Demo Feedback

[Bloo]

Hi,

We have enjoyed the demo a lot and are looking forward to the games' release.

Here is some feedback:
- the camera always centers on the selected/active unit + it zooms on it
-> we found this a bit distracting as we always would zoom out to see the full map. could there be an option to disable this, leave the camera as the player sets it?
- the panning of the camera is a bit slow as you have to keep the mouse to the edge of the screen
-> maybe this was too often done by us because of the auto-zoom. but some WASD implementation could help speed things up.
-> if the player has 2 monitors and he tries to pan the screen towards the edge of 1 monitor, the mouse can go into the next screen and the camera stops. I like that the game doesn't minimize when the mouse is on another screen, but this scenario is annoying sometimes :)

Quesions about further game development:
- on the kickstarter page it says you have completed 3 out of 6 armies for a total of 18 units. (+ the apes from the stretch goal) In this demo we have already 15 units. Does this mean the other 3 armies will share units from the first 3 or will he unit pool shrink from 5 to 3 so each army has unique units?
-> Side question.. is the inkulinati bound to a specific army composition in multiplayer or can he choose the units based on some unit recruitment cost + recruitment points pool
- have you considered generating randomly the obstacles in a mirrored way on the map so the maps don't become too 'well-known'. Maybe each map can have a pool of objects bound to it from which obstacles are generated to give each a unique flavor
- are you planning to have a map editor?
- the units are cool, but their unique abilities are somewhat similar (increase/reduce accuracy, add/subtract some damage, do damage to multiple units). Are you planning to diversify them a bit more and differentiate the 'types' more?
-> example: the doggies are more on the let's deal damage/rush side, the rabbits more on the let's dissuade you from attacking, others to be more focused on unit shifting/placement, etc.
- will there be a replay system or at least a way to export the generated story to read later for laughs? :)
- controller support would be amazing
- i know the online multiplayer stretch goal wasn't reached, but if the game sells well.. will it still be in the cards? :D

That was a long post, but it comes from being excited about the game.
Thanks

[Wojtinia]

Hi! Thanks so much for your feedback - it helps to improve the game a lot!

To answer your points:

We've already planned to implement the camera improvements, and we'll definitely discuss on a team meeting your suggestion to place the camera as the player sets it. We'll also work on the camera movement speed. At the moment, you can move the camera with arrows on a keyboard, but maybe it's necessary to also make the WASD keys to move the camera. We'll see what we can do in terms of two screen settings - maybe with a WASD moving camera it would be ok to leave it as it is now.

We probably weren't clear enough on the number of total units - now we have 18 units (as we count Tiny Inkulinati as a unit - as it also takes time to be made), and we aim for 5 unique Beasts for every Inkulinati. Although there is a probability that we'll have to cut it to 4 Beasts per Inkulinati, but still - in the worst case scenario we're going to double the number of Beasts in the game.

For sure there will be the option to choose an army squad in local multiplayer. And if we'll manage to make an online multiplayer (hard to say at the moment if we will, but we'll try to do it) there also will be such an option.

Levels with generated elements - I'm not entirely sure if i can answer that at the moment ;)

Map editor would be cool, but we are a small team with lots of tasks on the list already, so probably not, but we'll think how can we address that need.

Yes, Beasts will be more diverse in the final version - we just can't reveal all mechanics before the release, but we have some cool things already implemented!

Controller support will be eventually there, as we'll make a Switch version.

Hope these answers helped you out!


Your sincerely,
Sir Robin the Brave Designer

[The Fabulous Gravy Train]

Originally posted by Yaza Games:

Hi! Thanks so much for your feedback - it helps to improve the game a lot!
Sir Robin the Brave Designer

Just to say, thank you for the demo. Looking good so far with a fun game but my biggest concern is the number of unique units. At least 36 unique units sounds very cool though, are you also considering post-release content?

[Wojtinia]

Originally posted by The Reapero:

Just to say, thank you for the demo. Looking good so far with a fun game but my biggest concern is the number of unique units. At least 36 unique units sounds very cool though, are you also considering post-release content?

Yes! After launch, we consider post-release content.

[Vlado the Mad Monk]

It took me forever to find this forum LOL
Anyway, some suggestions:
The range of possible damage reminded me of Gladius, an old tactical game that also used range. There, units that had low accuracy were too powerful if you practiced enough, but if you turned the range off and let the game calculate if you hit or not, they would be balanced, if a bit weak. So, I suggest you add an average option, specially for players who are not very skilled or have old hardware. In my main laptop I hit the mark withou a problem, but with my mother's one It stuttered, and I rarely hit the sweet spot.

Also, an option for flames to damage instead of kill, and the options for pushed characters to push the next in line instead of going to the next open space. As a fan of fighting games, there is an ongoing debate for the existance of comeback mechanics. While I found it glorius when I turned the tables with a lucky push to flames or the edge, if I had a human opponent who was kicking my ass, he wouldn't be as happy.

Anyway, I'm waiting for this game (im)patiently XD

[Al]

Love the marginalia idea for a game setting. Is the demo still available, or will it be in alpha or beta on steam soon?

[VDmitry]

For me QTE for attacks kills the game.

[corbo]

It's a beautiful demo.
Funny cutscene, clean interface, interesting mechanics...

I want to mention two not-so-positive impressions however:

1) I was unpleasantly surprised by the arcade/QTE aspect of the combat.

2) Every single unit I killed was pushed out of the board or into flames anyway. So the QTE didn't matter in the end, because combat didn't matter at all. I smell an imbalance issue here, possibly a big one.

Cheers.

[taj14]

Originally posted by corbo:

It's a beautiful demo.
Funny cutscene, clean interface, interesting mechanics...

I want to mention two not-so-positive impressions however:

1) I was unpleasantly surprised by the arcade/QTE aspect of the combat.

2) Every single unit I killed was pushed out of the board or into flames anyway. So the QTE didn't matter in the end, because combat didn't matter at all. I smell an imbalance issue here, possibly a big one.

Cheers.

Thanks heaps for your feedback corbo. We'll take it on board!

[Phantom Spaceman]

i downloaded and played the demo. I guess it was fun - I really don't remember - literally hundreds of other titles have passed before my eyes since trying this, I had this on my wishlist for a LONG TIME, but honestly, I've removed it from my wishlist because I don't remember anymore what was good about it.

I wouldsuggest either put out a demo closer to the release date, or leave the released demo available so we can revisit it now and again - otherwise it becomes one of those DEAD wishlist items - the ones that you have no idea why you tagged it.

Good luck!