Steam Next Fest - Feedback Megathread

[Superconsole]

Hi everyone!

Thanks for checking out the Loco Motive demo during Steam Next Fest. We're super close to release now, so we'd love to get your final thoughts and feedback.

If you've found an issue please feel free to log it in the 'Bugs & Support' section and mention [SNF demo version] in the header.

Please note: The SNF build is a separate demo mode version of the game, with a slightly adjusted sequence of events to get you rolling. As such, the flow of the intro sequence in the launch version will differ and therefore save files can't be carried over.

Enjoy & thank you!

[NFinit]

Amazing! The voice acting adds sooooooooooo much to what was already an excellent underlying game. Really looking forward to the full release. Fantastic demo.

[YoungWOLF]

I only played until I met Herman, but everything seemed to be working as intended except the text on the graphics options page didn't change after applying updates. My game went from windowed to FS, but still said windowed so I was confused as if it hadn't applied or that it might be windowed FS.

I absolutely love the atmosphere, the art, and the voice acting. If I had one little suggestion it would be that the dialogue font didn't feel cohesive with the tone and art direction. Also [sorry haha two little suggestions], I felt that the style of the title card, when transitioning back to the train, seemed a little underwhelming simply because the rest of the game is so visually dynamic. I think it said "adversary something" with the sealed letter underneath.

Can't wait for the full release!

[frank]

Overall I like it (have only played the first five mins, but it looks good). Contrary to commenters above, however, for me the voice acting/direction was the fly in the ointment--the writing in the interrogation reminded me of classic Lucasarts, specifically Monkey Island, but the delivery of the lines/the voices used didn't do it for me. I guess playing without voice is presumably an option, though.

A more minor gripe was that I think I'd prefer a font that matched the artwork/theme better (maybe something pixellated, though not necessarily).

Anyway, like I said, overall I like what I've seen so far. Will likely finish the demo later.

[Ryu]

I do wish the UI and Text Bubbles were Pixelated, but after playing through the demo that's my only gripe. Can't wait to play through the full game!

[absentmindedness]

I usually dislike mismatched resolutions, but I think the font is perfect, actually. What I find more jarring is the inventory icon being so hi-res. Not a biggie, though. The voice acting, imo, is top notch - really good. The game overall looks fantastic and this has gone straight on my wish list.

[loofyttik]

The demo is awesome and I really look forward to the full release. I'm stuck, but I'm not sure if I've just reached the end of the demo or if I'm missing something. Once you get to the end of what's available in the demo, is there a message to let you know you've reached the end of the demo?
ETA: I got unstuck and the demo does have a very definitive end (in case anyone else is stuck and wondering if it's jut the end of the demo- it tells you when the demo is done).

[Quitch]

My biggest complaint was that the game doesn't make proper use of the mouse. I'd really like to simply rebind the keys. I have a lot more mouse buttons than this game is letting me use. But failing that:

• Let right-click open the inventory when done on an empty space. This is pretty common in point & clicks where the inventory takes up the whole screen.
  
  
• Every mouse has a middle button, let that be the interaction highlighter.

Ideally I don't want to be using anything other than the mouse in this type of game.

[Nojh]

Solid demo. Really enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to the main game. If you released it as is I think it'd be fine. I played primarily using a controller and it worked really well.

I appreciate the dialog isn't pixel font. I did find the "wooooo" of the train not being pixelated a little surprising. But then that probably works since the sound is supposed to be surprising?

Voice acting was excellent and surprising! I wasn't expecting voice acting past the initial scene. I wasn't sure I'd like the main character but he grew on me quickly and I'm excited to meet the third character.

A few feature request / improvements I'd love to see:

- The ability to pause cut-scenes / dialog and/or switch to a line per-click/button press system. Right now the start button prompts you to hold to skip. It'd be nice if it actually paused the scene and let you skip or exit to menu.
- Key and controller re-mapping would also be very appreciated.
- Controller: In a dialog choice window, map the "I'm exiting this conversation" dialog option to the "cancel dialog"/"B"/Circle button. I found myself hitting it to "exit" out of the menu dialog multiple times, only to have to scroll through all the options to stop talking to someone. By that point I wanted out, so a quick way out would be nice. I think it'd still help even if it's a press & hold to avoid potentially accidentally exiting due to canceling through a conversation too quickly.
- Dialog History menu. I know this is a big one to ask but I've fallen in love with the feature in the Persona / Metaphore series & the Dating Sim/Visual Novel genres. Every time I play a newer adventure game I bemoan its lack. If you've not played these games, it's a menu that shows the last X amount of dialog that was spoken/displayed in game. Some games even let you highlight the dialog and replay the voice acting if there is any. It's incredibly useful for me if I'm playing and something nearby distracts me and I want to see what I missed. I'd also request it be accessible in most modes of play (cut-scene, conversation, roaming).
- A similar big ask is the ability to rewind dialog. A Dialog History menu would supplant the need for this I feel, but if dialog history isn't available, this feature would help.

[Superconsole]

Thank you all for playing & for your feedback - keep it coming!

[NoOneDream]

I love the demo a lot! The writing, art, and voice acting were wonderful. I did encounter a softlocking glitch at the end though. After the first time I made Dom lose his chips and head back to his quarters, I couldn't do it again because the roulette never stopped after that. I tried restarting the game but no dice. I ended up having to replay the demo from a fresh save to get to the end. Still great overall though.