[h2]The Pre-Alpha has arrived![/h2] [b]Salutations Industrialists![/b] First, we would like to thank you for your support in the development of Gilded Destiny. We are excited to share Gilded Destiny with the small group of testers randomly selected from our Kickstarter and Modian! As you are aware, Gilded Destiny is in the "Pre-Alpha" stage, which means that many systems are not yet complete or fully implemented. So, we ask you to bear with us as we continue implementation and refinement of systems and features. Below is an excerpt from the Alpha Testing Guidelines that we have sent out to the testers along with their Steam Keys. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The purpose of these guidelines is to explain what feedback from you would be most useful for our dev team. Of course, we appreciate all feedback and suggestions you may have for Gilded Destiny, but as you might expect, we are particularly looking for feedback about specific features and bug reports that can help move Gilded Destiny to the next stage of development. If you are not yet in our Discord server, we kindly ask that you join. The closed "Pre-Alpha Chat" channel will be the focal point for feedback and suggestions, and offer a place for you to get in touch with our devs (in addition to using the in-game Bug Report option, of course). Please use this link to join: https://discord.com/invite/m22Ek8jxJf [b]What we expect from pre-Alpha and Alpha Testers:[/b] 1. That you will take the time to play Gilded Destiny and try to understand its systems and features 2. That you will provide constructive feedback and suggestions, being as specific as possible 3. That you will report any bugs or problems encountered while playing the game [h2]Pre-Alpha Testing Guidelines[/h2] Input from the Testing community is vital to shaping the game, and we appreciate your time, insights, and feedback as we continue building and refining it. Please carefully read the following guidelines before you begin. 1. Confidentiality Agreement - All testers are bound by the confidentiality agreement they signed. This means that they cannot share screenshots, videos, game details, or any information about the game with anyone outside the pre-Alpha testing group. Publicly sharing any details of this Alpha test could jeopardize the project and the trust we’ve placed in our testing community. 2. Understanding the Alpha Stage - This game is currently in its Alpha phase, meaning that several systems and features are still in development or only partially implemented. You may encounter bugs, placeholder assets, incomplete features, and performance issues. Here’s what you can expect: - Core systems are being actively developed. Some areas may lack full functionality. - Visuals and animations may include placeholders and temporary effects. - Performance optimizations are ongoing; you may experience lower frame rates or other performance issues. 3. What NOT to Focus On - Visual fidelity or polish: Our art and visuals are not final, and many assets and placeholders remain in the game at this point. We will also be adding in many more portraits, background artwork, and icons. - Performance optimizations: We’re aware that the game may lag or stutter, so please only report performance issues if they are severe and prevent gameplay. - Minor UI and text issues: These will be polished in later stages. 4. Key Focus Areas - Please pay extra attention to the following systems, as they are crucial to our current development focus: - Core gameplay mechanics and features - (e.g., warfare, diplomacy, production, research, trade, events etc.) - User interface usability - Most UIs have now been redesigned. However, a few old UI panels still remain in the game. You will likely be able to distinguish between the new and old UIs, so we ask that you please focus on newer UIs that have been implemented. And please focus your comments on the usability—ease of use, intuitiveness, whether all relevant information is provided, and readability. - The Globe—terrain and borders - Do you notice any regions, terrain, or borders that should be refined? We are still actively working on this, but appreciate feedback. - Progression and difficulty balance - Do the features and systems in the game seem balanced? Does the data for population and other resources in the game seem correct? - Enjoyment and Entertainment Value - We ultimately want to gauge whether or not the core gameplay loop is fun to play. In addressing this, we ask you to see beyond the current rough state of the game in its Alpha build, and look to what it is becoming. Of course, the normal gameplay loop at release, or even Early Access will not involve bug and error reporting. 5. Communication and Updates - We will be releasing regular updates, so check for new versions and patch notes. Some issues you’ve found may be resolved in newer builds. - Please feel free to ask questions if anything is unclear or if you’d like guidance on what to test next. Thank you for being part of our journey! Your feedback is essential, and we’re excited to hear your thoughts on the game as it evolves. [h2]Known Issues[/h2] First, there are several known issues that we want to mention first. We know these issues exist and are planning to address them in future updates. - List from Pre-Alpha Notes to Players In Development - Economy system still needs refinement and is not working fully yet - Colonization system - Naval system - Rebellion - Map Layers have not been developed yet - The Game Wiki has not yet been created - In-game Tutorial - Steam Achievement system not developed - Policies relating to Welfare and Slavery are still being developed - Modding support and workshops are still in development Needing Optimization - Performance optimization is ongoing, and the current operating speed is not ideal - The Events system needs to be improved to include more modifiers, triggering conditions, and effects. In addition, the ability to reference variables from other countries needs to be added - There are significant optimization and adjustment plans for the population system - AI behavior details need further testing and adjustment - The actual effect of population transition immigration needs further testing and adjustment - Migration system mechanics need further testing and refinement - Mechanics for Job changes need further testing and refinement - Modifiers for Units need to be refined to allow effects from Leaders, Technologies, and Polices - Diplomacy still has some effects and conditions to be developed - Occasionally there are multi-threaded errors during operation, which occasionally cause the game to crash - The country selection interface needs to be re-optimized and adjusted - Including UI - The game end interface needs to be redesigned and adjusted - Trade mechanics are not stable enough and need to be optimized Economy Design and Balance - Systems such as Military, Diplomacy, Technology, Construction, Policy, and Leadership still need to be balanced and adjusted - There is a significant difference between forecasted revenue and actual revenue in the fiscal UI Content (Copywriting/Map) - Initial content (initial technology, policies, military, etc.) is still being updated - Currently only a few event chains for Prussia are in game. Many more for other countries need to be added - Many more decisions also need to be added to the game - A large amount of Tooltip information needs to be added and optimized to provide more complete and accurate information - The content and sequence of technology still need to be tested and adjusted - Most texts for Cultural Heritage are placeholders; a few have been implemented, but do not have all of their intended modifiers - Most texts for Religious Conviction are placeholders; a few have been implemented, but do not have any of their intended modifiers - There may be undiscovered text errors and localization errors, as well as inconsistency in names and terms used - Country and province borders and terrain features on the game map still need to be refined [h2]Game Artwork and UI/UX[/h2] - The graphics quality of the map is being improved and updated, and there is still flickering - Some flags are still placeholders - Only a few Leader portraits have been implemented. We plan to add many more - Some of the Soldier unit models are placeholders - Many modules of the UI are still using old resources, waiting to be replaced - Some of the icons in the Diplomacy UI are still placeholders - Some of the icons in the Country UI are still placeholders - Some of the icons in the Military UI are still placeholders - A large number of icons in the Technology UI are still placeholders - A large number of icons in Religion and Culture UIs are still placeholders - Military UI is being redesigned, and then implemented - Province UI has been redesigned, but still needs to be implemented - "Build" (Construction) System is being redesigned, and then needs to be implemented Thank you for your support!