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Local Minimum233 days ago

This is quite odd. I was planning to record the game play but when capturing with OBS the game hide the mouse cursor even if it’s visible in the recording: https://youtu.be/dxRqEWpZhe8

However, once I closed OBS and restarted the game I can see the mouse. So something really strange is happening with how your game runs.

Now to the game. I really liked the assets. Their extruded 3D but yet flat shape.

The movement was quite slow really, and while moving around of the ship I could walk inside lockers and basically come too close to the walls, it felt like. The camera should probably have been moved back a little bit and movement made much faster.

I played through the red planet. I suffered a bit of sanity because I figured it didn’t matter to insert a single of the signs first and then come back to solve it. But that apparently counted as attempting it with just one put in. The insert signs UI also kept popping up all the time afterwards as I was running around interacting with things.

Speaking of, I honestly got a bit too lost. It would have been nice with some map or having the layout be a bit less complex.

A very small thing, after solving the riddle the thing disappears but it’s still there blocking movement.

I though I could just press the return to ship button there and then, but I wasn’t allowed. Which made me think OK I have to find my way out. And promptly got lost in 10 minutes trying to get out.

When out of the cave I though I could press it to go home then. But no. And by then I think in my mind I gave up on that button walked back to the ship and flew to the next planet. And it’s only now that I realize that the button might have been for when on the ship to be able to walk around in the ship again. If that’s the case, it should probably not be called “Return to ship”.

The next planet I landed on, I should say I had no sanity or health damage. I took some steps and then the screen turned black with some eyes all over it. It seemed I could still move, but I had no idea where and whatever I did I seemed stuck in the black eye things so I gave up there.

It feels like a pity because there seems to be a whole lot of systems in the game, and I liked the art style. So if only the movement had been a bit snappier and the situation I ended up in a bit more understandable, I would have kept at it.

I probably spent 30-40 minutes in total though.

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Realms&Ruins233 days ago(+1)

Thanks for the detailed response. I don't know how to address the OBS issues, but as a user of OBS I can say its a fickle beast sometimes lol. I can try and see how the engine interacts with screen recording.

The movement could definitely be faster I'm learning. Even while playing other entries and going back to mine I can feel how slow it seems in comparison. The walking into the lockers was a mistake on my part which allowed navigation into the space, rather than an interact only on the object itself. Something I plan to clean up post jam.

The red planet maze I personally believe was already fairly small, with enough landmarks, and no pits/spinners/teleports to get around without warranting a minimap. I don't think I would change much there but I can take a second look. And thanks for the recording that will help analyze it more.

The rune puzzle disappearing and preventing movement was a mistake on my part not replacing the navigation on the tiles to allow walking. a simple fix, but a good note. As far as it popping up after closing it, that's not something I was immediately able to replicate and somebody else had mentioned this too, so I'll have to do more testing to find out what causes it.

The eyeball event was not based on sanity, but just intended to be a spooky/confusing moment to reinforce the them. It's a a fairly small space, but I could have added more spaces to step on to let you escape or set a timer to put you back. I know that part can be pretty jarring.

The spaceship skill could use a tooltip description to explain more what it does - the intention was not to let it be a fast travel tool, just a way to actually get back *in* the ship when flying around. Many of the events based on madness level occur after interacting with the statues and getting neutrinide crystal, so I didn't want these just to be skipped.

Thanks again for playing and this valuable feedback will help me fix it up.

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Local Minimum233 days ago(+1)

I think for the camera, it’s not a global rule, but walking up right next to a wall, most time you want to show some of the floor at the bottom of the tile you are on. And to not get a really wide perspective, moving the camera back a bit is part of the trick as far as I’ve understood it.

With the red planet maze, it might also be that the exit could be a little bit clearer. Since the cave is dark and you enter from a well lit room, it could make sense to make it bright even. I bet I passed by or was looking at it when trying to find my way out without realizing it.

A compass could be a middle ground, but I totally get if you don’t want to add that.

As for the runes, I’m not 100% sure what I did, but I only had 1 rune in the inventory when I reached it. I placed it in the middle slot, then I might have just walked away. Later when looting other stuff the UI popped up again and again. But it wasn’t there if I opened the inventory. Because I was wondering if I could trick the game to turn in the puzzle while standing next to the exit but the two ui wouldn’t be on screen at the same time.

Adding time as a secondary constraint on the eyes would be a great solution, I think.

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