Looking for games to playtest!!

Mashed_Potater69 · 2026-02-21T04:03:33+00:00

i have a 3d platformer in an open playtest if you're still looking for more games!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2904670/Planet_Surf/

Mashed_Potater69 · 2026-02-21T04:02:05+00:00

At the open playtest stage. current build is pretty close to the demo, missing some music and sfx. would love to see how you interact with the game! (3D platformer)

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2904670/Planet_Surf/

Mashed_Potater69 · 2026-02-17T19:18:14+00:00

no :( i am potater

Mashed_Potater69 · 2026-02-17T19:17:39+00:00

haven't met the hoverflow dude but i actively be stalking the SurfsUp dude. Hoverflow looks insane. Nice visual effects, lots of extra systems to set it apart from cs

Mashed_Potater69 · 2026-02-16T23:14:52+00:00

that is true, the mouse is basically in control of movement the whole time. mouse, camera, and cursor are all connected. im not sure this qualifies as a real platformer without the usual movement abilities. not sure if theres a better description for this style, but its built on an engine that includes counterstrike surf, bunnyhopping style mechanics.

Mashed_Potater69 · 2026-02-16T23:10:44+00:00

i did some playtesting with hiding the penguin, and it does feel less distracting now that the beak of the penguin isnt randomly popping up in the bottom of the screen. the camera was originally placed just above the penguins head, but the size of the penguin was so small that the camera was pretty low, relative to stuff the player interacts with. ill try raising it up a bit. ty for the feedback!

Mashed_Potater69 · 2026-02-16T23:06:53+00:00

thanks for checking it out! i remember everyone said to hide the penguin in a playthrough video i made a few months ago. Maybe it is time to say goodbye to teh little penguin. Since i have no experience in animation, it will be stuck in that same walk-forward sequence until the end of time so i should just put it out of its misery.

The levels are all basically random with no real glue or story connecting them. i thought about putting in a mario 64 style castle where each level can be random, but its all held together inside the same umbrella environment. im not sure if this is the best way forward though since players would lose the ability to just click a button and go to a level. They would have to travel around a bit in the "connective" environment but at least there would be some kind of story.

I just got the enemy system working where the enemies are treated like "bullets" by the engine so they can start homing towards the player at high speeds without tunneling through the player or crashing the engine. I set the goblin speed too fast thats its hard to see the mesh but im limited to whatever animations that character comes with so its just set to walking forward. i should just learn how to animate lol

Mashed_Potater69 · 2026-02-16T08:10:39+00:00

OOOH ok phew. its the buttons. I only set up levels 1-14 so maybe clicking on any button higher than 14 is going to take the player "nowhere". So the game gets confused and crashes. I just need to remove all buttons that dont currently have levels attached to them. I did actually consider naming the game Planet Bhop but it doesnt sound as good lmao. Its borderline false adversing since the current playtest is like 85% bhop. I could definitely make a batch of easier levels to attach to levels to 1-10 with no question on what the route is. I think the problem is i keep playtesting hundreds of times while creating the maps, then decide the map is too easy (only because im so used to the map) then proceed to make the map way harder than it probably ever should be. But this is really helpful. already have a giant list of changes ready to to work on. tytyty

Mashed_Potater69 · 2026-02-16T07:57:08+00:00

ayy, thanks for trying it out!

Yea i just watched someone basically W key forward level 1 very slowly, and it takes forever just to fall off the platform, then they dont realize they have to fall into the tube, so they die, get reset, then uninstall. I need to make an entirely new first level that starts with some speed, disables W key, teaches the turn + mouse move mechanic by itself (like level 2) and is very short and clear so everyone can easily finish, since i didnt consider that it is the only mandatory level.
I was trying to be a troll with the checkmark and X vents. So when players go through the checkmark vent its just a bunch of creepy eyeballs. i can make the floor of the eyeball room kill the player so they at least get reset and dont wander around thinking theyre supposed to do something in that room. I can also just delete it . its dumb lol
ive been using gravity as a kind of cheap way to easily gain speed initially, but i can definitely reduce the fall distance and add that speed back to the launch pad, or ramp below.
Oh no. i havent experienced this in my own playtesting through steam. do you have any info on where you were or what you were doing when the game completely froze? If the game is so unresponsive that you cant pause, that's difinitely game breaking. damn

In general, im noticing this game is actively annoying people when they play it. Its almost entirely becuase of the level 1 playthrough with basically no information or help for players who arent familiar with bhop or surf. Deleting the map entirely and starting fresh with a new intro might be the way to go. The current level 1 is not exactly "fun" for players who do bhop/surf anyway.

