All Kickstarter Fulfillment Surveys Sent
over 2 years ago – Sun, Aug 22, 2021 at 08:34:20 PM

Greetings Tacticians!

Apologies for sending out another update to basically say the same thing. But we wanted to let all of our backers know that as of 10:30 AM PST this morning, we've sent out the remaining 95% of the pledge fulfillment surveys to everybody.

Please check your e-mails (including your spam folders and the like) for an e-mail from BackerKit to fill out the information that we need from you.

If you're having any issues, please reach out to us at [email protected]!

Also, for being patient with us and waiting for the fulfillment survey, please check out some of the cool concept illustrations for the design of Lost Eidolons' hero, Eden!

Kickstarter Fulfillment Surveys
over 2 years ago – Thu, Aug 19, 2021 at 12:34:16 AM

Greetings, Tacticians!

Back in May, we had a resounding success as the Lost Eidolons Kickstarter smashed through its $45,000 goal and funded a glorious $51,989, an amount which also fulfilled its stretch goal for an enhanced difficulty ‘Hell’ mode.

It’s been about two months since then, and we’re just about ready to send out surveys to start handling fulfillment of everyone’s pledges who backed our project.

The surveys will be sent via BackerKit, who we’re working with to ensure that everybody gets what they paid for. The first surveys will be sent out today to a few folks to ensure that everything is working properly, followed by all the other surveys at once if everything checked out okay with the first batch. We hope to have all surveys sent out to all backers by next week, Tuesday August 24th.

We ask that you carefully read over each survey question and check twice before submitting your survey. For pledge tiers that are receiving multiple copies of the game or digital deluxe edition, you must select which platform you want each copy of the game as well as how you want to receive the bonus digital content if applicable.

After completing your survey, you’ll have the option to pick up any additional add-ons that you still want before submitting. For those of you who pledged extra support when you initially backed the project, you can use that surplus amount towards any of these extras as a credit if you wish! Add-ons include:

• Physical Collector’s Edition ($69.00)
• Digital Artbook + World Map ($5.00)
• Original Soundtrack, Digital ($5.00)
• Digital Copy of Lost Eidolons ($30.00)

Our team at Ocean Drive Studio is excited to see all of the creative things you will all come up with to be immortalized into our game! Lost Eidolons is our game as a collective, yourself included.

For any additional questions or survey troubleshooting, please join our Discord server, where you can ask questions and receive answers live! You can also reach out to us at [email protected] for e-mail assistance.

August 12th Dev Update Livestream
over 2 years ago – Thu, Aug 12, 2021 at 10:46:57 AM

Greetings, Tacticians!

It's about that time of the month where we get together and talk about the latest and newest developments in Lost Eidolons on our local Twitch channel! Please keep in mind that this time, we've adjusted the start time of the livestream back near where it was in June!

When:

• 6:00 PM PDT, Thursday August 12th (US West)
• 9:00 PM EDT, Thursday August 12th (US East)
• 2:00 AM BST,  Friday August 13th (London)
• 10:00 AM KST, Friday August 13th (Korea)

This is our second dev stream in the aftermath of Steam Next Fest's playable demo back in June! We've continued making new adjustments to improve on the game based on the feedback you've all provided.

For those of you who missed last month's broadcast, please refer to this chaptered supercut of it uploaded onto YouTube: 

Any questions that anyone has about the game or its development are free to be asked in the comments here or in the #town_hall section of our Discord server and we'll definitely answer it during the cast.

Twitch Channel: https://www.twitch.tv/oceandrivestudio

Call To Arms: Closed Beta Tester Program
over 2 years ago – Wed, Aug 11, 2021 at 01:52:31 AM

Calling all Tacticians!

We’re looking for passionate strategy gamers interested in testing the next playable build of Lost Eidolons! This program, called the Benerio Grand Company, will have a direct hand in shaping the future of the game by providing direct feedback to our development team.

The creation of this team is important for us at Ocean Drive Studio, whose core principles in creating new games involve community involvement in that process.

