Successful Playtest
Last week I ran a private playtest with my mailing list followers. Everything went really smoothly, so I'm happy.
- Over 100 players tried out the game
- Players got to try 2 different maps and 13 different weapons
- More than 80 total hours of play time
- 100+ successful missions
- 300+ failed missions
Most Common Requests
- Soldier Radio Chatter: Many players want more immersion with radio calls from on-the-ground soldiers. I completely agree — it makes the battlefield feel more tactical and also helps the gameplay. I’m already planning to bring in voice actors.
- Clearer Objectives: Many players mentioned it can be unclear what to do during mission. I plan to add more detailed mission prompts and UI elements to address this, with a comprehensive tutorial coming later in development.
Interesting Data
- The smaller desert base map is well-liked.
- The bigger swamp factory night map is more polarizing: some love it, some find it less appealing.
- Everyone loves the minigun!
- Railgun and rockets are popular.
- 40mm autocannons get mixed reactions; 120mm cannons are clearly underpowered.
- The laser is currently the weakest option.
More from Drone Sector
Other announcements
v0.3.0 - Spotting & AccuracySpotting & Accuracy One of the biggest issues infantry has had in Drone Sector is dying too quickly. In some situations that makes sense. They aren't super soldiers, and if a shell lands next to them, they will probably die. The problem was broader than that, though. In infantry-to-infantry firefights, entire squads could get wiped out within seconds, even at ranges over 100 meters. A big reaso…v0.2.1 - HUD & Vehicle Improvementsv0.2.1 - HUD & Vehicle Improvements Improved unit tracking and HUD readability, alongside better vehicle driving and collision avoidance. Added · Unit type icons now appear when zooming far out, making it easier to see what enemy types are where. · Icons of the same unit type merge into larger grouped icons when close together. · Replaced the old unit icons with a new, simpler set designed spec…v0.2.0 - Vehicle TransportThis is the first update since launch a month ago that brings larger gameplay changes rather than mainly fixes and improvements. Vehicle transport had been in my plans for a while, but player feedback pushed it to the top of my gameplay priorities. Bugs and the worst pathfinding problems still came first, but this became the main new system I wanted to get into the game. Vehicle Transport Infan…