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[hidingspot]

I would like to trigger all the issues in a controlled and relaxed environment. And if I can't remove some flaws I would like to have a list of "know issues" at least.

That's a solid plan. I've signed up for the beta. I'll be traveling for the next week or so, but happy to give it a shot when I'm back to normal.

[KPas]

Thanks, hidingspot!

By the way, I expected some 20 subscribers. But then Alpha Beta Gamer got wind of it, and this morning I was confronted with more than 100 enrollments ... The sign up form is sooo CLOSED now. 

[KPas]

The closed beta test isn't that stressful, but I wasn't twiddling my thumbs. Though more than 100 people signed up, only about 25 of them played the game so far. 5 of them gave feedback already and pointed out some assorted issues. That's nice!
Most of those issues weren't entirly unknown to me. But every developer gets routine-blinded. You get used to your own temporary solutions and blank them out. At least I do.

Also the Steam screenshots were outdated, so I made new ones. Here are 3 of them:

[KPas]

There was a problem with my current gameplay trailer: it was choppy. No one complained, but I just couldn't get used to it.
The recorded footage is flawless, but the software I used for encoding and export made it choppy. So I changed the software (again btw.), cut the footage once again, and now the result is ok.

Meanwhile the closed beta test gave some more feedback.
It's reassuring to know that the game apparently doesn't crash or freeze, as far as I have been told.
Two decent errors occured so far, so I got error messages and could handle it.
I was able to sort out keymapping, screen changing and fullscreen. I really do want to wipe out problems with devices before launch.

Abovementioned new version of the gameplay trailer:

[Schrompf]

Apparently you have removed the 90° rotation view. About which I'm very happy because it was jumpy and disorienting. I love the ropy mechanics and the truster-based flying. I still don't like the visibility system. It's nice to not see enemies and such, but not seeing the walls and such feels like I'm constantly missing out.

Also: the trailer is way too long and repetitive.

[KPas]

Apparently you have removed the 90° rotation view. About which I'm very happy because it was jumpy and disorienting.

It's still in the game. But you don't have to use it at all.
Probably it wasn't clear: when you press F once then the view angle rotates by 90°. Pressing F the second time undoes it. And so on. There is no auto-rotation.

I love the ropy mechanics and the truster-based flying.

Thanks, nice to hear that!

I still don't like the visibility system. It's nice to not see enemies and such, but not seeing the walls and such feels like I'm constantly missing out.

So for your taste the fog of war conceals to much of the asteroids and wrecks, if I understand it correctly?
Ok, thanks for letting me know! Perhaps this may put some people off playing my game. However, I fiddled around with this aspect literally for several days, and at some point I dicided it to be final. At least I'm quite sure that it fulfils its purpose, and I accept this visual flaw.

Also: the trailer is way too long and repetitive.

Affirmative. A trailer shouldn't be any longer than 2 minutes, as a rule of thumb, I think.
I must confess, this trailer was meant for my beta testers mainly. Because the game is hard and unforgiving I wanted to provide some assorted hints on how to handle certain situations ...
But yes, I probably should make a shorter gameplay trailer later.

[Schrompf]

Oh ok, in that case carry on. I though it's meant to be a public trailer.

[Excy]

So for your taste the fog of war conceals to much of the asteroids and wrecks, if I understand it correctly?
Ok, thanks for letting me know! Perhaps this may put some people off playing my game. However, I fiddled around with this aspect literally for several days, and at some point I dicided it to be final. At least I'm quite sure that it fulfils its purpose, and I accept this visual flaw.

Just had a quick read through this devlog and seeing the progress was awesome, I love your pixel art.

I have to agree about the fog of war though. It's the one thing throughout reading this that's felt "off". The fog feels like something that's not part of the game, like something else is trying to stop me from seeing parts of the game instead of my vision being obscured by an actual object in the game. Maybe because I can't see enough of the object that's obscuring my vision?

I think the colour of the fog needs to be changed to something that blends in better with the art style of your game and it also needs reducing so I can see more of the terrain/environment.

