08.13 DevNotes: Top Feedback, REW Update & New Content
Can you believe that it’s already been almost a month since we launched Early Access? The amount of art, cosplay, Twitch clips, and YouTube content we’ve seen come from our community has been absolutely mind-blowing.
Not only has this community made tubular content outside of the game, we’ve been elated to see the amount of creativity in-game from our fashion fans in the #ootd channel on Discord. Fit check? More like Fit YES.
No wait… that was terrible. Let’s move on.
In addition to our bi-weekly Community/Moderator sync and discussions with our Rewinders, we’ve been scouring all public social channels, streams, and videos to gather feedback on what we’re doing well, and where we can improve.
The top 3 pain points for our players currently are:
- Queue Times & Dead Lobbies
- Monster Gameplay Experience
- Store and Purchasing Issues
Let’s dive into these a bit ⬇⬇⬇
Top Feedback and Issues
Queue Times & Dead Lobbies
There is nothing more frustrating than waiting in a long matchmaking queue, only to join a game where someone DCs, or you end up playing a 3 minute game because you’re still learning how to play, OR you load into a dead lobby. It feels bad, and we don’t want our players to constantly experience that.
There are two types of data that we’re looking at so that we can address these concerns:
Quantitative: Raw numbers aka what our data is showing us. (ie. Are players more affected if they are solo-queuing or in a party? How many Monsters are playing vs how many Teens? Are there underlying matchmaking issues and bugs that aren’t visible on a surface level? etc.)
Qualitative: Feedback from our community aka what our players are showing us. (Difficulty with onboarding and tutorials/Monster feeling less fun to engage with)
On the quantitative side, we are in the process of adding code to our game that will provide us with additional data that shows us a clear picture of any factors that could be causing extended queue times or backfill issues. We’ve made some progress on fixing some queue related issues, but this data will help us pinpoint exactly how to address the technical bugs with dead lobbies and matchmaking, as well as give us insight down the line as things change.
This doesn’t mean that we aren’t currently working ways to improve queue times — this just means that matchmaking is an element that we will continuously be working on through the lifespan of the game. As our community grows, new Teens and Monsters are introduced, and skill levels change, this data will influence adjustments that adhere to the anything that would impact queue times in any way.
Another way we’re hoping to ease the queue time frustration is by increasing our DC penalty in an effort to discourage players from leaving a match before they’ve been downed/defeated, or by leaving a full lobby (Don’t worry! If you leave a lobby with less than 5 players, or after you’ve been downed/defeated, you won’t be affected!). The increased DC penalty will go live with our next patch!
On the qualitative data side, let’s talk about the —
Monster Gameplay Experience
Our qualitative data (our community) tells us that the Monster experience can be more stressful and less engaging for some players, which could potentially be leading to less Monsters, and longer Teen queue times. We’ve seen some wonderful suggestions come in on ways that we can improve this experience, and make it feel more rewarding for Monster players.
As such, we are currently planning to implement some reworks to the Monster role!
The “How can we make Monster feel more engaging/less stressful” conversation has been a big one at Hellbent, and we are continuing to monitor feedback and discuss ways we can implement systems to improve the experience for our players.
Some suggested changes that we’ve been discussing internally:
✨ DISCLAIMER: THESE ARE NOT GUARANTEED, BUT PROPOSED CHANGES THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN THE EXPERIMENTAL STAGE✨
Dynamic Bounty System
The 10% Bounty multiplier for monsters added in our last patch was our first experiment with seeing how changes in rewards would impact queue behaviour.
We are continuing to work on a system that will offer dynamically adjusting bounty multipliers based on the current state of the matchmaking queue in the chosen region and the player’s current Matchmaking Rating (MMR) with the chosen character.
When the system is in place, a player on the character selection screen may be shown bounties as follows:
- If the player’s selected region currently has a shortage of monsters in a certain MMR range, players who have a monster in that MMR range will be offered a bounty.
- If playing as a monster in an MMR range where there is no shortage of players, a bounty may not be offered, or may be small.
