Recap: Recent Developer Q&A

Quick re-cap of some of the answers from the developer's Q&A session (yesterday's ~AM session, paraphrased):

The all-father has spoken. Let us pray.

Paraphrased, unless you see quotations - then it's literal word-for-word from the developers.

Note: additional developer comments outside of the English Q&A (auto-translate, pulled from Korean player-base channel) have been added below the English Q&A section (which as at the top of this post) -- the list is quite huge, and contains notably different content -- thanks to u/Krazyflipz for pointing this out.

  • Solo queues / players
    • Yes or no, will it ever exist: thinking of doing an experiment, but solo queue is basically NOT the direction that they want
    • Going to be one of the last things they're going to think about
    • "There will never be any special buffs for solos."
  • Additional classes
    • Bard: not sure if this class will make it or not into the next play-test
    • Bard: "The bard uses other weapons and musical instruments as his weapon."
    • Releasing new classes / made any yet: "Now start making. It will take a while."
  • Dev team (resources, condition of personnel)
    • Small dedicated team (~22 folks)
    • "The company was established on November 1st of last year."
    • "We are currently independent (company). I have no intention of working with a company that interferes with making games freely."
    • Not enough personnel to simultaneously run (and monitor) testing servers while undergoing continuous content / system development (with the implication being that they care about doing both well, with the given level of resources) -- so it's only going to be one or the other, never both at the same time
  • Scrolls
    • Temporary tool to use magic, even if you're not a caster
    • Will have limitations
  • Secure containers (a.k.a. guaranteed Tarkov loot, upon death)
    • "It is more thrilling to lose everything when you die."
  • Merge surviving solo + partial teams into full 3-man teams when starting up the next level of the dungeon?
    • For now, no - but "nothing is definitive about that."
  • Plans to release work-in-progress concept art?
    • Don't know - "...not too shy about making it public and sharing, but we'll have to see if that's possible."
  • Casters
    • "Caster's spell capacity should now work properly."
    • "I'm thinking of updating the caster for the next playtest. Cleric and Wizard."
    • "The caster is still unfinished, so it will make the spell capacity work. Then Cleric would have to give up a lot of magic to get the 'Resurrection' spell. I'm also thinking of making a system for creating and editing multiple spells so that I can edit them."
  • Proximity voice chat
    • Thinking of adding a close-up voice chat-- but will "keep an eye out for a bit"
    • When they release this feature, will come with necessary on/off switch
    • Currently: low priority
  • Plans for adding cursed items with negative attributes / debuffs?
    • Item system in its infancy right now - will change a lot in the future
    • For now, created bare minimum to see what features we need
  • Early access plans
    • "Currently there is an early access plan in April 2023."
  • Preventing RMT / cheaters
    • "For now, I'm going to be fiercely defending against Cheater. RMT is not recommended by us."
  • User list: add hub to easily find a party (and/or use voice to assemble)?
    • "The current 'user list' is just for fun. We didn't expect this many players, so we need to update this in earnest. I'm thinking of ways to better find a party in the game and plan to prepare."
  • Skill trees
    • When: "It was originally planned to be activated a bit sooner, but after seeing the test results I changed my mind a bit. It will be pushed back a little further."
    • "It is my ultimate dream to make multi-class fun and active. I don't know if we can achieve this."
  • Hotkeys (i.e. 'buy' hotkey ,etc.)
    • Yes - and when it's done, it will be with both PC keyboard/mouse + game-pad systems in mind
  • MMR / character-level ranking system (grouped match-ups)
    • "Not yet. We've gathered a lot of data this time, so we'll think about it from now on."
  • Expanded leaderboard / personal statistics
    • Leadboards = temporary feature created purely for testing purposes
    • Don't know how it'll turn out
  • Expanded tavern (communal area, linked to dungeon entrance, open for more social elements like VoIP party recruiting, quest taking + turn-in for gold, etc.)?
    • "I'm also dreaming of what you thought, but due to technical issues it's currently not possible."
  • Free-to-play?
    • No
  • Will characters be able to level up stats, like skill points, or are the stats unchangeable (aside from built-in, pre-defined leveling growth)?
    • "My current thinking is that growing the Primary Stat creates too much of a gap."
  • How much will you cater to the feedback you've seen (Discord, social media, etc.)
