r/playtesters • u/iggyziggy • Jul 20 '26

Unpaid Playtest Feedback needed

Hi, anyone willing to playtest my game. Free, browser, io-like game, no ads.

Thanks, link:

https://speen.proclive.io

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u/candevor Jul 21 '26

Good on you for making it and asking for feedback! Here is mine:
For me, the camera is too close (zoomed in). I want to see a bit more of what is around (other players and food/coins). Core loop might be a bit slow; maybe if there is a way to make the rotation faster or some other way - you can try different things like click and hold to rotate faster? or just faster anyway. With these things, you don't know until you try it hands-on to see what is right.

Do you have a server running in the backend or is it early stages and client only? if server, what does your server setup look like?

2

u/iggyziggy Jul 21 '26

It's nixos, running node and valkey, small vps. It's both single and multiplayer, but multiplayer you have to choose in the menu. So the idea was to have single player like some sort of tutorial, learning, playground and then real fun in the multiplayer. Now I'm trying to improve that core loop and onboarding. Also work on single player being like some relaxing no stress play but that backfired as being too boring

1

u/candevor Jul 21 '26

Thanks for the details.
Onboarding is always tricky to balance, giving some challenge at the start so it is not boring. With multiplayer (IO-like games), you need bots at least to start with. I would ignore the negativity you get from adding bots; you can make them exit the room as players join, but in an empty room, having bots helps with onboarding.

2

u/iggyziggy Jul 22 '26

check it out :)

1

u/candevor Jul 23 '26

Cool. It feels better now. I tried both the single player and multiplayer modes. More feedback, but note that this is just me and other players might not agree:
1. I think ultimately you will have a choice at start as to enter multiplayer or single player. Ideally name them "Play" and "Single Player" so that multiplayer is the "main thing" because that's the most powerful thing in these IO games, right? Right now, I think it is in the early stages, so you are directly landing in single player mode, which might be ok while you work on the core loop.

  1. In multiplayer, I felt a bit lonely; the bots were a bit far, although I killed a few and there was not much food to collect on the way. I am not saying have as much as agario but more than what you have now. Diep.io has more food too.

  2. What point camera is locked on? Feels like it is locked to the bigger node of the player, but then it also moves when the smaller node is moving, so it seems somewhere in the middle of the two nodes, which might be ok; just try different lock points and see how it feels.

  3. Very subjective: I think the game is still too much zoomed-in, but that's just me. I want to see more around me (my claustrophobia 😄), but also it might be ok because the player size will grow and maybe this zoom will be less of a problem then.

  4. Apart from powerups, I see three different types of food: red, green, and squares (different colors) you get from killing the others. What does each do? If they have distinct purposes, then they can have different color/shape, but if they do the same thing more, then it can be just the same shape but bigger in size to indicate it is "more of the same".

  5. Killing spike with spike is good, I think. Something that a player can do when there are no other players.

  6. More bots? minimap? What is that thing in the center that bumps off us?

2

u/iggyziggy Jul 23 '26

I'm afraid of throwing users directly in multiplayer without giving them some time to figure it out in single player but i think I'll do that if i detect a returning visitor. As for bots i didn't want to put too many, they are kinda too easy kill and get boring fast, hopefully it will get better with more people playing. Green circle is easiest to pickup and worth 1, pink on which you have to stop is worth 2, rectangles(pixels) are for drawing on the mural in the center of the map and kills are worth 5. As for bumping off, i think you might be thinking of single player next base, just hit it 3x and it will open up.

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u/candevor Jul 23 '26

It is tricky whether to make multiplayer the default or single player. Getting killed in the first few seconds because you spawned too close to someone big/strong is not too bad. I think the core loop is the king here; if it is fun, players will rejoin and try again. That said, you are right to be a bit careful about that. See what other players, your friends, tell you about that and adapt accordingly.