Weekly Update - July 31st 2020

Hey there, Ghost Hunters!

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Welcome to another weekly update! This week, we are continuing our look into data from our most recent alpha test.

Let's jump right in with the Hunter weapon usage data!

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Spectral Cannon was the most commonly selected weapon, as you might expect, it is part of the default loadout. It’s a solid weapon that is good in nearly any scenario - good damage to both Ghosts and physical objects.

We saw it commonly paired with the Fast Recharge perk, reducing the chance of letting a Ghost escape because you were one battery charge short!

The mighty Ghostsmasher returns in second place. This short ranged weapon was tweaked recently to be more effective towards Ghosts in their base form, and less so against physical props. (This is in anticipation of a new upcoming weapon, the Sledgehammer, that will be strong against physical props but weak against Ghost form.)

We saw the Smasher used a fair bit more after Midnight as Ghost form is a bit more common at that point. If you can dodge their punches, you may be able to take out a Red Ghost by yourself!

Third place is Project X. Utilization is up a little bit from last alpha, but still a somewhat niche weapon. It’s not very effective at chasing Ghosts due to slow charge-up and low speed, it truly shines after Midnight as a point defense tool. It also is a strong counter against aggressive large props before Midnight, as it is more effective against physical props in the new damage model.

We plan on introducing more weapons next test so that we can really start to see how the meta develops when more choices become available.

Moving on to data from gadgets!

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Radar is in first place - again, part of the default loadout, but also an incredible tool to track down hiding Ghosts. Should always have at least one in each team for sure.

Second place is the Pathfinder, which is our other Ghost-tracking gadget.

As you may know if you played the test, Radar is effective against Ghosts that have not moved much and built up a fair bit of ectoplasm. Pathfinder, the counterpart, is effective in finding Ghosts that have been recently on the move. Having one of each on a team really ensures the covering of all bases!

The others all have a more niche use case, but were quite effective in their respective roles. Defibrillator, of course, is extremely useful but not something you would carry with you at all times. (Unless, of course, it’s after Midnight at the generator is vulnerable - in this case, it can be the clutch choice to revive your whole team!)

Okay, that’s a good stopping point for this week. Next week we’ll continue onward unpacking data from our most recent test, and discussing plans for the future!

Thanks so much for reading! Let us know on our socials what you think of the above data, and we’ll see you next week.

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Weekly Update - July 24th, 2020

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Hey there, Ghost Hunters!

Thanks for joining us for another edition of the weekly update!

As you may know, we completed our 6th alpha test event on Monday. We are happy to report it was by far our most stable and successful alpha test so far!

We’d like to thank each and every one of you for testing and giving your feedback and bug reports. With all this data, we will have the chance to meaningfully improve the game and get us closer to a successful launch.

Let’s take some time to explore a bit of the data from this test.

We’ll begin with one of the most important data points: How balanced were the two teams?

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After reviewing the data from previous tests, we can confirm this is the most balanced alpha yet! Hunters did appear to have tiny bit of an edge this time around. (Ghosts were slightly favored last test.)

We think a number of factors contributed to this change. Firstly, the Hunters have an extra 30 seconds to find the Ghosts, now up to 5 minutes. This seemed to help the Hunters quite a bit.

We also made some fairly large changes to how Hunters deal damage to Ghosts.

Previously, Hunter damage was very simple and applied the same no matter what form they were in. This test, we experimented with certain weapons being strong against Ghost form, and certain weapons strong against the objects they inhabit.

Our new tool tip displaying facts and statistics about the weapon you have equipped.

Our new tool tip displaying facts and statistics about the weapon you have equipped.

Spectral Cannon was our middle-of-the-road standard issue that is effective to both.

Ghostsmasher was very effective against Ghost form but weaker against physical objects, and saw greater use after Midnight as Ghost forms are more common then.

Project X is stronger against physical objects, and well suited for clearing a room or mowing down a group of ghosts headed your way.

While this alpha test was a success, there is still a lot of work to do. A highly requested feature, a party system, was added this test. It gave a group of up to 4 friends an easier way to join the same game together.

