Hello everyone!
Welcome back to another FOUNDRY Friday. Today we’re starting with a preview of the upcoming conveyor lifts, and afterwards I am once again asking for your feedback. This time about the power system.
Conveyor Lifts
Please enjoy the first video of the new conveyor lifts. They are still work in progress have some minor issues, but you can see the core concept working here:
Watch on YouTubeWork in progress
Based on your feedback we went with the design that only has a single opening on each end. So far playtesting seems positive, the lifts open a bunch of new possibilities for vertical gameplay and we’re looking forward to seeing your designs. They are scheduled to be part of the next update (no date yet, though).
About the Power System
We’re internally discussing potential changes to the power system, and I’d like to gather some feedback to see where the community sentiment is. Let’s start by quickly recapping our system.
Our power system is split in high voltage and low voltage, with the first being transmitted by power poles and the latter is using powered floors. A transformer feeds a low voltage grid (powered floors) from the high voltage grid. This allows a hierarchical design, where high voltage makes it easy to move power around the map and low voltage saves you the trouble from having to connect most machines manually to a grid.
So what’s this about? In short: It’s pretty confusing to new players. Especially because the game starts with a power generator that feeds a low voltage grid, and then later transitions to the high voltage grid system. But it’s also about the names, high voltage, low voltage, it’s not really difficult once you spend some time with the game, but in the first two hours you have a lot of things to learn. Ultimately it adds up, and being confused isn’t fun. Also the transformer isn’t super obvious to understand.
So the thing we’re discussing is simplification. How can we improve the usability of the power system while keeping it interesting. However I am deliberately not going to share any potential solutions today, as I don’t want to bias the feedback. Do you think that it’s confusing and maybe too complex? Would you like a simpler version, like many other games use? Or would you suggest some other changes?
If I may add, please be aware of your personal bias. If you played FOUNDRY for 200 hours, you obviously find it easy to use now. In that case better think back about your experience when you started.
I would also like to hear your thoughts on the powered floor itself. The upside of just being able to place the machines on the floor is clear, but do you find it annoying that (almost) everything needs a floor first?
It’s just something we’re currently exploring as we’re trying to iron out some of the issues new players experience - it’s not guaranteed that we will make any changes.
Alright, that’s it for today. See you next time,
-mrmcd
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