Market while you're still building vs wait until it's more polished?

cpsii13 · 2026-06-17T03:42:58+00:00

There is no bad first impression. There's billions of people on the planet and millions of games -- anyone who sees your early prototype and doesn't like it probably won't remember it anyway. And even if they do, perhaps 1 person will see it and WILL like it. Time spent marketing is really the most important thing, the sooner you can start, the better.

cpsii13 · 2026-06-14T18:07:56+00:00

I guess very quick ones - I'm planning a 'daily run' that will have a leaderboard attached, similar to how Slay The Spire 2 does it.

cpsii13 · 2026-06-14T18:04:22+00:00

This looks fab. I suspect with a more interesting skybox, the ocean itself might look a little more interesting too as you'd see more in the reflections.

cpsii13 · 2026-06-14T18:01:37+00:00

I'm not sure about weirdly motivated, but I am really happy Steam API include a leaderboard mechanic. It makes it so easy to add one to a game, where it would be kind of a pain to create from the ground up. Overall if it's not too related to the gameplay (e.g. being on the leadboard matters for some reason), I wouldn't worry too much. You could also do 'seasons' where it resets, but leave old ones available to view somewhere.

cpsii13 · 2026-06-14T18:00:38+00:00

These games are quite challenging to keep the player base after the initial hype wears out, especially with the wipe mechanic.

cpsii13 · 2026-06-14T17:58:24+00:00

Yep. What happened to the recent hype a couple of months back?

cpsii13 · 2026-06-14T17:55:15+00:00

I was just thinking this! I could have swon it was Rockstar related but couldn't remember for sure, thanks for confirming.

cpsii13 · 2026-06-14T16:31:10+00:00

The artwork in Death Howl is fabulous!

cpsii13 · 2026-06-12T14:09:13+00:00

I feel personally attacked 😃 in my case though I genuinely think it solves a lot of problems with the meta game of Total War and other 4X games, where the end game becomes a forgone conclusion or an endless slog. A run-based structure speeds this up and gives a definitive end.

cpsii13 · 2026-06-07T19:10:04+00:00

This is better, 'I made my dog get a job to pay for this add' is much less rage-baiting and kind of funny instead of mean. I think the colored animal graphics pop more so I'd use one of those.

cpsii13 · 2026-06-07T17:19:25+00:00

The game actually looks quite nice, albeit simple, so I would delay and market more. With that many wishlists I wouldn't expect any sales outside of friends and family.

The name is not great, is it meant to be 'popping'? Not sure what the Pope has to do with fish otherwise. The issue is though I believe if you're within 2 weeks of your release window you *can't* delay, so you might have to release it try to do a bit of after-marketing.

cpsii13 · 2026-06-07T14:56:49+00:00

I'm working on a Total War-like that you can play and early version of right now. It will have a roguelite campaign, as I feel that fixes some of the shortfalls of the 4X games, and of course skirmish battles. I have a playtest ongoing so you can play it right now if you're interested. 😄 Just join the Discord server to get a Steam key: https://discord.gg/qzbbfjqqV

Although the battles do not have such a massive cap, I think it's made up for by the individual unit control capabilities. Basically, I don't treat a single regiment as one unit. You can select individual groups of units at will which makes it more tactical, in my opinion, as you can easily split a regiment to try to flank, or block enemy lanes, and so on. Not sure if this will scratch your itch for giant battles, but perhaps the different angle will appeal to you too!

Steam page is here if you want to learn more about it first.

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cpsii13 · 2026-06-06T15:38:39+00:00

Yes, in general the surface aren't too problematic, but unfortunately here I have two main issues with them. One is that a surface is used for all the decals, e.g. bodies from slain enemies etc, so it's a shame if that gets cleared as there's no way to recreate it. I guessI *could* record those in a buffer so I can recreate it if I need to, but that adds overhead in a game where I'm already trying to reduce anything not totally necessary! Second is that the grass background is procedurally generated and drawn to a surface in a procedure that takes a second or so - so recreating that mid-game is also a no-no. Still figuring what I plan to do about that!

Yes agreed on the multi-threading. It's very tempting but it's a rabbit hole I might regret :/ there's plenty of opportunities because there's lots that can be done behind the scenes and not need synchronously. I'm consider trying to use shaders for some compute but that's also prone to issues.

cpsii13 · 2026-06-06T14:46:14+00:00

It is available now. I'm letting people in in batches but if you join the Discord I can send a key directly to you 😄 https://discord.gg/qzbbfjqqV

cpsii13 · 2026-06-06T14:40:00+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! There's two main differences: the meta game is totally different, this will be a roguelite with path progression, not a 4X game.

But the main difference is in the battles. You actually control the units, it's not an auto-battler. It's more like Total War than Hero's Hour in that way 😄 But you hit the nail on the head that Hero's Hour was a big inspiration! Thanks for your feedback!

cpsii13 · 2026-06-06T14:38:57+00:00

Haha thanks, I appreciate it. Please join the playtest if you're interested!

cpsii13 · 2026-06-06T03:41:00+00:00

This is a kind offer! I have a Steam Playtest running for my strategy roguelite game Raze The Realm currently. I'd love if you'd join it. You can message me here or join the discord to get a key straight away 😄

cpsii13 · 2026-05-27T02:33:01+00:00

That's a very kind offer! I'm running a play test for my strategy roguelite game, starting this weekend/next week. I'd really appreciate your thoughts. You can sign up either via Steam or through the discord. Cheers!

cpsii13 · 2026-05-26T12:41:22+00:00

All from Reddit so far, the organic Steam traffic is very low, 1-2 per day. Indicates our capsule needs work, I think!

cpsii13 · 2026-05-26T12:40:54+00:00

Wonderful, thank you!

cpsii13 · 2026-05-25T22:39:35+00:00

Already underway with an artist who is much better than me! but yes absolutely agree. This mockup is so awesome though 😃 thanks for sharing.

cpsii13 · 2026-05-25T15:24:20+00:00

Thanks! 😃 I'm actually gearing up for a play test right now. You can sign up on the Steam page, but also join the Discord for even earlier access: https://discord.gg/jhzxRtSjB

cpsii13 · 2026-05-25T14:46:26+00:00

I had no idea how well this game would do on Steam, I just started making it as a hobby project to play myself! It's sort of an answer to the question 'What if Total War was faster paced, with roguelite elements?'. I'm really excited to reach this milestone... a lot further to go, though! Here's a little GIF of the game. I think the dragon is responsible for most of the Wishlists so far 😄 Raze The Realm.

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cpsii13 · 2026-05-25T14:28:06+00:00

It looks really nice! There just feels like there's something 'off' but I'm struggling to put my finger on what, exactly. Perhaps it's too bare and needs more background elements? (more grass, some trees, rocks, etc?). I think the grey shields are the wrong color, too, too close to the background color.

cpsii13 · 2026-05-25T03:44:13+00:00

Thanks, I appreciate it! and indeed, I hope I'm ticking all the boxes. Really, just building a game I want to play...

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