This post is going to contain a ton of information, but it's fairly necessary considering the fact that it'll be covering the future of the Expanse's 3rd layer, as well as the results of the development direction poll/survey. If you only care about voting on layer 3, go ahead and skip through to the second section.
Thanks to everyone who participated in the content survey! There wasn't quite as much data as I would've liked, but I still think that the results are fairly representative of common opinion. I won't be providing the exact numbers of the survey at this time, but I would like to present a few different statistics before jumping into the second half of this post.
Main Poll - The people have spoken! Regular content updates will be given the most priority. Layer 3 and new mechanics will obviously still be receiving development, but the addition of new content in the existing layers will be given more of a focus moving forward.
Survey Stat #1 - The split between enemies/events/endings is fairly even, with most players enjoying all of them relatively equally. Enemies seem to be slightly more popular overall, but of course all of these different facets of the core gameplay loop will be coming in future updates.
Survey Stat #2 - Most players want to see more content added to current layers, which lines up with the results of the main poll.
Survey Stat #3 - Each member of the party is liked fairly equally, with Aria lagging just a bit behind (though that's to be expected).
In terms of mechanics, most think that Estelle is the most powerful party member and that Astrid is the weakest. I'll be making balance changes to party members' skills in the future, but I'd encourage you all to not underestimate the power of Sniper's Focus and its highly consistent damage output in the meantime.
Survey Stat #4 - I won't be going through each favorite and least favorite character, since most of the results weren't very unexpected. However, I'll just say that the Gourmand absolutely dominated any pick that she was an option in!
LAYER 3 POLL INFO
Here's the big one! The results of this poll will be felt for the next several months of FATACLYSM's development, if not more. While layer 3 won't be taking the biggest focus moving forward, I'd like to establish its foundation now, so that I can begin working on it in between updates. Without further ado, here are the options that I've settled on for the vote:
The Abbey - Unknowable rites of bloody worship have stained this corrupted monastery's blasphemous halls, its denizens having been consumed by an unending, crimson thirst. Though the Abbey's sinister apostles may have once committed themselves to a vastly differing entity, a certain demon of gluttony has provided them with new purpose.
The Factory - Vats of chemical waste decorate this industrial labyrinth, with each twist and turn across its rusted metal catwalks being accompanied by the presence of some strange, glowing biohazard. The hardened gangs of the Factory may not enjoy the best of working conditions, but their willingness to utilize the resources at their disposable makes them a constantly evolving threat.
Contemporary - A vote for this option is a bit different from the other two. I have many ideas involving more historical/contemporary settings, but I didn't want to fill this poll with them. If you want any of these layers to be added, though, go ahead and cast a vote for this option. If contemporary gets enough support, I'll likely be re-polling the layer 3 vote with these properly included. There's also the potential of combining all three into one single fusion layer, if people are interested in something like that.
"Contemporary" encompasses the following 3 layer concepts:
-The Frontier, an arid badland styled off of the Wild West.
-The Isle, a tranquil land styled off of feudal Japan.
-The Harbor, a sea-side port housing both stereotypical pirates and military with more modern roots.
Please think carefully, and then vote for whichever layer sounds most interesting to you! Anyways, this post is already far too long, but I just want to add a note regarding the poll. Its results are obviously going to have a very large impact on development, so I believe there's a very real chance that it'll have to be re-polled if the vote is close enough.
If that happens, I'll likely be releasing more information regarding the planned enemies and events of these layers, so stay tuned for that. I'll also be clarifying the results of the poll more in the future, but I don't want this post dragging on any more than it has to. May the best layer win!