Star rock takes off and lands on Google Play, at least the first playable prototype of the game which already has feedback.
During these weeks, the development team has been developing some ideas and implementing some basic features that have shaped this first prototype. Some of these features are ship control with a fixed joystick at the bottom left of the screen, automatic basic shot, power-ups that increase the fire rate, different enemies and obstacles that drop power-ups when destroyed, a score multiplier according to the position of the player on the screen, a user interface that shows the score and the remaining lives, and some nice graphics implemented with shaders. It is also possible to see the frame rate per second on the screen, although this will be displayed for debugging purposes only and removed in the final version of the game.
At the moment, the game is only available for the UK and Hungary but soon it will expand and open new borders that will make the game available also in other countries like Spain. So far, the game has only been tested by a few players in the UK and we have already reviewed all the feedback we have received.
The launched questionnaire, which you can access from here, covers some basic aspects such as:
what model of device is being used
framerate
if it has been an enjoyable experience
difficulty
controls and preferences
if there have been any bugs
what has been liked
what has not been liked
what has been frustrating
what they would like to see in future updates
In this first review by users, it should be noted that only 30.8% of players have been able to play at a rate of 60 fps, the rest of the players have suffered variations ranging from 7 fps to 27 fps. In terms of difficulty, 35.7% of players have found the game really difficult, followed by 28.6% who think the game is considerably difficult. Only 28.5% think that the game is easy and 7.1% think that the difficulty is medium.
One of the aspects where the players have complained the most has been the controls. The vast majority have expressed that the controls feel clunky and imprecise making it difficult to maneuver the ship and that they prefer a floating joystick to a fixed one.
As for bugs, 57.1% have not reported any type of bug compared to 42.9% who have reported some bugs such as the ship stopping moving on some occasions, or some shots going through without damaging both the player and the enemy.
What the players liked the least was the control of the ship, the difficulty of the game, and some confusion with the powerups. Whereas what they liked the most was the concept of the game and the graphics.
In short, the enjoyment of the players has been mediocre for 50% of those surveyed, decent for 28.6%, and poor or very poor for the remaining 21.4%. Nobody has rated the game with the highest rating on a scale of 1 to 5.
Some of the changes that players expect to see in future updates are considerable improvements to controls, app optimization, more levels with more enemies, and balancing and clarifying the function of each power-up.
In conclusion:
The graphics are great.
The game is difficult.
The controls need to smooth out the movement of the ship.
The game needs optimization to run the game at a stable frame rate to avoid bugs.
Communicate better the use of power-ups.
The game needs more content (enemies and levels).
What's next?
The development team will implement improvements requested by users and work to optimize the app for most Android devices. It won't be until the 21st of November when we release the second version of the updated game and we will need your feedback again to know firsthand if we have solved the problems of the players. So we have a new date for the 21st and we hope you can help us improve the game.
Don't forget that if you haven't tried the game yet and would like to contribute by giving us feedback, please install the game on your android device, test the game and complete the survey.
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