Hello friends!  It’s been a hot minute since we cooked up the last devlog for you, but hopefully the wait is worth it: we’re opening a second round of testing for the current Alpha build this weekend!  Please send an email to van14.devs@gmail.com if you’re interested and able to provide us with feedback and impressions, even if you’ve playtested for us before.

Here’s an overview of where the build sits currently:

After working on the initial Zone map Robin’s been hard at work getting the basic systems into place.  There is functionality for different weapons, ability modifiers, healing, some environmental effects, cameras — so many things!  The core of the game and gameplay loop is in place and feeling pretty solid (in our humble opinions).  Now it needs refining, balancing, and polishing, which is why this round of feedback is very important to us.

How the Utility Melee Modifier affects strike range!

Balance is definitely something that needs tweaking, but it’s not entirely our focus for this Alpha; we’re more looking to see how the game’s combat, platforming, and overall vibe feel to players.  There’s still only the one Zone to explore, though it has been much expanded since our initial test.  Hopefully some of the refinement on things like camera systems will lead to a better optimisation experience for testers who had encountered problems with the first release as well.

We’d also love to see feedback on things like the UI/UX: how intuitive it feels, what could use better explanation, that kind of thing, bearing in mind that this is still in the ‘drafting’ phase of development in many ways. 

Finally, please keep an eye out on Lumah’s YouTube channel for a live showcase of the current build at some point this week!  Robin will be there as well for discussion and feedback.  We hope you're able to join us.

Remember to check out our Discord for high-res versions of these images, and to chat with us!  You can also visit our Linktree to make sure you’ve found us everywhere we’re findable!

See you next devlog,

The Van-14 Dev Team