Hello everyone,



We're back with more info about the results of OpenDev. We already shared some fun facts about the data we got recently, but today we want to talk about your feedback and our plans.


OpenDev was a new approach for us, so we were honestly a bit nervous going into it, but all of you were really excited to participate, and you provided us with a ton of valuable feedback. We took our time to analyze the survey data, read the forums, and discuss changes based on your feedback, and now we are ready to share some of our takeaways from OpenDev and our plans to address them.


We've prepared a list of common feedback and our plans to address it below, but if you want to know more about OpenDev, check out our recent panel at EGX:





Common OpenDev Feedback and Plans

  • Many OpenDev participants reported that the option to attach outposts to cities was difficult to find and use, so we are working on several improvements to the UI. Attaching will be possible from both outposts and cities and display a list of possible targets.


 

  • To help players understand their economy and manage their cities, we are also improving the tooltips for resource incomes and working on the organization of the city management screen.


 

  • The battle map received a lot of critique regarding its presentation and readability. We are working to improve the visuals of the battle overlay and the fog of war, and plan to implement additional feedback regarding terrain and its effects (especially forests and rivers), elevation differences, movement range, zone of control, and line of sight. We are also considering an option to disable the battle overlay and view the fully detailed 3D terrain instead to allow you to immerse yourself in the world.
  • Many players have voiced concerns about the pacing and duration of combat. We’re working on a system in which you no longer need to wait for animations to finish before issuing the next order, drastically increasing the speed at which you can take your combat turns. We are also continuing to work on an Instant Resolution feature for players who want to "skip" a battle.


Click through for low resolution animated gif.

 

  • We are also improving the visual and sound effects to make the combat animations feel more impactful and satisfying.
  • Deployment Zones and Reinforcements were difficult to understand for many of our participants, and we are working to provide both clearer rules and better feedback for these systems.
  • The "Capture the Flag" system was a frequent point of discussion. While we want to retain this system to prevent kiting and put pressure on the attacker to act, we will make an effort to present this system in a more immersive way.
  • As the impact of walls during sieges was not clear to many players, we are tweaking their visual presentation and are examining changes to their effects.
  • To make combat strength and damage easier to understand, we are working on how damage predictions and results are displayed, with a stronger emphasis on the combat strength difference that governs the damage.
  • In our ongoing effort to balance the combat, we are examining the balance of ranged and melee units, considering a further division of unit classes to make unit roles more easily identifiable in battle through different icons, and refining unit abilities to better match the behavior many testers expected.



If you’ve missed OpenDev yourself, you can check out our streams of the three scenarios on Twitch or on the Humankind Youtube Channel:


Finally, we want to thank you all again for your interest and participation in OpenDev. You rock!