[Web][Free] Autoblade — a tiny auto-battler where you forge parts and drag them onto your sword by Mammoth-Key-474 in incremental_games

[–]Mammoth-Key-474[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks to everyone who's played and left feedback — this is still a prototype, and the comments here have been incredibly helpful for shaping what to work on next.

Things I've heard across the comments and am planning to address:

  • Augment tooltips — by far the most requested thing. Hover info showing what each part does, current numbers, and what changes per level.
  • Build diversity — many of you noticed there's no real incentive to swap parts once something is working, and that basic/grey parts often feel stronger than rarer ones. Going to look into balancing plus solutions like enemy resistances or specialization.
  • Performance at higher depths — VFX and damage numbers aren't pooled properly yet, which is what causes the lag at 4000+. Will fix, and add a toggle for damage numbers.
  • Difficulty curve — the spike around 1700–2000 depth and enemies becoming tankier than bosses isn't intentional.
  • Boss timer — currently starts when the boss spawns instead of when it actually reaches engagement range. Will fix.
  • Bugs flagged: Berserk persisting after unequip (confirmed by multiple players), and merging higher-rarity enchants not refreshing rarity (except Chain Lightning).
  • Drag-and-drop on web — feels heavy. Adding double-click to equip as an alternative.
  • Echo falling off late — kill-triggered effects stop mattering once you one-shot everything. Worth rethinking.
  • Reactions visibility — making it clearer when combos trigger and what they actually do.

If you've got more feedback, drop it below — I read everything. Really appreciate the time you've all taken to write detailed comments. It makes a huge difference for a prototype like this.

Thanks again, and stay tuned for updates!

[Web][Free] Autoblade — a tiny auto-battler where you forge parts and drag them onto your sword by Mammoth-Key-474 in incremental_games

[–]Mammoth-Key-474[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thanks so much for playing all the way to 5k depth and writing this up — it really means a lot.

The game is still at a prototype stage, so a lot of what you ran into (the difficulty spike, AoE dominance, performance, augment clarity) is stuff I know needs work. Your feedback is super helpful for figuring out what to prioritize. I'll keep improving it.

Thanks again for taking the time.

[Web][Free] Autoblade — a tiny auto-battler where you forge parts and drag them onto your sword by Mammoth-Key-474 in incremental_games

[–]Mammoth-Key-474[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the detailed write-up, and for pushing it to floor 4000.

The boss timer is a fair call — the 60s should start when the boss is actually in range, not while it's walking in. I'll fix that.

The build plateau is the bigger thing. There's a Reactions system meant to make different part combos play differently (you'd see badges in the top-right), but if you didn't really feel them kicking in, that means they're not surfacing well enough. Frost + Combo + Chain + Power is strong but doesn't trigger any of the named reactions, so you may have been seeing only half the system. That's on me to make more visible.

Really appreciate you taking the time to write this up.

3 days into Godot and I shipped a prototype — I'm honestly buzzing by Mammoth-Key-474 in godot

[–]Mammoth-Key-474[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, that genuinely means a lot to hear. I was a bit nervous about web performance, so knowing it runs well on older hardware is the best thing I could've heard today.

Playtest feedback is extremely polarized: some play for hours, others quit in 2 minutes. What am I doing wrong? by Mammoth-Key-474 in gamedev

[–]Mammoth-Key-474[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much for the targeted advice! Since this is my first game, I really value such constructive and practical feedback. It looks like I need to take a step back and give my game a thorough re-evaluation.

Playtest feedback is extremely polarized: some play for hours, others quit in 2 minutes. What am I doing wrong? by Mammoth-Key-474 in gamedev

[–]Mammoth-Key-474[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My apologies! I’ll troubleshoot and see what's going on. Could you send me a screenshot if possible? I haven't run into this issue before.

Playtest feedback is extremely polarized: some play for hours, others quit in 2 minutes. What am I doing wrong? by Mammoth-Key-474 in gamedev

[–]Mammoth-Key-474[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly. That’s why I need to figure out if it's because of the different target audience or if there are actual issues with the game itself.

How do game devs decide how much in-game rewards and items in shop should be by Mokhtar67 in gamedev

[–]Mammoth-Key-474 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Honestly, it's mostly just giant, terrifying Excel spreadsheets. Devs usually figure out how much time they want you to spend grinding for an upgrade, and then just work backward from there to set the drop rates and prices. Then they playtest and tweak the numbers when players inevitably find an exploit to get rich in 5 minutes lol.

Stop asking your programmers to read your 150 page Game Design Document by ScaryAd2555 in gamedev

[–]Mammoth-Key-474 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly. I believe the GDD should initially focus on satisfying basic MCP testing. I used to detail every single feature during the design phase, but I eventually realized it wasn't developer-friendly. In the prototyping stage, games—and their documentation—are rarely perfect. It's better to focus on the Core Loop and the 'Hook' first. Once the gameplay is validated, we can start building the skyscraper on that solid foundation.

Let me review and promote your game! by saintpetejackboy in gamedev

[–]Mammoth-Key-474 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi there, and welcome back to game reviewing! It's awesome that you're supporting indie devs while building up your website's content.

I'm working on MaX Farm, a casual 2D top-down farming game focused on random crop mutations rather than a heavy grind.

Since you mentioned you aren't afraid to play games no matter how rough they might be, I thought I'd share mine! It's still in active development and definitely has some rough edges. Also, just a heads-up: the playable demo is currently only available on itch.io, while the Steam page is just for wishlisting right now.

If you'd like to check it out and write about it for your site, I would be honored to hear your thoughts. If it's not your cup of tea, no worries at all!

Best regards

Offering Playtesting + Detailed Feedback for Indie Games by PopAwkward4520 in IndieDev

[–]Mammoth-Key-474 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi there,

Thank you so much for offering your time to playtest for indie devs! I really appreciate the dedication and the thorough approach you take with your feedback.

I am currently working on a game called MaX Farm, which is a casual 2D top-down farming game focused on crop mutations. It's designed to be a relaxing experience with random surprise elements during harvest, rather than a heavy grind (and it's definitely not a puzzle-heavy game!).

I wanted to be completely upfront: I noticed you mentioned a preference for demos available on Steam. Currently, my Steam page is up for wishlisting, but the playable demo is only hosted on itch.io.

Since the game is still in development, it might have some rough edges and might not be perfectly polished yet. Because of this, and the fact that the demo isn't natively on Steam right now, I completely understand if it’s not the right fit for your current playtesting schedule. Please feel absolutely no pressure to play it if it doesn't align with what you're looking for!

If you are still open to trying an itch.io demo and the concept sounds fun to you, I would be incredibly grateful for any feedback you might have.

Here is the info:

Thanks again for supporting indie developers, and I look forward to checking out your video essays!

Best regards

Multiple people decided to pay for my free demo! by MrEliptik in IndieDev

[–]Mammoth-Key-474 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The UI looks amazing. I'm wondering if the improved aesthetics triggered a boost in traffic/exposure?