There is a TLDR version at the bottom. I put this into general, as its partial question, partial suggestion, but all about TU.
While I doubt anything we say can change the your (the devs) minds, but any chance to prioritize Arcade/ZM/Accelerate/HH/SDNL, and then do new maps & all the non minigame, quality of life aspects?
It would also be a good way to give feedback for you guys to think on as you work on those other elements. I know that Plaza minigames was a focus, sort of, so this is aimed at those more major games.
This is something I was wondering on for a while now, and I really want to play more TU, but the same few game modes become rather stale (Minigolf / Ball Race - there are never enough for Virus, and Planet Panic is a problem the moment teams are uneven, most seem to always sit in the Casino).
To use some valid material for the purpose of this, I noticed that dev logs have switched away from ZM to focusing on non game mode stuff suddenly, itâs a bit frustrating, hoping to see some progress towards fun stuff as a player because (using todayâs dev log for example, the media player is really not something exciting as I can just go to Youtube directly, so that wouldnât be something Iâd view as a priority, and more âside stuffâ for down the road. It is a neat feature, but more of a side feature than any of TUâs primary appealing points). It seems like something gets started, then stopped, and kind of sits there (fishing is another example, it was supposed to be coming soon and near completion, but then it suddenly stopped and not finished, despite being close, although that feature isnât something I am interested in, but just for some facts to further support what I am trying to get across)
Donât get the wrong idea on the purpose of this, I know game developing isnât a simple process, and itâs meant as an inquiry & sort of a suggestion from what player(s) would prefer, in hopes of seeing the major game additions come out sooner, to both draw in more players, but keep those who love(d) the game (I really like it and see the potential, but it is quickly being tossed to the bottom of the bin and starting to get hard to want to recommend to anyone, because it seems like the âcoming soonâ game modes just arenât going to happen till 1-2 years from now at this rate). It would be nice to see heavy focus on gameplay additions over things like remodeling stuff already in-game, etc. Getting in all the things first, then adjusting/improving them after.
Arcade I believe has been at 10/20 done since I first bought the game in summer. I have said elsewhere that I look forward to this a lot, so daily I view the dev logs in hopes of seeing it get near completion since it is under âactive developmentâ, but it hasnât had any progress in 3-4 months? Why not focus on finishing one aspect and adding it in for testing & players to tinker with to give feedback, rather than have a lot of things partly finished and sitting there? It feels like these new games are just never going to happen (at least nothing this year anymore) : <
TLDR:
-A lot of the games that would add a lot of interest to the game seem to go full-swing, then suddenly stop entirely, resulting in several, partially completed games sitting there forever (Arcade being a prime example), rather than finish one, let players play it, and provide feedback for changes as progress is made further on the next game.
-Redoing models, or enhancements/changes to non major game modes seems like something better suited more towards the end, no? These donât enhance a game on the same level gameplay addition elements would. (Example: Lazer Projector enhancement that took 2 weeks of time, this is more of a âcool addition featureâ, but just doesnât add the same level of content the major game modes would, so it would be lower on the priority pole)
I have a bad impression of early access games thanks to 3 âsurvivalâ games over the past year, and TU was an EA game I originally felt within the first month of viewing that was doing EA well. But seeing the âcoming soonâ game modes, or those under âactive development like Arcadeâ just not progressing in months, TU is quickly moving towards the 4th EA title. Since the purpose of EA is to draw in feedback, mine is to please focus on the game modes more, as that is TUâs biggest appeal. The quality of feedback drops when the player count dwindles, and Dark and Light / Conan Exiles are 2 primary examples that fell to this failure, by not focusing on adding gameplay, ultimately resulting in having 1/20th the player base they used to. Both are empty shells where the focus was on redoing something too much, to the point where people are just bored and abandon the game because it looks like promised material just isnât going to happen. I would like to see TU not fall victim to the same failure, but it is heading that way.
Again, this isnât meant as a negative thing, but rather in hopes of improving TU and giving feedback on what a player would like to see (and I am sure many others would like to see new game modes sooner than later). There hasnât been any new game modes since summer or earlier (at least since I started playing), a few map additions which are fine, but donât add the playability value nearly the same as a new game mode, more of an enhancement. I am aware of the mini plaza games for Halloween too, but these will poof, and I am pretty positive that Arcade would be far more entertaining and a long-term enjoyment feature, like the Casino.