Future of playtests and the release of this game.

[empty sonnet]

I made a comment in general chat a few days ago that this game has about 3 or 4 playtests left before they need to start thinking about a release date and I will go over why I think it is important to think about here.

Firstly I don't know how much funding they have left for the development of this game.
Once the funding goes away this game will go away with it.

They cant really hope to get away with pushing their budget to the limit and release the game with a price of anything more than $20.

There is a reason Dead By Daylight has not raised their price for the base game more then $20 in the 2 years they have been on steam.
Asymmetrical PVP 1 v 4 games are not that popular.
DBD has been around for longer to tweak their base game and has captured most of the asymmetrical pvp audience, trying to have a game that can compete with dead by daylight in terms of both how additive it is AND PRICE, is going to be hard.

.
Secondly and probably the most important reason.

Playtests are a good way for developers to learn about their games flaws and improve, but playtests also offer the same chance for players.

It will become harder and harder to get new players into the hype for this game the longer players have access to the game.

As it is right now there is roughly around 120 veterans who have committed to this game through its development and all of them have had time to learn this games systems and how best to counter the other side.
When this game releases that community of veteran players will stomp out many of the new players without thinking about it.

On top of that the more playtests the developers do, the more new players see the game in it's alpha version and then just ignore it when it releases.
It isn't fair but that is how the world is.
They will see it is in Alpha and just not care, they will treat it like the final game, and when the game finally releases they will think back to the time they played in Alpha and just ignore it because of the bitter taste.
You can say "well that is their fault they didn't give the game a second chance" but it is just how the world works nowadays. Times change and so must we all.

[empty sonnet]

Maybe at launch have a ranked mode that forces playtest players with more then 100 or more hours of playtime into a separate server bracket.

But only players with over 100 hours in the playtests and then delete that method after a week or two.
That way when the game first launches with a price tag you dont have veterans beating the tar out of new players in the first week.

[vale breach]

I'm sure what I'm writing will be subjective, but I still think people who play this game won't return their money, because it's quite capable of competing with, if not surpassing, DBD, even though it's not finished yet.
And separating players for the first few weeks seems like a very good idea to me

Besides, even though it hasn't been that long, I'd like to see more information from the developers. Maybe a new stream like the one they had a couple of years ago with answers to questions, or maybe create a tab on the server where people could leave their questions, for example:

When will the new maniac be revealed?
When will the next testing be?
What are the plans for further development in the game?
What will the battle pass look like, or will it be a compendium?
What new ideas will be implemented in the game?

There was no need to create such a high-quality and originally enticing product, @cobalt nova now great hopes have been placed on you, the developers, and we, naturally, are eagerly awaiting the release of the game, or at least the informational steam
ну а чего вы ожидали

[cobalt nova]

Thank you for your detailed feedback. Separating veterans from newbies is indeed important at launch. In a week or two, veterans will likely face worthy competition from newcomers, which is also a good thing. We plan to work even harder on the newbie experience to make a good first impression and gradually make the game more interesting for them.

Unfortunately, it is unlikely that we will do everything perfectly and without mistakes at all stages, as it is unrealistic to take everything into account or please everyone, but with the help of our cozy community, we will be able to avoid most of these mistakes.💪

[cobalt nova]

Apparently, this is our destiny!

[vale breach]

All my friends and I think you are ||обречены на успех||