Just uploaded a video on your game and wow this was really good, sadly I wasn't able to complete it since it was quite difficult and I'm not very good with puzzles, regardless this was a very creepy experience and I look forward to the full game.
I really like the atmosphere and style of this, and would have loved to finish it (I love SH so this scratchs and itch) but I couldn't proceed, either I hit an inventory/item glitch or the item was hidden so well I just couldn't find it. The first playthrough ended randomly after being hit by spector/ghost things a bunch while looking for the code (or whatever came next) with the UV light/matches. The screwdriver was in the gate at the furthest end, during this playthrough. Then second playthrough I could not find the screwdriver in the gate, or indeed, anywhere. I thought it was just super well hidden this time around and I was being dumb, but I reloaded again and same diff. So I only really got to play it properly the first time I suppose.
Cons: Matches are super annoying. You'll be a quater through exploring a frame and have to relight, and each match has a light animation so it only lasts a very brief window at full light before you have to light a new one.
You need a mouse sensitivity setting, because with the hardest part of the game for me was the scene at the beginning with the mouse box. It was almost impossible to get through it, and I had to try three or four times every playthough just to get through the first segment. The game also chidded me at one point for not being able to do it, which almost made be quit, because you can't poorly design something and then blame the player for it. Maybe as a developer you should 'get gud' lmao
Other than that I loved it, minus the fact that I legit couldn't find one of the items I needed to proceed after checking every screen three or four times with my ever-dying matches.
Thank you, TECGOTHICA. ^w^ I appreciate that you enjoyed the atmosphere and I hope you'll be able to beat the demo in your future playthroughs.
Firstly: The game is randomized, items that were there in the first playthrough will spawn somewhere else in the second playthrough.
Secondly: This is something I said to almost every youtube letsplayer that played this game, but matches last around 20-35 seconds. The way you move your mouse (while the match is lit) determines how fast the match will die. If you move your match around the area fast, it will die faster. This was sort-of added to encourage careful exploration because [sometimes] the items blend into the background and you won't notice them at first glance. If you switch to EASY ACTION DIFFICULTY, then your matches will be less affected by your mouse movement. There is a way to get your match to never burn out.
Thirdly: I don't have a name for that section, so for now I'll call it the [DON'T MOVE] section (even though that's probably taken by Until Dawn™). The [DON'T MOVE] section can have its speed tweaked, but it's tuned enough. Switch to EASY ACTION DIFFICULTY if it's too difficult for you to pass it on NORMAL (rip HARD mode). As for the "get gud", nah- that's all on you. xD (I'm joking btw, but I made it hard on purpose. There is a "tactic" to make it a little easier, but at the same time it depends if you're playing with a mouse or the laptop's touch pad. "Mouse Sensitivity" is, in my opinion, a bad design choice because everyone will take advantage of it to make the [DON'T MOVE] section always easier... but that's just how I see it. If you want the [DON'T MOVE] to be easier, play on EASY action mode and practice there for other modes.)
I appreciate the response. I was aware that the items were randomized, my point was the item stumped me for 20+ minutes in both playthroughs that followed the first playthrough. That's no good. Are you using heatmaps to determine the best spots to place items? Are you watching playthroughs to see where players most often get stuck? Although the game is slick and pretty, the placement could use some work (also whilst I could barely, if ever find the key items, weapons were almost too numerous - all three playthroughs ended with me carrying an arsenal of weapons but no key item). If you want the game to be as hard as it sounds like you do, the game needs to be balanced one way or the other.
Secondly, the matches lasting longer depending on how you use them is a pretty neat mechanic, and I didn't see it mentioned anywhere? I might have missed it but if it isn't mentioned, it should be, since it's a mechanic I don't think many players intuite. If you have to tell ever single youtuber than I'd recommend maybe explaining that in game. Thirdly, I tried the Dont Move section on both Easy and Normal, and yes the bounding box becomes larger, but I don't think it makes the actual movement mechanic in that area easier outside of the fact you have more of a chance to mess up. My mouse sensitivity made it so I literally could only slightly nudge the mouse a fraction to try and complete it, and most of the time it would simply shoot out of the box. I'm sorry, that's not good design, and it's certainly not balanced correctly against the difficulty curve of the rest of the game.
