The Alpha Test is Complete: Director's Letter

From our Studio Director, Tamura Koji

To our Heroes of Armantia,

Greetings.

This is Koji, your producer and studio head at Challengers Games and Second Wave.

First of all, I would like to say thank you very much for taking part in the Alpha Test!

Since August 2022, when we started making Second Wave, we've been working non-stop for about 10 months. As scheduled, we held the "First Alpha Test" in late May and the "Second Alpha Test" in early June.

The first and second tests lasted 48 hours each, for a total of 96 hours with you.

Our goal for this Alpha Test was to have a test with a more improved game than the build we showed at GDC 2023 in March. Since there are latency issues, we were more concerned with smooth gameplay than securing a matchmaking pool. We've set up servers in five regions: NA East, NA West, Europe, Asia, Korea, and Japan, and prepared for more stable gameplay. But contrary to our expectations, Alpha 1 and Alpha 2 had access, matchmaking, and social bugs that disrupted the Alpha gameplay, and we apologise for that.

The test was run without any publicity, advertising, or marketing, and so we were worried that the queues would not match very well. However, we were pleasantly surprised by the number of people who showed up, with 16 games running simultaneously at the peak.

We made some invaluable connections that helped us get to where we are today. With these connections, we founded the company in August 2022. It felt as if the stars had aligned, and thankfully we were able to prepare our protype for Second Wave, which led us to GDC, and then finally to the Alpha Test. I believe this Alpha Test is a time where you and our team established bonds. We don't want to lose that bond by the time the beta test rolls around. We want to continue this relationship through Early Access and Official Launch, building your "trust". Only then will we have a real Second Wave.

We sincerely hope that the Alpha Test has given you the feeling that "Second Wave is a fun game!" and that you feel that this is a game that is worth looking forward to. This Alpha experience has given our team a lot to learn and think about.

Once again, I would like to thank everyone who participated in the alpha test.

The Alpha Test survey will close in 24 hours. Your feedback will be our compass that will guide us in the direction we need to go with Second Wave, so we hope to see you in the Beta Test soon.

You can also follow us on Discord, Twitter and Facebook to keep up with our development.

Thank you.

Tamura Koji, CEO