My honest feedback on this game's gameplay

[TigRRR]

Love the game. Great when you want to veg out with a podcast or a YT vid blaring into your ear about men's issues or something. Perfect mindless gaming. That is what this game is good for IMO.

Some criticism that I've been stewing on for a while now;

The game has a massive issue with tedious back and forth running. It is probably the biggest reason why people who tried this game pass on it, because the clean-up itself is interesting. But the running back and forth is just so tedious and mindboggling at times. Especially when sorting crates. You can run back and forth to the designated crate spot 30-50 times if not more on one map because you can only one thing at a time. It is so inefficient and tedious. Any change that cuts down on the time you spend running back and forth would be a huge improvement. The problem is that there is virtually no challenge to moving from A to B over and over and over again. Its boring.

I think the game (a sequel perhaps) would be improved massively by cutting down the time you spend running back and forth. You could add all sorts of mechanics and changes. Here are some I've thought of while playing:

-Buffing the mop so it can hold more dirt before needing to bucket.
-Making trashbins bigger. Why are they so small? They can barely fit a single person. Would also potentially help with objects clipping through the bin.
-Add some kind of cart system so you can haul multiple objects at once. Make it slower than sprinting so that it is balanced. This is my favorite idea.
-Maybe its too radical but I think making the furnace/dispensers either craftable or movable (via the cart only for example) would be a great improvement.

[Mason]

I think a lot of your frustration is from a lack of knowledge of some of the more hidden mechanics in the game. First, you can cut down massively on the back tracking by stacking buckets on top of each other to transport them around. You can stack at least 3 buckets on top of each other, any more and it will more than likely topple over or glitch out. That right there saves you two extra trips for buckets. Bins should be reused as much as possible. To reuse it, first fill it up, then take it to the incinerator, while still holding the bin, put it into the incinerator, without letting go of it and press and hold left click to orient the bin and flip it over and dump all the contents out and reuse it. Better than having to run to the bin machine over and over every time you fill up a bin. I'm not sure how many uses you get out of one single bin before the incinerator will destroy it... I think it's like 5 uses maybe. But still that's a few trips to the bin machine saved.

Second, sorting crates or barrels is easy. This game is physics based, so you can throw objects around. It's a bit unrealistic, (but eh who cares about realism in games anyway) but you could yeet a barrel or crate across the room if you swing your camera in the direction you want to throw and pressing E (throw key) or right mouse button to release the object. If you timed it correctly the object will be sent flying in the direction you wanted, making it easier to move objects that need to be stacked. This can work with any other large objects, like bodies or body bags. This will of course be a bit more difficult in maps with many tight corridors, but open maps like Athena's Wrath this will work beautifully.

Third, and I know you didn't mention this, but to reduce the annoyance of body parts spitting out of machines, simply place a bin next to both the bucket and bin machines. Every time a body part is spat out, drop it into your conveniently placed bin.

Lastly, there is a sequel coming for VCD, we don't have a definitive date, all we know is it's coming. The developers have mentioned that they have plans to cut down on some of the tedium, like picking up bullet casings one by one, not sure what else they have planned though.

[TigRRR]

Tricks help, sure, but it is not enough.

[Mason]

Originally posted by TigRRR:

Tricks help, sure, but it is not enough.

It's not enough? what... they literally cut the amount of back tracking in half, probably more than half now that I think about it. You're complaining about having to make multiple trips back and forth and I explain how you can alleviate that, and you say it's just a trick... and not enough... yeah okay whatever. They're good tips that can make your experience so much better, and they cut down on the amount of time it takes for you to complete a map, but I guess it's not good enough for you... lol

I try to help people on this forum and I often find myself wasting my time. Okay man, if you find it far too tedious just don't play the game... there's tons of other cleaning games you can try.

Btw this version of the game will never be updated. It's far too old and the engine (Unreal 3) is just as ancient. Devs have already stated why they won't update this game anymore. Something about Unreal 3 being a pain in the ass to work with, considering its age.. dev team is also only 3 people. Besides they're busy working on VCD 2, a port/remaster/remake of this game to Unreal 4/5, and another project... So I guess you'll just have to wait until VCD 2.

[TigRRR]

If you feel like you are wasting your time than that is on you.

I'm not saying that tricks aren't helpful but they don't address the core issue that the game is overly tedious. This isn't something I'm just pulling out of my ass out of impatience or a lack of trying. I've played this game for 80 hours.

It is a design issue.

[Mason]

Originally posted by TigRRR:

If you feel like you are wasting your time than that is on you.

I'm not saying that tricks aren't helpful but they don't address the core issue that the game is overly tedious. This isn't something I'm just pulling out of my ass out of impatience or a lack of trying. I've played this game for 80 hours.

It is a design issue.

Yes I do feel like I'm wasting my time... with you. I explain as much as I can to help you make the game easier and all you can muster is "it's not enough." So yeah, it makes me feel like it's a waste of time trying to help you. So all I have to say now is, if the game is too tedious for you, stop playing. Why did you play for 80 hours if the game is too tedious anyway... And as I've already mentioned the game will never be updated, so you'll just have to wait until the developers port/remake it in Unreal 4/5, no idea if they'll even change any of the gameplay mechanics in the port/remake anyway... if it's literally just the same game but in Unreal 4/5 then I guess you'll just have to wait for VCD 2. VCD is not for everyone... that much should be clear to you, but then at the same time you've played it for 80 hours... lol you make no sense at all man. Game is too tedious for you, but you play it for 80 hours. Makes sense. /s