What's Next For Palia: A Weekend Playtest
Before Palia waves goodbye to 2022, we have one more quest to complete: A weekend playtest with a small group of all-new testers, starting Thursday, November 17th!
Here at Singularity 6, we've received lots of great feedback after Alpha 1 in February and Alpha 2 in July of this year. But before we start settling in for the holiday break, we wanted to have one more chance to get those precious first impressions of the updates and polish we’ve implemented since our last Alpha tests.
So much to test, so little time! Image Credit: Kelpie
The Alpha tests helped us gauge where we are in each of Palia’s features, like new player onboarding, skills progression, home decorating, and cooperative play. Small scale playtests like this will be a quick check-in on the improvements we’ve made to affirm that our changes are on the right track.
Because of the intimate nature of these playtests, we are dubbing this round of playtesting “Player Labs” to evoke the feeling of a dedicated group of core scientists, hunkering down in the lab to test out a hypothesis. 👩🔬 In this way, Player Labs are a little different from our much larger, month-long Alpha tests.
Einar can’t wait to see what all the new humans think of Palia. Image Credit: Otter
Are brand new players immediately hooked into the world of Palia? Does the story draw them deeper into the mystery?
Does leveling their gameplay skills feel exciting and intuitive?
Do Palia’s controls and tutorials triumphantly guide players through the world, while still preserving a sense of joyful discovery?
What objects will be unexpectedly floating this time?
Hassian continues to peer deep into our grass textures. Image Credit: Chubbles
But the real question on everyone’s mind (including ours!): PALIA WHEN?? Please hang tight! We will be sure to share our next big playtest phase with you when we have all the details ready. In the meantime, here are answers to many of the common questions we get in our community.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
This is the first I’m hearing about Palia! Where can I learn more?
Welcome home! We are so happy you are here. Palia is a cozy, community simulation MMO game set in a high fantasy world. If you haven’t yet, check out our announcement trailer! We also have a helpful Top Questions About Palia to learn a little more about our first game.
What’s the difference between the Alpha Tests and Player Labs?
We had a few different goals for this playtest compared to the last two tests. This time, we are looking for feedback on just a handful of features and experiences, such as:
- The first hour of gameplay, and new player onboarding
- Early game experience of our skills (Foraging, Furniture Crafting, Mining, Hunting, Gardening, Insect Catching, Cooking, and Fishing)
- The ease and enjoyment of solo and cooperative play
We very much wanted to make sure we had one more live playtest before the end of the 2022, but we also needed to compromise that with the holiday season approaching. Having a shorter weekend meant we could receive that hyper-targeted feedback of the features we were most curious about, while also ensuring our Sixers got plenty of rest to start 2023 off strong!
How long will Player Labs be?
This current Player Lab will last for four days, from Thursday, November 17th - Monday, November 21st. There may be additional, much smaller and shorter focus groups during the remainder of 2022 and into 2023, as well.
Why were only a small group of testers invited this time?
Because this playtest is only one long weekend, we invited the amount of testers that made the most sense for studio resources. More testers means more technical troubleshooting, server maintenance, and account management. Having a smaller number of testers means the lines for any help needed are much shorter.
Are Player Labs under NDA? Why?
Yes. Everyone who is participating in our playtests is under a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) and that’s why you are not seeing any streams or content. Palia is still under development, so a lot of the things in Alpha might change as we head up to launch.
Will there be more testing phases in the future?
Yes! We don’t know when yet, as it’s dependent on how our testing goes. We expect to receive a lot of great feedback for improvements that we would want to take action on—and that means we would need more time to develop and implement these features. We want to make sure we can make Palia the best it can be.
How can I increase my chances of getting invited?
The best option is to sign-up on our website, and answer our survey. Space in our playtests is limited. If there are unclaimed invites, Singularity 6 may reach out to active Discord community members to help fill out the final spots in the playtest.
Being Involved
If you’re interested in being a part of future playtests, please sign-up right here on our website.
We will be releasing regular updates and sneak peeks to keep you involved in our development every step of the way. Be sure to follow us on Twitter or join our Discord and let us know what you’re most excited for from Palia!