- This system will be able to offer bounties for teens as well as monsters, though we expect monsters will be offered the majority of bounty bonuses at this time.
The intent of this system is to provide the player with incentives and information to queue in a manner that will result in the shortest wait time.
End of Game Sequence Changes
The ‘End of Game’ sequence is what happens in a match after one team has won (either the last teen is downed or the last wound is dealt to the monster).
Being a small team, we haven’t yet had the time to give this sequence the attention we think it needs.
Our design for the revised ‘End of Game’ sequence includes the following:
- New music for when winning or losing the match.
- New equip slots for both teen and monster to play celebratory emote sequences at the end of a match.
- A commendation system for both factions to provide a way to compliment your team mates and opponents based on your experience in the match. Bonus points may also be awarded based on commendations received.
This improved flow should bring a more satisfying conclusion to matches, and provide a way for both sides to give each other props and encourage sportsmanlike behaviour.
The Book of the Dead Changes
A change to the Book of the Dead mechanic is coming soon. We found that in some matches the lockbox would get found and looted very early in the match by observant players. This would both remove the objective to search for the box by the dead teen’s spectral, as well as frustrate the monster if a teen gets revived very shortly after they had just killed them. With this change, the lockbox containing the book will now only spawn into the world after a teen has died.
We feel this will give more time for the monster to roam before the teen can return to the match, as well as give a greater chance for a dead spectral to claim bonus points for finding the box!
Banishment Changes
Based on player feedback, we are looking to improve the monster experience around the Banish mechanic.
Playing as a monster can be very intense and require a lot of focus. When Banished there can be a feeling that you are losing too much footing in the game, as well as being worried about what can happen to you right after returning from being Banished.
We’d like for players to have more of a break while they are Banished, so we are experimenting internally with the following changes to Banishment:
- All monster power cooldowns will refresh after becoming Banished. It felt excessively punishing for a monster to use a power with a long cooldown just before being Banished and not being able to use it upon returning to regain momentum.
- While the monster is Banished, teens will not be able to craft or charge weapons. Teens can still perform other actions such as reviving, healing, searching vending machines, etc. during this period.
- Increasing the duration of Banishment.
- Creating a Scream shockwave at the point where the monster returns from being Banished. This will give monster players a period of empowerment and safety upon their return.
Plague System Changes
Currently, monsters may choose to use a monster Prize to bring a Plague into the match, which can then be recharged upon hitting teens.
We like the dimension this adds to monster gameplay, however since it requires the use of the Prize slot, it is not a factor in the majority of games and does not feel like a core mechanic.
With this rework, Plagues can always be a factor in a game, whether or not the monster chose to bring in a Plague prize.
Instead of the Plague recharge mechanic, whenever a monster does not currently have a Plague they will be able to work towards one by achieving a certain number of hits on teens.
Once the required number of hits is reached, the monster will be able to press the ‘Use Plague’ button to reach into the Beyond and retrieve one.
The type of Plague retrieved will be random, so you never know how what you get may impact your next move!
We are aware that with this change Plague use will become more common, so the effects of Plagues may be rebalanced accordingly.
New Status Effect (Busted)
Our teen health state system was designed such that teens can always have a chance to survive so long as they can keep the monster from getting Enraged and keep themselves healed up. In the majority of games this system works well, however a pain point for monsters are the times when teens just won’t seem to die no matter how many times they’re hit.
To help prevent these very long matches and monster exhaustion, we will soon be adding a status effect to the game, ‘Busted’.
Teens will gain the ‘Busted’ status for the remainder of the match after receiving 6 hits. Resurrection will not reset this status.
When ‘Busted’, an Injured teen can no longer be healed by other teens, nor can they use the Medkits. There is still one way to to heal however — the unpowered Holy Staff’s miraculous powers are strong enough to overcome this affliction and will work as normal.
In addition, ‘Busted’ teens will have a unique health state indicator on the HUD and leave differently coloured trails of chroma (chromatic aberration).
