgeroll. It even happens when Bola is in the middle of dodgeroll.
I don't think Outliver uses invincibility frames when dodging and I feel like it would really improve the experience. Basically Player character should be invincible for a split second during dodge. Soulsborn games use invincibility frames and it's one of the things that make those games so satisfying.

2. Very slow recovery from dodging:
When Bola finishes her dodgeroll, She's stuck in place when standing up, unable to move or do anything. It's even slower than slow roll in dark souls (In Dark Souls when wearing too heavy armor, player's roll will be very slow). I think If You'd be able to move and perform other actions right after dodging and perhaps if dodge was a little quicker, the flow of the game would be better and dodge would be more satisfying to use.

There is one minor problem I encountered. Whenever I think game loads a level. When starting a new game or when loading after dieing, game turns from fullscreen to windowed mode.

Sorry to complain about Dodging again but I feel like It's one of the most important mechanics in Outliver and so It should be perfect! You're on the right track though!
I like the fact You can reach Omotoke so quickly now since her difficulty makes it easy to test the mechanics and leave feedback. I'll jump right back into the game since despite the flaws I mentioned, I find it really fun to play.
Goodluck on development and Happy gaming!

[GBROSSOFT]

Hi!
Thanks as always!
We will be sure to look into it.
Best regards.

[Chains]

Awesome!
I just completed Omotoke boss fight and progressed a bit further. Despite my gripes I really enjoyed it. I had to come out with a strategy, anticipate the attacks, and find the right time to strike. It was really fun. Can't wait to play more.

[Chains]

Just finished the demo. Honestly I'm really impressed. I loved the Wanderer ambushes, puzzles and explorations. I had a lot of fun playing. So much have been improved. I was actually sad when the demo ended. Can't wait for the full game!

[GBROSSOFT]

Congrats! I am really glad you were able to finish it. Were you able to use the charms? Did you also encounter the brute Wanderer? (the one wielding the club). Did you also remember to pickup the Eldergun?

Thanks so much for all of your feedbacks so far, they have been really very instrumental in helping us shape the gameplay. as a matter of fact, we have already done some work on your new recommendations on the diving part

Slow recovery after diving - we trimmed the animation by removing those unnecessary frames holding the player back after diving. Now the player regains control much faster.

Character getting hit despite diving away on time - we discovered it was due to the fact that the character mesh also had collision aside from her normal capsule collider. so whenever she dives her stretched out legs still took damage so we removed the character mesh collision and now successful dive feels more rewarding.

We will also later work on the window/Fullscreen mode problem too.

Thanks once again, do have a lovely day and happy gaming!

[MaN]

After a lot of attempts to defeat Omotoke, i think screen is too much red after you take damage. Blood covers the screen and it becomes too difficult to aim after teleporting. In my opinion, It would be nice if blood will have more transparency.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2880587253

[GBROSSOFT]

Hi MaN!
Thanks for the feedback!
Duly noted, we will make sure to look into it.
Thanks for checking out the Demo too.

[Chains]

Hello. I'm glad You find my feedback useful! Yes. I found charms helpful and fun to use. I picked healing one and the one striking enemies with the lightning. In fact that charmed saved me from The Brute You mentioned. That encounter was tense and fun. I picked up the elder gun. It's too bad there isn't really a chance to test it against the boss. I might jump back into the game to test the dodge and leave feedback if necessary!

[GBROSSOFT]

Thank you!!!

[Chains]

Hey there! I Saw Your recent Dev update! I'm glad You're improving sound since I saw some people criticizing it.
I wanted to ask something. Is one song playing in the game a placeholder for more tracks? Are You thinking on improving the soundtrack?
I'll be honest. In my opinion it needs serious improvements. The track that's in the game sounds very fake, robotic and unnatural. Outliver has a great setting and fantastic atmosphere but good music is crucial in keeping that atmosphere and expanding it.
In my opinion You should consider putting some work and budget into ost. To the best of Your abilities ofcourse.
If I was to suggest something, I think traditional African drum music done by actual African musician or musicians would be perfect for Outliver.
Ofcourse naturally You know 100% more about African culture than me so You'll know the best fit for Your game but I'll still share this video since I think music near the end would be perfect for a bossfight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVPLIuBy9CY
Thank You for reading, and good luck on the game.

[GBROSSOFT]

Hi GuyWithChainsaw, Thanks so much for the update as always! Now that you mentioned it, If Budget and Time allows, we will be sure to look into it.