I'll try again tomorrow since I quite liked the style, I think it has plenty going for it, but don't shy away from fixing things that need to be fixed if player testing goes against what you believe. I'm just one player so I might be an outlier, but all feedback should make you at least reconsider if things need adjusting.
I would explain on how the randomization works, but I'm afraid I would ruin the "illusion". All I'm gonna say is that I manually placed all item-spawn locations. As for the weapons, yes there's a lot more of them, and some of them spawn if certain things are done. If you're exploring for a long time, you're gonna need as many of them as possible. As for the normal items (like the screwdriver), it's supposed to be in weird places (sometimes in places that the item wouldn't normally appear in... which is why sometimes you'll find it impaled to a wall and sometimes it'll be stuck on the gate/door).
We watch all the playthroughs on YouTube, and some on Twitch. Most of them fail the DON'T MOVE section at the beginning but they get used to it. Some people get stuck with the padlocks, but we added a tutorial for those people (the game tries to detect if you're stuck in a certain way, so it will give player a hint. This isn't added in the currently-available demo yet, but it's something that will be added in an upcoming update). The matches logic is something that isn't too annoying for people: Most of them scan through a room careful or don't move it around too much- so they don't notice. Some people do but because of infinite matches they don't mind. Some people do mind because they play the game like a speedrun. One of them is the reason why on EASY mode the matches have a longer duration, but that's as far as I'm making it easy for the matches. I thought about telling the players about the matches draining faster if you move your mouse faster but I still believe that's something that should've remained hidden (something players should learn through experimentation after a few playthroughs)... but if a lot more people have issues with the matches then I might add a tutorial or something.
As for the DON'T MOVE section: On EASY (not sure about NORMAL) the movement should be a little smoother but the main difference is that the box is bigger. You're supposed to move your mouse slowly, but... If even a LITTLE movement causes the "dot" to fly off into the never dimension, then that's not supposed to happen. The "dot" will start flying towards the edges at random, that's normal. But if even a little bit of your mouse movement causes the "dot" to fly off instantly outside the box-boundaries... then yes, it's a mouse sensitivity issue (because the dot is relying on the desktop settings for the mouse). If it's an actual error, then I'll try to fix it. Problem is, all of the devices we tested this game on didn't have this issue- so this is completely new and we'd need to find a way to recreate it. (I'll check if changing my desktop mouse sensitivity does anything)
I completely get what you're saying, but I hope that you also understand that: We listen and do consider a lot of feedback, suggestions and criticism- we just don't add most of the things people suggest because it goes against the game/design choice we have in mind for the game (in this game, you're supposed to be heavily disadvantaged. The moment you get something good, you also get something that makes the game harder... I think you noticed that when you got the UV Light). The game's super short, so it makes more sense to make the game really challenging (it's hard, but not unbeatable).
I understand what you're saying, it just initially sounded like feedback was unimportant because it was designed to be frustrating (which you must admit is a bad design position to start off with.) I'll try the game again today keeping in mind you went for weird positions (such as impaled in the wall) and see if I have better luck now that I understand how the matches work as well.
The mouse issue may be a mixture of hardware and game balance or something else entirely. If the dont move segments are supposed to be the hardest thing in the game by a mile, then it works, but on my setup it is particulalry dreadful. I can't think of anything else in the game that is anywhere near as frustrating, but from memory that was the only real minigame. Defending in the other sections is a simple drag and drop weapon movement. Anyway, I'm running win10 64 bit, sensitivity set to just under half, razer deathadder elite. Any info that might help beyond that let me know.
No, I didn't design this game to torture players (too much)... but this is a game that will not hold your hand as you go through it (or when you start). I am sorry if you're against the design choice, but for this game (type and length) it makes sense. However, I feel like in this case it's a problem of the [don't move] section on your end since you're unable to beat it even once (as far as I understood). I spent the entire yesterday thinking about how to improve the [don't move] without making it drastically easy. I could make it so that the game keeps track of how much you're losing at the [don't move] section, and every time you lose it will get 5% easier (at least on EASY). However, if you reach a certain percentage of help, the game will punish you in a way (just in case people take advantage of the help they are getting).