    • "Do not worry. We will make the game our own. Then it doesn't matter if it crashes. We created a company to make and service games the way we want them to. If we can't do that, I'll just close the company."
  • Frequency of playtests
    • "It has not been clearly established. But I don't want to make you wait too long."
  • Guild system
    • "The guild system is a must."
  • Quests from merchants
    • "They will develop slowly."
  • Character transitions (from one to another, while already in a party) and/or shared character stashes (vs each of your characters is a different entity)
    • "I know it's uncomfortable. I am troubled."
  • Trading guild system (channels, enforcement vs everyone trading in the 1st weapon trading post only, etc.)
    • "...needs to be a little more development. For now, I've only put a function to check only the minimum."
  • Randomizing trap locations (location, quantity, or outright % chance to appear in a given spot, % roll for type of trap on a single dungeon map, etc.)
    • "The system already exists, but I wanted to see how the player works before using it. Too random is not what I want. We want players to remember the level as one of the skills they can have."
  • Map randomization (broadly)
    • "I don't really think about procedural or random generation. Memorizing maps is a skill of veteran adventurers."
  • Plan to revisit current sound model (teammates' footsteps reverberating strangely, as if they were in another room, sounding like an approaching enemy team, etc.)
    • "It needs some tuning."
  • 1st dungeon level available in next playtest?
    • "It is still in trouble. If the next playtest schedule I'm thinking of is confirmed, the first floor could be built, but it would be very under-built."
  • What if players are using really high monitor brightness for an advantage?
    • "No matter how bright it is now, the really dark areas will be dark. Of course, you'll benefit in the middle. It won't be easy for us to stop it."
  • Monster variety (different AI types, non-undead, etc.)
    • "We really want to have different types of monsters. However, time and manpower are insufficient."
    • "I can't promise anything right now, but there will be more monsters and more fun."
  • Better methods for gear comparison (built into the UI, on mouse-over)
    • "It won't be easy. Because absolute comparison is difficult."
  • Can I donate money
    • "There is currently no way. I'll think about this one more time."
  • Training room (to test your own gear out, animations, damage, etc.)
    • "I'm thinking, but the development priority is low."
  • Larger coin purses?
    • Already made a gold bag + gold chest -- haven't released them, yet
  • Any plans to make the floors any bigger than what they are?
    • "I have the idea that the current level is a bit narrow."
  • Any thoughts on "raids" (i.e. find resource in dungeon, corrupt portal with resource(s), go somewhere even deadlier with better loot, etc.)
    • "That's a fun idea. I'll take a look."
  • Damage from map obstacles (lava, swarm, etc.)
    • Balancing - can change at any time
  • Spawn stronger enemies outside zone circle as it gets smaller
    • "I've been thinking about those ideas a few times, but they don't really make much sense to me, so I discarded them."
  • Roadmap (broadly)
    • "We've always been asked for a roadmap, but it's constantly changing through experiments and tests, so it's difficult to reveal plans for features outside of the big picture."
  • Max party size - will it ever increase?
    • "Three people is enough. I won't do more than that."
  • Possible to use different gems found in the dungeon to chance stats rolls on weapons / armor?
    • "We are thinking of upgrading or crafting equipment with the ore or gems found in the dungeon. Just a classic everyone has experienced."
  • Cosmetics / transmog?
    • "Most likely it will be character skins and emotes."
    • Will these obscure gear clarity (knowing what I'm up against): "There should be a Pay-to-Lose skin, but not a Pay-to-Win skin. So we will try not to compromise visibility."
  • Console ports?
    • "The console will definitely make it."
  • Plans for food, water, and other status ailment survival elements?
    • "Going too hard in the realm of survival is not what we want. However, some light ideas are under consideration."
  • Necromancer caster skills / class?
    • "I do not know. Nothing has been decided on this yet."
  • Filters on the trade channels? (rarity, type, etc.)
    • Don't know- but it will evolve
  • Plans for letting us put a teammate's heart into another player's dead body? (revive = inherits the dead body's class/skills)
    • "That's a fun idea. But it doesn't seem like it will."
  • Plans for sets / sockets for items?
    • "Yes, there is."
  • Plans to add arrow counts? (count tied to bow type?):
    • "I do not know. I'll think about making it."
  • "Realm Point" system similar to Dark Age of Camelot (rewarding points for killing enemy players)
    • "I'm thinking about Karma and Fame. But this is just an idea and we don't know when or hot it will be made."

