At last, long preparations are rewarded with game engine ready to accommodate more visitors. Combat is now ripe for testing. It is both novel and unpolished, thus we expect to receive no small amount of criticism regarding the concept or execution, perhaps both.
Group combat with friends
In VERZ it is uncommon for pirates to work as a part of larger organisation but they recognise a common foe. Attacking scavenger pirate is going to put you in combat with nearby raider pirate as well. You can also bring friends yourself to have a many versus many battle. Pirates are perhaps not the smartest foes in the galaxy but they sure are ruthless. Video below demonstrates how pirates pick all on weakest target so that opposition is whittled down as fast as possible. There are less guns targeting them next round but concentrating fire on barely hanging Obsidian Dagger was very wasteful.
Testing the combat model is our main priority. We already have several more testers joining us with fresh perspectives. The feedback is going to help us refine combat into something fun and challenging.
Large and small layouts
We built current user interface layout with 4:3 monitor ratio as primary view for testing. Nowadays this is uncommon even for desktop layouts, to say nothing about typical tablets and phones. Up to this point responsive design was secondary concern – having a playable game was the main requirement. Since VERZ is playable, we have more leeway to focus more on what player sees. Attention shifts to greater support of common desktop, tablet and phone screens.
Light Speed News
One of newer features is the news and events system which broadcasts what other players are doing. Here we are having a bit of fun choosing the varied headlines for reporting on players engaging in trade, fulfilling missions and of course defeating creatures or pirates.
The road ahead
This is a significant milestone in game development. What happens next will be a mixture of polishing current features into comfortable usability with creation of new content and mechanics. Far in the future – beta phase, but that is a topic for another day.
