Does the hectic aspect seem more balanced than before? And if not, what aspects aren't? For example, enemies being too quick/slow, etc.
I didn't play much of the first playtest but the gameplay does feel very balanced at the moment. After a few runs, finding the right strategy and being familiar with the towers let me play smoothly. I think the enemies are balanced pretty well as well.
Are towers (now with variety) more balanced together, or are certain towers over/underpowered?
I feel like Cassini's Halo was an underpowered tower, but I didn't test it out with its upgrade. I think Sol V was my favorite and most used tower, it may be a little bit overpowered.
Does the elemental aspect of towers to enemies feel smooth/intuitive to understand?
I'm not sure what you mean by the aspect of towers TO enemies but I feel like the theme is done pretty well. The towers have their elemental aspects but I wasn't sure if they were having different affects to the enemies themselves.
Does the flow of the game feel moderately smooth(er), and in what ways if not?
The flow of the game feels really smooth after running a few rounds. It really does give off the Bloons TD and overcooked feel to it.
Is the UI intuitive and understandable? Any comments on adding/removing/clarifying anything to it?
I think adding a speed-up option on the UI and the waves would be a good touch. I know Bloons does it and I think it would be a nice addition to your game to let it speed up a little bit during the slow times.
Did you find any interesting strategies during your gameplay? If so, please let us know what you found, and if not, tell us how we can give you more opportunity to strategize.
My main strategy was placing the towers at a good distance from the Blackhole and Astral Chest so I can have the fastest time to collect and store stardust between the two. I also would be able to upgrade my towers the fastest.
What do you think about the multi-tiered currency? Does a currency dedicated to the blackhole give more incentive to complete it than before? Is the wormhole tower (if used) sufficiently helpful with collecting currency?
I think the multitiered currency is an interesting aspect and it's being done pretty well. I think a currency dedicated to the black hole isn't needed since it already is the main goal to complete the level. The wormhole tower is a great addition and is very helpful with collecting currency.
One thing I wanted to add on was that I think the dark matter and the currency should be differently shaped because sometimes I get it mixed up with the currency.