Playtest Feedback & Analysis

blockout peer testing

after player peer testing an obvious promlem was made clear to me in my level, by the minigun spawn a player was able to wall run across the side of the factory and reach the other teams base very easily, this was a massive oversight on my part and i will redesign the level to remove this design bug. the players also didnt like the chimney aspect of my level so i shall alter them to not act like giant cannons with the jump pads and have them collapsing instead.



blockout peer feedback:

What is your name ?11 responses

Amy

Michael

Luke Knight

Anna Olsson

James

George Lake

Charlie Morse

Richard

Dan Tyler

Joe

Ethan Boddy

was health easy to find and use11 responses

NoNo, I couldnt find itThe health was easy…Yeah I guess it wasYesYes it was easy to fin…Yes it was very straig…some of the health w…yes01231(9.1%)1(9.1%)1(9.1%)1(9.1%)3 (27.3%)3 (27.3%)1(9.1%)1(9.1%)1(9.1%)1(9.1%)

Value	Count
No	1
No, I couldnt find it	1
The health was easy to find only as a counter balance for loss of health.	1
Yeah I guess it was	1
Yes	3
Yes it was easy to find in the middle	1
Yes it was very straight forward	1
some of the health was but not all of it, considering the size more ammo ad health were needed	1
yes	1

Mostly positive results from the class about finding health, when designing the level i have tried to put health behind cover to allow and encourage the player to retreat.
Did you manage to use advanced techniques to reach secrets? (wall running, crouch sliding ect)10 responses

I used wall runningNoThere was a broken…Wall running inside w…Yes, in the main area…Yes, running ontop of…a few bits but not con…not really it wasn't ne…yes0.00.51.01.52.01(10%)2(20%)1(10%)1(10%)1(10%)1(10%)1(10%)1(10%)1(10%)

Value	Count
I used wall running	1
No	2
There was a broken wall that worked well. I got stuck from getting launched really high lots of paths. Tried to avoid the sewers at all cost.	1
Wall running inside was useful for escaping	1
Yes, in the main area and on the top	1
Yes, running ontop of the thin wall after the jump-pad, not sure if that is intentional or not	1
a few bits but not consistently	1
not really it wasn't necessary there was one good path	1
yes	1

The results were about 50/50 here i think due to a major design flaw that i didn't pick up in testing which was being able to wall run off the middle platform right to the enemy base. i will rectify this by increasing the gap so its impossible to get over to the other side.
is the level balance the same on both sides?11 responses

For the most part yesMust be but didn't…The map seem to…Yeah since it is sy…YesYes, since the map…balancedi think so, but the b…noyes0.00.51.01.52.01(9.1%)1(9.1%)1(9.1%)1(9.1%)2 (18.2%)2 (18.2%)1(9.1%)1(9.1%)1(9.1%)1(9.1%)1(9.1%)

Value	Count
For the most part yes	1
Must be but didn't seem it.	1
The map seem to be balanced for both teams	1
Yeah since it is symetrical	1
Yes	2
Yes, since the map is mostly symmetrical	1
balanced	1
i think so, but the balance of the level was off a lot of the areas felt unneeded as they could be circumvented by travelling around the side of the map.	1
no	1
yes	1

overwhelming positive response, no change needed
were jump pads effective and did they give you good access to new areas?11 responses

Yes but some threw me up to high that I took landing on damage

no they made it to easy to get the flag

They gave easy access to the flag

I went onto one jump pad and there wasn't really anywhere to land so i just fell down again and took a lot of damage.

They were too effective and could be used to get out of bounds

Yeah they were the only way to get to the other level

Jump pads were very effective

The jump pads were well used down one side of the map. some sent you so high it was possible to die using them

yes but they were so high they often killed you

Yeah they got you everywhere really quick a bit much though.

yes but they made it too easy to win the flags

The jump pads need some work, im thinking of removing the chimney launching system as it was clunky and made it hard to get to the roof without taking damage and to get the redeemer you had to do a pretty specific jump in the air to get it. players didnt find the redeemer so i need to make it easier to get.
was flag placement and player spawn placement good or bad and why?11 responses

Yes because it was hidden and protected

bad as you kept having problems

Not very good, the flag was very easy to get.

Maybe place them in opposite corners rather than straight across so you actually use the whole map.

Spawn was ok, but flag placement was in such a way that you could VERY quickly get from one flag to another

No I didn't like it it was too hard to defend the base

No, the flags were not i good positions for stated reasons

The flags could do with being placed more in the centre

flag placement needs to be more diagonally opposite for the reasons above. spawn seemed pretty good although a bit open when enemy team is nearby

Alright however there was something wrong.