Additional developer comments (auto-translate, pulled from Korean player-base channel)

u/Krazyflipz brought to my attention that the dev's also post to a Korean player base channel and that the auto-translated notes might be contain additional nuggets, so here you go (auto-translation copy/paste only -- note that some things might be off):

  • How will you create a trade channel in the future?
    • "Nothing is confirmed yet, but I'm not going to build a flea market or an auction house or anything like that."

  • How about beating up a bunch of wanted people in a dungeon and roughly showing up on the location mini-map?
    • "It's a fun idea, but I'm not going to do it."

  • First floor: forest? Will the escape method be the same as the other level so far?
    • "There is no definitive information yet to be released about the first floor. We don't yet know if it will be a forest, a cave, or somewhere else altogether."

  • Is it possible that each weapon will have more attack animations?
    • "Yes, that's a possibility, and more weapons will be added."

  • Does the box (chest? crate?) position in the dungeon keep coming out fixed? I only fixed (picked?) the boxes with some good rewards, and most normal boxes seem to be okay with random spawns.
    • "I also think it's good to have some randomness."

  • Saw the English Q&A - casters are incomplete. More attack skills? Or...?
    • "Class skills should be added, but what I was saying was that more spells should be added. Only when the spell capacity is working properly and you can select and take orders (spells?) will you give up other orders in order to take powerful spells."

  • If we can buy a playtest, are you likely to let us play the game? This will help your company hire more people to do more in the game.
    • "Let me see. I don't have any plans, yet, but I'll think about it."

  • Will the next test open things that were locked or not added during the second test? (???)
    • "Rather than opening something locked, something new may be added. This is undecided because we have not yet laid out the plan in detail." (???)

  • What is the internal reaction to the second playtest?
    • "I'm curious." (???)

  • ...Ah, so if the total cost is 10, the resurrection just takes 5 (spell capacity point system, say out of 10, maybe?), so you have to distribute the remaining 5 to other spells, and then you are trying to adjust the magic flow so that you can choose whether to take resurrection or not?
    • "Yes, exactly."

  • I feel like I'm a little sloppy right now- "Q" has meditation and "E" uses skill. You can't even take out meditation because you put in another skill?
    • "I want to add magic to the 'E' skill, as well. A wizard who holds Spell Memory in each hand and operates 10 spells. It's going to be a lot of fun."

  • Donations (same as the how the English Q&A went down)

  • Thinking of creating an enhancement system? Not sockets. Skill enhancement such as weapon enhancement?
    • "Various enhancement systems are planned, but nothing has been finalized."

  • Is the development focused on bug fixes / balancing / content additions?
    • "It's always a priority to see if the game works the way we want it to."

  • Is weapon durability likely to be added?
    • "It can be said that it is quite high."

  • Any hints as to when the next playtest will be? How many weeks? Months? Maybe work (?)?
    • "I'm thinking of doing it in December. The date has not been confirmed."

  • Respected developer, don't you plan to get paid early access to Steam?
    • "Steam paid early access is scheduled for April next year."

  • Is there a significant difference between the current spellbook grey white and blue?
    • "Currently, the only difference is the attached option."

  • When there is a new field on the 1st floor, I hope that the gap between player spawn points will be a little further apart. In the previous test, it was difficult because it was quite frequent for a party of 3 to spawn right next to each other.
    • "The 1st floor will be wider and a little less encountered."

  • Is 'SDF' (Discord handle) in charge of development or community leaders?
    • "I'm the general manager of development for this game."

  • You mentioned April 2023 is the early access date -- do you expect all the teasing (additional?) classes to be added by then?
    • "That doesn't know, yet."

  • Wizard-related question: Shooting the Ghost King or the Lich while moving sideways is the main tactic, so Ranger is the main focus. But if the mage does that, in fact, except for Fireball, Magic Missiles will not be used in boss fights. Is the development team aware of this?
    • "I don't think wizards have to shoot magic missiles. There's going to be a lot of magic."

  • Let's not put out an enhancement system on the weapon... I'm like Donson (Nexon). /Let's sell games for a fee and make money with other things. (???)
    • "Don't worry. You have to spend money ruthlessly to reinforce it, you have to rely on probability, and you don't think about a system like this."

  • Are you a company that listens to your players? In this case, as a developer, you can create a voting system for breaking changes to get good information.
    • "You listen, but you don't hear everything."

  • If the first floor is added, how much playtime is the developer intended per bout (clear to the 3rd floor boss)?
    • "At first, I'm thinking about 30 minutes, but we'll have to test it to see what happens."

