We as developers recognise the importance of having audience input during the iteration and polishing phase of our game cycle. Were acutely aware that being attentive and genuinely taking feedback into account can be the difference between releasing a successful title or crashing and burning!

Changes implemented as a result of PlayTesting

Weve been busy taking in your feedback and focusing on features that impact the widest group of players. Our goal? Make the game more fun and smooth for everyone.

Prioritizing What Matters

With so many features in the mix, weve narrowed down our focus to improving things that matter most to you all. Better UX (user experience) means a better game, and this is at the heart of our design philosophy as we continue to iterate on features to facilitate this.

UI Improvements

UI can make or break the experience, right? Weve improved things like managing those idle workers (so they actually do their jobs!) and simplified the pre-game lobby. Now its way easier to jump into a game with friends. This has been as a result both of playtesting internally and really hammering down on the smoothness of the features, or several times with external playtesters who come in with a fresh perspective and point out a potential improvement for UX/UI we may have overlooked.

Combat Features and Unit Behavior

Weve fine-tuned combat and unit behaviors to make them more responsive as we continue to actively respond to player feedback and suggestions. Troops should now react a little more predictably when you give them commands, making the battlefield feel more dynamic. One piece of feedback we've gotten is that a melee unit's movement speed was noticeably slower than many of it's compatriots in the same unit branch. As a consequence, this unit felt sluggish and unresponsive to the fast-paced gameplay. We've been able to collate this feedback from several sessions, so felt it appropriate to give that unit a much needed speed buff! It's small tweaks like these that can translate over to the game in a big way, so the impact of these playtests cannot be understated.
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Why is it Engaging?

Now that weve given a slight glimpse on the types of in-game content that can be shaped, in the same way Dwarves shape precious metals into weapons of war - lets explore why this is engaging.

Casual Atmosphere Fuels Discovery

The atmosphere is laidback, allowing for the playtester and person running the session to become acquainted with each other over Discord. Getting to know the devs first hand is a really nice feature that a lot of larger studios might not have, and equally presenting us with an opportunity to answer questions or explore undiscovered bugs!

Drawing on our network

Were blessed to have a sizable circle of fellow devs, and people who may have expertise within the field of game dev taking part in our sessions. Their intimate knowledge of the landscape is really awesome as it often allows for a methodical approach to game features and offers scope for numerous improvements. An example from a recent playtest was that our eagle-eyed playtester and fellow dev was able to point out an element of UI which could stand to be enlarged in comparison to the unit portrait display. We felt this was a good change, as it allowed for users to see building construction choices more fluidly. We love hearing your thoughts because your feedback is key to shaping the future of Apoceus. Engaging with the community through playtesting helps us see which systems are really clicking with players, and which ones might need a bit of tweaking. Sometimes, we even find that certain mechanics work so well, theyre worth replicating or expanding upon in new areas of the game. Your insights highlight where we need to focus our energies to create a more compelling experience.
UI system overhaul, idle worker animations shown in game (WIP).

Embarking on a path together

Playtests are great. They are important because they create an environment of mutual learning, of potential possibilities and improvements for the game. But they are also great because through creating a direct playground where player and dev can interact, they strengthen the bonds of community and allow for the players impact to be felt and heard. A player who feels this way is likely to want to stick around to see the game continue to evolve and thats the most exciting part! At the current phase, were always keen to conduct playtest sessions with prospective participants, whether you have a background in game development or are a casual gamer. The easiest way to connect with us and be a part of our journey is to join our Discord community - here you can keep up to date with the latest patch notes, and find out about opportunities to playtest the game! You never know, a feature you suggest or a bug you spot might immortalise your impact on Apoceus.

Bugs Fixed:

• Miner animation is janky, possibly not looped.
• Hogwald has incorrect textures on backpack and weapon.
• Miner doesnt follow commands properly.
• Miner and Lumberjack have no bag/lumber when returning to base after gathering.
• Guild Hall missing clock and banner animations.
• Wolves have overly bright textures.
• Workshop uses the 75% model as the finished version.
• Outpost in level design uses incorrect textures.