Spawn point maybe more cover

The flag placement was poor in this mostly due to the wall running bug which made it super easy to get, also a player could be shot from the central platform and this lead to camping.
Were the weapon choices appropriate for their locations and did you find them useful11 responses

Yes

not really as a minigun was near spawn

I think they were okay if you move the flags around

i liked the weapon choices for this map, i thought it worked very well long range maybe not as well close range.

They were relatively appropriate, with a good selection of 2 guns near spawn.

I didn't like the bio riffle at the start its not a good start weapon

The weapons were good

The weapon placement was effective

i found them very spread out, and only able to find a few from spawn, i would like to see a few more spread about

Yeah the shock rife was the easiest to get was like the only gun used.

Yeah they were fine good locations, liked the redeemer location

Weapon placement was generally good but i tweaked it a little and included the link gun in the middle of the map.
How easy is it to find the power ups?11 responses

123450123451 (9.1%)3 (27.3%)3 (27.3%)4 (36.4%)0 (0%)0 (0%)

Value	Count
1	1
2	3
3	3
4	4
5	0

This seems pretty good as no one said 5 so they're not too easy to find.
How easy are the in game routes to navigate?11 responses

123450123454 (36.4%)2 (18.2%)3 (27.3%)1 (9.1%)1 (9.1%)

Value	Count
1	4
2	2
3	3
4	1
5	1

The results from this question are skewed due to the wall running bug, fixing the bug will yield usable data.
How good is the weapon selection?11 responses

1234501234560 (0%)0 (0%)3 (27.3%)5 (45.5%)2 (18.2%)1 (9.1%)

Value	Count
1	0
2	3
3	5
4	2
5	1

it could be better, i'll add some more weapon locations.
How big was the level?11 responses

1234501234560 (0%)0 (0%)1 (9.1%)6 (54.5%)3 (27.3%)1 (9.1%)

Value	Count
1	0
2	1
3	6
4	3
5	1

this is a pretty decent result, no one felt the level was way out of proportion.
Could you accidentally fall off or escape the level? (in an unexpected way)11 responses

YesNo45.5%54.5%

Yes	6
No	5

I found the bug with this, the kill z volume height was too small so if the player was travelling fast enough they would simply pass through it between frames.
Where there any invisible/unexpected walls ?11 responses

YesNo18.2%81.8%

Yes	2
No	9

Did you find the levels easy to navigate?11 responses

123456789100123450 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)1(9.1%)1(9.1%)4 (36.4%)4 (36.4%)2 (18.2%)2 (18.2%)1(9.1%)1(9.1%)0 (0%)0 (0%)1(9.1%)

Value	Count
1	0
2	0
3	1
4	1
5	4
6	2
7	1
8	1
9	0
10	1

I think i need to simplify some routes judging by this feedback, this includes changing the way the sewers work and the roof access to make them more navigable.
Was the level to the correct scale?11 responses

Yes (5)

If it was intentional to run on the ledges they were a bit thin and you could easily get knocked off.

Yes I think so

Yes the size is good for a CTF map, taking time to get across was well timed.

parts seemed off, wall thickness very thin, areas to slide under were too high, but could crouch - seemed like it would be better to just make them a door

The level had issues with heights.

All the parts I was navigating seemed to be

Lots of yes' which is good, there were a few simple bsp issues that can be rectified in the next build.
Did you find any Bugs/Glitches/Glaring Issues with the Level?11 responses

No (2)

no lights in sewer kinda felt irrelevant

no

I was able to use the person teleporter thingy to get out of bounds

not really no

No, there weren't really any major problems

Some interior areas were dark, I got lost in the underground section.

redeemer area was broken, and challenging to get out of

There was a path that lead everyone one way the rest of the map was ignored the sewer didn't work. Everyone lost health wasn't worth it.

jumping from the jump pad you are then able to run along the wall and cut out the side

The biggest problem was lighting espescially in the sewers, to rectify this i will add some lights with a green tint to brighten them up as i have had some verbal feedback as well indicating that they were too dark and hard to navigate.

How would you improve the level?11 responses

More sniper areas

make the map more far

Move the flags around so they are not so easy to get too.

Make sure the flag spawns are corrected so that the players make use of the full map and fix the ledges.

Increase the size of the kill zone and reduce the height of the jump pads in the 4 towers so you don't die when you use them

I would add some lighting to the scene and make it so that theres more than one viable route

By changing the flag positions around

Prevent players from running along the wall by the platform between the flag areas

give more reasons for the players to go through the main areas of the map, block some sections off, make distinctive routes

Make it smaller don't loose health on a route especially if its not good and hard to see.

block off the above 'glitch' or make the flags on the opposite side that they are

All these points have been raised and will be acted upon for the next playtest, my main thing to do is to remove the wall running bug, fix some volumes and change the chimney launcher mechanic.