here's the link for my autobattler, https://panquax.itch.io/glory-ghosts
i'd appreciate any feedback! especially if the amount of reading isn't too overwhelming for new players. I wanted to create deep systems but the cost of that is that there is a lot of reading in the beginning. Other than that, how do you like the game loop and how do you feel about current synergies/possibilities. Are they deep enough to make this game appealing for wider audience?
The onboarding needs significant work. I dont think its enough to accept the sheer volume of reading at the beginning of this game. Clicking through 44 (Yes, 44!) screens is far too much, particularly when there are multiple options to consider, each with their own reading, on each of those screens.
Its not clear at all what you are even doing as a player during that incredibly long setup. There aren't clear headings for "SELECT PARTY MEMBER 2" for example.
After I clicked through and then wanted to FIGHT GHOSTS I had to drag 4 races onto the party, 9 items, 13 upgrades, and 4 relics. 70 clicks, and countless reading before the option to even start is really presented. I was lost as a player forever by then and I suspect many others are the same. I dont think its worth commenting on anything after that point as there is so much friction before even starting, that I think reworking that should be your entire focus. Audio, the fact the game is entirely just a Claude gen, UI clarity, honestly none of it matters until this player onboarding is reworked and made far more pain free, because you will be losing quite a lot of potential players before they ever get to the actual battling.
Best of luck with your game.
No problem, happy to playtest.
Ill add some further notes here, but they are not extensive. Once you have improved the onboarding Im happy to play again and offer you some more detailed feedback on the actual core of loop of the game.
For now, here is some additional feedback outside the onboarding comments:
- Watching the battles play out is actually quite satisfying. I think youve done a good job on making it feel like a battle is taking place.
- Having an ordered log of attacks would be useful as battles can be a bit chaotic.
- The placement of your team vs the enemy team on the battle screen is not immediately clear to me. You could separate your 4 from the enemy 4 a little bit more, maybe with a "VS" in between.
On the onboarding, I suggest having a QUICK and ADVANCED option, or at the very least, add pre made selections for the characters, so people can get to the battling in about 90% less clicks. I understand your desire to show off the customization, but having some presets, or the ability to create a pre-set character and then RANDOMIZE the abilities, upgrades etc would be pretty useful. At least that way most of the setup is done for people, and as they play and learn, and fail, they could choose to try again and put more time into the ADVANCED customization. Right now that barrier for entry is too high.
Hey. I took what you wrote to heart (and what my friends also criticized when they tested the game) and decided to change the gameplay loop to a more classic one: draft -> battle -> draft -> battle
That, along with a few other improvements I’m planning, should make onboarding easier, Additionally, I’ve weighed the pros and cons of this system change, and even for experienced players, it might turn out to be a change for the better (less fatigue after a long drafting session—every decision becomes more important, your build has to be strong at every stage, not just in the late game, fantasy, etc.)
I’ll try to implement this new system, and when it’s ready for testing, I’ll ask you for your feedback. Thanks a lot once again.
Hey, I didnt get a chance to play this a second time, but I have set up a Discord server that is primarily focused around playtests. Its extremely new but wanted to reach out given I have already played your game and given feedback. Im inviting people whos games I have played, so hopefully you can get more feedback as the server grows. Here is a link to the Discord, and the site if you have any interest in seeing it. Here is my website, I have not listed your game as the feedback I gave you was not up to the quality of the official feedback.
Hopefully you join the Discord and can share your progress and get feedback as it grows. I could see the potential in what you did, it was just really difficult to get through the onboarding at the time about 2.5 months ago because of all the set up, but reading your comments, it seems a lot has changed.
Honestly, seeing the variety of characters and the well-designed stats made me quite excited about the game. However, I felt that the character selection and battle preparation phases were a bit overwhelming, with too many menus and information at once.
Starting the game with 10 to 15 choices back-to-back made it difficult to keep track of what I was actually building. At first, reading each stat and ability was interesting, but after a while I found myself just picking options to get into the game rather than thinking about the combinations I was creating.
After finishing the selection phase, I also struggled to understand how to assign items, upgrades, and equipment to my teams. I got a bit lost in this section, and I think this part especially needs improvement if the goal is to appeal to a wider audience. As a player, you naturally want to get into the gameplay faster. I think these decisions would feel much better if they were introduced gradually throughout the first few rounds instead of all at the beginning.
The battle screen also feels quite busy at the moment. I think it could benefit from a cleaner presentation and a clearer focus. The effects look nice, but the battles themselves currently feel a little lacking in impact. It mostly feels like the sprites are just moving around rather than creating a satisfying combat experience. This area could use more visual feedback and stronger impact.
As someone who enjoys autobattlers, I actually like reading abilities, thinking about synergies, and planning compositions. However, when too many choices appear before the game even starts, it becomes difficult to remember why I picked certain things or what strategy I was trying to build. After a while, I found myself forgetting my initial plan and just making choices to progress.
I hope these areas continue to improve because the characters and team compositions seem very well thought out. For me, the main issue is not the core ideas, but the presentation and pacing of how these systems are introduced to the player.
By the way, if you are interested, you can also try our game ZAR. It is a 3D physics-based roguelike dice game that we have been developing for the past few months.
We are currently in the early demo stage and actively improving the game based on player feedback. We are planning to release a Steam demo in Q1 2027, so feedback from players is really valuable for us during this process.
You can try the demo here: https://happysealgames.itch.io/zar
We would love to hear your thoughts if you have time. Thanks again for sharing your feedback, and good luck with your development!
I take all your comments to heart. However, I’d like to make a quick comment regarding the idea that players want to get to the gameplay faster—drafting pieces and assembling them IS the gameplay. Watching the battle is just the icing on the cake. Still, I understand what you probably meant—it still takes too long before you see how the choices you make in the early stages perform in action. Thank you for this comment, and I’ll try to make changes that will mitigate that impression as well as other issues as you mentioned.
Btw, I tried ZAR, but I encountered a bug that got me stuck in the first minute of the game (I’m in the tutorial, right after drafting my first dice, and after the first roll, I can’t press the “accept rolls” button or do anything else). I’ll gladly try playing again and share my thoughts once it’s fixed.
Of course, I agree with you that drafting pieces and assembling your build is the actual gameplay. What I meant was more about finding the right balance between the decision-making phase and seeing the results of those decisions in action :D
In the autobattlers I’ve played, the process usually feels slower and more natural because you make choices gradually as the rounds progress. Here, when many options are presented at once, it can become a bit overwhelming before you get a chance to understand how those choices actually perform in battle.
One possible approach could be introducing the choices gradually. For example, starting with 1v1 teams, then expanding into 2v2, 3v3, etc. Instead of making the player choose everything at the beginning, you could give them 3 choices for the first team, let them play for a few minutes, then introduce another set of choices for the next team. This way, players have time to understand and connect with each decision they make.
Also, thanks for trying ZAR! I’m not sure what caused that bug. After rolling the dice, you should normally be able to press “Accept Rolls” or continue rolling depending on how many dice you have remaining.
If you were playing the web version, there might have been an additional issue since the web build is not as stable as the Windows version. If the same problem happens in the Windows version as well, I’ll definitely look into it and try to reproduce the issue.
Thanks again for the detailed feedback!
