Hey, MGH Squad! 👋
Yes, you read that title correctly! 😉 This Halloween weekend, we will be running our first closed beta test.
This beta test will start this Friday, October 29th and run through the Halloween weekend. The test is currently planned to conclude 3AM EDT Monday, November 1st.
To celebrate moving into closed beta, we've got a lovely new teaser trailer for you to check out!
Although this is our first closed beta, the NDA/no streaming rules will still stand. We have many new systems and features added that have not yet been tested at scale. We want to make sure these run smoothly before opening up for content creation, as first impressions count! Thank you for understanding, and stay tuned for news on content creation in the future.
Moving into closed beta means we are focusing more on polishing and improving existing content rather than creating new gameplay content. With this test, we think we’ve reached a good threshold of available content for a potential initial release. We feel we’ve reached a good amount of available maps, weapons, gadgets, and so on.
We would, of course, love to hear your thoughts and feedback, so keep ‘em coming on Discord and beyond!
Now, let’s see what’s new in this closed beta!
🖥️ NEW FEATURES 🖥️
Matchmaking
We’ve implemented a real matchmaking system for this test. We heard the feedback from our last test loud and clear - making fair matches is our biggest priority. Too many new players were facing off against seasoned alpha pros. This system will attempt to place you (and your party) with players of similar “skill” or playtime, similar region/ping, and more.
This is a very experimental new feature that has yet to be tested at a large scale - so that’s what we’re doing during this beta!
Progression
Instead of overwhelming new players with all the gear and ability possibilities and hundreds of combinations, we’re introducing a progression system. Fear not, leveling up is quite fast and you’ll be able to unlock all the gear and abilities once you hit level 17. We’re looking forward to hearing all of your feedback regarding this feature. If you’re a returning tester (first and foremost, thank you for joining us once again), your player level won’t be wiped out during this test, so worry not!
Cosmetic Overhaul
When you complete matches and earn XP, you’ll get a specific amount of ghost shards. Ghost shards can be used to unlock cosmetic items like skins and emotes. We wanted to experiment with a different type of system that gives you the ability to unlock skins and emotes you like the most, instead of them unlocking randomly after leveling up.
NOTE: We are not planning any microtransactions as a part of this system - it’s just a way to unlock the cosmetics you want. We will let you know if this plan changes, depending on our pricing model on the full released game.
Prop Layout Variations
Each room of each map will have several different prop layouts. This means that the props will populate the rooms in different locations. This should provide a lot more variety in the gameplay and Hunters with photographic memory won’t immediately know that a Ghost is hiding in a prop due to its location. Memorizing prop locations, hard mode!
New Voice Chat System
We have changed our voice chat provider, which should generally work better for our purposes. We’ve also implemented some ghostly touches into area voice chat, make sure to test it out. 😉
🗺️NEW MAP: Graveyard🗺️
Our new map is very appropriate, considering it’s Halloween. Are you ready to explore this multi-level cemetery? The church and the surrounding burial ground are full of new props, hiding spots, and mysteries. Remember to keep an eye on the skies as well, you never know where the Ghosts might be hiding. I bet you’re dying to get in. 💀
🔥NEW WEAPON: Flamethrower🔥
The Flamethrower is the newest addition to the MGH weapon line-up. It sprays anti-Ghost acidic flames and burns props over time. With the Flamethrower you can burn props, but you have to make sure that they’ve fully caught on fire. This works similar to the Frostbite from last test - this makes it a little harder to probe for Ghosts in props with.
💪NEW WEAPON: Riot Shield💪
Holding up the Riot Shield blocks incoming damage. After several hits the shield can overheat and you’ll need some time to let it cool down, during which you will be vulnerable. The Riot Shield also has some offensive capability with the shield bash, though with low damage and a knockback effect. It can be particularly useful after Midnight to absorb some hits, or to block incoming Poltergeist floating props or even Miasma.
🩹 NEW GADGET: Medic Kit 🩹
Medic! This is a box of medical bandages that will let you heal yourself or your teammates quickly. Each box has 3 heal charges available. You can either directly apply bandages, or leave the medic kit on the floor for others to use on themselves.
During our last test, we received feedback about the Hunter’s instant heal at the Generator being very frustrating to deal with. They could instantly recover from all damage you dealt to them every few seconds. This has been removed! Now they must equip this gadget and apply the bandages. This can take time and can be interrupted with any damage.
✨NEW PERKS✨
Overkill
Want to cause some carnage? Are you a self-proclaimed FPS god? If so, Overkill sounds like the perk for you. Instead of equipping one weapon and one gadget, you can abandon the gadget slot and equip two weapons instead.
Gadgeteer
The Gadgeteer perk is the reverse of Overkill. If you’re a true gadget lover and different types of gizmos and doodads are your thing, feel free to discard the weapon slot and go for two gadgets instead.
We’re looking forward to finding out what kind of combos you all will come up with!
🗝️KEYS🗝️
If you have a key from any previous test, you can join the MGH beta by simply reinstalling Midnight Ghost Hunt - Beta Test (previously called Alpha Test) on Steam to participate.
If you don’t have a key, there are a few ways for you to acquire some for the upcoming beta. Here’s how you can go about it:
JOIN US ON DISCORD!
As usual, we’ll be giving away keys on our Discord, so remember to invite all your friends to join our server if they haven’t got a key! Keep an eye on your DMs, because our key bot will be hard at work a few days prior to the beta.
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER!
We’ll be giving away keys on our Twitter leading up to the launch of this test, so follow us there for a chance to snag a key!
SIGN UP ON THE MAILING LIST!
Sign up on our newsletter here for a chance at a key! We won’t be sending as many via email due to spam filters causing many lost keys, but it’s also a good way to keep up to date with development!
We’re beyond excited to play Midnight Ghost Hunt with all of you again! We’d also love to hear what you are most looking forward to. Let's chat on Discord & Twitter, and we’ll see you on the hunt this weekend!
Tinny 👻
Community Manager
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