[Schrompf]

What she said. What about showing the static contents always, but darkened and/or blurred? And only hide the moving parts like other ships.
But I definitely understand if you're tired of changing this aspect once again. So no pressure, just a personal opinion.

[KPas]

Ok, it's probably stupid to ignore feedback only because it's late.

So I tried to increase the fog of war's offset as far as possible. Trial and error let me increase it by 75%.
Now you can see more of the environment. And the smaller obstacles are still covered partially, even if you rarely can see the other side (facing away from you). But I can accept that.

Now this isn't a breakthrough of course, but I hope it eases your pain a bit.

https://imgur.com/wdFCffQ

[TheCams]

I agree with what Schrompf said above. The way fog of war works in RTS games if I remember correctly, is that it only hides enemy units, but not the terrain (or other static environment parts).
Maybe you could try hiding the enemies and making the FoW semi transparent?

Other than that I really like the style of the game! good work!

[Excy]

I agree with what Schrompf said above. The way fog of war works in RTS games if I remember correctly, is that it only hides enemy units, but not the terrain (or other static environment parts).
Maybe you could try hiding the enemies and making the FoW semi transparent?

Other than that I really like the style of the game! good work!

Yes, what TheCams said too. The edge is also very sharp for a fog of war.

[Reyn]

Ok, it's probably stupid to ignore feedback only because it's late.

So I tried to increase the fog of war's offset as far as possible. Trial and error let me increase it by 75%.
Now you can see more of the environment. And the smaller obstacles are still covered partially, even if you rarely can see the other side (facing away from you). But I can accept that.

Now this isn't a breakthrough of course, but I hope it eases your pain a bit.

https://imgur.com/wdFCffQ

I think your original fog of war looks better It might be that you need to make it semitransparent but that might screw up with the rest of your game (I dont know, you might have some set pieces that are meant to be seen by turning around a wall), you can still be picky with what you hide, maybe you show only the terrain in the semitransparent view and everything else is hidden.

[KPas]

  Hey, thanks a lot! I'm almost overwhelmed by your feedback, but - except for details - I will not change this way of fog of war.

But I owe you an explanation. My vision did not arise from RTS games but from Teleglitch. I'm convinced that Teleglitch does it right. You would probably see things differently, but let me point you to a trailer, if you want to get an idea from that game (and from my reasons):

[Excy]

Hey, thanks a lot! I'm almost overwhelmed by your feedback, but - except for details - I will not change this way of fog of war.

Hah, no worries man! Ultimately you hold the vision for your game. All we can do is provide feedback. That doesn't mean our feedback is right - that's for you to decide. It's great that you know what you want. Keep it up.

[TheCams]

Makes sense
I had Monaco in mind, but I guess it works better for them as they have stealth mechanics.

[KPas]

I'm going to release on Steam in early March, to begin with.

I was undecided regarding Steam achievements. Personally I would not miss them.
But when you finally beat a level it can indeed intensify or confirm your well earned triumph.

This following selection shows achievement icons (achieved/unachieved) and titles for all 10 levels.

[KPas]

This week I got in contact with gaming press. Here is an article in Rock Paper Shotgun.
It means a lot to me and feels like a stroke of luck. And of course it generates attention: views, wishlist additions, comments etc.

And now I want to present one of the larger, later bosses. If balancing is done correctly then lots of players will never face this beast.
Now we're not observing it in its actual environment. This is rather an unlockable database entry. When facing it ingame you would find adequate cover. You would peek out, fire and hide again. Or use an EMP or weapons with friend-or-foe mechanics.

[Schrompf]

I love your foggy light effects. This ship sure looks like she can deal a punch.

[KPas]

Thanks!
By the way, this piece gathered up a lot of views on twitter, by my standards, while showing up hardly noticed on reddit r/IndieGaming.
I was surprised in both cases, but this was no exception. More and more I feel that I haven't got a clue about gaming folks in general. But you have to cross the weird marketing terrain in order to reach out to your niche audience. 
Never mind! Have a good trip, game dev fellows!