What changed
0 fixes2 additions3 changes0 removals
- UI and audio
- Gameplay
- Balance
- Maps
addedThe balance between guidance and discovery came up in several parts of the playtest. ⚖️Since the first test, we’ve added more ways to provide guidance, including the Periscope’s first-person view and the Trail.m8 terminals you find when you need to locate a point of interest or save the game. Both will get another tweak based on the feedback we received. The playtest also highlighted that we’re still introducing too much stuff and too many options too quickly. We need to get better at easing players into things. Giving players lots of freedom from the beginning sounds good, but when you’re not sure which option to pick, it can start to feel like there are no options at all.
changedThe camera is still not quite there either. 🎮It was comforting to hear that the playtesters who participated in both tests noticed an improvement, but it is still one of the areas that really needs work. Endless Machines started out with a strictly top-down and isometric view, but through experimentation and curiosity, it has gradually evolved into something that feels a bit like a third-person game that controls like a strategy game. Finding the right blend between the two is hard. For the next playtest, we’re going to introduce more freedom to the camera movement with free pan and free yaw, and hopefully solve more of the issues with structures blocking the view. We’ll see if that does the trick.
changedGenerally, though...... it seems like the game really gels with playtesters when it works technically and everything starts to make sense, which is a really good outlook for the future. We just need to make sure everyone has a chance to get to that point. Something that really motivates us is hearing people describe Endless Machines as something fresh. Almost all of the survey responses also included testers saying they wanted more and wanted to know more about the story and the world it takes place in. That’s a pretty damn good feeling. ❤️
addedAfter that, we’re moving on to the next biome: the forest. 🌲We’ll be setting up Geweier’s chapter, where our sniper, shepherd, recon, and cool cat robot joins the story. Before joining Katame and the rest of the gang, Geweier will be calling in protein-producing herds of tardigrade-looking, bumblebee-like flying robots 🐝 to help fix a Conductor who named itself Eric and has somehow managed to lose both of its legs. We can’t wait to get out of the desert and start walking around those lush, green forests.
changedAfter that, we’re moving on to the next biome: the forest. 🌲A lot of the building blocks needed for Geweier were already created while working on Joule. We’re hoping that will make the next chapter a little more straightforward. If that hypothesis holds up, we should also get a much clearer idea of what we’re dealing with and hopefully start getting a rough idea of a potential release date.
Endless Machines changes
addedSince the first test, we’ve added more ways to provide guidance, including the Periscope’s first-person view and the Trail.m8 terminals you find when you need to locate a point of interest or save the game. Both will get another tweak based on the feedback we received. The playtest also highlighted that we’re still introducing too much stuff and too many options too quickly. We need to get better at easing players into things. Giving players lots of freedom from the beginning sounds good, but when you’re not sure which option to pick, it can start to feel like there are no options at all.
changedIt was comforting to hear that the playtesters who participated in both tests noticed an improvement, but it is still one of the areas that really needs work. Endless Machines started out with a strictly top-down and isometric view, but through experimentation and curiosity, it has gradually evolved into something that feels a bit like a third-person game that controls like a strategy game. Finding the right blend between the two is hard. For the next playtest, we’re going to introduce more freedom to the camera movement with free pan and free yaw, and hopefully solve more of the issues with structures blocking the view. We’ll see if that does the trick.
changed... it seems like the game really gels with playtesters when it works technically and everything starts to make sense, which is a really good outlook for the future. We just need to make sure everyone has a chance to get to that point. Something that really motivates us is hearing people describe Endless Machines as something fresh. Almost all of the survey responses also included testers saying they wanted more and wanted to know more about the story and the world it takes place in. That’s a pretty damn good feeling. ❤️
addedWe’ll be setting up Geweier’s chapter, where our sniper, shepherd, recon, and cool cat robot joins the story. Before joining Katame and the rest of the gang, Geweier will be calling in protein-producing herds of tardigrade-looking, bumblebee-like flying robots 🐝 to help fix a Conductor who named itself Eric and has somehow managed to lose both of its legs. We can’t wait to get out of the desert and start walking around those lush, green forests.
changedA lot of the building blocks needed for Geweier were already created while working on Joule. We’re hoping that will make the next chapter a little more straightforward. If that hypothesis holds up, we should also get a much clearer idea of what we’re dealing with and hopefully start getting a rough idea of a potential release date.
