Playtesting

Playtest 01

Tested the game for the first time on localhost with 4 players using macbooks.

Date: Feb 10 2020

Participants: Souren, Hayg, Marc, Mher, Zareh

Release: v0.1.0

A client running the game on an older macbook crashed twice due to graphics related issues (traceback).

Some players didn't realize that the letters on the edge of the screen indicate the locations of the mines
When in a group it's not clear which direction you're pointing (#208)
When in a group it's not clear which direction other players want to go
Even on the local network the game was very choppy and laggy
Background and group jiggle at this resolution
The physics of mining feels unintuitive/uncomfortable and requires changing directions often
Unclear how close others are to winning
Everyone spawns in the same location and it's confusing
The game doesn't wait for everyone to connect to start. So if you launch the game early you can just start before others. This also made playtesting awkward since people had to "not play" until everyone was in.
If you wanted to join a bigger group than you that is moving away, there is no way to catch up and jump onboard.

Start in groups
Moving slower incentivizes grouping
For the game to be fair everyone should have an equal amount of other players who share their primary resource. Maybe this means we should always have an even number of players.
Instead of navigating with arrow keys we could just make commanding your group be clicking. For example you click on a group, a mine or position and your group just moves there on its own. Arrow keys right now just seem like a distraction since people aren't using them to do intricate maneuvers.
Groups could leave a stream behind them that you can "ride" as a boost. Flocks of players could move fast even without being grouped. It's a nice middleground between grouping and being solo.
When in a group the resources could slowly average out.
Groups are always groupable. There is no way to turn it off.