Info about Plasma: Official game description: Plasma is a creative engineering playground where you can build any device you can imagine. Bring to life your own amazing robots, factories, arcade machines, giant rampaging spiders, whole game worlds, and things that don't even have a name yet, then share them with the community. **BUILD** --------- Free-form building with hundreds of components! Scale, rotate, paint, customize every aspect to make the device of your dreams. **CONTROL** ----------- A user-friendly visual programming tool to control behavior and logic for your devices, with advanced nodes to get anything and everything done. **SHARE** --------- Explore the Steam Workshop to discover loads of devices and populated worlds, learn from others and share your own creations for others to enjoy. Release date: Sep 13, 2023 Categories: Sandbox Creation, Visual Programming, Engineering Simulation, Creative Gameplay, Community Sharing, Logic-based Gameplay, Customization, Educational Game Feature scans: - Proton/Linux: score 80; verdict: Barely Playable; summary: The game lacks a native Linux port, leading to significant performance issues when running through Proton. Users report that the game is poorly optimized and performs even worse on Linux systems, impacting the overall gaming experience. - Hardware Profile: No data Feature extractions: - Community Price: No data - Playtime Metrics: - Game completion: 18.5h - Story completion: N/A - Session length: 6.0h - Endgame: 100.0h - Reasoning: The evidence provides direct and indirect indications of playtime metrics. The first quote gives a specific playtime in the full release, which can be used to estimate game completion time. The second and third quotes mention 100+ hours, which suggests a high level of engagement and potential endgame playtime. The fourth quote indicates a session length of 6 hours. - Time-to-fun: - Summary: The game has a steep learning curve initially, but becomes very fun once players understand the visual programming and coding mechanics introduced in the tutorial. - Stance: Fun then drops - Anchor: Understanding visual programming and coding mechanics - Time to anchor: 1h 0m - Friction: Steep learning curve; Visual programming complexity; Coding complexity - Unlock drivers: Completing the tutorial; Understanding visual programming; Understanding coding mechanics - Conditions: Patience to learn; Interest in programming; Willingness to experiment - Player Archetypes: - Technical Builder (buy) - Motivation: Building and programming - Playstyle: Enjoys complex building and programming mechanics, often comparing to other technical games. - Experience: veteran - Purchase stance: buy - Labels: programmer; engineer - Reference games: Scrap Mechanic; Garry's Mod; Trailmakers - Curious Learner (sale) - Motivation: Learning and curiosity - Playstyle: Enjoys learning through play, often finding educational value in the game. - Experience: newcomer - Purchase stance: sale - Labels: student; learner - Reference games: Scratch - Social Builder (sale) - Motivation: Social interaction and cooperation - Playstyle: Enjoys building and creating with friends, often requesting multiplayer features. - Experience: mixed - Purchase stance: sale - Labels: social gamer; co-op player - Reference games: N/A Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category. Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews. What players like: - Fun and enjoyable gameplay (weight 0.68): Many players describe the game as very fun, good, and enjoyable. It is seen as a great game with super fun and inspiring gameplay that is suitable for everyone. - Positive overall experience (weight 0.38): Players find the game to be good, relaxing, and worth the price. It is easy to get into and well optimized, providing an enjoyable experience overall. - Creative building capabilities (weight 0.29): The game allows players to create robots, transport, entire worlds, and various devices. This unlimited creativity is a significant highlight. - Intuitive visual coding (weight 0.24): The visual coding principle is seen as fun, powerful, and intuitive. Players can code complex devices using a visual coding format. - Top engineering game (weight 0.24): The game is considered the best sandbox engineering game ever, providing fun building and engineering experiences. - High potential and possibilities (weight 0.24): The game has amazing potential and enormous possibilities, making it stand out as a highly promising title. - Engaging mechanics (weight 0.2): Players enjoy the fun, realistic, and varied mechanics the game offers, enhancing the overall gameplay experience. - Easy to understand (weight 0.2): The game is often easy to understand and learn, with tutorials that are easier to grasp than those in most similar games. - Ideal for engineers and programmers (weight 0.2): The game is perfect for makers, engineers, and those interested in robotics and programming, offering a great learning experience. - Free to play (weight 0.19): The game is offered at no charge, making it accessible to a wide audience without any cost barriers. - Develops various skills (weight 0.19): Playing the game helps develop programming knowledge, logical thinking, creativity, and even