I'm glad you got the hang of defending yourself in-game (some people didn't know how to use defensive items at first couple playthroughs). I checked my mouse settings: pointer speed is set to middle and [Enhance pointer precision] is toggled on. In case it helps, the "dot" in [don't move] section needs to be kept in the middle for maximum survival chances. If you drag it near the edge, there's a chance it could jump to that nearest edge. Good luck and let me know if you made it through, I have my fingers crossed. :)
I love how this game plays! The style is super slick and enjoyable! It is extremely difficult, not only to survive but to solve the puzzles to escape. Finding the pieces you need for the puzzles is a even bigger challenge! But I like the challenge because it's realistic! Love the live action aspect of the game and it left me wanting more! Great game!!
I just played it for about half an hour before giving up. It looks and plays really cool so I hope that a future build might be a bit more accessible.
How about maybe having her find pencil and paper, so she can draw a map as she goes? I found the corridor with a screwdriver and got the pipe, but then got stuck and eventually died: couldn't even find the screwdriver anymore the second time. And then for easy mode, you could maybe even highlight rooms on the map where there are still available actions. Don't know how doable that is programming-wise, but I feel like a mini-map would make the game playable.
Well, there is a mini-map in-game, but it's an unlockable thing after beating the demo with a highest possible rank. It's mainly useful for finding secrets. I'm not sure if we're going to add a map in the main game by default. It would make things too easy. Plus, as we said in the description, the game is supposed to be kind of hard. Since you're in Purgatorium, getting through puzzles and making progress is rewarding, as well as the exploration and item usage. You have to think and focus on survival, while keeping in mind that you're lost and vulnerable. I think it's kind of good for the scare factor and it keeps players on edge.
Well, you couldn't find the screwdriver, because it was in a different place. A few items are randomly generated around the basement, including key items.
We're contantly thinking how we can make the game more accessible for casual players, but not too easy. We're trying to balance all of the difficulties, so bear with us, while we try to sort this out :D
Also, you have to break something with a pipe near the exit door. Something that's above a 4-digit padlock.
Thank you SO MUCH for playing our game. I am sorry to hear that you gave up and that it was too difficult for you. :/ Even though this game draws massive inspiration from Silent Hill (obvious hint is the action/riddle difficulties), we won't have a map system in it. Even though there's a map system in the demo (you gotta unlock it though, with a high score), this game won't have a map; Not just because the level is very small- but also because the players are supposed to be lost and try to orient themselves with the help of environmental clues. (or sometimes players themselves can draw a map) The game is at least 70% randomized and it's supposed to be a challenge every time you play.
Again: Thank you so much for playing our game, it means a lot to us and we are hoping that you'll give this game a second chance.
(P.S: I'm a fan of your content since you played SH and Siren, and your patreon supporter- so having you play our game is like the best xmas present ever. Thank you for the 100th time)
I was really surprised by the demo version, it was definitely something else and i enjoyed playing it even tho i didn't make it out. Huge plus to the game goes for the live action filming since you don't see those kind of games these days. The ambience was perfectly creepy! Can't wait for future updates of the game!
I just thought I would share my experience so far with the Linux demo since it is experimental. So far I have had no crashes, glitches or any problems at all. I'll play a bit mroe but so far so good. I'll be buying a copy on release. Thank you for the Linux version and the DRM free version. My system specs are:
AMD FX-9590 | 16GB DDR3-2133 | MSI RX 580 8GB Gaming X | Mesa 17.2.5 |Samsung 850 Evo 250GB | Solus Mate 64 | Kernel 4.13.16-35.
Thanks a lot for playing and testing the game on Linux!
We were really worried that Linux players would have problems playing our new game, since we had trouble with Linux ports in the past, but I'm glad to hear that everything works.
You don't have to worry about buying the game, since it will be free anyway :P Thanks for specs. I'll definitely make a note about it later :)
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Any updates coming? We LOVE FMV; please don't quit now. Your first FMV was fab!
Is this guy still alive?
Just uploaded a video on your game and wow this was really good, sadly I wasn't able to complete it since it was quite difficult and I'm not very good with puzzles, regardless this was a very creepy experience and I look forward to the full game.
Thanks for playing!
