It's happening! The playtest for Captain Contraption's Chocolate Factory is here. For those of you new to the Pill Bug family - first welcome - we are two university lecturers from Wales, UK and have been making games together in our spare time for over 5 years. We've always involved our players in the development process and with Captain's we want to take that even further with this playtest. I figured there would be some common questions about the playtest and wanted to answer some here, if you have any more questions please ask.

How do I join the playtest?

Request access on the steam store page, then a playtest app should be added to your steam library.

What's in the playtest?

The playtest includes the first major area in the game including level modifiers which you'll unlock when you complete every level. It also has the level editor which we use to create levels, which means you can have a play with some of the later game items and share ideas with us and other players.

Is this playtest actually a beta or just one of those marketing things?

This playtest is 100% a beta. The build is quite early which means we will be able to change things significantly based on your feedback. Be sure to join our discord to let us know what you think, report bugs and just generally give us feedback.

How long will the playtest last?

As long as it needs to. This will depend on a number of things, but our aim is to use the playtest to make sure the game is something people will want to buy and get good value out of when we launch. If enough people wish list the game then we might decide to launch the game before all the content is complete in Early Access, otherwise we will likely launch the game when it is finished. (of course we always add content to our games post release anyway)

Will you be adding new levels to the playtest?

Probably not, our aim is to sell the game eventually so we don't want to give everything away right now. However, we will add features and new items which you can use in the level editor. For example, my plan is to implement steam workshop before the end of the playtest so we can really test it.

Will you be patching the playtest build and if so how often?

Yes, absolutely. The frequency will vary, the way we work is to work on the build based on your feedback and new things we want to add. When we feel there is enough stuff to write an healthy patch notes post we will ship the update.

How can I support you?

There are lots of ways, from giving feedback, reporting bugs and just playing the game. The most direct way you can support us is through wishlisting the game and sharing it with your friends. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2166920/Captain_Contraptions_Chocolate_Factory/ You can also support us by checking out some of our other games https://store.steampowered.com/app/1098220/Making_it_Home/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/749560/Cycle_28/

[ 2023-03-15 09:48:00 CET ] [ Original post ]