English skills. - Best building game with logic (weight 0.15): The game is considered one of the best building games, particularly noted for its logical gameplay elements. - Lua programming integration (weight 0.15): The game allows programming in Lua, providing complex options through its visual programming and Lua integration. - Few bugs reported (weight 0.15): Players report very few bugs, indicating that the game is relatively stable and well-polished. - Great game concept (weight 0.15): The basic idea and concept behind the game are highly praised, indicating a strong foundation for the gameplay experience. - Accessible and user-friendly (weight 0.15): The game is described as a colorful and easy-to-understand sandbox, with user-friendly controls and programming. Common complaints: - Development and support ceased (weight 0.79): Players express disappointment and frustration that the game is no longer being developed or supported by the developers. - Lack of clear goals (weight 0.34): The game is criticized for not having clear objectives or a defined purpose, leaving players without direction. - Limited language support (weight 0.26): The game lacks support for certain languages, including Russian and Chinese, which limits its accessibility. - High complexity level (weight 0.22): The game is noted for its high complexity, which might be overwhelming for some players. - No multiplayer mode (weight 0.21): The game lacks a multiplayer mode, which is a significant drawback for many players. - Game is laggy (weight 0.18): Players report that the game experiences lag, affecting the overall gameplay experience. - Lack of proper marketing (weight 0.1): The game is criticized for lacking proper marketing, which may have affected its commercial appeal. - Game pricing and availability (weight 0.09): Mentions of the game's pricing and availability, noting it is offered for free or at a specific price point. - Screen displays all HUD items (weight 0.09): The game's screen displays all HUD items, which might be overwhelming or confusing for some players. Gameplay feedback: - Programming skills beneficial (weight 0.63): The game involves programming aspects, and while programming knowledge is helpful, it is not strictly required. Players can learn and develop programming skills through gameplay. - Creation of complex objects (weight 0.52): Players can create complex objects such as cars, thrusters, robots, and vehicles. The game allows for building and programming various mechanisms and machines. - Focus on logic and building (weight 0.47): The game emphasizes building and engineering using logic and control systems. Players can create various machines and contraptions, which helps develop logical thinking. - Sandbox gameplay experience (weight 0.44): The game offers a sandbox experience where players can engage in engineering and programming within an open-ended environment. - Engineering focus (weight 0.21): The game involves mechanical engineering and the creation of mechanical and electronic systems, allowing for the automation of systems. - Stimulates creativity (weight 0.2): The game is designed to stimulate creativity, allowing players to create cool stuff and various projects. - Puzzle-solving elements (weight 0.15): The game includes puzzle-solving aspects where players need to solve puzzles, sometimes with limited resources. - Comparison to other games (weight 0.1): The game has been compared to other similar games like Trailmakers and Scrap Mechanic, indicating a similarity in gameplay or mechanics. Performance notes: - Lag and performance issues (weight 0.26): The game experiences significant lag, affecting overall performance. This issue is widespread and impacts gameplay on various systems, including high-end laptops. - Game crashes and launch errors (weight 0.22): Players report frequent game crashes and errors when attempting to launch the game. This includes booting issues and general bugs that hinder gameplay. - Unoptimized performance (weight 0.17): There are numerous reports of unoptimized performance, leading to a subpar gaming experience. Players note that the game does not run smoothly despite their hardware capabilities. - Tutorial lag and performance (weight 0.17): The built-in tutorials suffer from lag, making it difficult for new players to learn the game. Performance issues are particularly noticeable during tutorial levels. - Mixed reports on optimization (weight 0.15): There are mixed reports regarding the game's optimization. Some players report that the game runs well and does not require a powerful PC, while others experience significant performance issues. - Limited optimization options (weight 0.12): Players express frustration over the lack of optimization options, including graphics settings. This limits their ability to tweak the game for better performance. - High memory consumption (weight 0.07): The game consumes a high amount of memory, which can lead to performance issues and lag, especially on systems with limited resources. - No native Linux port (weight 0.06): There is no native Linux port available for the game, which limits accessibility for Linux users. Recommendations: - Highly recommended game (weight 0.37): Many players highly recommend the