However, it is still difficult to ensure that party actually ends up on the same team. That is something we will look at solving for our next test!

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for updates as we dig in for our next sprint towards the next test!

That’s it for this week, Ghost Hunters!

Did you have a favorite moment from the alpha test? A cross-map headshot with a prop? Maybe you did a 360 to land the final shot on a Ghost? Reach out to us via our socials below and let us know!

We’ve got plenty of more data from the alpha to go over next week - so stay tuned!

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Weekly Update - July 3rd, 2020

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Hey there, Ghosts Hunters!

We’ve got an alpha coming up - exact dates to be announced soon - and there will be a new map to play!

Players of the April alpha test may have noticed the Warehouse map missing. We decided it wasn’t up to par with the other two maps - generally was the lowest rated.

(Though many have assured me it was their favorite map)

So we went back to the drawing board and revamped the Warehouse idea and turned it into something much more compelling, we hope!

Here’s a little sneak preview of the revamped Warehouse/Factory map:

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As the alpha draws closer, we’ll describe the map changes in greater detail. Stay tuned!

That’s it for this week, Ghost Hunters!

Thanks so much for reading!

How do you feel about the changes so far? Feel free to hit us up on any of our socials below.

Weekly Update - June 26th, 2020

Hey there, Ghost Hunters!

First and foremost, the team would like to apologize for the infrequency of our Weekly Updates. The team had been hard at work creating new content and we aren’t quite ready to show off everything just yet…

However, we are happy to debut a new loadout system that we are feeling quite confident in after some initial first passes.

A glimpse at an older version of our loadout selection screen.

A glimpse at an older version of our loadout selection screen.

Our former loadout screen was a bit overcrowded and didn’t do a great job at displaying the pros/cons of selecting a Weapon, Gadget, Perk or Haunt. Thus, the team created Loadouts 2.0.

Upon selecting a Team you’ll be greeted with our new loadout screen selection, beginning with your Ghost Hunter Weapon or Ghost Ability.

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The 4 separate boxes along the top display your equipped Weapon/Ability, Gadget/Haunt, Perks, and Skin (coming soon™) The selection box with an arrow displays exactly where in the Loadout selection process you are.

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The 4 separate boxes along the top display your equipped Weapon/Ability, Gadget/Haunt, Perks, and Skin (coming soon™), with the highlighted item showing specifically where in the Loadout selection process you are.

Hovering over a loadout selection icon will display information about it, for example — hovering over the Phantom ability we learn that it allows us to lower our visibility to Ghost Hunters, and that it’s best use is to escape Ghost Hunters.

Along the left hand side of the screen players can also view the selected loadouts of their teammates, and watch as they update in real time. (Not yet seen in the Ghost loadout)

Our new loadout screen offers plenty of real estate for gadgets as we expand and develop new items. Players will simply be able to scroll down to view more selections if we grow beyond the 15 slots already allocated for each slot.

We are keen on ensuring the barrier to understanding how to play is very low, however the mastery of all weapons and gadgets is something only Ghost Hunter legends can dream about…

That’s it for this week, Ghost Hunters!

How do you feel about the Loadout UI update? Do the icons take up too much space? Should the icons displaying your loadout be presented vertically rather than horizontal? Be sure to let us know via our socials!

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Weekly Update - May 22nd, 2020

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Hey there, Ghost Hunters!

This week, we’d like to hear the community’s thoughts on an idea that we had internally!

We are toying with the idea of revamping the way Hunter damage works towards Ghosts.

Currently, Hunter damage to Ghosts is applied the same way, no matter if the Ghost is in their base Ghost form, or if they are in a prop. It doesn’t care what form the Ghost is in. Damage is just damage.

When the prop is destroyed via damage, the Ghost is forced out and is low health. It takes one more hit to destroy them, before they can find a new prop to hide in.

That’s the basic Hunter damage logic as it stands currently.

Going forward, we are thinking of experimenting with this core flow a bit.

What if certain Hunter weapons/gadgets were better at breaking props, but less effective at damaging their Ghost form? And vica versa.

What weapon will accompany you on your next ghost hunt?

What weapon will accompany you on your next ghost hunt?

