Corepunk already shared some initial player feedback from its second playtest – “challenging and punishing” was used a fair bit – but now developer Artificial Core is taking a deeper dive into its findings as it considers some of the technical and gameplay elements from testing.
On the technical side of things, the studio claims that things went very well, particularly since this is the first time the game has opened to a wider global scale. Naturally testing did find some critical bugs and errors, but Artificial Core points out that’s the purpose of such a test, and it can now work on scaling and improving its existing infrastructure.
The majority of the post talks about gameplay, as it once again zeroes in on balancing gameplay difficulty, designing around solo play as well as group play, and trying to ensure Corepunk isn’t built in a way that encourages players to blitz to level cap ASAP or is perceived as a hard-bitten experience.
“We never intended to create a hardcore game,” the studio says. “[T]he goal was to make a game with different gameplay possibilities and although this sounds standard, we have indeed implemented and continue to implement many mechanics that support this direction. In Corepunk, it is not necessary to rush to the top, you can stay and enjoy a calm, relaxed pace of the game.”
The post once again talks about a lack of passive regeneration for health and mana, acknowledges “unforeseen bottlenecks,” and calls out the importance of preparation in hubs before venturing out in order to mitigate some risk. The game’s next test is scheduled for December 2nd, with a particular focus on crafting and professions.
