Containment Test Feedback & Optimization Plan

NTEGame.com

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Audiovisual Renewal

Based on feedback from the 'Containment Test,' we will focus on optimizing character models, character actions, and combat fluidity, while continuously tuning story cutscenes and music.

Character Models

  • Further optimize and iterate on existing character models, including adjusting designs, modeling details, and improving lighting/shadow quality.
  • Optimize underperforming animations for playable characters, such as the male protagonist's run and foot movements on stairs. Improve the dynamic details of character clothing.
  • The next test will add new S-rank characters (Daffodil, Jiuyuan) and several A-rank characters are in preparation.

Action & Combat

  • Improve overall combat fluidity. Iterate on the combat animations for characters like the Protagonist, Nanali, and Requiem to enhance coherence and impact.
  • Optimize combat mechanics to improve feel, including tuning the Anomaly Ring system, addressing 'low damage' feedback, and adding new designs like ranged 'Counter attacks'.
  • Optimize the combat camera, adding a toggle for auto-correction to provide a more comfortable view.
  • Simplify terminology for combat attributes and skill descriptions to make them easier to understand.

Narrative & Cutscenes

  • Optimize the 'Moonlight Pawnshop' questline; it will be moved from the main story to an extra story.
  • Improve story dialogue presentation. Address issues from feedback, such as Tagit's sharp voice and the suboptimal Livehouse rhythm game experience.
  • Enhance Anomaly BOSS cutscenes, such as the animation for the 'Arachne of the Never-Ending Curtain' BOSS and other BOSS combat cutscenes.
  • Perform overall optimization on side stories, such as tuning the flow details of 'When the Swing Swung a Thousand Times' and adding voice acting to 'A Retrograde Poem for You'.
  • Optimize some clothing and animation clipping issues in cutscenes to improve immersion during gameplay.

Urban Atmosphere

  • Enhance the city's atmosphere by increasing the variety of bystander NPC behaviors to make Hethereau feel more alive.
  • Improve music performance by adding phased combat BGM and enhancing sound effect quality.
  • More original Hethereau music is in preparation.

Gameplay Iteration

In the future, we aim to provide more detailed game guidance, a more realistic and smooth driving experience, and more lightweight progression goals. To this end, here are our recent modification plans:

Game Guidance

  • Significantly optimize the tutorial system to avoid situations where insufficient guidance creates a high barrier to entry.
  • Add combat tutorial stages to detail the game's combat mechanics for new players.
  • Add descriptions to the character attribute interface to help players quickly understand character roles and traits.
  • Optimize acquisition sources for various items and add material usage descriptions to item tooltips.

City Life

  • Overhaul the vehicle handling system with a focus on driving feel, in consultation with racing genre experts.
  • Refine vehicle aesthetics, including models and materials for better realism, and add co-riding for cars and motorcycles.
  • Add a horn function for cars, and enable co-riding in cars (passenger seat) and on motorcycles (back seat).
  • Racing-style motorcycles will be summonable anywhere in the streets, and mounting animations will be optimized for speed.
  • Optimize the vehicle summon function with terrain detection to avoid summon failures in non-drivable areas.
  • Add a fast travel function to shops after they have been purchased.
  • Increase the trigger range for commandeering (stealing/requesting) vehicles and optimize related wanted level NPC AI.
  • Enhance the racing gameplay experience, including improving NPC team AI in PVE racing mode.
  • Improve the usability of the housing decoration system by tuning furniture placement logic.
  • Enhance the weather system, optimizing snow textures and interaction details.
  • Increase the number of Anomaly strongholds in the open world and add new faction encampments.
  • Remove the HP recovery limit from phone booths and sleeping.
  • Add interior decorations and details to various city buildings.
  • Optimize road planning details to improve the driving experience.
  • Optimize the photo mode by adding selectable parameters for lighting, weather, and time of day.
  • Add filter and search functions to the map, and slightly reduce the mini-map's display range.

Anomaly Challenge

  • Optimize the pacing and visual presentation of some Anomaly commissions, for example, 'Lament of the Deep Blue', 'Proliferating C', etc.
  • Optimize the gameplay guidance of some Anomaly commissions, such as the music puzzle part in the campus Anomaly 'Solitary Player'.
  • Perform an overall optimization of the settlement process for Anomaly dungeons, shortening the time required and improving convenience.
  • Add a multi-reward claim function to Anomaly dungeon settlements to reduce the daily gameplay grind.
  • Add an overflow storage function for 'Essence Pixels' (Stamina).
  • Optimize the 'Beyond the Rails' gameplay, enhance gameplay guidance, add new monster detail descriptions, and tune various details; simultaneously optimize the entry method and related processes for 'Beyond the Rails'.

