Hey, explorers! Long time no see.
I was supposed to release the public playtest earlier. Then I made the dangerous mistake of letting real humans play the game.
First, Łucja Marczyńska, the illustrator I’m working with, tested the build and sent me a very useful - and very painful - list of UI/UX issues. Then my son played it too and confirmed many of the same problems.
The verdict was basically:
“The game looks great, but I have no idea what I’m doing.”
Which is not exactly the dream onboarding experience. :D
So I delayed the playtest and spent the last few weeks reworking the early game.
The old tutorial was a quest-chain system. I still like the idea on paper, but in practice it was too vague for the first minutes of gameplay. I replaced it with something much more direct:
Do this. Then do that. This is why it matters.
Less elegant? Maybe. More useful? Definitely.
I also gave the UI a much-needed visual upgrade. The previous version worked, but it felt too generic. The new one still needs polish in some areas, but I’m much happier with how the game looks and reads now. (Some parts still need redesign, which will be included in an upcoming public demo.)
And now the important part:
The public playtest is finally starting.
This is still very much a playtest build. Expect bugs, rough edges, balance issues, and possibly some UI elements trying to escape their designated positions. Some issues are already known, but not blocking enough to keep the build locked away forever.
But that’s exactly why I need your help.
Please join our Discord (https://discord.gg/3UhwAtk8xw) for playtest details, feedback, bug reports, and general “what the hell just happened to my colony?” discussions.
I’m especially interested in hearing:
what felt confusing,
what broke,
what felt fun,
what needs better explanation,
and what you would like to see improved before release.
The full release is planned for September 30th.
Thank you for being here.
The void is waiting. 🚀