Playtest 1 - sonkiboy/SewageUnderpass GitHub Wiki

This first play test session involved allowing the players to explore the map in its current state and fill out a form reviewing their experience of the map. I wasn't able to host a full multiplayer testing session due to time and technical limitations, but was still able to get some really good feedback.

One piece of data that I was happy to see was that players consistently felt like they spawned in areas that had adequate cover from other players than exposed. This was a big concern as this was an issue I saw a lot when initially playing some Quake death match maps. However, one tester did point out that spawn points typically had a lot of ammo or health nearby. They mentioned that it didn't make too much sense as players spawning in might not necessarily need the extra ammo and definitely not the health pick ups. This could also lead to the issue of attracting players to the places where players spawn.

Another sentiment that most players felt similar about was cover. When talking with some of the testers they felt like cover felt inconsistent, that some areas had decent cover while some had none. I knew this was going to be an issue, but there were some that pointed out that some of the areas that did have cover didn't feel like they were much use, mainly in the main arena. One tester mentioned that the cover on the main floor of the arena was a bit small, and you had to carefully position yourself to get adequate cover, and even then the cover doesn't do much against players on the upper level halls.

Lastly the big area that I wanted to ask players about was the underground area, which many people said felt very empty and too large. This was expected, I knew it was too big but mainly what I was looking for was motives for going down there. People did understand the aspect of jumping down from the main arena as a good quick way of escaping combat, but as a few testers mentioned there wasn't much of a reason to go down there or stay in that area. This was also true for the stair rooms leading from the underground back up to the main floor. One tester suggested having a powerful weapon or pick up that people might want to fight over, creating a contested point in this area. I also got the expected suggestion of just adding more cover to break up the wide open space which I agreed with. Going into iterations I feel like this underground section will be at the forefront of my work.