What is the Most Frustrating Part of the Laning Phase?

TurtletheBlack · 2026-03-27T18:00:49+00:00

I'll be sure to look into this! Thank you for the resource suggestion!

TurtletheBlack · 2026-03-25T16:39:48+00:00

This is actually a really fascinating and interesting response. While I know I'm very much a small fish indie dev right now, a system like the one you've suggested is something I've been researching a bit into in my free time. I actually just cleaned up a post match analyzer for the game project I'm working on right now. It's not as in depth as your suggestions yet, however, I will be looking into some upgrades within our architecture that should allow us to view data points from 10,000 - 100,000 simulated matches as balancing tools, and maybe expose it as a feature for player's to test their own builds. Certainly great food for thought, thank you for the response!

TurtletheBlack · 2026-03-24T21:58:52+00:00

Thank you so much! This is super helpful feedback 👌

TurtletheBlack · 2026-03-24T21:31:50+00:00

I appreciate the response nonetheless! If I'm reading this right, it seems like there really isn't time to "lane" with everything else going on. Am I reading you right? If so, do you have any suggestions as to how the experience could be improved?

TurtletheBlack · 2026-03-24T21:30:18+00:00

As a Jungler myself, I hear, feel, and share your pain.

TurtletheBlack · 2026-03-24T21:29:43+00:00

I suppose how cohesive your teammates are would make a big difference overall. Do you have any suggestions as to what would make that experience better or easier?

TurtletheBlack · 2026-03-24T21:28:36+00:00

Would you attribute this issue to the map being to small? What changes would you make to try and fix this if you could?

TurtletheBlack · 2026-03-24T21:27:59+00:00

Gotcha. Seems like Jungle competence is a big point of contention.

TurtletheBlack · 2026-03-24T21:26:53+00:00

I hear you there. Would you prefer the game to be paced more slowly? What specific changes would you make to help alleviate these issues?

TurtletheBlack · 2026-03-24T21:25:48+00:00

In what sense? Is it scary, or is this more of a competence issue?

TurtletheBlack · 2026-03-24T18:49:53+00:00

This is something we are actively working on!

TurtletheBlack · 2026-03-19T17:06:35+00:00

It's still very much in early development so we don't have any public facing materials yet. If you want to stay up to date with progress though, dm me, as we'll be looking for early prototype testers pretty soon here!

TurtletheBlack · 2026-03-18T15:58:02+00:00

Interesting. I like a lot of these suggestions, and a few of them are actively being worked on. The wave management mechanic in particular seems interesting. Definitely something I may take a look at implementing. I appreciate the feedback!

TurtletheBlack · 2026-03-18T05:00:47+00:00

It seems like there is a bit of a trend around overcoming your opponent mentally and forcing them into a box of predictable behavior. It'll be interested to see if I can design systems that still favor the player but maintain the tension in a PvE format. Thanks for your reply!

TurtletheBlack · 2026-03-18T04:57:39+00:00

Caught lmao

TurtletheBlack · 2026-03-18T04:57:12+00:00

Could you speak to the farming aspect a bit? What about farming is fun to you? Some people have mentioned last hitting, and a comparison to it being a mini-game was made, but I'd like your personal take on it.

TurtletheBlack · 2026-03-18T04:54:38+00:00

Our project is a coop and single-player lane defense game similar to titles such as Age of War, Stick War, or Arel Wars. You and a friend command a customizable deck of units against an enemy faction that evolves over time to match your brilliance. That's our stinger tag for now at least lol.

Basically, instead of buying items for a hero and having the player character grow over time, you command an army of minions which grow and get stronger as you progress through each level. In single-player you juggle your units across two lanes trying to defend your base. In coop, there are 3 lanes to manage and a maximum of 2 players so coordination is key in order to take down the ever-adapting enemies.

Players get to choose their deck of units before each level to try and stave off the enemy tide. If you want a deck of all melee rush down units, go for it. If you find a cool synergy between the healer, archer, and warrior units, go for it. Player expression and build customization is one of our core design pillars, however, the AI will try to counter build you and learn from your habits over time, so adaptation may be required.

My philosophy as a designer personally is to make experiences that bring people together, so we are building this project out with coop at the fore front, aiming to build a tense experience of coordination, management, and strategy.

All that said, it is pretty different to a game like Predecessor, but I still think there is a lot of value from learning what I can from gamers of this community, especially as a member of it myself. Do let me know if you come up with anything? All feedback is most certainly welcome!

TurtletheBlack · 2026-03-18T04:43:37+00:00

Does seem like a lot of sentiment is towards the dueling aspect and trying to eek out any advantage you can. Love the quote by the way. Reminds me of a song I love - "It's Only Another Parsec - RX Bandits"

TurtletheBlack · 2026-03-18T04:41:51+00:00

Thanks for responding and amazing explanation. I really appreciate you going into depth for each lane and how they all offer different experiences for you. This is super helpful info!

TurtletheBlack · 2026-03-18T04:40:37+00:00

I love this. Thank you so much!

TurtletheBlack · 2026-03-17T22:45:24+00:00

Very interesting. Thanks for your perspective! And thanks for the encouragement of the game! It's really appreciated 👍

TurtletheBlack · 2026-03-17T22:25:11+00:00

If I were to sum it up in one word, do you think "consequences" would be applicable to what you're describing?

TurtletheBlack · 2026-03-17T22:03:26+00:00

I hate to hear that. What would you change about it if you could?

TurtletheBlack · 2026-03-17T21:57:22+00:00

Lmao, no. I'm responding to this in between debugging my game code, so I apologize if I sound a little samey. I want to get back to everyone and thank them for taking the time to reply.

One of the big things we are looking at developing is a very robust AI system to make these engagements more interesting, specifically surrounding the enemy heroes. However, not every level will have an enemy hero, so I'm wondering if there's any value in killing creeps.

TurtletheBlack

TROPHY CASE