  • The developer said that Saminpot (???) and Solo interact with each other, does this mean that they will balance each other?
    • "Well, at this point, it's a little pointless to balance it, so I don't think it's going to be good to do anything for balance."

  • Will you announce the changes at the next test opening? Or I was wondering if you could give me a hint.
    • "We'll try to announce the change, but we won't be able to do it in advance. I'm always pressed for time."

  • Have you ever considered closing several separate circles on the first floor to increase the number of teams on the second floor?
    • "Let me see."

  • There are various discussions in some communities about the balance between solo users and party users, do you consider this an issue that needs to be "solved"? It's related to the "direction the developers intended" you previously mentioned in the English Q&A.
    • "I don't see it as a big problem. Right now, the game is only a little bit made."

  • Is there room for further improvement in monster AI? There are so many idiots where monsters can't do anything, for example, if the Ranger easily catches the Wraith without any control, or if it is in a certain position.
    • "AI needs to be improved, but it has a long way to go."

  • There are currently 16 people per bout- will it increase in the future?
    • "It can stretch or shrink. So far, 16 is temporary."

  • Have you ever considered killing us in the last circle, instead of killing immediately after the timer expires, causing damage over time?
    • "Yes, but I think it's better to just kill them."

  • Do you want to add a thirst and hunger system that requires water or rice in the future?
    • "I don't think I'll go that far. Maybe we can add it for fun."

  • Even if I put it out in Early Access now, I think I will buy a lot. A small company has a small number of developers, but it's amazing that there are so few "bugs" in the class. There are a lot of bugs in the current Tarkov... I hope you see it. Why don't you pay now and finance the development?
    • "There were a lot of bugs, and now it's a long way off."

  • Will PvE-only mode be added?
    • "I probably won't add it."

  • I think there are parts that are not translated or unnatural, but do you think of editing them smoothly after the end?
    • "Yes, the translation will have to be revised in the future."

  • Thinking of adding Naxdem (???)?
    • "Nothing has been decided yet."

  • It's a story that has been a problem with LoL as well. Weapon damage increases exponentially, with Ranger or Rogue heading out with more than 130 deals. So, before I could deal with it, I experienced a case where I died in 1 car, and victory or defeat was decided in 0.1 seconds. Do you plan to increase your base health or improve your armor to deal with assassinations?
    • "I'm thinking of keeping the TTK (time-to-kill) short. We'll see what happens in the future."

  • With a couple of minutes left, the magnetic field begins to shrink quite a bit, is it possible that the escape scroll will be added or changed to come out on the other side of the magnetic field circle as well?
    • "Circles and portals are completely temporary. I've deliberately set the time a little faster for a quick test."

  • Each item has a grade, but I think there is a big gap in performance difference between grades, do you have any plans to reduce it a little?
    • "I'm worried about that. However, there are various ways to solve it, so it may not go in the form of simply closing the gap."

  • Do you want to create a window where only parties can chat, or a feature like expelling party members? In particular, I invited them, but I was frustrated with the user who dives...
    • "The party-related system also needs chatting and needs a lot of updates. I think all of the things you mentioned will be there in the future. Although it will take some time to develop."

  • Would you be willing to add random matching for people who have a hard time finding people to work with?
    • "There is probably no random matching. Instead, we'll try to figure out how to make it easier to get a party. Of course, that may change in the future."

  • Will I buy the game for Euros when it officially opens? I think early access can also be released in euros.
    • "Yes, both early and official releases are paid."

  • I'm curious about SDF's favorite games.
    • "I'll pick just one: Ultima Online. So much."

  • Oh, perhaps, if you put on the gear, is there a chance that you will get a cursed gear with a high risk high return? I think it would be fun to have equipment with these special stats.
    • "Sounds like fun."

  • Is the launch price still secret?
    • "It's not a secret, but it's not yet decided."
  • Are you from SDF?
    • "Yes."
  • Do you realize its immense popularity?
    • "I realize it to a certain extent, but I think popularity is like a mirage, so it doesn't matter if it disappears at any time."
  • The current warehouse capacity is very insufficient, are you not planning to increase the capacity of the gold coin bag or add a warehouse using gold coins?
    • "In the future, warehouses will be added. How to increase it is undetermined."
  • Developer, you must be very busy with this kind of Q&A time right now, but I hope you do it often. It's so nice.
    • "Yes, I also like to play with players, so I will do it often."