Echoes of Delivery - Onboarding Failure QA Pass (Pre-Alpha PC)

Tested: 05 May 2026 • Build: Pre-Alpha v0.2.0

Introduction

This is a focused QA pass on Echoes of Delivery, tested on PC using Pre-Alpha v0.2.0.

The goal was to evaluate whether the tutorial successfully teaches a new player how to start driving, understand the vehicle controls, recover from mistakes, and continue progression without prior knowledge of the game’s systems.

Testing focused on:

• Vehicle movement initiation and gear understanding
• Steering control clarity and input discoverability
• Player guidance during the first driving sequence
• Feedback when incorrect inputs or gear states are used
• Recovery when the vehicle becomes stuck during tutorial progression

Findings are based on a short onboarding-focused exploratory session using a fresh save. The pass was deliberately performed from the perspective of a new player with no prior knowledge of the driving system.

📊 Metrics

📷 Evidence

Supporting evidence was captured through the QA workbook, session notes, bug log entries, screenshots, and gameplay clips where applicable.

📌 Key Findings

💬 Developer Feedback

Feedback received from the developer following this QA pass:

“Thank you for taking the time to go through Echoes of Delivery and for putting together such a detailed, well-structured QA report - I really appreciate it.

Your observations about the onboarding - especially the driving mechanics, input clarity, and lack of feedback - are very helpful. The issue with the gear not switching to Reverse and blocking progression is something I’ll prioritise investigating.

I agree that the current tutorial relies too much on trial and error, and your notes clearly show where player guidance needs improvement. I’ll use your write-up as a reference while refining the onboarding flow and fixing the input-related issues.

Thanks again for the thorough testing and clear documentation - it’s genuinely valuable for the development process!”

— Markov (Developer, Innervision Studio)

🐞 Bugs Logged

Full bug log with repro steps, expected vs actual, severity, and notes: Download Bug Log (PDF)

The issues found in this pass are primarily onboarding and player guidance failures rather than crashes. The impact is still high because they prevent a new player from reliably starting or completing the tutorial.

🧠 Risk Assessment & System Coverage

📈 Results

• Completed 1 focused onboarding QA session on Echoes of Delivery.
• Tested the tutorial from a fresh-save, first-time-player perspective.
• Logged 4 high-severity issues affecting vehicle onboarding, input clarity, player feedback, and progression recovery.
• Identified the gear system as a major onboarding failure point because P/R/N/D are shown without explanation.
• Identified missing steering instruction as a major input clarity issue.
• Observed that failed inputs provide no useful feedback, leaving the player to repeat incorrect actions.
• Confirmed that the player can become stuck in the tutorial environment with no recovery option available.

🔍 Key Points for the Developer

• The core driving interaction is not clearly taught. The player is shown P/R/N/D gear states, but the tutorial does not explain what they mean or how to use them to initiate movement.
• This is not just player confusion, it is missing onboarding. The tutorial requires the player to operate a vehicle system, but the information needed to do so is either missing or assumed, turning the first interaction into trial-and-error.
• Steering is a separate clarity gap. After movement begins, the player is not told how to steer. This leads to loss of control and increases the risk of collision and stuck states.
• Failed input feedback is missing. When the player uses the wrong gear or input, the game provides no indication of why the vehicle is not responding. There is no feedback to guide correction.
• The stuck state is caused by input failure, not just level design. When the vehicle becomes trapped between the fence and bridge, attempting to switch to reverse using the correct input (R) does not work. The gear remains stuck in Drive (D) and does not respond, preventing recovery through normal controls. With no reset option available, this results in a hard progression block.

👤 Impact by Player Type

• Non-Drivers
  No mental model for gear states (P/R/N/D).
  Unable to initiate movement without trial-and-error.
  👉 Outcome: Hard progression blocker at tutorial start.
• Automatic Drivers
  Have a basic understanding of gear labels (P/R/N/D), but are not used to actively managing them beyond selecting Drive.
  Without feedback, it is unclear whether the correct gear is selected or why the vehicle is not responding.
  👉 Outcome: Hesitation, repeated inputs, and stalled progression.
• Manual Drivers
  Expect deeper mechanical behaviour (e.g. clutch interaction, gear dependency).
  System presents terminology without matching behaviour or feedback.
  👉 Outcome: Expectation mismatch and reduced trust in system feedback.

🛠️ Accessibility Consideration: Adaptive Onboarding

The onboarding issue creates a cognitive barrier by assuming prior knowledge of driving systems. This can be reduced by adapting input complexity based on player familiarity, allowing players to engage with the core interaction without unnecessary friction.

• Adaptive Onboarding Prompt
  Ask the player at the start of the tutorial: “Are you familiar with driving controls?”
• Option A: Familiar
  Uses gear-based input (P / R / N / D).
  Minimal guidance, assuming baseline understanding.
• Option B: Unfamiliar
  Simplified controls: W = forward, S = reverse.
  Gear switching handled automatically.
  Clear prompts guiding movement and steering.
• Key Requirement
  Both paths must include clear feedback for failed inputs and a visible recovery/reset option to prevent progression blocks.

🔚 QA Summary & Next Steps

The tested build presents a high-risk onboarding failure in the tutorial driving sequence. While the player understands the objective (drive forward), the tutorial does not provide the information needed to perform that action reliably.

This is not caused by a single missing instruction, but by a combination of unclear system explanation, missing steering guidance, lack of failed-input feedback, and an input failure that prevents recovery when the vehicle becomes stuck. Together, these issues turn the first interaction into trial-and-error rather than guided onboarding.

This affects all player types. Players without driving knowledge cannot form a mental model, players familiar with automatic vehicles hesitate due to lack of feedback, and experienced manual drivers encounter behaviour that does not match expectations. In all cases, the result is either blocked progression or reduced trust in the system.

Because this occurs at the start of the tutorial, the impact is high. The player is prevented from completing onboarding or is forced to rely on guesswork, which undermines usability and system clarity.

Recommended next steps (core fixes):

• Add a clear tutorial prompt explaining how to select Drive and initiate movement.
• Explain gear states in simple player-facing terms, especially Drive and Reverse.
• Provide explicit steering instruction within the tutorial or control overlay.
• Add feedback when movement fails due to incorrect gear or input state.
• Resolve the input issue where switching to Reverse (R) does not change gear from Drive (D).
• Add a recovery or reset option if the vehicle becomes stuck during the tutorial.
• Review the tutorial environment for collision traps that can block progression.

Additional UX improvements (non-blocking):

• Contextual hints
  Example: “You’re not moving. Try switching to Drive (D).”
• On-screen labels
  Example: “Drive (D) = move forward”
• Feedback reinforcement
  Reinforce failed-input feedback with clear messaging when actions have no effect.
• Recovery option visibility
  Ensure any reset or recovery option is clearly visible and accessible during the tutorial.

📎 Disclaimer

This is a personal, non-commercial portfolio for educational and recruitment purposes. I’m not affiliated with or endorsed by any game studios or publishers. All trademarks, logos, and game assets are the property of their respective owners. Any screenshots or short clips are included solely to document testing outcomes. If anything here needs to be removed or credited differently, please contact me and I’ll update it promptly.