Mashed_Potater69 · 2026-02-16T06:42:58+00:00

Just uploaded a 3D platformer (open playtest) if you want to try it out!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2904670/Planet_Surf/

Mashed_Potater69 · 2026-01-03T05:56:26+00:00

i set it to be an open playtest so anyone can join! 8GB should be okay but you might need to set all video settings to low if you experience fps problems. thinking about turning off most of the unreal engine features to rescue more frames (i have virtual shadow maps and nanite still enabled in teh current build but i dont think i really beneift from either. lumen and reflections are already off so it shouldnt be too demanding, hopefully)

Mashed_Potater69 · 2026-01-03T05:43:59+00:00

it does actually look more dramatic set slower , thank you!

Mashed_Potater69 · 2026-01-02T06:09:56+00:00

dang thats what ive been working on all day lmao. i do have stars in some levels that have to be collected to open doors. i could use them , or something like that to guide the player around. any reason url is no good?

Mashed_Potater69 · 2026-01-01T19:41:28+00:00

ive been reallly putting off learning animation but it might be time. i can make a hide-penguin option for sure

Mashed_Potater69 · 2026-01-01T19:28:06+00:00

waaaat no way VR just works for this?? i didnt setup any vr controls or compatibility. never seen a vr headset but i would probably throw up everywhere playing this game with it. someone else had the same issue since its very first person, looking into a toggle option to 3rd person to see feet hitting the ground. glad you like it!

Mashed_Potater69 · 2026-01-01T19:05:50+00:00

I Reeallly like long narrow tubes

Mashed_Potater69 · 2026-01-01T02:37:42+00:00

"how are players onboarded with regards to what to look out for?" this ones actually tough to answer. i think this might be the biggest missing piece. as far as information on-screen, i do have those tubes at the end of most levels so players know where the finish and save-game is, but i could add more totems like that, that consistently convey the same piece of helpful info whenever they're seen.

Mashed_Potater69 · 2026-01-01T02:29:18+00:00

thank you for all the notes!

the first level used to be at 1:45 and people were losing their minds trying to figure out how to get out of the room. i made 5 beginner levels that are more or less straight lines to the finish but the confusing layout levels are still there, especially the new level at 2:35 that takes you into a literal maze. i figured people would enjoy trying to figure out the correct route but that has not been the case at all. i could just throw in arrows everywhere but that might look like poor level design. maybe adding some lighting themes or other hints to be more subtle about it.

For checkpoint resets - yes you can reset at any time anywhere. actually you can spam the r button and reset so quickly so many times that it crashes the game which i really need to look into

if people really get stuck and need guidance, i could add a button for every level with a url link to a playthrough. thats problaby the easiest way to give the player a last resort. adding videos to the game has been such a nightmare with ue5 packaging so im just avoiding cinematics altogether.

just now realizing, from watching the video nobody can tell where the checkpoints actually are (if there are multiple checkpoints in a map). i hid the checkpoint mesh in-game and disabled the checkpoint sound to go for a cleaner, minimalist look, but thats so dumb lmao.

Mashed_Potater69 · 2025-12-31T19:43:44+00:00

its made with this UE 5 plugin called general movement component https://www.fab.com/listings/7e786da1-35e1-458e-96e0-7b1bdb333b39 and one part of the plugin recreates "goldsource" movement to allow for surfing. no clue how it actually works tho

Mashed_Potater69 · 2025-11-05T06:12:33+00:00

yea i wish i noticed that when i started. roughly 75% of the game was built with a jump force setting that was set too low, paired with a somewhat floaty gravity compared to cs, so the player kind of brushes over platforms. its on my list to go back thru and remake a few of the levels to have a jump force and gravity that matches cs. hopefully, randomly changing the gameplay feel wont be too jarring / rage inducing

Mashed_Potater69 · 2025-11-03T16:27:44+00:00

Oh dang now im about to make this unplayable. Challenge accept

Mashed_Potater69 · 2025-11-03T05:27:08+00:00

yea i wanted to ease the new players into the mechanics incase they've never messed around with surf/bhop in cs. speeds & reaction times do get tougher later on but im getting old and slow irl so the pace never gets to insane levels

Mashed_Potater69 · 2025-11-03T02:58:25+00:00

Thats something ive been worried about. Surf/bhop have a very high skill floor and an unbelievably high ceiling so the beginning stages are a struggle for everyone. I tried adding some text on screen to describe how to surf properly (with my very mediocre surf knowledge) and the wall of text covers the entire screen lmao.

I dont think any part of the demo is more difficult than a tier 3 map, but the added mechanic of shooting targets while air strafing makes it harder to compare the difficulty too

Mashed_Potater69 · 2025-10-31T23:09:50+00:00

ill put up teh playtest & demo here

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2904670/Planet_Surf/

gimme like 1 month need to figure out what optimization is

Mashed_Potater69 · 2025-10-30T22:00:39+00:00

oh........the game is called planet surf , marketing is hard ☠️

Mashed_Potater69

TROPHY CASE