The closed beta test, which will only be taking place on Windows PC Steam, will include a more robust-featured version of the game than the previous demo that was available during the recent Steam Next Fest. We’re planning on adding several fixes, tweaks, and a notable amount of additional content including the tutorial episodes for playtesters to get a much more thorough grasp of our game. These playtests will occur a few times over the course of a few months in multiple phases, with the first playtest sometime early this Fall 2021.

It’s also important for us to mention that the beta phase of Lost Eidolons will be under NDA. This is because it’ll be a huge chunk of the game which can include story spoilers. We want to preserve the experience of the game from those waiting to play the game in its entirety. That being said, the NDA only covers images and videos of the game build and you’d be free to discuss your experiences with others.

Members of the Benerio Grand Company will be able to participate in all future playtests from now until Early Access. Additional perks for joining the test group after having provided your valuable feedback includes:

• An additional beta access code for you to give to a friend or family at a later testing phase.
• A unique Benerio Grand Company role in our Discord, along with access to post on a special feedback channel viewable by everyone in the community to comment on.
• A special mention in a separate section of the in-game credits, celebrating the efforts of the Benerio Grand Company.

Are you a diehard tactical RPG fan that wants to get involved in this project? Then please fill out the following form and join our Discord server:

•  Form URL: https://forms.gle/CV1JNH9biTNDbspZ7 
•  Discord URL: https://discord.com/invite/nvzRKzh5Mn 

For those who are already a Kickstarter backer! Backers are automatically in the Benerio Grand Company and can earn the extra benefits should they contribute their feedback towards the betterment of the game! Filling out the form is not necessary. Simply reach out to ODS Pat via DMs and he’ll get you set up with the role to access our feedback discussion channels, and you should expect to receive beta access codes soon as part of your pledge fulfillment.

This announcement is mostly for onlookers who missed the campaign to still participate in the beta test. On the topic of fulfillment surveys from BackerKit, we're currently aiming to have the first batch sent out next week. The surveys are already mostly done, but we're finalizing some of the backend things before sending them out.

Applicants will be reached out to via e-mail letting them know if we have selected them to join the Benerio Grand Company. Please regularly check your e-mail including your spam folder to check if you were picked! And if you weren’t picked in the first batch, fret not, as we’ll be regularly adding new fledglings to the Benerio Grand Company through each of the testing phases.

Closed Beta FAQ

Q: How can I get into the Closed Beta?

•  Please fill out this form if you’re interested in joining the Closed Beta group! 

Q: When will the Closed Beta begin?

• We will inform everyone of the date in a separate announcement in the near future!

Q: How many beta test phases will there be? How long does the test last for? 

• We will have a total of 3 beta test phases between now and Early Access. The dates will be revealed in an upcoming announcement.

Q: What are the requirements to be selected as a Closed Beta tester?

• We're looking for highly passionate fans of tactical turn-based RPGs that want to really help us provide solid feedback about the game! We want to see your enthusiasm in the application!

Q: How will you be inviting people who signed up for the beta test?

• If your application is accepted, you should expect an e-mail from [email protected] with additional instructions on how to proceed!

Q: How will I access the Closed Beta build if accepted?

• Once you have been accepted to the Benerio Grand Company testing group, you'll receive a Steam Key which can be redeemed through your Steam Library. After you redeem the key, you should see 'Lost Eidolons Closed Beta' in your Steam Library. Download and launch to start playing the game!

Q: What perks do I get as a beta tester?

• You will be granted access to all phases of Closed Beta tests. An additional invite to try out the game will be given to you to give to a friend or family member. On Discord, we'll assign you a unique Discord role that provides access to a tester’s channel. Lastly, your alias will be added to a special section of the credits dedicated to the brave men and women of the Benerio Grand Company.

Q: What kind of content will the first beta test have?

• We will reveal this at a later time. Content will be gradually added throughout the three beta tests and will include an early look at the game’s first two major arcs.

Q: Where can I submit my feedback as a beta tester?

•  We will have feedback channels available for testers on our website forums (available later) and Discord server. 

Q: What platforms are the beta available on?

• The beta will only be available on Windows PC.

Q: Is there multiplayer?

• There are no multiplayer functions planned at this time.

Q: What languages are supported during the Closed Beta?

