Beta Testing/Early Beta/Menus & Contents

"The past is forever buried in the yellow sand."This article details something that has been **cut from the game**, with no official plans for it to be released. As a consequence, information and material may be partially incomplete and currently under research.
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This page includes the **Interfaces, Shop and Rewards of the Early Beta** period. Below are available menus, the player Profile and Lobby, and unused assets and mechanics related to these. Many of these elements were in an experimental phase and would be reworked or cut before the beginning of later testing.

## Currencies

Two unknown player currencies are present in concept artworks and development screenshots from the Early Beta period. Their functionality, specific purpose and intended obtainment method are currently unknown, but their icons were featured in different settings. Neither currency would appear in later public beta tests.

### First Unknown Currency

The first currency appears as a red triangle with faintly visible cracks on its surface. No further details are available, but it was displayed prominently next to the player's portrait and username in early UI concept artworks, suggesting it may have been intended as an important currency in the game's mechanics. It's also possible that it may just be a placeholder to test UI elements, and not actually intended for use as a currency.

The currency does not appear in other gameplay showcases or developer screenshots from later stages of Early Beta, implying it was abandoned quickly in development.

### Shards

The second currency appears as a blue circle with small ramifications inside of it, displayed in the top corner of the player's screen. Its name and obtainment methods are unknown. Available material however suggests that one of its purposes was to purchase Survivors' Tools in the dedicated Equipped Tool interface on the character menu, allowing the player to obtain new items to replace their lost ones.

Potentially, other player items such as Hunter Weapons were also able to be purchased using it, as screenshots of the Weapon Selection interface also display the currency in the top corner of the screen and in the "Detail Restoration" button, but it's unknown if this was the case. The reasons for the currency's removal, and the time it was cut, are currently unknown.

### Gallery

The first unknown currency's icon. Curiously, the design very closely resembles that of the Bloodpoints from Dead by DaylightThe **Shards** currency's iconThe Tool interface. Notice the Shards' price for the item below its description and attributes, listed as 57 for the Flashlight, and the erroneously used First-aid Kit iconThe Hunter weapons switch interface, featuring the currency both on the top and on the detail restoration button
## Appearance Decoration Menu

The Early Beta period lacked a proper Appearance Decoration Menu interface, as character customizations were mostly absent during this period. There is however evidence suggesting customizations for the available characters were at least considered seeing the presence of Bloody Clothes designs, unused icons and attributes in available official material and game files. In particular, a system dedicated to separate customizations for specific body parts was possibly considered, but ultimately scrapped.

### Bloody Clothes & Level System

Bloody Clothes were conceived during the first stages of early beta development, appearing as blood spattered, wounded and damaged versions of a character's clothes and physical appearance. However, material dating to the period suggests that a "Bloody Clothes Level System" was partially implemented, but was ultimately scrapped. This system included four "levels" of a character's design, with the lowest level matching their Original appearance and each consecutive level displaying an increasingly damaged and gory appearance. Specifically, design notes related to the system focused on three aspects to be altered between each variant:

1. Color brightness, which should decrease for the overall design as the level increases.
2. Overlay of of stains, differentiated between blood and dirt, which increase in number and area the higher the level.
3. Clothes' pattern, which appear more damaged and deviate more from the Original design as the level increases.

The specific details about the system's functionality are unknown, but it can be assumed that each level would be unlocked by the player in numeric order.

All of the available Hunters and Survivors had respective Bloody Clothes designs. Most of these designs were present as models in the files of beta versions of the game, including Lucky Guy and later cut characters such as Stranger 1, Graveyard Girl and Moon Face, among others. Several characters had more damages variants of these models also found in the files, matching the four-level System, while others only had one.

It is unknown when the system was scrapped but this seems to have happened after the start of Late Beta, as characters such as Doctor and Mechanic have unused Bloody Clothes designs found in the files. The system would never be implemented into any publicly available version of the game and Bloody Clothes, officially introduced during closed public testing's second beta test, only featured one costume per character from then onward. Character design notes and concept artworks would continue to use the additional "levels" for an extended period of time, with Priestess being the last character to feature them in her concept art, after the game's official release.

### Separate Appearance Decoration Slots

While no character cosmetics other than Bloody Clothes were present until Late Beta, material found in the files of test versions of the game suggest that additional cosmetic options were already planned early in development. In particular, unused icons imply that an early iteration of the Appearance Decoration system would have allowed for separate customization slots for characters' clothing. While no additional information on this is available, the icons suggest that players would have been able to separately personalize four different aspects of a character: headgear, pendants, upper body and legwear.

The unused Headgear slot iconThe unused Pendant slot iconThe unused Upper Body slot iconThe unused Legwear slot icon
The reason for the choice to abandon this structure, and the precise time in the game's development that it was taken in, are currently unknown. Costumes would make their first official appearance during Late Beta's second public test in October 2017, replacing the character's entire model rather than individual areas. Accessories would only be introduced with the beginning of the fourth test, the "Rorschach Inkblot Test," in December 2017.

## Player Diary

Several conceptual drafts and designs exist showing its originally intended layout. While its appearance overall resembles the one later found in Late Beta, it contained notable differences reflecting mechanics and assets tested during the early beta period.