We feel this change will put a cap on the total amount of hits the teen team can sustain before they are defeated, and give the monster a more satisfying sense of progress towards winning the match with each hit.
Naturally we will be monitoring the impact a change like this has on game balance carefully.
✨ AGAIN, THESE ARE NOT GUARANTEED CHANGES, BUT REWORKS THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN THE EXPERIMENTAL STAGE✨
Cosmetic Issues
There have been reports from our players regarding a handful of store bought cosmetics lacking clarity as to whether or not they are locked to specific Teens — a few of which are actually bugs and should be universally available for all Teens!
The following items have been affected:
- Funfetti Gym Shorts (Fixed in our next patch)✅
- Gilded Grey High Top Kicks (Fixed in our next patch)✅
- Portside Socks (Fixed in our next patch) ✅
In order to prevent these issues in the future, we will be making some adjustments to how we tag cosmetics so they work as intended, or clearly state if items are meant for specific a Teen.
Additionally, the W.A.R.T. Rectrix Evolved bundle was missing an emote! Players who purchased this bundle prior to us fixing the in-game bundle will have the Feathered Frenzy Taunt granted to their accounts retroactively with our next patch.
Be Kind & Rewind Creator Program Update
Full disclosure, we were floored by the amount of interest in the Be Kind & Rewind program. We received over 800+ applications in the first few days which is G R E A T, but also a LOT to go through and vet before selecting the next round. We also wanted to ensure our separate test server was up and running for the REWxDev playtests before bringing on our next batch (which it is now! Hooray!).
What happens next?
Of the 800+ applicants, I will be going through and selecting a handful of Creators to review, vet, and see how they align with our values as a studio and for the game (this is literally so hard, y’all are so dang creative and talented😩). From there, the team and I will be going over that list and see which ones we plan to bring on next!
How will I know if I haven’t been selected?
Just like feedback helps us grow, I know how important it is for Creators to hear feedback about ways they can improve. As much as I would LOVE to go through and personally email every applicant, it just wouldn’t be feasible with the volume of creators who have shown interest in being a part of the program.
We will be bringing Rewinders on in waves and will inform them with the onboarding steps via email.
In order to protect your privacy, we will only be holding on to application info for 6 months — So if you haven’t heard back in 6 months, apply again! This information will be added to the FAQ on our website.
To view our current list of Rewinders, click here!
Advertising & Marketing
As many of you are aware, we have never used any sort of traditional marketing — the majority of players who have discovered Video Horror Society have done so through word of mouth and Content Creators.
We are looking at ways we can increase marketing efforts for Video Horror Society, but we want to iron out as many large pain-points as we can before ramping up visibility. Your feedback is crucial for this!
We would like to do more Dev updates and livestreams, and have plans to do so in the future! More info on this soon!
In the meantime, let’s talk about —
New Content
Endless Summer Catalog
Summer is coming to an end, but that doesn’t mean summer fashion has to. Introducing the Endless Summer Catalog. In addition to our Featured Store rotation, we will be adding a new tab chock full of stellar fashion options for you to flaunt in-game💅 All of these options can be purchased with either Flux OR Fanbux!
Unlike the featured store rotation, the Endless Summer Catalog will not change daily, and these cosmetics will be available for purchase next week, and be around until September 21st!
Here are some fresh looks you can expect to find in the Endless Summer Catalog:
Okay, but also, can we take a moment to appreciate Shark W.A.R.T.:
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And now, an important message from ̶H̶e̶l̶l̶b̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶G̶a̶m̶e̶s̶
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01001000 01000101 00100000 01001001 01010011 00100000 01001101 01001001 01001110 01000101
… what just happened? Little blip there for a second 😅, but anyway we’re BACK. Moving on to our —
Closing Notes
We’ve been hearing a lot of feedback from our community about communication, and we agree, it has been on the lighter side the last little bit! We have been very heads down since the launch of EA, but what we can say is that we aim to put out these DevNotes at minimum once a month to talk about what we know, what we’re working on, and where we plan to go.
See you all in The Beyond! 💖
✨ Sam Gee
