[h3]Hey guys,[/h3] [h3]After months of closed and semi-open playtesting, finally the gates of Steam Playtesting are open! [/h3] [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/2244650/HexLands/?utm_source=hexlandsnews&utm_content=openalpha][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43585829/59dcee6fd805b05ff28fb6bed230242bc9b6d927.png[/img][/url] Now everyone can test the [b]alpha of HexLands[/b]! This phase focuses on the core gameplay and the mechanics found on the early levels. Later phases will include progression between the islands and then even some metaprogression.😄 [h3]So hop in, I would love to see you in the playtesting![/h3] And here comes the twist: after a few hours of being open, I had to turn off auto-accept due to too many of you joining.😅 It's better to let people in gradually, more and more after each update, because this results in a nice, iterative development. [h3]But you can still sign up for playtesting and I'll let you in as soon as I can! :)[/h3] [h3][url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/2244650/HexLands/?utm_source=hexlandsnews&utm_content=openalpha][b]Click here to sign up![/b][/url][/h3] And for a more open discussion, join our [b][url=https://discord.com/invite/6hKwSaCkwa]Discord server[/url][/b]! :) I'd love to hear you feedback! Oh, and I already had to update the build, because as it turned out that some of you experienced a "Thanks for playing the Alpha!" dialog at the end of the tutorial levels, instead of the intended story transition to a normal level. Sorry, now it's fixed!😅 But before I could notice this issue, I already implemented [b]volume and autonaming settings, so enjoy! [/b] Now let me talk about this version's changelog, for those of you who were in the private alpha: the last release was nearly 1.5 months ago. But the wait is over and here's a relatively huge update! :) Finally the learning curve is a bit smoother due to a cool new tutorial system! In these early levels you can meet some people and also a pivotal figure in the game's story: King Aedric! Can't wait to start working on the lore. The update contains a balance change regarding tile selling, and lots of quality of life improvements! Thanks again everyone, most of them were due to your awesome feedback! [b]Features, improvements:[/b] [list] [*]Tutorial levels to smoothen the learning curve, help panel is also adjusted accordingly. [*]You can only sell town tiles and tiles neighbouring your towns' borders. [*]Settings where you can adjust various volumes and whether you want to name your islands & towns or not. [*]New resource panel visuals. [*]Currently usable cards are highlighted in green. [*]Card selling is now more intuitive: you click on the button, then you click on the card you'd like to sell. (And not the other way around, like it was previously.) [*]Sellable cards when selling is toggled are highlighted in gold. [*]Draw card, sell buttons are highlighted if they are your only option. [*]Next island button is highlighted if you are ready to leave the island. [*]New cards have a blueish temporary highlight. [*]Highlighted tiles rise from the island's plane. [*]Fish tiles are a bit more apparent. [*]A town's borders at tiles which contact other towns are no longer hidden, thus it's easier to distinguish the two towns. [*]Card hotkeys adjusted to the most common keyboard layout: left-most card's hotkey is 1, right-most card's is 0. [*]Camera setup is also saved with the level. [/list] [b]Fixes:[/b] [list] [*]Hotkeys, camera movement is fully blocked until the game is full ready for start. [*]If tried to quit the game when a feedback dialog was open, the quit confirmation dialog was behind it. [*]Mines' sound effect was too harsh/high pitched. [*]Sometimes draw card button's resource cost was red, even though you had enough resources. [*]Sometimes fishing huts were placed on the water tile's water end, and not on the shore. [/list] Feedbacks, bug reports are always welcome, good luck and have fun! Cheers, Tibor a.k.a. Tudvari a.k.a. Portgate Studios