Progression System

  • Adjust the character progression system to improve the convenience of progression, and add a character progression guide.
  • Optimize functions such as 'Sidebands', 'Assembly', and 'Progression' in the 'Sky Curtain' system to improve ease of use.
  • Optimize the crafting system to improve ease of use and make material synthesis more convenient.

Other Gameplay

  • Significantly optimize the overall artistic presentation of the 'Scarborough Fair' (Gacha) gameplay, such as redoing the character pull and acquisition animation cutscenes; also perform functional optimizations, such as adding character trials and a multi-speed playback function.
  • Iterate and optimize the multiplayer function to provide players with a more stable and convenient co-op environment.
  • Perform functional optimizations on the achievement system to improve ease of use.
  • Optimize the exploration guide system, for example, by improving clarity and the logical layout of functions.

System & Performance

Thank you for the valuable data provided during this test. Next, while we work on overall optimization, we will focus on compatibility issues for specific models and actively apply more new technologies to reduce the configuration pressure on everyone.

Controls

  • Optimize the feel of controller mode and enable the hotkey customization function for controllers on PC/mobile.
  • Appropriately enlarge the main interface buttons and fonts on mobile phones and tablets to improve ease of use. Simultaneously enable the custom positioning function for main interface buttons, allowing players to flexibly adjust the layout according to their needs.
  • Optimize the disconnect-reconnect function on the mobile client to improve the stability of mobile gameplay.

Device Performance

  • Continuously optimize performance on PC and mobile clients, further lowering configuration requirements and improving performance on high-end configurations.
  • AMD graphics cards will support FSR and Frame Generation.

Client-side Development

  • To ensure the stability of future versions, the production team is currently overhauling and optimizing the internal testing process, while also conducting a comprehensive system-wide investigation and resolution of high-frequency issues that appeared during this test.
  • Currently, development work for the PS and iOS clients is progressing steadily, and we hope to meet you all as soon as possible.

Future Plans

More new stories, new areas, and new partners are in preparation. In addition to these, we are also preparing some interesting new content, hoping to make the city life of our players more vibrant and colorful in the future.

Colorful New Life

  • In the future, 'life vignettes' for characters will be added. You can encounter them in the city doing interesting things outside of their work, and you can also invite them on dates for special moments that are experienced together, interesting, or unforgettable.
  • The housing system gameplay will be expanded. You can choose a character to become your roommate and unlock exclusive interaction content.
  • The character costume system is officially online. We have prepared various styles of costumes for every character, and we hope you like them.
  • A new 'Walkman' function is added. When strolling the streets of Hethereau, why not play a pleasant melody at your leisure?
  • New high-level Anomaly challenge gameplay is added. In this gameplay, players can unlock a higher difficulty after the first clear, experiencing more challenging combat trials.

New Story Chapters

  • As the auction passes, members of the mysterious 'Red Letter' faction will appear one by one, surrounding the secrets hidden in one precious Anomaly after another. A storm targeting Ipoen is brewing.
  • The debut of the new band 'Cat's Head Sound!!!!' was an unexpectedly huge success. Next, of course, is to actively prepare new songs and get ready for the next performance! Dear fans, please wait patiently~
  • The 'Dvořák Collection' will feature new Anomaly exhibits, and 'Tungsten' will have a new story to share.

New Urban Vistas

  • A new first-person gameplay function is added. Players can switch views by turning it on and off.
  • Hethereau's tallest landmark, 'Shangqing Tower,' will soon be open for sightseeing. Take the elevator directly to the top floor, enjoy special cuisine in the sightseeing restaurant, and take in the beautiful cityscape!
  • The new areas 'Half-Port District' and 'Gaga Amusement Park' are under active construction, from an industrial zone with giant machinery to an amusement park with complete facilities, more different city styles await your discovery.
  • In Hethereau, 'Anomalies' are 'daily life'. More interesting new Anomalies are being planned, please stay tuned.
  • Brand new car and motorcycle models will be released soon!

And More+

We sincerely thank every player for their companionship and support for 'Neverness to Everness' during the 'Containment Test'. It is everyone's in-depth experience and valuable suggestions during the test period that have pointed the way for Hethereau's evolution. Thank you again for your trust, tolerance, and encouragement! The road to optimization is long and arduous, but our steps will not stop. We look forward to reuniting with all players in a brand-new Hethereau soon!