Coming back to the game after a while, and...

[vindicar]

...honestly, I'm disappointed.
Yes, the writing is neat, and the ghost stories are believable. Release system makes good sense, too. The first (and only) time you use it, it is satisfying.

But the gameplay loop itself is not that great. The basics of it is remains either:
1. Running around with EMF/thermo, hoping to find a hotspot.
2. Standing around with voice recorder/camera, hoping the ghost does what you want it to do.

In other words, a waiting game. Autocam saves you some bother in terms of photos, and paramic helps with stray sounds, but with the latter, it's still a waiting game.
The rest of equipment from the shop is a total afterthought, it doesn't appear to be particularly helpful aside from providing some lore snippets.
1. Parabox and paravox only deal with talking ghosts. Which means it's irrelevant more than half the time, unless you're specifically targeting a known talking ghost.
2. Laser pen and EMF pod are of dubious help. In former's case, you need line of sight to it (which means you are STILL just walking around), plus it's so subtle and indistinct you are better off using emf/temp. And in latter's case, the effective range is so small you need to both know the ghost's exact route AND be nearby to get there in time. So they are nearly useless when dealing with unknown ghosts or when trying to do something else while you wait.

Another problem is the XP cap. If you do try to make use of the shop, you will find that you are punished for doing a thorough investigation, because you will have to come back anyway, over and over again, just to grind some XP. And since ghost behaviour never changes, you will be interacting with the same content. So leaving the moment you've got the bare minimum is the best strategy, because it gets XP faster and because that way you exhaust the content slower. Which, I think, is at odds with an investigation game.

To boot, the battery drain system results in a paradox: the game wants you to be right on top of the ghost to get EMF/temp and to have a good chance to hear any sounds, but then it immediately punishes you for being on top of the ghost because it decided to manifest.

Since it seems to me like the game is nearing completion, and we are unlikely to see any significant changes to the gameplay loop, I feel kinda sad. It was promising before, even if simply because it wasn't another phasmo-clone.

Maybe I'm missing something. Maybe there is something in the works. Or maybe it is what is it. All in all, there is a sour taste of disappointment.
Perhaps I will go as far as to say that like Balan's Wonderworld, this would've been better off not as a videogame, but as a less interactive media.

[Sparkiekong]

It is nearing completion. It is set for september I believe. I'm sorry you're not having a good time with it. Some games are just not for some people... Sounds like this one missed the mark for you and that's ok. I will forward this on to the feedback section. Thanks for putting your thoughts down it's appreciated!

[Sparkiekong]

There is another game going to be in the works set in New Eidolon after this one. I do not know anymore details than that.

[D&A Studios, LLC]

Vindicar, I appreciate your post. To be honest, most of your points have been on my mind... since the beginning. This is a waiting game and no matter the dressing I put on it the bones of the code are written around the player needing to respond when the ghost performs an action timely. Although, I don’t think it makes a bad game. In fact, looking at the review, I’d say most folks who play it enjoy it. I do agree that a more fun experience would allow the player to drive more action.

I have several thoughts on this, but I don't think I can adjust it for this game without overhauling the entire game. At this point, that is not a reasonable option. I think the best thing to do is finish this game and remember the lessons learned and make my next game better.

I absolutely think, especially if you bought it early on for $8.99, this is a pretty solid game for the price. I have played several Indy games since I started this journey and have been very surprised at how little content or small the game play loops are. Even now at $12.99, there are many hours of content. I’m sure I’m bias, but more than I have seen for similar games.
Could it be better, of course I think any game Dev would say that about their game.

I know you have been involved with the community for a long time and I appreciate the support and criticism. I am bummed you feel that way, but I respect your opinion. I hope you stay in touch and keep me updated on your thoughts for the remainder of this ride and on future projects!

[Kaisoku]

I feel like the lack of precise control over events is exactly what gives the game some aspect of a thrill. And with some of the ghosts, scares.

It also mimics what we feel is a "ghost hunting" experience, where you can entice a reaction by speaking and stuff, but otherwise you are trying to "capture the ghost on camera/audio", which entails waiting for it to do something.
Getting that feeling through the various tools is exactly what I find fun about this game. It feels like an immersive game (not immersive sim), more than a game that is focused on challenges, puzzles and scores. I use the paravox because it's fun to get responses and get lore hints behind the ghost, not because my score goes up at the end of the mission.

In this way, it definitely feels different from Phasmophobia or the other games that came from this genre. More emphasis on the immersion and lore, than complex investigative puzzle solving.
This game hits different, similar to how walking simulators have a divided audience. Even if you get it, it might not be what you were looking for, and that's understandable.

Although some tweaks to equipment as mentioned could be warranted (like the laser pen and emf pod ranges). The battery usage is fine I think though.. the risk for being on top of a manifesting ghost to get evidence is balanced by quicker battery drain (the only instant drain is demon attacks).

[vindicar]

Thank you for your kind response. I am a programmer myself (albeit in an area nowhere near gamedev), so I do understand that not all changes are practical, or even feasible at all, especially at the later stages of development. And I've been trying to put together (in plain text, not in code!) a system that would be more engaging, and that's not an easy task either.

So yeah, don't take the criticism above too close to heart. Not every project goes the way we want it to go. I'm sure your next game will be even better, and you'll put to use everything you've learned in making CSPPI.

[Joshua]

The thing is, if it were different I think it could be to close to the...by now what feels like hundred...other ghost hunting games and very well disappear even more in the masses.
Take tool, use tool get result as fast as possible and ♥♥♥♥ outta there. Thats how most of them feel right now.

Looking at Phasmo for example, a great game, by now you don't even need the tools anymore to get the needed evidence.
You jumpstart a hunt and with that get a lot of information what the ghost is - turn around a leave. There are players that finish matches in seconds.
Sure if you want to do the sidejobs you need the tools, but more then often its more effective to start a new game then hang around for several more minutes.

This game, at least how it feels for me, wants to tell more the stories and for this I think this slower approach works better with it.
And with that it also feels more "realistic". Its not nonstop ghost jumping in your face, nonstop events happening around you, nonstop running around or away from ghosts. Jumpscare here, shout there, just go go go the whole time.

Its different. More somber.

Maybe more puzzles could be build into the next game. Hints you get from Ghosts that you can use for exmaple a location of a key to a locked door. Or information about a hidden door with evidence.
Evidence you find that you can directly question the ghost about.
Or maybe leads to other ghosts on other maps.

But I don't think to make it more "directly controlled" with immediate results, would make it necessarily a better game.

Just my 2 cents - not talking for the developer or against the OP.