The second playtest came and went, and it was stressful, insightful, promising, frustrating, and incredibly valuable for the future of Endless Machines.
It was fantastic to get feedback from such nice and helpful people who played through Joule’s chapter, in spite of getting bombarded with quirks, bugs, and spoilers. These playtests are incredibly valuable to us. Being a small, independent team, they give us the reality check we really need after spending six months working on the game without much outside perspective on what we’re doing or the decisions we’re making.
Eight Months, Slightly Compressed 🎬
Before we dive into what we learned from Playtest #2, we put together a short video squeezing roughly eight months of Endless Machines development into just about three minutes... from Katame’s plains to Joule’s desert:
The balance between guidance and discovery came up in several parts of the playtest. ⚖️
Since the first test, we’ve added more ways to provide guidance, including the Periscope’s first-person view and the Trail.m8 terminals you find when you need to locate a point of interest or save the game. Both will get another tweak based on the feedback we received. The playtest also highlighted that we’re still introducing too much stuff and too many options too quickly. We need to get better at easing players into things. Giving players lots of freedom from the beginning sounds good, but when you’re not sure which option to pick, it can start to feel like there are no options at all.
The camera is still not quite there either. 🎮
It was comforting to hear that the playtesters who participated in both tests noticed an improvement, but it is still one of the areas that really needs work. Endless Machines started out with a strictly top-down and isometric view, but through experimentation and curiosity, it has gradually evolved into something that feels a bit like a third-person game that controls like a strategy game. Finding the right blend between the two is hard. For the next playtest, we’re going to introduce more freedom to the camera movement with free pan and free yaw, and hopefully solve more of the issues with structures blocking the view. We’ll see if that does the trick.
Generally, though...
... it seems like the game really gels with playtesters when it works technically and everything starts to make sense, which is a really good outlook for the future. We just need to make sure everyone has a chance to get to that point. Something that really motivates us is hearing people describe Endless Machines as something fresh. Almost all of the survey responses also included testers saying they wanted more and wanted to know more about the story and the world it takes place in. That’s a pretty damn good feeling. ❤️
We’re now working through the feedback, improving Joule’s chapter, fixing bugs, and continuing to polish the onboarding experience.
There is still a lot of work ahead of us, and we’re not ready to promise anything yet. But Playtest #2 gave us a much clearer picture of what works, what doesn’t, and what we need to focus on next.
After that, we’re moving on to the next biome: the forest. 🌲
We’ll be setting up Geweier’s chapter, where our sniper, shepherd, recon, and cool cat robot joins the story. Before joining Katame and the rest of the gang, Geweier will be calling in protein-producing herds of tardigrade-looking, bumblebee-like flying robots 🐝 to help fix a Conductor who named itself Eric and has somehow managed to lose both of its legs. We can’t wait to get out of the desert and start walking around those lush, green forests.
A lot of the building blocks needed for Geweier were already created while working on Joule. We’re hoping that will make the next chapter a little more straightforward. If that hypothesis holds up, we should also get a much clearer idea of what we’re dealing with and hopefully start getting a rough idea of a potential release date.
Thank you again to all the playtesters who are helping us make the game the best it can be.
And thank you to everyone here on Steam for reading, wishlisting, and hanging out with us while we get there.
Talk soon,
Cindy, Jonas & Gaston
We're happy to have you here
... following along as this game takes shape. Also, if you feel like saying hi or asking anything about the game, you’re very welcome to join our Discord. We’re always happy to chat and answer your questions (to the best of our ability), though sometimes it might take us a little while to get back to you. We’re a small team, but we promise we’ll get there.
Disclaimer: Please remember that Endless Machines is still in development. As the game evolves, things that may seem like an integral part of the story right now could change or turn out not to work as we intended. As a result, they might not make it into the final version. This is a natural part of the process. Thank you for your support!
