Demo feedback: wonderful start, mostly needs polish on audio/visuals

[Hyndis]

The demo is amazing. I have way too many hours in the game just for a demo and my only thought are that I want more. More ships, sectors, weapons, just more in general! The game's core gameplay loop is fantastic.

I particularly like the upgrade system. Rather than a million different items diluting the drop pool, I really like how a relatively small number of items can be upgraded. Feedback: what about sidegrades instead of only linear upgrades for items? Allow the player to pick option A or option B for each tier? For example, maybe the loot magnet could either be a magnet focused on the player's ship, or it could spawn a little drone that flies around the map picking up loot to bring back for you. Sidegrades like that. This could give a lot of flexibility in players customizing their builds.

I think the main weak spot of the game is presentation. I feel it could use a bit more pizazz. The soundscape is a bit flat. There appears to be no music, and sometimes the sound effects seem to cut out entirely for a short time, such as if I have a lot of explosive autocannons.

There's also very little feedback on weapon impacts, especially when the player takes damage. I feel the game's overall appeal could be greatly improved if combat was visually meatier. Debris, sparks, bits of fire, ricochets, tracer trails, shell casing floating behind ships. That sort of thing. If you've ever played X-Morph Defense or Riftbreaker, thats an example of a game with very chunky combat. Lots of debris flying off things, sparks, shell casings. It feels very visceral and extremely satisfying.

This is especially for hits against the player ship. Right now there seems to be almost zero feedback when you get hit. I find that I can be a tiny sliver of health left and not even realize what hit me. I think the player needs to immediately know their current health status without ever looking away from the center of the screen. There should be impact feel when you get hit, and the ship itself should display signs of damage to signify your current health state.

Also, the camera feels very zoomed in especially late game, when you have a big ship and very long range weapons due to either stacking range or using squadrons. My weapons are firing outside of the view, attacking things I can't even see. I think if the camera zoom scaled with the maximum range of your longest weapon, so the entirety of your longest range weapon (or fighters) is all visible within the player's view that would help out for situational awareness a lot.

Overall though, I love the game. This is one is 100% on my immediate buy list when its available.

[CODEBREW SOFTWARE]

Thank you for your feedback! Its seriously appreciated.


Side grades were a thing I was considering for weapons, and again something I'd be keen to visit in future.

I love the concept of Debris, sparks and a bit more meaty combat visuals, and honestly might be prioritizing that for the first post launch patch.

Glad you've enjoyed and hope you enjoy what Sublight will bring in its future.