What's Happening?
I have some exciting news to share! The first networked playtest is happening March 14th at 9PM CST. This post is partly for the testers involved, and partly just a public record that this is happening and what it actually is.
What's being tested
This is a vertical slice — not a demo, not a preview build. The scope is narrow on purpose. Melee combat, player locomotion, death and revival, a puzzle, a boss fight, and a basic environment. That's it.
I'm not testing content. I'm stress-testing the multiplayer layer under real network conditions with real players, because synthetic tests only get you so far.
Participation for this session is limited to selected testers from the existing community. This isn't an open build — spots are allocated and the session is coordinated. If you're in, you already know.
What I need feedback on
Four things specifically:
- Combat responsiveness — does it feel right over a real connection, or does latency make it feel wrong?
- Desync and rubberbanding — where you are and where the game thinks you are should match.
- Movement and collision — does it hold up against other players or does it get weird?
- Hit registration — are hits landing where they should, against both enemies and players?
Detailed feedback matters here. Not just "felt good" or "felt bad" — if something was off, I want to know when it happened, what you were doing, who else was nearby, and what it looked like on your end. This is early enough that one person's detailed report can actually change how a system works.
What this isn't
It's not a content showcase. The environment is basic. There's no faction system, no stagecoach, no loot economy — none of that is in scope. If you show up expecting a finished game experience you'll be disappointed, and I'd rather be straight about that now.
This is a technical test. Ugly stage. Honest process.
Why now
Networked multiplayer is the hardest part of this project. There's no point building more on top of a foundation I haven't pressure tested. If the netcode has problems I need to know before the game gets more complex — not after.
More updates after the session.
— Nozzexx