I left you a comment on the video, although Hades beat me to it :P
You're welcome! Alright, I'll go take a look at your comment :)
I really like the atmosphere and style of this, and would have loved to finish it (I love SH so this scratchs and itch) but I couldn't proceed, either I hit an inventory/item glitch or the item was hidden so well I just couldn't find it. The first playthrough ended randomly after being hit by spector/ghost things a bunch while looking for the code (or whatever came next) with the UV light/matches. The screwdriver was in the gate at the furthest end, during this playthrough. Then second playthrough I could not find the screwdriver in the gate, or indeed, anywhere. I thought it was just super well hidden this time around and I was being dumb, but I reloaded again and same diff. So I only really got to play it properly the first time I suppose.
Cons:
Matches are super annoying. You'll be a quater through exploring a frame and have to relight, and each match has a light animation so it only lasts a very brief window at full light before you have to light a new one.
You need a mouse sensitivity setting, because with the hardest part of the game for me was the scene at the beginning with the mouse box. It was almost impossible to get through it, and I had to try three or four times every playthough just to get through the first segment. The game also chidded me at one point for not being able to do it, which almost made be quit, because you can't poorly design something and then blame the player for it. Maybe as a developer you should 'get gud' lmao
Other than that I loved it, minus the fact that I legit couldn't find one of the items I needed to proceed after checking every screen three or four times with my ever-dying matches.
Thank you, TECGOTHICA. ^w^ I appreciate that you enjoyed the atmosphere and I hope you'll be able to beat the demo in your future playthroughs.
Firstly: The game is randomized, items that were there in the first playthrough will spawn somewhere else in the second playthrough.
Secondly: This is something I said to almost every youtube letsplayer that played this game, but matches last around 20-35 seconds. The way you move your mouse (while the match is lit) determines how fast the match will die. If you move your match around the area fast, it will die faster. This was sort-of added to encourage careful exploration because [sometimes] the items blend into the background and you won't notice them at first glance. If you switch to EASY ACTION DIFFICULTY, then your matches will be less affected by your mouse movement.
There is a way to get your match to never burn out.Thirdly: I don't have a name for that section, so for now I'll call it the [DON'T MOVE] section (even though that's probably taken by Until Dawn™). The [DON'T MOVE] section can have its speed tweaked, but it's tuned enough. Switch to EASY ACTION DIFFICULTY if it's too difficult for you to pass it on NORMAL (rip HARD mode). As for the "get gud", nah- that's all on you. xD (I'm joking btw, but I made it hard on purpose. There is a "tactic" to make it a little easier, but at the same time it depends if you're playing with a mouse or the laptop's touch pad. "Mouse Sensitivity" is, in my opinion, a bad design choice because everyone will take advantage of it to make the [DON'T MOVE] section always easier... but that's just how I see it. If you want the [DON'T MOVE] to be easier, play on EASY action mode and practice there for other modes.)
I hope this info helps, and good luck. :)
I appreciate the response. I was aware that the items were randomized, my point was the item stumped me for 20+ minutes in both playthroughs that followed the first playthrough. That's no good. Are you using heatmaps to determine the best spots to place items? Are you watching playthroughs to see where players most often get stuck? Although the game is slick and pretty, the placement could use some work (also whilst I could barely, if ever find the key items, weapons were almost too numerous - all three playthroughs ended with me carrying an arsenal of weapons but no key item). If you want the game to be as hard as it sounds like you do, the game needs to be balanced one way or the other.
Secondly, the matches lasting longer depending on how you use them is a pretty neat mechanic, and I didn't see it mentioned anywhere? I might have missed it but if it isn't mentioned, it should be, since it's a mechanic I don't think many players intuite. If you have to tell ever single youtuber than I'd recommend maybe explaining that in game. Thirdly, I tried the Dont Move section on both Easy and Normal, and yes the bounding box becomes larger, but I don't think it makes the actual movement mechanic in that area easier outside of the fact you have more of a chance to mess up. My mouse sensitivity made it so I literally could only slightly nudge the mouse a fraction to try and complete it, and most of the time it would simply shoot out of the box. I'm sorry, that's not good design, and it's certainly not balanced correctly against the difficulty curve of the rest of the game.
I'll try again tomorrow since I quite liked the style, I think it has plenty going for it, but don't shy away from fixing things that need to be fixed if player testing goes against what you believe. I'm just one player so I might be an outlier, but all feedback should make you at least reconsider if things need adjusting.