game, especially to those who enjoy its unique features and style. - Recommended for creative players (weight 0.24): The game is recommended for creative players and those who enjoy programming and creating their own challenges. - Recommended for engineering enthusiasts (weight 0.21): The game is particularly recommended for those interested in engineering, offering features that cater to this interest. - Add multiplayer and mods (weight 0.17): Players suggest adding multiplayer functionality and support for mods to enhance the gameplay experience. - Add a campaign mode (weight 0.15): Players have expressed a desire for a campaign mode to provide more structured gameplay. - Free alternative to Scrap Mechanic (weight 0.06): The game is seen as a free alternative to Scrap Mechanic, offering similar features and gameplay. - Huge mod community (weight 0.06): The game has a large and active modding community, which enhances its replayability and customization options. - Recommended for shooter fans (weight 0.06): The game is recommended for fans of shooter games, offering elements that appeal to this genre. - Educational potential for schools (weight 0.06): The game has potential for educational use in schools, offering features that can aid in learning. - Introduce new ways of using creations (weight 0.06): Players have suggested introducing new ways to use their creations, adding more depth to the gameplay. - Add more graphics settings (weight 0.05): Players have requested more graphics settings to customize their visual experience. - Disable grass (weight 0.04): Some players have suggested an option to disable grass, likely for performance or aesthetic reasons. Other player notes: - Develops English Skills (weight 0.07): Players have noted that the game helps in developing English language skills, likely through its content or gameplay mechanics. - Early Access Game (weight 0.07): The game is currently in Early Access, which means it is still under development and may have unfinished features or bugs. - DLC Supporter Pack Mentioned (weight 0.06): There is a mention of a DLC Supporter Pack, indicating that the game offers additional content or support options through downloadable content. Emotions: - Disappointment (weight 0.16): Players feel let down by the game's abandonment and lack of updates. The absence of multiplayer, unclear goals, and the game's unfinished state contribute to this sentiment. - Frustration (weight 0.14): Performance issues, game crashes, and lack of language support are major sources of frustration. Additionally, the game's complexity and difficulty in understanding mechanics add to player frustration. - Excitement (weight 0.11): Players are thrilled by the game's fun mechanics, advanced features, and the potential for creativity. The dynamic gameplay, visual style, and the ability to create and share devices on Steam Workshop are particularly exciting. - Joy (weight 0.08): The game brings joy through its fun and engaging gameplay, building mechanics, and educational aspects. Players enjoy the creativity and community aspects of the game. - Enjoyment (weight 0.07): Players enjoy the fun gameplay experience, building machines and vehicles, and the engineering and programming aspects. The educational value and customization options also contribute to their enjoyment. - Hope (weight 0.05): Players hope for more frequent updates, resumed development, and continued support. They believe in the game's potential and look forward to future improvements and multiplayer mode. - Admiration (weight 0.04): Players admire the game's captivating visual style, calming soundtrack, and the developers' efforts. The game's quality and the ability to create a wide variety of things are also highly appreciated. - Sadness (weight 0.03): Players are saddened by the game no longer being in development and the project being abandoned. The discontinuation and lack of future updates contribute to this sadness. - Gratitude (weight 0.03): Players are grateful for the developers setting the game free and their efforts and sacrifices. The unique game experience and developers' interaction with the community are also appreciated. - Appreciation (weight 0.02): Players appreciate the game's unique features, programming aspects, and overall fun gameplay. The developers' effort in perfecting the game and the power of the tools are also highly valued. - Hopeful (weight 0.02): Players are hopeful for additional features like multiplayer and weapons. They see potential for the game to be used in education and suggest future improvements. - Enttäuschung (weight 0.02): Spieler sind enttäuscht über die Einstellung der Entwicklung des Spiels und die spätere Wiederaufnahme, nur um das Spiel kostenlos anzubieten. Die begrenzten Optionen für Komponenten und die fehlende Unterstützung der japanischen Sprache tragen ebenfalls zur Enttäuschung bei. - Relaxation (weight 0.01): Players find the game very relaxing, contributing to a calming and enjoyable experience. - Surprise (weight 0.01): Players are surprised by the game being free despite initial expectations, which adds to their positive experience. - Concern (weight 0.01): Players are concerned about the game's high memory usage, which affects their overall experience.}