So, in this scenario, you could have, say, a Sledgehammer weapon/gadget.

This is really good at breaking physical objects (where Ghosts might be hiding), but only hurts the base Ghost form a bit. That seems to make sense, as Ghosts are not fully physical creatures, but the props they hide in are. It would do SOME damage to the Ghosts, though, it wouldn’t be useless.

Likewise, imagine an anti-spectral weapon of some kind that barely damages physical objects, but would totally annihilate any Ghost forms. It uses special technology that specifically targets spectral beings. But it would only lightly damage the couch. With enough time, it could break a couch, but is hardly optimal.

There would also be some weapons that are equally good at both, but not great at either. Middle of the road types.

We think that could open up for some team composition strategies where the Hunters may want to min-max a bit more, and a little bit more complex gameplay on the side of the Hunters overall.

The idea is that we would communicate which weapon is best for what scenario in the loadout screen.

The concept is still in its early stages, but we wanted to see what the community thinks.

Do you think this would be an unnecessary complication? 

Or do you think it would spice up gameplay for Hunters and create more interesting weapon types and strategies? 

Or do you not mind either way?

Respond below, if you may!

Thanks so much for letting us know what you think!

We are going to try to open up design discussion with the community even more going forward.

It really helps us get a better understanding of what kind of game you’d like to play.

Thanks for stopping by, and we’ll see you next week!

Weekly Update - May 8th, 2020

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Hey there, Ghost Hunters!

Welcome back to another Weekly Update.

This week, we’re going to be taking a deeper look at some data from our recent alpha test.

Let’s begin with an interesting data point: What Hunter weapons were used most?

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Spectral Cannon was the most commonly selected weapon, though this may be a bit misleading as it is part of the default loadout. The Spectral Cannon is also the only way for Hunters to obtain upgrades for their weapons, so it’s crucial any group of Hunters has at least one.

Both the Ghostsmasher and Project X saw their highest utilization in any of our previous tests yet!

The Ghostsmasher is easy to understand: no battery, just whack away at any suspicious furniture. A recent quality of life change allowed Hunters with the Sprint perk to swing while sprinting -- this proved quite useful when on the chase!

Project X defends its third place position, seeing the highest utilization across our alpha tests yet! Project X is more of a supporting weapon and should be used alongside other Hunters, due to the wind-up time and speed reduction. It’s not very good for chasing Ghosts, but it is remarkably effective in point defense, especially after Midnight.

As we add more weapons to the Hunter’s arsenal, we expect to see the utilization even out a bit. We’ve got some really cool weapon ideas in the pipeline and we can’t wait to share them with you.

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Let’s move onto Hunter gadgets!

Unsurprisingly, the Radar claims first place. Similar to the Spectral Cannon, the Radar is part of the default loadout, so the data may be a little misleading. It’s also the only gadget introduced in the tutorial. Beyond all that, you need at least one of these in your team to help you track those camping Ghosts.

Pathfinder secures the second place position. Not super surprising as it is the natural counterpart to the Radar. Pathfinder is used primarily to track Ghosts that are moving, whereas the Radar is most effective on stationary hiding Ghosts.

Defibrillators were at the bottom again, but they were used more often than in Alpha 4! We think this is due to the more obvious UI element that alerts players to resurrect fallen allies, even if they do not have it equipped. 

We plan on introducing the Defibrillators more effectively in an upcoming expanded tutorial, so more players are aware they exist. That goes for all of the non-default weapons and gadgets, really.

Thanks so much for reading! Let us know what you think on Discord or Twitter.
We will have plenty of more data to review next week, be sure to check back then!

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Weekly Update - May 1st, 2020

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Hey there, Ghost Hunters!

Greetings, and welcome to another Weekly Update.

This week, we are going to explore the data from our community map idea poll we conducted over the last week.

Thanks so much for voting, and submitting your map ideas not listed. The map team has a lot of great ideas to draw from now.

Let’s break down the top 5 maps you voted for!

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The top 5 have come in nearly neck-and-neck!

Midnight at the Museum taking 1st place was a bit of a surprise, but a very welcome one. It may not be something you’d expect to be haunted, but it really evokes a strong image in one’s mind.