I would explain on how the randomization works, but I'm afraid I would ruin the "illusion".
All I'm gonna say is that I manually placed all item-spawn locations.As for the weapons, yes there's a lot more of them, and some of them spawn if certain things are done. If you're exploring for a long time, you're gonna need as many of them as possible. As for the normal items (like the screwdriver), it's supposed to be in weird places (sometimes in places that the item wouldn't normally appear in... which is why sometimes you'll find it impaled to a wall and sometimes it'll be stuck on the gate/door).We watch all the playthroughs on YouTube, and some on Twitch. Most of them fail the DON'T MOVE section at the beginning but they get used to it. Some people get stuck with the padlocks, but we added a tutorial for those people (the game tries to detect if you're stuck in a certain way, so it will give player a hint. This isn't added in the currently-available demo yet, but it's something that will be added in an upcoming update). The matches logic is something that isn't too annoying for people: Most of them scan through a room careful or don't move it around too much- so they don't notice. Some people do but because of infinite matches they don't mind. Some people do mind because they play the game like a speedrun. One of them is the reason why on EASY mode the matches have a longer duration, but that's as far as I'm making it easy for the matches. I thought about telling the players about the matches draining faster if you move your mouse faster but I still believe that's something that should've remained hidden (something players should learn through experimentation after a few playthroughs)... but if a lot more people have issues with the matches then I might add a tutorial or something.
As for the DON'T MOVE section: On EASY (not sure about NORMAL) the movement should be a little smoother but the main difference is that the box is bigger. You're supposed to move your mouse slowly, but... If even a LITTLE movement causes the "dot" to fly off into the never dimension, then that's not supposed to happen. The "dot" will start flying towards the edges at random, that's normal. But if even a little bit of your mouse movement causes the "dot" to fly off instantly outside the box-boundaries... then yes, it's a mouse sensitivity issue (because the dot is relying on the desktop settings for the mouse). If it's an actual error, then I'll try to fix it. Problem is, all of the devices we tested this game on didn't have this issue- so this is completely new and we'd need to find a way to recreate it. (I'll check if changing my desktop mouse sensitivity does anything)
I completely get what you're saying, but I hope that you also understand that: We listen and do consider a lot of feedback, suggestions and criticism- we just don't add most of the things people suggest because it goes against the game/design choice we have in mind for the game (in this game, you're supposed to be heavily disadvantaged. The moment you get something good, you also get something that makes the game harder... I think you noticed that when you got the UV Light). The game's super short, so it makes more sense to make the game really challenging (it's hard, but not unbeatable).
I understand what you're saying, it just initially sounded like feedback was unimportant because it was designed to be frustrating (which you must admit is a bad design position to start off with.) I'll try the game again today keeping in mind you went for weird positions (such as impaled in the wall) and see if I have better luck now that I understand how the matches work as well.
The mouse issue may be a mixture of hardware and game balance or something else entirely. If the dont move segments are supposed to be the hardest thing in the game by a mile, then it works, but on my setup it is particulalry dreadful. I can't think of anything else in the game that is anywhere near as frustrating, but from memory that was the only real minigame. Defending in the other sections is a simple drag and drop weapon movement. Anyway, I'm running win10 64 bit, sensitivity set to just under half, razer deathadder elite. Any info that might help beyond that let me know.
No, I didn't design this game to torture players (too much)... but this is a game that will not hold your hand as you go through it (or when you start). I am sorry if you're against the design choice, but for this game (type and length) it makes sense. However, I feel like in this case it's a problem of the [don't move] section on your end since you're unable to beat it even once (as far as I understood). I spent the entire yesterday thinking about how to improve the [don't move] without making it drastically easy. I could make it so that the game keeps track of how much you're losing at the [don't move] section, and every time you lose it will get 5% easier (at least on EASY). However, if you reach a certain percentage of help, the game will punish you in a way (just in case people take advantage of the help they are getting).
