Hey guys!

As I write this, we are in the first open Pioneer session week. And let me tell you, it has been a humbling experience so far. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to find an effective system to optimize player matchup yet. Getting and matching enough players is proving difficult, as it is for many indie multiplayer games in playtesting.

Basically, we are still working with the matchup system we started out with. It simply consists of hitting a button to enter a separate Looking for Player room, until you are matched with a random (invisible) player that is also currently present. Which is fine for dev testing, but not so much for actual players. We would love to hear any player lobby suggestions you might have!

However, we are also super excited to see hundreds of singleplayer practice matches so far. Glad to see you guys testing out our practice opponents! I’m sure you are beating the crap out of Razz the One-Eyed, Consul Doomstar, Elder Valsartan and Jusiticiar Valerion. Be sure to leave us playtest feedback or suggestions on the Pioneer forums. Also, take a look at the intro youtube vid for Justiciar Valerion!

As I mentioned on the forums, we are planning a small series of explanatory Youtube videos covering gameplay and development. I thought I’d start things off with showing you one of my favorite Aestril characters in the game: Justiciar Valerion. If you guys have any requests, let me know!

Gameplay wise, Valerion is actually a separate incarnation of the current AI state, combined with a specific deck. As such, don’t expect him to be all powerful. Consider him a work in progress as we develop the AI for practice mode. Also, the video briefly explains a few of the core mechanics in any Aestril deck.

Cheerio!

P.S Download the playtest build and join us!

Johndice