I tested Voyager with the homies last night, and I learned a lot.
The biggest takeaway is simple: the first-person gunplay is not meeting my standards yet.
It works, but it does not feel good enough. Performance needs work. Combat readability needs work. Some parts still feel clunky.
That makes sense. This is only the second version of the game, and the current build was created to answer one question:
Does the core idea work?
Now I know that it does.
The next question is whether the game can scale into the experience I want it to become. Right now, the answer is not without rebuilding parts of the foundation.
Before the 12-Player Test
Before I move forward with a full 12-player Warfront test, I need to redesign a large part of the backend.
During rapid prototyping, I made plenty of “not best practice, but fuck it, send it” decisions. The goal was to get systems working quickly, test them with real players, and learn from the results.
That approach did its job.
However, the project now needs a cleaner structure. The next version must be easier to expand, easier to maintain, and better prepared for multiplayer.
I already started that process a couple weeks ago.
What I Am Changing
The current plan includes:
- Adding proper source control. Yes, I know this should have happened much earlier. Oopsie-poopsie.
- Removing old assets, unused folders, and leftover files from rapid prototyping.
- Creating a more consistent naming system. A lot of things were named quickly while I was focused on getting features working.
- Rebuilding the backend to support cleaner feature development, stronger modularity, and better networking.
- Creating custom third-person animations for infantry gameplay.
- Fixing smaller systems and workflow issues throughout the project.
This is not the most exciting phase of development to show, but it is an important one.
The original MVP was always meant to prioritize fast testing over perfect structure. Now that the core mechanics have been proven, the project needs the cleanup and refactoring required for long-term development.
What This Means for Voyager
This is not a setback.
The playtest did exactly what it was supposed to do. It showed me what works, what does not, and what needs to change before more players enter the build.
I would rather rebuild the foundation now than keep stacking new features on top of systems I already know need improvement.
I do not know exactly how long this will take.
What I do know is that I will be working on it day and night until the game reaches the standard I expect.
I will keep sharing the process as it develops.
Take a look what is include in our most recent Snapshot here.
Back to work.