• Full voice acting in English (which will be added at the later phase of the beta), with text support for Korean, Russian, German, French, European Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese. Text seen during the beta tests may not be final.

Q: Can I collect footage or images from the Closed Beta to share with others or to make content with?

• Closed Beta game builds are under NDA. You are free to talk about the game but please do not share images or videos.

Q: Will my campaign progress carry over between beta phases and later to Early Access?

• We will be wiping progress before Lost Eidolons' Early Access in early 2022.

Q: What are the minimum system specs?

• Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4460 or AMD equivalent
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: GeForce GTX 960 or AMD equivalent, 4 GB VRAM
• DirectX: Version 11
•  Storage: 40 GB available space
   

Demo Feedback Responses & Release Timeline Update
almost 3 years ago – Fri, Jul 16, 2021 at 11:00:07 PM

Greetings, Tacticians!

It’s been about 4 weeks since the Lost Eidolons demo was playable during Steam Next Fest last month. Since then we’ve been preparing plans to polish several areas of the game! Our team was excited and grateful for the quality and quantity of feedback we got from everyone.

As an indie game studio, our mission that we set out to achieve was to work on games together with our community as our peers. Thanks to the demo’s great success towards that mission, we’re aiming to create more opportunities for folks to try out future builds of the game so that we continue to keep integrating you all into the creative process.

As for today, we’re writing this blog to share two things: 1) A list of feedback that we've collected and our plans on how to incorporate some of them into the game, and 2) the new status of the game’s current roadmap, and how we must make some adjustments in order to produce the best game that we can.

Leveraging Feedback

During the demo, we received a lot of feedback from fans, friends, and backers about the game as a whole. The brunt of that feedback came from our after-demo survey (a huge thank you to all 72 participants who submitted theirs's).

From the survey and the feedback from external community sites, we've identified a total of 52 topics for us to review, and we decided to take action on 45 of them. We'd like to share some of what we've reviewed thus far and what kind of actions we’re in the process of taking in order to implement them!

Status of Development

Over the course of the month of June, our team made great strides towards the development of the game. This includes:

• Building a demo build for Steam Next Fest
• Cut Scene Improvements
• New Skill Animations
• New Outfits, and Armors
• Basic Foundation for the Camp Outgame
• Additional Scenario Developments for Future Episodes

After reviewing the feedback from the demo, we worked on planning future improvements, including:

• New UI/UX Design
• Control Improvements
• Addition of Language Options

However, as a consequence of the time and resources needed to undertake all these important changes, we have made the careful decision to delay the release of Early Access.

It’s not the happiest news, but we all agreed that delivering a quality game should always be the top priority. Some fans may be disappointed we couldn’t meet the original deadline for Early Access, so we’ll do our damned best to ensure this extra time is well spent to create a solid playthrough experience.

The main reason for the delay is as follow:

• Major revision on UI, UX (including controls)
• More resource, and the time investment into story elements
• Additional graphical and animation polishing

Based on internal review, we are making changes to the development roadmap as follows:

•  Beta: Early Q4, 2021
•  Early Access: Q1, 2022

As for the beta, instead of a single beta test we'll be taking 2-3 rounds of testing to ensure the game is definitely ready for Early Access. We'll treat the beta as an additional opportunity to acquire more feedback accordingly.

We’re confident that this decision to delay will lead to a better overall game experience, and we’ll continue to regularly keep our community channels updated on the current state of development as it progresses. Please continue to provide your feedback to us on anything that you see! You can check out what we’re working on each month through our milestone livestreams (we just had one yesterday) and join in the discussions or ask questions on our Discord!

Our friends at Owlcat Games

Lastly, we wanted to take a moment to shout out a big supporter of our own campaign, the folks from Owlcat Games that are currently working on Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous! They were also responsible for the critically acclaimed Pathfinder: Kingmaker. We're big fans of tabletop games as well and it was an honor to have their support. With just two months until their game's release, they're actually entering their third and final beta now.

Embark on a great journey to rebuff the mighty Demon Lords and close off the portal to the demonic plane of existence known as the Abyss. Their game lets you pick from countless customization options to create your own path through the richness of Pathfinder's first edition ruleset.

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous will be available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S via backward compatibility later this year.