[EN] Hero of Abyss closed testing

[Ventura Dev]

Welcome to the Hero of Abyss closed testing!

Thanks for signing up. Hero of Abyss is a turn-based roguelite RPG in pixel
art, played vertically and designed for one hand: you build your party in the
city of Vela, descend floor by floor into the Abyss and, when death comes
(and it will), you create a new character and go down again.

Over the coming weeks the game is in closed testing on Google Play. Your job
is to play as you normally would and tell us what you thought and what
breaks. There is no wrong way to do this: any comment helps.

=====================================================
GETTING STARTED
=====================================================

1. Join this group with the same Google account you use on Google Play
   (you already did if you are reading this).
2. Accept the testing invitation: https://play.google.com/apps/testing/dev.mfventura.heroofabyss
3. Install the game from Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dev.mfventura.heroofabyss

Every time we publish a new version we will post the update notes in this
group.

=====================================================
WHAT WE ARE MOST INTERESTED IN
=====================================================

- First minutes: does the tutorial make sense? Was there any moment where
  you did not know what to do?
- Combat: do your decisions matter? Does any enemy, floor or boss feel
  unfair or too easy?
- The city (guild, blacksmith, shop, Sanctuary, Warehouse, pets): is it
  clear what each building is for?
- Readability: text size, clipped text or text running off the screen,
  overlapping elements. Try changing the font size in Options and tell us if
  anything breaks.
- Performance: stutters, unexpected crashes, battery drain, loading times.
- Translation: any odd sentence, spelling mistake or text in Spanish where
  it should not be.
- And above all, whatever you want to tell us: what you liked, what bored
  you, when you stopped playing and why.

=====================================================
HOW TO SEND FEEDBACK
=====================================================

Start a new conversation in this group for each topic (an overall
impression, a bug, a suggestion...). That way we can reply to and follow up
on each one separately. Small things (a typo, a clipped label) can be
grouped with other small things in a single message.

Put the type and a short summary in the subject, for example:
  [BUG] The game crashes when opening the Warehouse
  [IMPRESSIONS] My first 3 hours
  [SUGGESTION] Show the estimated damage before attacking
  [TEXT] Typos in the skill descriptions

Copy the template below and fill in what you can. You do not need to
complete every field: a short message is worth more than none.

----- TEMPLATE (copy from here) -----

TYPE: [ Impressions / Bug / Suggestion / Text-translation / Other ]

GAME VERSION: (bottom of the main menu, e.g. v1.0.89)
PHONE AND ANDROID VERSION: (e.g. Xiaomi Redmi Note 12, Android 14)
FONT SIZE IN OPTIONS: (normal / large / huge... if you changed it)
APPROXIMATE TIME PLAYED:

WHERE IT HAPPENS: (menu, tutorial, city / specific building, dungeon
floor X, combat, minigame...)

WHAT HAPPENS:
(Describe what you see. If it is a bug: what you expected to happen and
what actually happened.)

HOW TO REPRODUCE IT (if it is a bug):
1.
2.
3.

DOES IT HAPPEN AGAIN? [ Always / Sometimes / Only once ]

DID YOU LOSE PROGRESS OR DID THE GAME CRASH? [ Yes / No ]

SCREENSHOTS OR RECORDING:
(Attach the images or the video link here. See the guide below.)

OVERALL RATING (optional, 1 to 5) and why:

ANYTHING ELSE:

----- END OF TEMPLATE -----

=====================================================
GUIDE: SCREENSHOTS AND RECORDINGS
=====================================================

A screenshot or a 20-second video saves us hours of searching. Whenever you
can, attach one of the two, especially for visual bugs, clipped text and
combat errors.

Screenshot
- On most Android phones: press Power + Volume Down at the same time.
- Alternative: swipe down from the top and tap "Screenshot" in the quick
  settings.
- If text is clipped or overlapping, a screenshot beats describing it.

Screen recording
- Android 11 or later has a built-in screen recorder: swipe down from the
  top, look for "Screen record" in the quick settings (you may need to edit
  the panel to add the button) and tap it to start. When you are done, tap
  the notification to stop.
- On older Android, or if your phone has no recorder, any free recording
  app works (for example AZ Screen Recorder or XRecorder).
- If a bug only shows up "sometimes", leave the recording running while you
  play and trim the part where it happens afterwards.
- Short videos (under 1 minute) are ideal. If it is too big to attach here,
  upload it to Google Drive, YouTube (as "unlisted") or similar and paste the
  link.

Other useful details
- If the game closes on its own, tell us what you were doing right before
  and whether the app had been open for a long time.
- If you lost a run to a bug, tell us the hero's name, class and floor: it
  helps us find it in the save data.

=====================================================
GROUND RULES
=====================================================

- Everyone is welcome here; be respectful to the other testers.
- The game is in testing: there will be bugs, balance changes and runs that
  break. We will warn you if an update requires starting from scratch.
- Do not share install links or screenshots of features that have not been
  announced yet outside the group, unless we say otherwise.
- If you have a question about how something works, ask: if it is not clear
  to you, it probably needs to be explained better inside the game.

Thanks again for your time. See you in the Abyss!

[Ventura Dev]

Hello everyone!
After the first hours of the closed testing phase, you have reported a few issues and I have worked on them.
Right now, I published the version 1.0.91 with the following changes.

Thank you very much for the help, please. Update and keep playing!

Added

• Contextual tips: the first time you meet a vein, chest, locked door, camp, forge, recruits, pets, a fallen companion or your first death, the Codex explains it; can be turned off in Options.
• The tutorial now frames the button to press instead of naming it.
• Dungeon: tapping the current room on the minimap triggers its action (merchant, chest, vein, camp, back to the city...).
• The Supporter Pack button is bigger and carries a pending dot.
• Codex in the pause menu: short entries on turns, combat actions, contracts, the city, your company, exploration, death and essence.

Fixed

• Sanctuary and the essence shop no longer overflow the screen with large text sizes: the header wraps to two rows and the shop panel fits the screen with scrolling packs.
• Game Over: the pending-upgrade dot on the essence button sits inside the corner; all pending dots are bigger and pulse.
• Defend now works: the character takes half damage until the start of their next turn, shown as a Guard status.

Changed

• Shorter tutorial: it ends when you deliver your first contract; the forge, veins, chests, companions and essence are explained when you first meet them.
• Tutorial dialogue rewritten in short, single-idea lines.
• The Tutorial button is always available in the main menu.
• Lore text is shown instantly by default; the typewriter effect can be re-enabled in Options.
• Text size now defaults to Large and the readable font is on by default for new and existing installs that never changed them.
• Options: the font is now picked from a list (Pixel / Readable) instead of a toggle.

[Ventura Dev]

Hello again!
I spent the entire afternoon working to improve particles on the combat screen and I added some particles on the cities and refugees.

Version 1.0.92 available now. Remember to update on https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dev.mfventura.heroofabyss

Changed

• Reworked combat and city particle effects: pixel-art sparks, shards, smoke and glows with banded colour instead of plain squares; every skill family (fire, ice, poison, holy, dark, void, rock, arrows, summons, howls) now has its own impact effect.

Fixed

• Blacksmith: tapping Upgrade without enough gold or materials now says exactly what is missing instead of a silent greyed-out button.