I'm glad you got the hang of defending yourself in-game (some people didn't know how to use defensive items at first couple playthroughs). I checked my mouse settings: pointer speed is set to middle and [Enhance pointer precision] is toggled on. In case it helps, the "dot" in [don't move] section needs to be kept in the middle for maximum survival chances. If you drag it near the edge, there's a chance it could jump to that nearest edge. Good luck and let me know if you made it through, I have my fingers crossed. :)
I love how this game plays! The style is super slick and enjoyable! It is extremely difficult, not only to survive but to solve the puzzles to escape. Finding the pieces you need for the puzzles is a even bigger challenge! But I like the challenge because it's realistic! Love the live action aspect of the game and it left me wanting more! Great game!!
Thanks for playing!
I left a comment on YouTube, so I'm not gonna write an essay here. Hopefully, a full version will keep you even more hooked :D
I just played it for about half an hour before giving up. It looks and plays really cool so I hope that a future build might be a bit more accessible.
How about maybe having her find pencil and paper, so she can draw a map as she goes? I found the corridor with a screwdriver and got the pipe, but then got stuck and eventually died: couldn't even find the screwdriver anymore the second time. And then for easy mode, you could maybe even highlight rooms on the map where there are still available actions. Don't know how doable that is programming-wise, but I feel like a mini-map would make the game playable.
Hey there!
Well, there is a mini-map in-game, but it's an unlockable thing after beating the demo with a highest possible rank. It's mainly useful for finding secrets. I'm not sure if we're going to add a map in the main game by default. It would make things too easy. Plus, as we said in the description, the game is supposed to be kind of hard. Since you're in Purgatorium, getting through puzzles and making progress is rewarding, as well as the exploration and item usage. You have to think and focus on survival, while keeping in mind that you're lost and vulnerable. I think it's kind of good for the scare factor and it keeps players on edge.
Well, you couldn't find the screwdriver, because it was in a different place. A few items are randomly generated around the basement, including key items.
We're contantly thinking how we can make the game more accessible for casual players, but not too easy. We're trying to balance all of the difficulties, so bear with us, while we try to sort this out :D
Also, you have to break something with a pipe near the exit door. Something that's above a 4-digit padlock.
Hey GaB!
Thank you SO MUCH for playing our game. I am sorry to hear that you gave up and that it was too difficult for you. :/ Even though this game draws massive inspiration from Silent Hill (obvious hint is the action/riddle difficulties), we won't have a map system in it. Even though there's a map system in the demo (you gotta unlock it though, with a high score), this game won't have a map; Not just because the level is very small- but also because the players are supposed to be lost and try to orient themselves with the help of environmental clues. (or sometimes players themselves can draw a map) The game is at least 70% randomized and it's supposed to be a challenge every time you play.
Again: Thank you so much for playing our game, it means a lot to us and we are hoping that you'll give this game a second chance.
(P.S: I'm a fan of your content since you played SH and Siren, and your patreon supporter- so having you play our game is like the best xmas present ever. Thank you for the 100th time)
I was really surprised by the demo version, it was definitely something else and i enjoyed playing it even tho i didn't make it out. Huge plus to the game goes for the live action filming since you don't see those kind of games these days. The ambience was perfectly creepy! Can't wait for future updates of the game!
As I said on all of the sites and comments, thank you for playing P:AFTA demo! :D
that was something!
Thanks for playing P: AFTA demo!
Too bad you got lost there :/
Anyway, I left a comment under your video, so if you have any questions I'll be happy to help!
thank you for the comment!! appreciate that!
I just thought I would share my experience so far with the Linux demo since it is experimental. So far I have had no crashes, glitches or any problems at all. I'll play a bit mroe but so far so good. I'll be buying a copy on release. Thank you for the Linux version and the DRM free version. My system specs are:
AMD FX-9590 | 16GB DDR3-2133 | MSI RX 580 8GB Gaming X | Mesa 17.2.5 |Samsung 850 Evo 250GB | Solus Mate 64 | Kernel 4.13.16-35.
Thanks a lot for playing and testing the game on Linux!
We were really worried that Linux players would have problems playing our new game, since we had trouble with Linux ports in the past, but I'm glad to hear that everything works.
You don't have to worry about buying the game, since it will be free anyway :P
Thanks for specs. I'll definitely make a note about it later :)
hi my friend. big thx for this cruel experience :) greetings from germany
Thanks again for being interested in Purgatorium!
I left you a comment under the video so hopefully, you'll be able to play the game on a proper machine without any lags :)