Stars Reach has officially held its first pre-alpha playtest (they're still taking signups), and Playable Worlds has a new blog focused on two key elements in these early stages of testing: the camera and movement.
They had most of the game turned off for a very important reason. The devs wanted to really strip things down to focus on the basics and make sure things worked. Things like being able to log in, did the invite process on Steam work? and other things like does the game run? and does it stay running?
So players just had access to two of the fundamental systems: movement and chat. Raph Koster then dives into the camera and movement, two things that work in partnership with each other.
There are two supported camera modes in Stars Reach: free cursor and fixed reticle. In the first, you move your cursor wherever you want, aim wherever you want, or click on HUD elements. with WASD controls. In the second system, this is where mouse-look is key and you can see where you're aiming with the reticle slightly offset. WASD movement here as well.
Offering both of these modes is an effort to let players put the camera where they need it. Some things will benefit from zooming in and other things will be easier, and more fun, like building, when you can zoom out as necessary. If you're looking for precise aiming, however, mouselook on and zooming in offer precision. The key is flexibility, and as with much in this sandbox, player choices.
When it comes to movement, the team already did extensive testing in development in a “jungle-gym” environment. This let them test out customizable movement options and camera modes, in a series of movement and motion options like jumping, flying, climbing challenges, grappling, and more challenges that they could use to have obstacle courses or even trying out jetpack usage.
Movement modifiers have also come up as a result of improvements to both visual quality of the terrain and types of terrain themselves. While there are a lot of potential scenarios that will be affected by this, some remain in the game. things like mud, tall grass, ice, and more that have an impact on gameplay and provide options for strategy. Maybe there's mud on this part of the planet but if you collect the resources and have knowledge to craft a road, your life might be a little easier in that region.
Koster gives a deeper peek at their processes and makes us think about these very basic processes that we all notice, and sometimes without paying much attention to them at all if they’re immersive enough.
