Discussing Alpha Gameplay with Playtesters

On the 31st of July, the first alpha build was readied. After some heavy QA testing by Diwangshu and Aditya, the alpha was distributed among some external playtesters we selected.

So we sat down with our playtesters and discussed about their experience with the game!
Here's what we talked about with two of them.

LightVelox

Aditya: Hello LightVelox! Today we're gonna be discussing your experience with the A Thug's Ascension - Alpha! Let's begin!
LightVelox: Well, being able to move diagonally would be cool. It makes you move left if you go W+A and right if W+D.
Aditya: Noted. Except that, is the movement alright?
LightVelox: It has a small problem. When you stop moving (left, right or backwards), he moves a tiny bit more, like he's slipping.
Aditya: Yeah, I know about that one. Anything else? Like does it feel frustrating to move or anything?
LightVelox: Kinda, sometimes when you follow someone or run at something, you take a bit more time than you should. And sometimes when you aim in closed spaces, you go a bit forward.
Aditya: Okayy.
LightVelox: Also there could be a raycast so the NPCs don't shoot through buildings, he should follow you until he can see you.
Aditya: They can shoot through buildings?
LightVelox: I mean they keep shooting you after you take cover behind a building. They don't follow you or anything.
Aditya: Oh, yeah okay. I'll ofcourse invest a lot on improving the A.I. at some point, probably even the next month.
LightVelox: Great. Also pedestrians run at the same direction when running "away" from you, and sometimes this same direction is the one you are at. They should run at a opposite direction to you.
Aditya: Shit. Yeah, there is an issue there. I actually know the fix but I forgot to do it.
LightVelox: Ah, okay.
Aditya: How about the aiming? Is it good?
LightVelox: Aiming is good, but it could be better, like recoil and a smaller FoV.
Aditya: Anything frustrating about it?
LightVelox: Not to me atleast.
Aditya: Great!
LightVelox: The Q and E peeking are kinda shit though.
Aditya: Huh, tell me about it.
LightVelox: And some highly-detailed models around the Anaconda cabin? They look really out-of-place.
Aditya: They're placeholder, if you're talking about the tank and the big container and the spotlight and stuff.
LightVelox: Yeah, those.
Aditya: So you're through the first quest, right? How would you rate your experience on a scale of 1 to 10?
Diwangshu: (from a distance, while watching TV) Cut his balls off!
LightVelox: It looked absolutely great to me. It just wasn't really clear where to go. And on a scale of one to ten, it would be a… 7.5.
Aditya: That's pretty good, considering it's a work-in-progress.
LightVelox: Exactly. Also I liked the dialogue the most.
Aditya: As for "where to go" I was thinking about adding a compass, what you say?
LightVelox: As long as it's part of the HUD, it's fine.
Aditya: Sure!
LightVelox: Also, the opening credits are kinda long.
Aditya: Oh? Alright, I might add in a skip button.
LightVelox: Exactly.
Diwangshu: (from a distance, while watching TV) Cut his balls off!
Aditya: (to Diwangshu) Do you mind?!
Diwangshu: (from a distance, still watching TV) That's more like it!
Aditya: Alright, thanks for your time dude. Good night now!
LightVelox: Good night!

Loading

Aditya: Hi there, Loading! Let's begin our talk. But before that I'm gonna have to ask you to be absolutely honest.
Loading: Sure. So firstly, a quest log is really important.
Aditya: Yeah, I realise that. Especially if you can have multiple quests running at the same time, like in this game. So… Will do.
Loading: Yeah. I'm getting on right now to beat the black market quest (Quest #S1, Equipment Upgrade).
Aditya: Great!
Loading: YEAH BOIS! I just found a boss I gotta crush!
Aditya: I'm sure you're gonna wuv this quest!
Loading: Awesome!
Loading: WHOAH! I just found some dynamite hidden behind some crates during the quest!
Aditya: After you drop it, you can press [P] or shoot at it to detonate it. It does massive damage.
Loading: Okay.
Loading: AAAH! The boss! He does so much damage!
Aditya: Try moving around a lot and jumping to avoid his rockets.
Loading: Yes I'm trying… By the way, the game should pause or atleast slow down while accessing the inventory.
Aditya: Oh right. I'll look.
Loading: I didn't know dynamite does so much damage.
Aditya: I mean, it's dynamite, right?
Loading: Yeah, I killed the boss with it. Actually I killed both of us.
Aditya: Err… I don't think that counts, heh heh.
Loading: Nah it didn't. I'm gonna try again.
Aditya: Okay.
Loading: I just completed the quest!
Aditya: How was it?
Loading: It was really awesome! Good music, too. But by the way headshots should deal more damage.
Aditya: Huh, yeah you're right.
Loading: I just gave the grenade launcher to Shiva. I accused him of setting me up, and he squealed on another guy, Aman.
Aditya: It all gets more interesting from here.
Loading: I really like it, the story. I can't wait to see what becomes of it!
Aditya: Great! So how would you rate your experience on a scale from 1 to 10?
Loading: Right now it's gonna be a 7, but if you fix the movement, improve the aiming, add a quest log, minimap/compass, et cetera, I think it would be a 9. I really enjoyed it.
Aditya: Will do!
Loading: Also considering adding in a suicide command, because sometimes you need to die when you get stuck or during a glitch.
Aditya: Oh okay.
Loading: So I think that's it from me!
Aditya: Sure, and thanks for playing, dude!
Loading: No problem!

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