Improvements:

• Refactored debug states.
• Reworked region toggle buttons.
• Temporarily optimized Golem prefab.
• Attacker can now see health bars of targeted buildings.

New Additions:

• Allarah blue aura VFX.
• Added various construction VFX.
• Smoke VFX added to multiple buildings.
• Scoring system initiated.
• Repair system added for engineers.

Improvements:

• Fixed interaction with buildings/units while in the pause menu.
• Fixed building placement on top of units.
• Fixed erratic unit state switching.
• Tooltip requirements now update in real-time.
• Reworked region toggle buttons.

New Additions:

• Various VFX added.
• New models and prefabs implemented.

Bugs Fixed:

• Back button in lobby unresponsive.
• Network instability issues.
• Lobby not refreshing as intended.
• Ghost buildings persist after switching in menu.
• Sound settings reset between lobby and in-game.
• Audio for Lumberjack and Guild Hall doesn't follow mute and is too loud.
• Missing textures for Miner T1 and Miner T2.
• Enemy can upgrade/recruit from your buildings.

Improvements:

• Units no longer "dance" around targets when attacking.
• Fixed moonwalking miners and lumberjacks.
• Collectors no longer get stuck gathering resources.
• Units can now attack and destroy buildings.
• Unit state info added to development builds.
• Notification system for points of interest (POIs) improved with different message types and colors.

New Additions:

• New buildings: Factory, Guildhall T3 (Castle), Tower T2 & T3 (with missing icons, animations, and textures).
• Wall, gate, and pillar Tier 2 added (upgrading from Tier 1 pending wall-building implementation).
• Warrior T2 now has proper textures.

Bugs Fixed:

• Adjusted Warrior T1, Spearman T1 & T2, Archer, Bandit T1 & T2 for better collision and navigation.
• Fixed Catapult attack functionality.
• Corrected prefabs for Lumberjack, Miner, Berserker, and Blessed Berserker (colliders and navigation).
• Added textures for Warrior T2.

Improvements:

• Exposed target field in AttackEntity for better customization.
• Updated unit hit VFX for better visibility.
• Added low health VFX for Berserker and Blessed Berserker.
• Mining and harvesting animations now trigger VFX on events.
• Repairing building VFX plays correctly, but needs adjustment for engineer behavior post-construction.
• Created snow effect for snow maps: The Abandoned Forest & Arctic Conquest
• Added yellow aura to Hogwald units.
• Added campfire VFX to Bandit Camp firepit.

Bugs Fixed:

• Fixed: Back button in lobby unresponsive.
• Fixed: Workshop clipping through buildings during placement.
• Fixed: Missing textures for Miner T1, Miner T2, Warrior T2.
• Fixed: Blessed Berserker lacking Idle and Take Damage animations.

Improvements:

• Resource collectors now function as intended.
• New Rally Points feature: control unit movement after training.
• Improved FoV for Archer, Spearman (T1 & T2).
• Visual updates: Tower materials, Stable textures, Mineshaft.
• Fixed animation loops for multiple units.
• Ranged units now obey movement commands during combat.
• Enemy units flash a red circle when targeted.
• HUD overhaul: larger text sizes and overall improvements.
• Minimap buttons no longer interfere with the minimap itself.
• Units no longer take damage after death.
• House and Tavern can be placed again.
• Empty task panel buttons no longer display errors.
• New upgrades: Warrior T3 and Spearman T2.
• Action requirements tooltips have a fresh layout.

New Additions:

• New models for many units and buildings.
• New VFX: Battleship, Transport Ship, Catapult, Balloon Scout.
• Construction stages added for Workshop, Lumbermill, Blacksmith.

Full List of New Models:

• Airport
• Allarah
• Archer
• Archery
• Barracks
• Blacksmith
• Blessed Berserker
• Brewery
• Catapult
• Lumbermill
• Outpost
• Spearman T1, T2
• Stable
• Workshop