Games Status and Progress Update

Hello everyone! It has been a while since the last blog update. This is due to the team spending a lot of time focusing hard on reworks and changes. What has been happening the past couple of months is preparing the game as much as possible for the upcoming first Closed Alpha testing.

I would like to take a moment to introduce myself and my role in Tidewoken. My name is Joseph, or in gaming usually people refer to me as Shade. I am going to be taking on the role of Community Manager. I will be working with the community directly on getting feedback, sharing information, handling issues and questions, and working on making sure that future tests go smoothly. I also do internal testing as well as helping with game design. To reach me, you can contact me via email at community@tidewoken.com or my Discord, Shade#2029.

Enough about me though, let us get into what all has happened since the last post!

Maps

All images and videos seen so far have been on a plain testing map. This has mainly been for giving the team a way of working in-game. However, we plan on having multiple themed maps for the full release. The first map, a lava themed map, has been completed. This map features narrow spots on sides, along with a long open middle area and plenty of places to hide behind.

We will, however, be using the generic play test map during Closed Alpha as well just to work with having multiple map options available. We are wanting to try and have maps feel truly different from a gameplay perspective and not only from a visual one. Due to this, we are not wanting to rush on releasing them, especially since the gameplay is the main priority for now.

Classes

There are 4 classes planned for the full release but we will only be using the 3 finished ones for the Closed Alpha. These are Mystic, Tempest, and Alchemist. Most of the time spent as of lately has gone into completely revamping the old Assault, which is now Tempest. It has gone through quite a few changes, but we finally found out how we wanted to shape the play style for it.

The Tempest will now use a class feature called Wind Essence. These will be used to trigger special skill effects as well as change gameplay by granting high damage at the risk of taking more. The main themes of Tempest will now be teleporting, using your Target Dummy to control the field, and managing Wind Essence for game impacting combos.

We have also made some changes to the Mystic as well, as to give Spirit Realm and Axe Mastery more diversity and purpose. Alchemist is also finished and will be mostly a support style class.

Gameplay Changes 

During testing, we ran into some issues of games being way too long, or skills feeling not so impactful. For starters, we now have given every build 9 skill slots instead of the 8. This is to allow a larger variety of builds and play styles, promoting more synergy. This, of course, is up to being changed, but it is something we feel will be better overall for now. 

Next, we cut health pools by a large amount. In the earlier stages, players had so much health that the games were quite long and fights were somewhat bland because of it. Now with lower health pools, it really pushes the gameplay in the direction envisioned to be a lot more tactical. 

Lastly, a small change was the attribute system. There are still 3 attributes per class and the same amount of skills. What changed was the amount of points given to work with and how they split up for builds. The main reason for this is just trying to make sure the builds aspect makes sense for gameplay, allowing for better synergy between attributes or gameplay choices.  

Current Status and Closed Alpha Testing

We plan on having the first Closed Alpha testing in early 2020 (keep in mind that this will be only through Steam). However, we still need to finish implementing the back end as well as getting in-game sounds added. While this is being worked on, we will also be finishing up major bug testing involving the skills for the classes and trying to make the gameplay as fun as possible.

For the first Closed Alpha, we will only be having a few people join us for this testing that will be able to give all the feedback needed. There will be a form later on for anyone interested in joining us for testing. As testing progresses, larger and more open tests will be planned. We want to focus mainly on fixing bugs and bad optimizations that are found, getting all of the feedback of the testers as to what they enjoyed, did not enjoy, what ideas they have, and as well as balancing the gameplay.

The best way to get in contact with us is through the official Tidewoken Discord: https://discord.gg/hcR2m2R

However, we also have the Dev's Twitter: https://twitter.com/mcfuddl

As well as two e-mail accounts now set up: support@tidewoken.com | community@tidewoken.com

Thank you all who have shown interest and support so far, and we are really looking forward to what is on its way!

- Shade, Community Manager