As you all know, we held a professionally organized focus group test in the U.S during the end of March. We received extremely constructive feedback from the test and have been working to integrate the feedback into our new build. Here is some of our progress so far:
1. Adjusted the proportion of our spaceship sizes as well as the overall scale of our game.
After internal discussions and tests, we found that the correlation between the proportion of different spaceship sizes and a more dimensional, in-depth shooting experience was smaller than we thought. In our previous designs, in order to increase a higher sense of dimension and space in our environments, we set a 10-fold difference in size between our biggest ship and smallest ship, which subsequently increased the difficulty our production in game balance, scene designs and special effects. After adjusting the proportions of our spaceships, we feel that the overall shooting experience has been greatly improved.
2. Optimized controls and enhanced overall shooting experience.
✧ Optimized the control of the larger ships, increasing the flexibility of operation.
✧ For sniper ships, we provided a new mode of operation: the spacecraft will now follow closely the movement of the camera to ensure that the spacecraft can accurately aim with the sight and shoot where it counts. We also added in the function for sniper ships to pan to the left and right so it can sniper can hide behind shielding objects more swiftly.
✧ For a more varied shooting experience, we have added in non-ballistic weapons.
3. Optimized player feedback
✧ Increased sound effects and redesigned HUD for feedback after spaceship is targeted and hit. Also added in animation for the deduction of health points.
✧ Added in introduction of different spaceships during battle. Players can use the keys to call out the spacecraft at any time, including spacecraft positioning, main and auxiliary weapons, and skill tips.
✧ Tutorial mode is provided to guide the operation, shooting and skills of the spacecraft
4. Made adjustments to skill settings so as to make each spaceship more distinctive.
Adjusted the code configuration and overall structure for the skill system to lay the foundation for future additions and optimization. (In development)
5. Added new gameplay options
Added a confrontation level point called “Conquest”. The map will contain gameplay elements such as “enemy respawn” and “control strongholds” (under development, will be able to experience these gameplay features early June).
Thanks and look forward to bringing you all more progress in the next update!
4.3 Developer's Log
Hey players,
It’s been a while since we’ve shared our last updates to the game. We’ve been making some huge adjustments to the development trajectory of the game in this recent period and we’re very excited because we think this will really put the game on the path that we imagined for it.
Right before the Game Developers Conference (GDC) at the end of last month, our Fringe Wars dev team brought the newest game build to San Francisco and conducted a professional, closed Alpha Test with local players.
The focus group gave a fairly positive assessment towards the game’s special effects, UI, overall art style and combat speed, but also revealed some big problems. After carefully analyzing the results and suggestions for improvement, we drew up our overall development plan for the month of April which includes adjustments made to our core game mechanics as well as a large amount of new gaming content to be added. The details are as follows:
1. Continue to improve the core combat shooting experience：
✧ Improve the feedback for game controls – give players quicker feedback when controlling movement such as speeding up, turning, adjusting aerial height.
✧ Improve the aiming experience during combat, add in an automatic targeting system as well as relevant UI.
✧ Make the camera’s angle and movement trajectory more reasonable in order to give the player a smoother visual experience during combat.
✧Improve the overall sound effect of the game as well as add in more variety. For example, we will concentrate on adding in more different sound effects for bullets under different circumstances (when flying through the air, when missing a ship just closely, when hitting a ship, etc.) to create a more realistic combat experience.
✧ Improve the display of combat UI and post-screen processing effects. The main goal we have in mind while doing this is to better let players grasp the situation in the battlefield, discover enemies, and receive feedback during combat.
✧ Improve the skill system – some skills will have enhanced effects but will also be made easier for players to understand and use.
✧ Add in instant ray-detection weapons to enhance the air combat experience between small ships.
✧ Perfect the radar system.
2. Increase ship choices and distinctions so that players can better collaborate and strategize as a team according to different strengths, allowing for a more engaging gaming experience.
✧ Add in a conquer mode that requires strong team-based strategy and cooperation to win.
✧ Modify the control mode of long-range sniper ships so as to suit remote combat better.
✧ Redesign the weapon system so that (1) each ship has its own unique weapon and (2) some weapons will have multiple launch and firing modes
Redesign the skills system so that the skills assigned to each ship is unique to its premise role.
✧ Balance numerical calculations for the skills, damage points of ships during combat to allow more specific battlefield positioning for each ship.
3. New content to be added:
✧ Increase content for beginner guide levels to give a faster jumpstart to new players.
✧ An easy and enjoyable growth system
✧ Various multi-player maps
✧ Production of an exciting Boss Raid mode
✧ Players will be able to change parts of the ship such as shooting style and create their own battling
✧ Social system so players can message, friend, and matchmake
Our trip to the U.S was extremely important in terms of the trajectory for our game development. Not only were we able to attend GDC and learn from the biggest game developers in the world, we also received integral feedback on the current state of our game through the professionally held closed Alpha test.
Before we end this developer’s log, here is a look at one of the environments we have just started to create. We haven’t decided an official name for it yet since it’s still in the early stages, but it will be a sort of digital dimension and we’re pretty excited about it and think it will add more variety to our current list of environments.
Thank you and we welcome all comments and suggestions from our players!
Join our upcoming Alpha Test!
Dear captain,
And...take off! The time is finally here-- get ready to choose your own ships, soar among the galaxies and engage in fast-paced space combat for fame and glory with the Fringe Wars Alpha Test!
We're extremely excited to announce our first online test coming up this month for all interested players. Not only will you be the first to experience the game, this will also be an awesome chance to sharpen your space combat skills ahead of the game's Early Access release!
Please note that:
• The version you will be testing is still in development, so don’t expect a stable and balanced-out experience just yet. We want to invite you to help us shape the final product – you will be playing an integral role in our development process by playing and giving us feedback.
• The game is still in an early build: stress testing and basic gameplay mechanics will be one of the main testing points.
