THANK YOU for playing the Beastieball Preview Playtest!
This has been an exhilarating and exhausting couple weeks for the team. We had high hopes that players would fall in love with the game after they got to play a bit more, but the overwhelmingly positive response floored us all the same. Thank you, thank you!
If you wanted to play but didn’t get in this time, don’t fret! There will be more playtests this year as we gear up for release. Watch out for updates on that! (We've actually got a newsletter you can subscribe to...)
By The Numbers
669 unique players played the Playtest build. (Not everyone who was given access played the game). Interestingly, an additional 670 unique players played the free Steam demo in the same time period. I have no idea why those numbers are almost exactly the same. An estimated 40% of our Playtesters were continuing a save they previously started in the Demo.
4,198 people wishlisted the game during the playtest period. (Thank you!). During this time period Steam also ran their “Next fest” event and Klei ran their “Kleifest” event, which both likely drove some traffic to us. However, we were not active participants in either event.
4,786 Beasties were recruited by Playtesters!
1,316 feedback reports were sent to us from in-game!
1 developer is in charge of reading, prioritizing and addressing all those reports. He better finish this newsletter quick and get back to work, yipe!
Starter Popularity
To get the most data possible, these results consolidate data from Demo players as well as Playtest players over the last couple weeks! The #3 choice: Kichik, recruited by 177 players. #2 was Axolati, recruited by 402 players! And #1 was Bildit, recruited by 645 players! That’s 52.7% of the vote - Wow!
Of course it’s only natural for one starter to rise to the top of popularity charts. That’s fine, though… it just means fans of the the other starters are more cool and unique. 😎
Social Bonds
One surprise feature we held back for the Playtest was the Contacts menu, where you can spend social batteries to hang out with other characters you meet along your adventure. We were pleased to see this system well-received by players so far :) But wait, who was the most popular friend?!
#4 was Kaz, coach of the Raging Blazes, with 170 hangouts.
#3 was Riven, coach of the Mythic Dreamers, with 202 hangouts. Kaz and Riven both needed to be unlocked by playing against them, so it makes sense that they had a little less action.
#2 was Reese, with 236 hangouts.
And #1 by a landslide was Riley, with 328 hangouts!
And the Most Popular Beastie…
…Was recruited 604 times! We actually haven’t ever officially revealed them before, but in honor of their win, it’s time you get to know them. Collarva: Their spines naturally collect plant detritus as they move about, building up their protective coat.
What’s this bug’s secret to its popularity?! Well, probably it’s that you can find them in so many places at the start of the game. Still, recruiting isn’t always easy. Players had to make the choice to seek them out! So: well done, Collarva! There were many other Beasties who made their first appearance in the Playtest build. We’d love to showcase more of them in due time - but for now, I really better get back to those feedback reports!
What’s this? Another Dev Blog so quickly? Indeed it is. With so much happening in Echoes of Elysium, we are going to increase the cadence of our updates to you! Over the last three weeks we have had an intense focus on the wood harvesting loop, flying monsters and our new glider. Without further ado, here is more info!
Wood Harvesting
We’ve got a fully operational airship wood harvesting loop! Harvesting is a crucial player experience that we’re giving a ton of TLC. Check out this (super fun and satisfying new process we added this week)
Fire sawblades from your wood harvesting turret
Destroy trees
Profit! (trees dop haulable logs)
Shoot your grappling hook at the logs
Pull logs up to your airship
Remove logs for processing in your airship crafting stations
We’ve been having a ton of fun playing with this and we know you will too! Make sure to keep your eyes peeled during our trailer for a look at what to expect from wood harvesting.
Flying Monsters
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no it’s— coming right for us! Prepare to face menacing airborne threats as we’ve introduced all new flying monsters this week. Make sure to get your exploring done before dark, while the islands are relatively safe. Night brings a surge of aggressive monsters.
The Flying Construct, is a very scary, very aggressive, and generally not a chill dude. It will attack any player within range is one of the most dangerous threats you’ll find in Elysium. I wonder why it’s so shiny and powerful compared to the older constructs around… better go speculate in Discord!
Is a single, super powerful flying enemy not your style? How about being swarmed with a dozen smaller ones? Look no further, we’re working on the Siren this week! More updates about the Siren are coming in a future dev blog.
Glider
The glider is here and it’s beautiful. I could talk about how cool it is but honestly, just take a look. On top of being generally awesome, the glider allows you to rocket boost to reach high places when on foot. You can also use the glider to slow your descent when you need to get to low areas. The glider adds a ton of mobility and makes traversal so much more fun. We can’t wait for y’all to take it for a spin!
Stay tuned for more updates, and join us on Discord to share your adventures and connect with your fellow Elysians!
We are thrilled to announce the addition of the dating functionality to Salty Hounds!
Start a special date with Seha and Taemin right now! More dating places, events, and characters will be added soon.
The main changes and additions in the last update are as follows:
Reduced the probability of missed calls on the sofa by 50%
Changed the forced end time of the day outdoors to 11 PM
Fixed the issue where the game would freeze at certain times outdoors
Improved cooking and lunchbox-making features at home
Modified popcorn purchasing in the theater (added staff NPC)
Removed lunchboxes from the gift items
Fixed language display issues in Junho's storyline choices
Various other bugs fixed
We hope you will enjoy the changes. If you like what we are doing and want to help us, please consider leaving a positive review! It would go a long way.
Warm regards, Salty Hounds Team
=== If you encounter any bugs or issues while playing, please let us know through this Google form. Thank you for your support.
When we originally released Clodhoppers in Early Access, we intended to have a free basic online multiplayer version and subsequently release paid options for customization and additional modes and features. Over time, and thanks to the fantastic feedback from players, we’ve added single and co-op modes to the plans, which will be our priority in the next stage of development and testing.
Good news! If you already have free Early Access Clodhoppers in your Steam library, then we’ll also provide you with our standard full version for free! This is our thank you to the amazing community that have supported us over the years.
As we’re now focussed on bringing the game to its full release next year, future updates will be limited.
This build is just about at the point where it is ready for a public demo. A lot of graphical changes and updates along with bugfixes and mechanical improvements. One more set of playtesting and then it is ready for dem.
