Is there any chance you could make older versions of the game available for download? I'm loving the current build, but sometimes I yearn for the simplicity and stupid engine-building of the first couple of releases.
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Hello! There is a way to access old versions of any game on itch but it's a bit complicated. Download the itch desktop app, navigate to our game's page, install the correct version for your system (windows or mac), then hit the gear icon in the lower right hand side of the screen, select "manage" on your downloaded game and then "switch to another version" - you'll be able to switch to whatever version of the game you want and see all the differences.
If you do play more of the old version I would love to hear more of your thoughts about what you prefer about it. I appreciate your "I'm loving the current build, but..." but honestly blunt, direct feedback is more useful to me than compliments. It sounds like there are some things you really prefer about the old version and I want to know that so I can design the new version to still have those things! Could you elaborate on the "simplicity and stupid engine building" that you prefer about the first couple of releases?
Thanks for responding so quickly! I'd love to elaborate.
I'm enjoying the deckbuilding update, especially some of the new art, but have found myself occasionally missing the older releases which had fewer moving parts. Putting together a deck with pieces that synergize with your perks is a fun development of the formula, but the older 'doors' system was something I found fun in its own right. It offered an extra layer of risk and reward to the shop phase that's not present in the same form currently. ('Should I play a higher door now, or spend the money on more perks? Is paying for this door worth the risk that I flip the wrong cards and lose money? How much does my build actually benefit from the 'better' set of cards?)
The deckbuilding update also definitely raises the skill ceiling quite a bit with the added layer of complexity. In general, I think that's a good thing, but I also enjoyed the simplicity of perks being the sole 'moving part' of a build. I had a lot of fun experimenting with different perk setups to see how big of a number I could make, and the stable aspect of doors having fixed sets of cards behind them was certainly a part of that.
Also, I agree with what some other people have said about the warmer lighting, wooden desk, and other environmental changes making the game feel a little less scary. It's not a huge deal, and I think the new card art mostly makes up for it, but it does feel like a little bit of a downgrade atmosphere-wise.
In summary, while I don't dislike the direction the game is moving in, I find myself missing some of the simpler aspects of older versions. A certain part of this is probably just because of fond memories of initially discovering and experimenting with the game when it had just released though, and having access to the older builds should be enough to satisfy that. If I find myself playing one version a lot more than the other, I'll be sure to let you know.
At risk of making this reply absurdly long, I'd like to express how nice of a feeling it is for a developer to communicate so directly with fans. I appreciate it, keep up the good work.
Thanks for elaborating! The main takeaways I'm hearing are:
- You miss the risk / reward of spending money to go to a more powerful location. (I agree this is the main thing we lost with this update. I initially tried making "temporary" cards more central with the idea that they're basically equivalent to the old location system but they just felt kinda weird when they were so prominent so I made them less frequent) I'll definitely be on the lookout for ways to get this risk / reward feeling back into the game
- The game is more complicated and more difficult now, and you miss the simplicity and the ease of making crazy builds from the old version. I totally get this! The game is probably too hard right now, we're planning on doing a more robust balancing update once we're done with the big structural changes.
Please do let me know if you end up playing the old version more or have any more thoughts about the differences.
I'm glad you appreciate us talking directly with players! It is honestly one of my favorite parts of making games. If you want to stop by the discord (linked from the intro screen in the game) we talk even more directly to everyone there, including sharing in-progress builds.