How Soulframe Is Shaping Its Identity Through Player Input

by

Following the triumph of “Warframe,” one of the most thriving free-to-play shooters adopting this model, Digital Extremes is daringly experimenting with a unique concept in their upcoming open-world fantasy game titled “Soulframe.” Unlike just being a “fantasy Warframe with swords,” “Soulframe” emphasizes a more deliberate and reflective approach to combat and promotes careful examination of its growing collection of landscapes. Although it’s still in the early stages of development, “Soulframe” has made its way into a preliminary testing phase known as Preludes, enabling players to try out features ahead of time and offer valuable feedback. Interestingly, “Soulframe” has recently expanded its access during TennoCon, granting entry into Preludes for anyone who registered during that weekend.

In a chat with Game Rant, Soulframe’s Community Director Megan Everett and Senior Community Manager Sarah Asselin delved deeply into how significant the community has been in the making of Soulframe. Given their responsibility for handling the game’s community aspects, there may be no one more knowledgeable about the community’s impact than these two. They highlighted the significance of feedback from Preludes in molding the game, and they provided concrete instances of recent adjustments that were substantially impacted by playtester input.

Soulframe’s Preludes Connects Players With Developers

As a dedicated fan, I can’t help but appreciate the open dialogue established by Digital Extremes through their project, Preludes. Being on the ground floor of this early development process means we, the community, have a direct influence on the game’s evolution. It’s a privilege not every gamer gets to experience, and I believe many recent games could have greatly benefited from such an approach. Asselin points out that the feedback from Preludes players is frequently insightful and thorough, making our input all the more valuable.

We receive an abundance of feedback on every update we release, generously provided by our playtesters. This feedback is meticulously detailed and insightful, demonstrating the immense enthusiasm these individuals have for testing our game. To us, this opportunity to engage with them is a great honor.

This year, we made several design decisions such as incorporating factions, enclaves, and the Sparrow-type missions. Following these changes, we garnered a significant amount of feedback regarding experience points (XP) and the various levels.

One instance demonstrates the constant influx of fresh player feedback we receive. This information is swiftly delivered to our development team, and this instant accessibility to feedback is one of the key advantages of being in a pre-release phase. It allows us to explore new ideas and maintain an open dialogue with our players.

Because Preludes is only accessible through a lottery instead of being available for Early Access purchase, like many Steam games, some players may have had to wait quite a while for their opportunity to play. Given this, it’s more probable that these patients players will be genuinely invested in the game’s success and willing to provide valuable feedback before the game becomes accessible to a larger audience that might not communicate as much.

Soulframe Reworked a Major System Thanks to Player Feedback

Engaging in ongoing communication with players can be beneficial theoretically, but it’s crucial to ensure that the feedback provided is actually implemented. When asked about improvements that stemmed directly from player input, Asselin highlighted a recent overhaul of Soulframe’s Sparrow’s Tales system—a system generating quests procedurally, which has turned out to be an essential contributor of faction XP for the players.

We’ve received a good deal of input regarding the experience points for faction XP. In response, we’ve been fine-tuning this aspect along with our Sparrow Tale system. Our aim is to strike a balance that makes earning these points enjoyable and fulfilling.

At first, the XP didn’t adjust smoothly to the story’s length or diversity. Consequently, the Sparrow Tales group has undergone a significant overhaul in terms of size and structure. Now, they are divided into three categories: single-focus Sparrow Tales, multi-focus ones, and longer narratives—allowing you to customize your experience according to the time you have available.

Without a doubt, this aspect underwent significant improvements following input from Preludes’ players, and the outcome is undeniably more advantageous.

In Sparrow’s Tales, you’ll find a range of story lengths, each accompanied by fitting rewards. This gives players the freedom to choose how much time they want to invest in a tale, while ensuring their effort is proportionately compensated. It’s worth noting that adjustments like this aren’t new for Soulframe, and thanks to the Preludes format, we can expect more updates based on player feedback in the future.

Read More

2025-07-29 16:07