3/28/15 Play test

Greetings every one!

I've been hard at work trying to plan out the GUI for Fleet Calamity. I want to get several options and see what best fits the game, what is the easiest to use and what is the most visually appealing. I've got a few ideas down, but I want a couple more. Then I will be presenting the ideas to various people on Facebook and Twitter (Links to those below). I'll let the community pick what is the best.

Now for news on play testing!

Yesterday, 3/28/15, I had a group of people come over. I knew them all from my previous college, but two of them I more or less just met. In general I don't often get to hang out with this group, so I was thrilled that they would dedicate time to Fleet Calamity. The group had never played the game before and only two of them really knew much about Magic the Gathering.

What does that mean?
Well Fleet Calamity borrows several aspects from Magic and thus if you know Magic then its easier for you to get the hang of the game. However, I need to be able to teach people about my game without using Magic as an example. So yesterday I had two challenges, 1.) Teach people to play my game without any prior knowledge of it or anything like it. 2.) Prove my game can be more fun and engaging than a game they already know and enjoy.

 

Over all I think I did pretty well. They all seemed to get really into the game right off the bat. They did all agree that it was a bit of a challenge jumping in, but by the end of the first game they played it was like clock work.  Less questions were being asked and the games grew more intense.

Some of the issues found
There were many questions on the meaning of some cards due to poor wording. I am thrilled people are finding these and giving feed back on them as it helps improve my game, makes it easier to understand and people can just quickly jump in without guidance.

There was also issues with over powered elements. Hive mind, for example, can grow exponentially and just wreck your opponent. So a few options have been presented and I'll be testing them out as we move forward.

Other responses
The group was very responsive of the game and eager to give feed back. This was really good for me because I felt they were genuinely invested. One of the members even commented on that after his first Flotilla ship was destroyed he could really feel the intensity of the game and every decision he made. Another agreed, adding that she would get a hand of things she would love to play, but knew that her  survival hinged on the right choice, which made her sacrifice playing a card she thought was cool for one that might defend her better, or otherwise assist her.
One individual I was concerned about. she didn't speak much, except to ask questions about cards, and generally kept to herself. I thought it might be due to her disliking the game and just going through the motions, but she later revealed that she is a more intense player and was playing to win. She kept her cards close to her chest and focused on her goal. (By the way, she destroyed her opponent!)

Survey
After the duels I asked every one a few questions about the game. Some key points they mentioned were making the key words more accessible to ever one, such as a cheat sheet for all players. They mentioned they would enjoy altering the fog of war to make it last longer, bring it up later or otherwise manipulate it via cards.

One key things I was concerned about was play time. the first few times we tested the game people would play for 3 hours and not destroy one flotilla. However, I have changed the game a lot since then and made it faster and more intense. So with new people learning the game I was concerned they might get board from not doing enough or just from playing too long. I had no idea how long new players would take. Well turns out they both won their games in about 2 hours and 30 minutes. When I asked them if they felt like it was a long game they replied that it felt right. They felt engaged and thus time was no longer a factor for them.

 

I'd like to personally thank the testers again for their awesome feed back! I'm glad they had such a fun time and I can't wait to test with them again. Maybe next time they will make their own decks and we can break the game with them!

If you have any questions, suggestions or comments please leave a comment below!

 

Make sure to follow us @

https://www.facebook.com/FleetCalamity

https://twitter.com/HalfHeartGames

First Milestone met

We finally hit our first big milestone today. We wanted to model all of the minimal viable product ships which include all of the vessels and flotilla of the Human and Machine pre-constructed decks. Well today we finally did it!

Below is the various Flotilla ships to show what they look like. Without further delay lets take a look at em!

Above is the Human Civilian ship

Above is the Human Battle ship

Above is the Human Resource ship

Above is the Machine Battle ship

Above is the Machine Resource ship

Above is the Machine Civilian ship

Now that they are all modeled and we played around with some textures we will narrow down a coherent theme for each faction. Right now they look as if they were built by different companies or something.

Also, with these models complete we can start putting together an example of play for investors to see. We plan on making a video similar to that of Table Top (hosted by Wil Weaton). We will have two people playing the game and show examples of play with the models moving where the players tell them to. This will help give an idea of what the final product will look like. That is the plan for the next big milestone.

Keep a look out for more progress and don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for early looks at art and progress.

FB: https://www.facebook.com/FleetCalamity

T: https://twitter.com/HalfHeartGames

Alpha Brawler

Greetings every one!

I just wanted to give a quick update as I have new art to show!

First off, Let me update you on progress since last time. I have created two new decks that should be easier to learn and pick up for new players. They are currently being reviewed to ensure they aren't too complicated and that they are potentially balanced. 

I also have reached out to a few schools, a college and a high school to see if I can do testing there with new people who I have never met before. The college has been getting back to me fairly regularly and its seeming like a sure thing. I still have yet to hear back from the head of the departments though.

Lastly people have been signing up for play test sessions on a more regular basis and I've been scheduling people as they ask.

Now, with out further delay I'd love to present to you another art piece for cards. 

This is the Alpha brawler from the human faction. The wonderful and talented artist is none other than Taylor Payton. He will provide more art in the future as his schedule clears up.

Thank you for stopping by!

Don't forget to follow us on twitter @ HalfHeartGames and like us on facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/FleetCalamity

Take care!

1/25/15 Playtest session

Hello my friends!

