[Feedback] Real talk - Long post

[Aerensiniac]

Alright then. So i dragged a few of our steel human memory disposal nodes up to get some experience with them and the game as a whole. These are my honest experiences in regards of the game:

Software:

I was not impressed with the external anti cheat software bundled into the pack, especially since easy anticheat is notoriously worthless, but its also not something im going pay extra attention to, since it was not something apocalyptic like denuvo.

The game runs smoothly, requirements are not exactly extreme.
I dropped the install on my HDD, pre-match loading times are a bit high but not extreme and from that i assume that they are negligible on an SSD.
I experienced a few fps drops when several skills are used together in a clash, especially at close range, but for a grasshopper 4060 card, i was content with the performance. Smooth 97% of the time.

I had one (probably) file corruption issue after the first tweaking of the game, since it started to crash left and right when i alt tabbed out of it. Especially during loading, but had one even inside at the end of a game aswell.
This problem was however resolved once i ran steam's install checker on the package.

TL;DR: had no issues with the install itself.

Game environment:

Didnt really dig myself into settings, but the passing glance i gave it seemed rich. Accessibility options, key rebinds, the whole 9 yards.
The game's out of box settings were adequate enough so i'd say it passes as perfectly good.

The UI was the first thing that gave me a bit of a stop.
I know i will sound like some console player, but my first impression was that there are a touch too many buttons for my taste.
After a few hours it was committed to muscle memory and was fine however so i overall put this down for my own sissyness.

However, lets have a small stop here about (what is in my opinion) the first major design flaw of the game: The communication wheel.
Donno what other game modes are planned or what the finished game will look like, but as things stand, we will be playing alongside other people. 1-2-x teammates.
So... let me put it this way. I poured a lot of time into deep rock galactic and i recommend that the devs take a look at that game because its a BOOK on how to build player cohesion and community with as little as 1-2 button press emotes.

I found it extremely disappointing that for the better part i cannot communicate with my teammate on any level.
There is a chat box that is barely visible and i bet nobody reads it 99% of the time and there are a few audio ques like pressing F1 for a thank you, but thats it.
When victory is achieved, the match ends within seconds, not leaving time to write or read as much as a GG from your team, and this overall gameplay flow results in a soulless, monotonous grind.

Several times i wanted to slap my teammate on the back when we got out of a close call or congratulate them for having pulled my ass out of a tight situation, but there is literally no way for doing so.
This is something that should be addressed no matter what, because even tho i enjoy the world building in the game and the personalities of the characters, the gameplay flow itself is lacking in many aspects, and lets use this to segue into what is the most problematic issue at present imo:

The gameplay

(I could made a side note on the gameplay style here, about it being slow and tactical instead of an overwatch style kneejerk and muscle memory fest of having 2000 actions per minute, but there are no issues with that. In all honesty, i really enjoyed this slower, more tactical approach to combat. It was refreshing and i like it.)

So the lack of proper communication and flare is a perfect representation of the current state of the game. Im not going to sugarcoat it, it can be PERFECTLY separated into a great/failing side in a yin/yang manner.
The great, the uplifiting side of the game is the art, the world building, the personality, the graphic, the interacting with the terrain. The music, the background, the story, the attention to detail.
The "art" team side of the game is 8.5-9.5 in my opinion. You have everything there for a foundation of something great. It has intrigue, it has personality, its cool, it works.

However. The game in it's current state is like a pretty picture hung up in a cave/shed.
On the GAME front itself, its a bare bones skeleton. A demo. A literal proof of concept something you'd show a publisher or investors to get money for the actual further development.

I dont want to sound cruel, but on the gameplay front the game doesnt exist.
Yes. You have a single 2v2v2v2v2v2 Battle Royale mode, but thats literally it. There is nothing here.
Battle Royale is a tried and working formula, but its nothing really new and especially not something that could carry a game like this on it's back.

I obviously have no idea what the developer team looks like, how jobs are split, or... i dont know anything about the developer team, thats the point. So i dont want to punch down, or discourage anyone, but its clear as day that the art team is the sole reason why this game didnt die the moment it has seen the light of the day.
If the level of detail, care, personality, world building had not been present, if this had been just a generic shooter, the moment it was released into early access, it would have imploded harder that a coconut in the mariana trench.

Im not expecting Unreal Tournament amounts of game modes, but come on. Even if your game is at it's core nothing more than an arena shooter, first and third person shooters have a literal rainbow of game modes to pick from, going back 20 if not 30 years, both pvp and pve.
How did this game end up with a single battle royale mode with non adjustable player numbers?

Conclusion:

I recommended this game on steam, followed it on youtbe, applied for beta, so you can say: Yes. I like this game. Im kinda invested in it and i enjoy its soul and personality.
However with that being said, the reality of the question is that currently its missing all of it's limbs.

The world built for this game to take place in looks great and everything is there. All thats missing now is the game itself.

I pay my respects to the dev team. I like what they did, and lets make no mistake here: The game DOES have everything it needs to become something good.
So i wish you all the best of luck and i root for your project, that enough resources are diverted to the places where its lacking.
And once more: I recommend you give deep rock galactic a shot. This is not an advertisement, but if you are a game developer you should play that game at least once or twice cause its worth a 2000 hour long presentation on how to streamline player interaction and encourage uplifting, positive, memorable cooperative teamplay.

Best of luck to you all.
I wish you make it big.

[ZergSquad]

smooth? u lucky, i have constant freezes to 0 fps no matter of settings

[Aerensiniac]

Originally posted by ZergSquad:

smooth? u lucky, i have constant freezes to 0 fps no matter of settings

What card do you have?