The Project

This will be straightforward to many but development will take on a few key phases, each introducing a wider set of features or requirements each becoming more stable and more "playable".

Pre-alpha MVP Scope

The game is truly in a very nascent phase, even I hesitate to call it pre-alpha but I suppose this is the only label that fits.

In this current stage the game will be a simplified primordial demonstration of the essential systems and game loop.

This will feature a single base, a few zones, and one primary focus for "end game" - in this case a world boss. Each zone will feature its own unique resource tier, allowing for more advanced equipment to be built. However each zone will feature more difficult or aggressive npcs. Many well equipped players would be required to defeat the world boss.

Simple!

Then for kicks the last zone is also pvp enabled, so if players choose they can act as double agents for the darkside and sabotage raids on the world boss. Oh no how terrible that would be >:)

Progress

This is largely in place, just not well balanced. There are is also secondary content like Missions and events which are still placeholder in nature. Maybe its enough to demo and play test with. But I just want to be up front with the current state.

I want to continue to emphasize how data will not persist in this stage. So far there is almost no player traffic so wipes often have had no impact. As this changes I will be more willing to do incremental migrations where reasonable.

Later stages will likely have fewer and less frequent wipes with the end goal of setting things up to persist indefinitely.

Objectives

Once reasonably intact I will open up for play testing.
The primary focus will be 1:1 sessions for the initial steps of a new player in the game. This is to determine if the UI is instructive and navigable, and if the in game content is communicated in an actionable manner.

Earlier playtests revealed major gaps with this experience. There were major changes and whole new tutorial Zone added to address this, so I am eager to see how this might help.

Beyond these focused sessions, if any tester plays further I need to provide easy ways for feedback or issue capture so testing can continue in a self-directed manner, or while anyone plays.

What next

The world and variety of items (and how they are made) will continue to expand.
Refinement of content like missions and events will be less placeholder in nature and might begin to tell a more compelling story. Or not, you know sometimes the stories we tell ourselves are infinitely more compelling than any derivative babble I'll come up with.

This next stage I hope to lock in more features especially that pertain to player groups, their advantages and functionality to make them effective. Potentially adding more complexity in combat with damage types, ewar, and other mechanics and classes of equipment and effects to manipulate your own or in particular others' chassis attributes.

Maybe there will be more organic feedback at this stage as well and more features to be discovered.