eXoSpace Demo Coming - Playtest Ending

2025-05-16

Over the past few months, I’ve been running a playtest for eXoSpace to gather feedback and discover bugs. Setting up the test was quite easy using Steam’s playtest feature, which is also very convenient for players since they can install the game just like any other title via Steam.

Some Statistics

I didn’t promote the playtest actively, but still received 254 player signups, with 91 players actually installing the game.

Some players didn’t really play the game (with under 10 minutes of game time), but a significant number (23 so far) have spent more than 200 minutes in the game — and some have even played for over 20 hours! This made me really happy, as it confirms the game has some lasting appeal, even in its unfinished state.

Feedback

There were three main ways I gathered feedback:

1. Discord Server
   Players joined the Discord server. There are currently 34 players on Discord, which may not sound like much — but the feedback I received there was of very high quality. Many reports included clear descriptions and in-game recordings of issues.
   This made bugs much easier to fix and definitely made me a happy developer :)

2. In-Game Feedback Form
   A small "Feedback" button is available on most screens. Clicking it opens a popup where players can submit their thoughts, which are then sent to a board on Monday.com, appearing in an Excel-like sheet. This system worked well because players didn't hold back or sugarcoat things. I received about 100 submissions this way, also highly valuable!

Playtest Ending and Demo Releasing

Since I’ve gathered enough feedback for now and want to focus on releasing and supporting the eXoSpace demo, I’ll be closing the playtest next week (exact date to be announced on Discord). There may be additional playtests in the future for the release version.

Note: Your ship designs from the playtest will not be deleted.
You can find them here (replace <username> with your Windows username):

C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Fantastimaker\eXoSpace PlayTest\ships

These can be copied to future versions of the game, including the full release.
They should continue to work, with maybe some minor tweaks needed.

Alongside closing the playtest, I’m releasing the official eXoSpace demo next week.
With this, eXoSpace will be part of Steam Next Fest in June 2025!