Hi everyone! It's the end of the quarter, so let's take a look at how development is coming along. The big news is the strategy layer playtest finally kicked off this month. I've been dying to get the iteration cycle going. As you guys know, I rely very heavily on the community to guide development. Your feedback is why the tactical layer has been a success. And that's why it's a big deal that the strategy layer playtest is finally underway. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41607874/b14289bddfbf1f0571e23a54aa6ade02a7839cc3.gif[/img] As expected, the first few builds were very rough and the testers struggled a lot. However, their feedback was invaluable. Beyond just finding bugs and improving mechanics, they helped me understand and improve deeper structural problems with the game loop. Here's a summary of testing so far and the next steps. [list] [*] The playtest included the opening months of the Labor campaign and 70% of the core systems: squad movement and zone-of-control, recruitment and unit management, base-building, labor management, supply chains and logistics, and research. It also introduced a few big things to the tactical layer. [*] On the whole, testers found the campaign to be buggy, sluggish and lacking direction. The strategy layer had too much "4X" resulting in long down-times between battles. However, most players agreed the systems promised depth and that the overall design was in-line with what they wanted from a strategy layer. [*] On the tactical front, the feedback was much more positive. Players enjoyed the new melee weapons. Friendly AI units were very popular. And the new morale and surrender mechanics mostly fit in with the existing combat systems. [/list] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41607874/b6eced5def32380126834062b48f460dbe501760.png[/img] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41607874/6abfb4f9c5533df8fa9eef4879458ed1646cb7db.png[/img] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41607874/550be51996e75cb9081cfb186ae6dd10629a827d.png[/img] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41607874/d8c76b99b3b9f95c6e725d0052e8fa9e1167b85e.png[/img] Development and playtesting is continuing with a focus on [olist] [*] Tightening the core game loop and reducing down-time between battles. For example, capture ice mine -> extract water -> construct algae farm -> support larger population -> boost soldier recruitment. On paper, this sounds reasonable. But in the game, it all felt slow and bloated. So I'm cutting fat and connecting campaign progress more directly with battle results. [*] The strategy layer will always be a sandbox, but my initial designs offered players too little direction. So I'm trying to give the campaign more structure, especially how missions are generated. This includes a new mechanic that lets you send operatives on covert ops behind enemy lines to gather intel and discover missions. [*] Finish adding remaining systems, especially unit and equipment progression. The most critical missing element is the Gunsmith mechanic, which enables players to homebrew custom Redox guns and bring them into battle. This feature drives Labor's campaign progression, creating that "one-more-turn" loop as the worker rebellion grows stronger and stronger. [/olist] Anyway, this is probably TMI for most readers since the game is not even out yet. But I know some of you are following development very closely, so I thought a transparent view of the design process would be interesting. Overall, my goal for Q1 is to continue testing the hell out of the strategy layer. Once things are feeling good, I will release a demo for the public to get a taste. And then it's just push push push toward the release. [u][b]HUGE THANKS[/b][/u] to the Discord community for all their incredible feedback! The playtest is managed on Discord so if you are interested in playtesting and have the patience for bugs and jank you can sign-up for access [url=https://discord.gg/6tmHK8stH2]there[/url]. I am opening up access slowly over-time with each new build. Thanks for sticking with me this year! Wishing you happy and safe holidays. -Yuji