We made a Union prototype with Ghost Ship Games - Help us test it!
Rock and Stone, miners!
*Quick note before we dive in: this is a thesis project, not an official GSG feature. While Ghost Ship Games has been involved in this process, they are not planning to add this new Union system to the main game at this point in time.*
We’re a group of master’s students who are working with Ghost Ship Games on a prototype of a Union system as part of our thesis project.
We would love to have you test the current prototype and provide some feedback through a questionnaire so we can get an understanding of what works and what still needs work.
To participate in the test, please join the associated Discord server, where you will find the access key to the prototype build, the questionnaire, and more information about the project.
We really appreciate any time you can spare to help us test it out!
Link to the Discord testing server: https://discord.gg/KvRAdKejHm
EDIT: quick clarification, since a few people asked what the Union system actually is:
You pick one of three unions (Cave Crawlers, Mighty Miners, or Dirt Diggers). Each has a different focus - gathering, combat, or a mix - and each has a weekly milestone goal (shortened to weekly for the test - would normally be monthly) that all members of that union work toward together.
You don't play differently. Just join a union and do your normal missions, the system tracks what happens (mining, kills, objectives) and adds your contribution to the union's milestone. It's meant as an extra community layer on top of normal play, so the missions you'd play anyway also push a shared goal forward alongside everyone else in your union. The design concept also includes rewards based on the union's collective progress toward the milestone, though that part isn't in the prototype.
Note: contribution numbers in this prototype are currently mocked rather than tracked from real play, but feedback on the concept and the design is still really valuable.