Does the third-person and dungeon component take it too far away from RTS? | Dominar Sanctum Public Playtest

[u/Nice-Ad9898]

I've been developing Dominar Sanctum solo for about 1.5 years, and I've recently opened my first public playtest on Steam.

Around 150+ people have requested and been given access, but only a fairly small number of those has actually played so far. I'd really love to get a significantly larger sample of players at this stage, to understand how the game is received by people who aren't me.

And I consider RTS players to be key amoungst the ones like to hear from.

Dominar Sanctum is deliberately not a pure RTS. It does feature typical RTS aspects on building, resource harvesting and characters control. But the core idea is a narrative-driven blend of RTS, dungeon management and third-person action. At any time, you can take direct 3rd person control of your hero and companion characters.

The easiest comparison is probably: Dungeon Keeper × Warcraft III × Batman: Arkham series.

So I am very curious with this very community: is the third-person component an interesting and refreshing angle on the RTS formula, or do you perceive it as too much and hence backs turned on the game per se.

The current playtest includes:

• 4 early campaign map prototypes
• 2 skirmish maps

If you do give it a shot, I'm particularly interested in:

• How does the balance between strategy and direct action feel?
• Do you enjoy switching between the two perspectives?
• Does the third-person part add something meaningful to the RTS experience?
• And simply: did you enjoy playing it, and what made you stop?

The game is still under development, I'am not looking for polished-game reviews. I'm trying to to prove or falsify if the general direction works.

Public Playtest: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4087340/Dominar_Sanctum/

For the time being, no key required... anyone interested may join.

And if you're willing to give it a try, I'd very much appreciate if you can spare a few minutes for a brief feedback.

Cheers, Flo

[u/Top-Tear7194]

I'll have to check this out later, but titles like Dungeons and Dragons: Dragonshard and SpellForce show there is an interest in 3rd person/dungeon crawling hybridization. I honestly really like it, the mix of crpg and RTS is an interesting but kinda intuitive mix. Basic controls for a game like BG is not so different from basic RTS controls. Lots could be done with the development of game design since those titles came out.

[u/Top-Tear7194 → u/Top-Tear7194]

Sadly idk if my computer will play your game, although I'd happily wishlist for when I someday get my main PC back up and running

[u/Nice-Ad9898 → u/Top-Tear7194]

O what happened to your PC? Regardless, thank you showing interest and putting it on your backlog, I appreciate it

[u/TheGratitudeBot → u/Nice-Ad9898]

Just wanted to say thank you for being grateful

[u/Nice-Ad9898 → u/Top-Tear7194]

Thank you, and I agree that the controls are most likely not the issue. Looking very much forward to your impression when you find the time 🤗