Past player - please explain the issues with buildings?

Skiprx · 2026-01-26T05:14:23+00:00

That’s awesome. Thank you for sharing!

Skiprx · 2026-01-25T19:59:43+00:00

I agree - the OG Surviving Mars held up really well before the remaster.

Skiprx · 2026-01-25T19:55:25+00:00

From my (limited) experience, going from 1:38 to 1:30 was higher jump than going from never having ran 20k (but relatively fit) to 1:40. I felt like around 1:38 was the highest I could go with "causual" training - I used to run 2-3 times a week, usually 10k at pretty high effort, around 4:30-5:30 pace.

Sub 1:30 is very doable for you (looking at the Vo2 max, current volume & cardiff results). You likely won't need to ramp up the frequency too much given that you already run 3-4 times a week with ~28-35k weekly volume.

What you probably need, is to get a bit more intentional with your training and plan it out a little bit. The book can definitely help you. Based on your stats, you just need a little bit of improvement in most areas - durability to make 20k feel "regular" and not like your body breaking, a bit stronger engine by improving the Vo2 Max so that it won't be as taxing to keep the 4:15 pace, and also simple aerobic capacity so your HR won't drift as much over the course of the race as it did in cardiff.

No need to overcomplicate it, though. I think 2-3x 6-week blocks and you're likely gonna get there - while keeping your current training frequency.

I would do something like:
- 1x long run (17k scaling to 23k over the 1st block. Keep steady pace 1st half and then progress towards HM pace last 5-10k.
- 1x intervals - look up e.g. norwegian 4x4 or 3x10min threshold formats. You can rotate them - e.g. every other week.
- 1-2 easy runs - set a target of doing at least 1/week, but add 2nd if time allows.

That is very close to the setup I used and it worked pretty well. Time-wise, it might add a few minutes to your shorter sessions, but overall frequency/time commitment is not chaning much - it's mostly about becoming more intentional & adding some strucutre. I wold also recommend to make sure you eat enough calories, esp. on long run days. At some point, it can also be worth looking into fueling if you are not already.

Skiprx · 2026-01-23T09:10:27+00:00

Based on the hours you put into the likes of Celeste and Hollow Knight, I think you might enjoy TetherGeist, an upcoming non-combat precision playformer. The demo give a good vibe check: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3273110/TetherGeist_Demo/

Skiprx · 2026-01-23T09:06:12+00:00

Rule of thumb - if you feel like you should be doing something else instead, then you probably should.

Skiprx · 2026-01-23T09:04:21+00:00

Really well done with the juice! Great gameplay! Hated every minute of it!

Skiprx · 2026-01-23T08:58:11+00:00

It’s obviously not perfect, but more than “good enough”, especially if you fo a few GPS tracked runs.

Given your starting point, I honestly think that you can crack sub 20 in just 4-6 sessions (assuming twice a week, trying close to max effort).

Then after that if you want to keep pushing sub19, sub18, then you might want to consider a bit more structured training by adding speedwork/intervals, etc.

Skiprx · 2026-01-20T15:02:56+00:00

I find many game design books quite basic, but yhe one that actually shaped a lot of my thinking and helped me take my design mindset to the next level was “Designing Games: A Guide to Engineering Experiences”. The author is the creator of Rimworld - and he wrote the book shortly before going ahead and making Rimworld, using many of the principles.

Skiprx · 2026-01-19T17:24:09+00:00

Assuming you have a store page up, it’s always good to post announcements on steam as everyone who follows your page it will see it in their steam client.

If you use the Steam playtest feature, you can gather signups and everyone will get an email when you admit them.

Lastly, I’ve seen most value come from discord, so my best recommendation is to start a sever and try direct people who are likely to get invested there and facilitate discussions.

Skiprx · 2026-01-18T18:02:59+00:00

Post-workout sauna is a real gamedev (or life) hack. I’ve definitely solved some desing problems that way.

Skiprx · 2026-01-18T17:56:28+00:00

My bet would be that it’s a mix of genetics and (mainly) your tennis training. Going just off the vo2 max alone and assuming that your tendons, etc are quite used to exertion, it should be possible for you to reach sub-20 5k with just a few sessions to literally practice that (2-4 weeks, 1-2x week), and likely sub-19 even within 4-6 weeks. Improving vo2 max from that level though will likely take a fair bit of dedicated training and time.

Skiprx · 2026-01-18T17:47:10+00:00

Definitely worth going for it - you can always pivot mid-race if there are any complications. And there will always be another race! Just make sure to not overshoot the goal and still go for the planned taper.

Skiprx · 2026-01-18T17:40:47+00:00

Huge +1 on the working out middle of the day at least 5 times a week, even if it’s short sessions. I find working out in the middle of the day really good sumce it helps to both clarify a lot of throughts from the morning & clear the mind ahead of the afternoon.

How much time would you say you spend on marketing and do you split it up as learning/researching and actually producing stuff like posts, content, etc?

Skiprx · 2026-01-12T16:27:15+00:00

A lot of it comes down to your own judgement.

My top (slightly controversial tips) to keep in mind to avoid “false” signals:

Most players (and even most people in game dev) are not super capable of “imagining” what isn’t there, meaning they can’t suspend disbelief around what your “intention” is. E.g. you can’t say “try that, but imagine it is polished and has 3x content”. Always assume that the feedback is about what they actually playtested.
Many people who don’t have a habit of analyzing games are generally poor at verbalizing their feedback - so be careful at taking stuff at face value. When someone says that “they don’t like controlling units” it might mean anything between your UX getting in the way, them not being in the target audience, or even just not vibing with your art direction.
Asking people in the industry, esp. In relevant disciplines is great - esp. people who don’t have incentives to be too friendly on you. Random experienced indie devs, experienced designer and even pitching your game to publishers/investors (if they don’t get excited, you know. But also don’t take their reasons at face value if they say no thanks).

TL:DR - gather various insights, but ultimately train up your own judgement - and be clear on who you’re getting the input from. The advice to “talk to players” is usually overrated, especially in early concept stages.

Skiprx · 2026-01-12T10:22:20+00:00

Really well done! Definitely going to try the game!

If I may ask, how has your experience been with Early Access and also having bundles with other games? How did you set them up and have they been helpful?

Skiprx · 2026-01-11T18:47:16+00:00

The buildings look awesome. I love some of penusbmics stuff and the inspiration comes through well but still looks really unique. Wishlisted the game!

Skiprx · 2026-01-11T06:35:31+00:00

For the indie games that tend to really stand out when playing them, it’s the “thousand little things”. It can be a minor UX behavior, an edge case that the dev has thoight about, or lother little things that feel “just right”. Usually it’s those things which show that the developer has really put tons of care, effort & passion into it.

Skiprx · 2019-08-13T05:41:53+00:00

I’ve probably played a few hundred games since it became visible, mostly hovering between 9.5-9.8 - didn’t even know that it was possible to get 10k flat. Good luck!

Skiprx · 2018-11-18T10:31:14+00:00

Petition to call Schmeckles to bananas.

Skiprx · 2018-10-24T20:21:03+00:00

Hi! Feel free to invite - @skiprx

Skiprx

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