The team is hoping to focus more on map creation in the near future. Before we begin this process, we take into account how many “propportunities” a map offers.

“Proportunities” are the opportunities to create interesting and unique props for each of these map ideas. We really want to nail down unique and interesting tropes to pull from with each map concept, and let Ghosts possess them to wreak havoc on those pesky Hunters!

The Museum could see a possessable T-Rex exhibit, cannons that actually deal damage on the Ghost Ship, or working fun house mirrors for the Carnival, and so on. We like map ideas that have a lot of neat things to possess, giving the map a distinct flavor and unique gameplay moments.

As the data above shows, Midnight at the Museum is absolutely an idea worth exploring in the near future. When we envision this map, we’d like to see a wide variety of sections to explore. A dedicated science area, an exhibit showcasing fossils and hidden treasures, and much much more…

Ghost Ship sailed into second place, and we love this idea. Plenty of propportunities to be had, and so many eras of ships to explore. We are a big fan of all things old and nostalgic and would likely explore a ship from the 1800s-1900s. Could be a pirate ship, or it could be more like a luxury cruise liner. We’d just want to make sure it feels distinct from the Victorian-era Mansion map. Let us know what you think!

Medieval Castle claimed third place, and we have a lot of great ideas for this. The suit of armor seen in our E3 teaser trailer would finally have a home, and maybe even join the ranks of other displays and weaponry! We could also explore the castle grounds, maybe there is a moat with a working drawbridge, or high castle walls.

We are keen on ensuring all of our maps are designed with relevant environments, intriguing and unique props, and most importantly are fun to play.

Though we can’t promise every single one of these maps will make it into the game, it has given us a really good idea of what the community wants. That’s really important to us!

Let us know if you like these ideas, or if you have any better ones. We are all ears!

Thanks again to everyone who voted and submitted their ideas!

That’s it for this week, Ghost Hunters!

Thanks so much for reading! We’ll be reviewing more data from our last alpha test next week so stay tuned.

Be sure to let us know via our socials if you have any great map ideas or suggestions.

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Weekly Update - April 17th, 2020

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Hey there, Ghost Hunters!

Welcome back to another Weekly Update!

This week, we’re going to dive into some data from our recent alpha test.

Let’s start with one of the most important data points: How balanced were the two teams?

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Looks like we had a fairly balanced alpha! Ghosts did appear to have a little bit of an edge - last alpha the Hunters were in that position.

This is probably due to the new size of our existing maps. Both Mansion and Asylum were nearly doubled in size - giving the Ghosts plenty of new places to hide.

We’ve also ensured there is at least two ways out of nearly every room - no more dead ends. This gives the Ghosts a better chance to escape without getting cornered.

We’ve done a fair bit of balancing to help compensate for the larger maps, and it appears we got it fairly close to 50/50 again, which is exciting.

We are looking into ways we can try to get even closer to 50/50 - though it will have to be a light touch. Could be as simple as increasing Spirit cooldown, or as drastic as giving the Hunters another 30 seconds before Midnight.

There’s a lot of things we can try. If you have any suggestions, feel free to let us know on Discord!

A good amount of players may be surprised by the results - much of our feedback contained some variation of “Ghosts OP” or “Hunters OP”.

I think the perceived imbalance is definitely something for us to work on.

I think the most obvious solution is some sort of skill-based matchmaking system so you get placed with players most similar to you. There were many cases of newer players going toe-to-toe with former pro prop hunt players in this test - not surprising that some matches could end up lopsided.

But how does that play into our server browser setup? One drawback of a server browser solution is that you can’t be bound by a matchmaker. You might end up in a lobby full of pros.

We were thinking of showing the average skill rating of the lobby from the server browser so you could have some idea of what kind of match it would be. And we’d have a standard “Quick Play” type button in the main menu to just find a good one for you.

Let us know if you think this is a good idea, or if you can think of a better one. We are all ears!

That’s it for this week, Ghost Hunters

Thanks so much for reading! We’ve got plenty of more data to go over next week - so stay tuned!

Let us know on our socials if you are surprised by these numbers, or if they sound about right.

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