I'm eager to report about our latest play test session as it was a huge success and tons of fun!

So lets jump right into it.

Testers:
First off, the turn out was amazing! It was the largest group as of yet. Best of all we had 5 new people playing the game. Having fresh eyes on your game is a must in my opinion, so I'm glad I got a good number of new people mixed in with some vets.

With that said there was too many people! I'm thrilled so many showed up, but I unfortunately didn't have enough boards for people to play on. I also was stretched pretty thin as far as answering questions and being on hand to assist people. Luckily I had a few of my friends who knew the game pretty well there to help out. (Shout out to Matt and especially Kyle! you rock!)

So what did we learn? Mostly keep it to small groups, but as often as possible. We obviously need to play test constantly. Every day if possible. However, I need to be there and ready to help any one who needs it. From now on I'll try to keep it to four players a session to ensure I'm always right there and able to help. We may increase that number as more people really learn the ins and outs of the game, but for now We'll keep it small.

Instructions:
I had revamped the instructions to the game so that it covered more information and explained more of the game that I had earlier forgot to mention. constantly updating this document really helped every one understand how the game works and what your turn generally looks like.

 At the end of the play test we was given more feed back on how I should present the instructions as to not overwhelm new players.  In the future I will Introduce Sector mode (the large scale view) and turn order. Only after a battle has occurred will I explain the Combat mode so the information isn't too much.

We were also given Plenty of feed back on wording in cards and how some could be explained better. Thus, for the next session I'll have to print new cards. More on this to follow.

New decks:
After playing with the per-constructed decks for a while we decided that they should be replaced. Instead of having a wide variety of cards that show off what factions can do we will instead use very basic cards. These basic decks will have special abilities, but they will be fairly rare as to not over whelm a new player. This is to get new players better acquainted with how the overall game works before upgrading them to a more complex deck.

 In addition to those basic decks players that have been playing the game for a while may now create their own decks from the database we created. We have planned out 200+ cards and gradually make more. The plan is to have a massive selection of cards to win and choose from in the final product. However, we are starting small for the programmers. We need to ensure the foundation of these cards are solid and easily handled before we overwhelm them with possibilities.

As for the people making cards, they will be given a guideline document that explains what is required for each faction and what is not allowed. Its a general guide line, but we will be checking all of their submissions and making changes as needed so they aren't OP or anything.

Card changes:
While playing two of the testers had come up with a great idea. But first let me explain the issue they are solving.
When in battle you may encounter a Flotilla that has no vessels in it. Thus the player of the empty flotilla will generally choose to warp out immediately. This results in longer games where no damage is dealt and no one feels like they are progressing.
So whats their solution? Simple. They want to add another stat to all cards that represents movement. currently cards have an attack stat and an integrity stat which is basically damage and health. This move stat would be given to all cards, but generally cheap cards costing 1 or 2 will have higher movement speeds. They are weak cards so they can't deal much damage, but they can potentially reach an opponents Flotilla and deal some quick damage before the opponent warps out.
This also helps another issue. Before this stat introduction cheap cards were always just thrown out because people wanted a heavy hitter all the time. Makes sense, why fill up your Flotilla with a pea shooter when you could have a tank.
This stat addition will make weak ships more useful to give that quick shot in, but will be easily crushed by stronger, slower ships.

Conclusion:

It was a great turn out with tons of great feed back. Every one had a blast playing the game, which of course made us feel great. With all the improvements from the last play session I could really see the increase of player retention. The games were also faster resulting in a few actual wins.
A few testers even had come up with a few card ideas already that we really liked and can't wait to see in action.

A side note though, I need more dice. With so many people I had to go back to folded paper to represent Flotilla, Vessels and Traps.

Lastly,  a note for those who are planning their own play test sessions. Get a big area and get some food. People always love food and drink!

I'd personally like to thank all the testers for helping us out on this adventure. I can't wait to see all of your decks and see who is our next winner.

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter @HalfHeartGames
also, Like us on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/FleetCalamity

And of course keep checking in here for the latest updates on the progression of Fleet Calamity

 

 

42 models down!

Hello every one!

I'm back once again with a series of images to show ya! I had just finished modeling and texturing the first batch of vessels. These models and the models from the previous post are all part of the Human and Machine pre-constructed decks. Those decks aren't finalized, but I felt it was a good jumping off point for modeling.

So without further delay, here are the Machine vessels.

Assembly drone

Forge Mech Sphere

Giver

Junk ship

Mass Driver

Mech Buster

Mech Cruiser

MK2

Mobile Scrap

Modulus MK1

Modulus MK2

Networked MK1

Networked MK2

Scanner

Scavanger

Shambles

Turbo MK1

Turbo MK2

Turbo modulated network

Wreck delver

I feel pretty good with that big chunk of models out of the way and ready to be placed in the game.But what else have we been up to since the last update? Well, we have been developing the deck editor and getting sector mode up and running to allow players to move around, go through their decks, play traps and upgrades and of course deploy vessels.

Also, I have been holding play test sessions with our physical copy of the game and making tweeks to the GDD as needed. We have changed the way vessels fight due to these sessions, along with some card changes - mostly working, Lastly we have been adding features to the Flotilla to make battles more involving and fun for both sides.

I will continue developing the models. My next big task is to texture all of the Machine flotilla and then model the Human flotilla. 

I will keep you all up to date as more gets completed.

Take care!

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