Thank you so much for trying (and even enjoying?) Recolonizer!
First off, I laughed at the "the win sounds like defeat" comment. These things are so subjective, I've gotten all sorts of comments about the sounds but never heard this one before... And indeed, maybe I'll change "Defended" to something else. Brains, man. Sometimes they work in weird ways...
Some comments about the mechanics:
I’m guessing you have to remember how the waves go
They kinda have a pattern, but there's some RNG to keep you on your toes. I'd word it as, "remembering how they go will give you an advantage, but will not guarantee you anything".
I’d generally lose the first try but get it the on the second since I had a better idea what to expect and understood the field better
Exactly my intention – reward attention to detail and learning from mistakes.
About the location system:
For me, the zones didn’t add anything ... I'd rather just pan ... waiting for the pan and losing precious seconds
That hits hard, but I agree. The version I'm cooking after the PJJ feedbacks gives the zones a bit more function (no spoilers), but indeed you put the finger on the biggest issue with the zones – they're too restrictive. I will go back to the whiteboard to allow the freedom to pan between zones and hotkey. It's time for the location system to mature.
I wonder if zooming out but the area is surrounded by fog and the arrows only go to the edge
This one is intentional – only Fort Wright has intense fog, specifically to "nerf" the map view and force you to be lower to the ground, or squint. As for whether this is challenging in a fun way or annoying way, I'm not sure. But I don't see a reason to change it at the moment. And yeah, the arrows are to help you see offscreen. Keeping them onscreen resulted in a bit of visual pollution and gets quite overwhelming (even after making them quite small...), which I wanted to avoid.
Final thoughts:
I'm really happy to hear you enjoyed the granular upgrades, their icons, and the tower synergy! What was your favorite tower combination?
And yes, if you decide to come back, there's quite a few more things to unlock, including harbors that let you have your own ships to collect money / shoot enemies for you.
You and the other testers have helped me focus my efforts IMMENSELY in this pre-release stage. Thank you again for playing and taking the time to write your thoughts!!
Best,
FLCB