Ok Trailer's Up!
Hey again, I loved the game, it's really good and has a lot of potential! There were a few bugs I encountered, but I'm guessing you're already working on updates and it's normal for an early release. But I wasn't able to warm myself up to 80 (which was one of the objectives) and progress the story further than that. You can check it all out in my gameplay video and what went wrong exactly. But overall it's an awesome experience and I can't wait for an update or two so I can make a part 2 of the video. I'm super curios to see what happens next :) Thanks again for working on this game!
Thank you, Steve!
I'm planning on deploying an update tonight and thanks for this warmth bug! I'll throw that into the patch too.
In my playtesting, I did run into this issue, and made adjustments to improve it, but I guess it wasn't enough.
However, I through in a little secret just in case it did become a problem.
Outside of the log cabin is a barrel that opens up during this quest. It has extra firewood and food in case that helps until i patch it.
Thanks again, Steve!
Thanks Adam, that's awesome news! I know it takes a lot of hard work so no rush. Whenever it's ready I'll happily jump back in. It's truly a game that I've been waiting for for years and I'm sure it'll all come together nicely after a few fixes here and there. It's already great, so again thanks for making it. I'm glad my small feedback is helping out. BTW I couldn't reply to your last post about the patch for some reason, that's why I'm replying to this one.
P.S. Consider listing your game on YT so we can officially add it to our videos for more recognition. For now, I added the name and the link to it in the description. :)
Ok i got to the part of the video with the warmth situation.
I need to ad a lot more feedback and information to explain the systems.
So I have implemented a physiology simulation that works like this:
Your hydration increases by drinking water (this is obvious)
Your satiation goes up by eating (also obvious)
Warmth increases by consuming your hydration and satiation and external sources like the furnace.
So if you have enough food + water + external heat will raise your warmth faster.
Also, the thermal jacket in your inventory gives you a warmth boost also.
These things are not obvious at all, I need to add a lot more descriptions and make things more clear.
You're right though, warmth is too hard to raise. I'm going to make some adjustments and get a patch out tonight... see how much i can jam into this patch.
Again, thank you for your feedback!
- Adam
Ohh okay, got it, thanks for the info, that helps a lot and it makes sense! Will try it out in the coming days. But of course I'm looking forward to the patch as well, I think that'll help a lot too for people who maybe want it a bit easier. Btw, this might be a dumb question, but how do I save the game? :D I went back in a few minutes ago and was back at the beginning.
I just uploaded the latest version. The health system should be much less punishing now. I also added a new medical item, "Heat Packs". So you can use that to recover warmth fast.
Right now, there's no save. I was hoping to get Saving in this week.
I'm going to be working on a lot of the things you mentioned in the video this week so i'll keep you updated.
Heat packs? Niceeee! Okay, I'll wait for the save option to be implemented then. That's probably a priority, can't really play without saving. :D Thanks for taking some of my feedback into consideration too, this game is gonna be fire. Can't wait to continue! Once more people hear about it, it's gonna blow up I think
Yup, saving is at the top of my list for this week.
Watching another real gamer other than me play through it was incredible. The way you approached the world and reacted to things really showed me that my vision is landing. Everything you mentioned, what you enjoyed, what felt confusing, and what you expected to happen, lines up with what I’m trying to build.
My goal has always been that everything you see in the game should have meaning or function in the world. Nothing should just be filler or decoration unless it is actually meant to be. If you can see it, you should eventually be able to touch it, use it, or understand why it is there.
Right now the quest-based storyline is very linear and acts as a gatekeeper for certain things, like doors being stuck or progress being blocked. Honestly, I don't like that approach. It was a concession I made to get the game rounded out enough for early access. My long-term plan is for the narrative to support the gameplay, not drive it. I just need more time to get there.
As a solo developer, time management is the hardest part. Some days I wish I could clone myself or work inside a time bubble where everything outside slows down until I'm done.
Thanks again for your playthrough and feedback. It really helps me see how the game feels through someone else’s eyes.
- Adam
Well I'm happy that my playthrough was useful and aligned with what you're trying to create. I understand it takes a lot of time and hard work to make the world you want all on your own, so take your time man. It already feels immersive so I can only imagine what it'll become over time. Take that game "Mist Survival" (a zombie apocalypse game) for example - also a single dev, making his vision come to life, and has been working on the game and updating it since 2018 since the early release, and still people love it and play it to this day (myself included) and it's still not finished :D And I think your game has an even bigger potential because it has (or will have) a storyline and there aren't that many games like that either, while there are plenty of zombie games. This one feels different somehow, so thanks again for all the hard work, it doesn't go unnoticed! Us players just see the game but we don't see all the things devs have to do behind the scenes for even the simplest things like opening the door animation haha
Steve, you and I are a lot alike as gamers. I love games like Mist Survival, Vein, The Infected, and even SurrounDead... I love them so much I have to ban myself from them while developing my games so I don't get pulled in and time warps.
There are 2 top things that feel off to me in all these games I've played throughout the years:
1. If I see something in the game, I should be able to use it, interact with it, destroy it, and even create it if i have the in-game means. Things in the game should always matter even if mattering means they should be destroyed or repurposed logically. And it needs to make sense. Something exists in the world because it has a history that brought it to that spot.
2. Purpose - I need to have an existential purpose in the game. It can't just be survive. It can't just be craft. That will get me maybe 10 hours of playtime before I lose interest and stop caring. I need to feel like everything I do is for a reason and building up to something more. Maybe something bigger than myself. So there is an existential component I need.
A narrative can provide purpose, but not as an after thought. The narrative needs to be the tip of the story of what created the world as it is in the moment you enter it.
To give you a concrete example, the Log Cabin. Why is it there? How was it built? What is John Walker's connection to it such that he knows where it is and that it's a safe haven? Who is John Walker.
These are the questions I ask myself before I even build anything.
Some of the answer are hinted at but not outright said, for example:
1. The cabin is a hunting cabin, built by someone who chopped down trees around it. And you can see this in game because there are a lot of stumps around the cabin.
2. John Walker is a forest ranger, responsible for this area of the Teton mountains, including this hunting cabin which he stocks with wood occasionally for any hunters planning on staying there. The shed in the back he stocks with provisions, this is why he knows all about it and why his inner dialog doesn't spell it out for you in an exposition dump... he already knows these things so he reflects on them as a matter of fact rather than an "as you know" type of dialog.
But what he hints at is just the tip of what we know, and I have it all sketched out so that I'm not making things up as I go (another pet peeve of mine with story creators).
I've probably over-thought everything involved in the creation of this game, so we'll see where it takes us.
Wow yeah it seems we are alike as gamers! And yes I totally agree with a game having a purpose, that would set it apart from most games. I love crafting, building bases etc. and can pour 50 hours into base building alone :D but if that survival had a purpose other than to just survive, like you said, that would be an experience on a whole other level. Like you're a character in a book or a movie, not just a game. It would be an actual story. So yeah I absolutely agree with both of your points. Your vision for the game is awesome and I really can't wait to see where it goes from here, no matter how much time it takes. :)