### Character Statistics

The selected character was displayed on the right page of the Diary. The characters displayed in available material are Detective Orpheus and Lucky Guy. Below their picture, a section was present detailing four statistics: Friendliness, Cautiousness, Independence, and Bravery. These statistics were assigned a numeric value and displayed on a radar chart, though it's unknown what they affected. The character's gender was displayed prominently on the top right section of the Diary.

### Apparel

It seems that at some point, characters were planned to equip clothing through their Diary interface. A dedicated section is present on the character's page in the top right, displaying the Apparel's icon and its durability value. In particular, the latter is always listed on available material as 20%, likely as a placeholder value. It's possible that this is an early iteration of the Appearance Decoration Menu, however further details are currently unavailable.

### Equipped Tool

The Diary contains a section displaying an equipped Tool and its durability. This implies that, during early phases of development, characters were able to equip Tools directly from their personal Diary interface, however the details on how these Tools could be obtained are unknown. It can be assumed that their durability would have been depleted through gameplay. Similarly to the clothes in the Apparel section, the durability of the displayed Tools is listed as 20% each.

Below the Tool are displayed three additional items: a Metal Bucket, a Medical Container and a Syringe. Regardless of the Tool equipped, these three items remain the same, although their displayed icon varies depending on the found material. Their purpose and effect on the character and their tool is currently unknown.

### Character Features

A section containing a brief description of the character's personality is present in the lower right page of the Diary interface, likely a precursor to the later implemented Rumors. On available material the featured text is always the same, describing the Detective, and read as follows:

*Severe anxiety is accompanied by auditory hallucinations and intermittent attacks. Lack of restraint in behavior, gambling addiction, bad lifestyle habits, alcoholism, neurological disorders.*
### Gallery

Layout of the Diary in a development screenshot. The icons and typeface used are notably different from later versionsLayout of the Diary at some point during Early Beta from a development screenshot. The design has been slightly altered, resembling more closely the structure used in later testingLayout of the Diary as seen at the end of the Pre-Registration Minigame, during the early stages of Late Beta. Out of all three images, its layout most resembles the later design and structure of the Diary during the late testing period
## Lobby

Players could access the game's various interfaces from a personal Lobby, where a character's model could be used to roam the room and interact. Most footage from the period shows an early iteration of the current Default Lobby, with slightly altered details, but there is evidence to suggest that different layouts were at least considered.

### Default Lobby

The current Default Lobby was first designed during Early Beta, and was featured in promotional material and official screenshots from the time. Detective was used as the player model and could be used to navigate the room and access the game's interfaces, although the latter's placement at the time is still currently unknown. It seems however that at a certain point during early testing, Lucky Guy was used instead of the Detective as the player's avatar in the room. His appearance differed from his later one, displaying human-like eyes and brown leather gloves. It's unknown if this was just a placeholder model or an unused feature.

The room itself also appeared slightly different. Additional details were scattered around, with a human skull being prominently featured above the fireplace and a large book laid on the ground next to it. Windows behind the player's camera view allowed light into the room, casting shadows on the ground. It's unknown when these details were reworked and the Lobby's appearance changed to its current one, but they must have been removed some time before Late Beta began as they are absent from the room in all playable beta tests.

### Unused Matching Interface

An unused layout for the matching interface is present in concept artworks dating to the early testing period. An unused Hell Ember design is featured in the foreground, with a canvas stand and a painting in front of him, and a large open area is present in the background, with Lucky Guy and Graveyard Girl tied to a rocket with a lit fuse. A third Survivor is also present, sneaking in to rescue their companions. The player's personal data is displayed in the top right section of the screen, and three options are present in the lower half of the display: "Choose to be a Killer," "Start," and "Choose to be a Survivor."

#### Design Notes

The design notes of the unused layout's intended functionality read as follows:

*Let’s first look at a wave of design drafts when the project was first demoed. The above two pictures are interfaces for selecting a camp. The pictures describe a scene where the supervisor is a manic painter suffering from mental illness. He is sketching a scene where survivors are about to be executed, but he does not notice that other survivors have come to save him. Trapped companions. The core gameplay of the game is that the survivors help each other and cooperate to escape, and the regulators hunt down the fleeing survivors. In this camp selection interface, I want to apply this storyline. When choosing a supervisor, the firecracker fuse in the middle will burn quickly, and the trapped friends will be lifted into the air to be executed. The supervisor will become manic and overturn the drawing board to chase other survivors, and then the game will begin. When choosing a survivor, the supervisor keeps revising his painting, the flame of the fuse gradually goes out, the trapped survivor is rescued and escapes through the window, and then the game begins.*
*This is an initial idea. After the player chooses, a plot is presented to the player. The advantage is that it has a strong sense of immersion and the initial experience will be more interesting. The disadvantage is that the entire game process is relatively cumbersome and time-consuming.*
Unused Matching Interface design, Hunter option selectedUnused Matching Interface design, Survivor option selected
### Unused Lobby Layout

An unused layout for a player Lobby is present in concept artworks dating to the early testing period. Graveyard Girl stands next to a canvas stand and painting supplies, with a large painting of Hell Ember prominently featured. The room is dimly lit, with an open basement door in the backghround letting in a bright light, a table with numerous newspapers positioned next to a pillar, and a locker in the corner.

The player's personal data is displayed in the top right section of the screen, and two options are present in the lower half of the display: "Choose to be a Killer" and "Start." The basement's door, table and locker have corresponding text next to them, indicating accessible interfaces. The text reads, respectively: "Basement," "Notepad" and "Deck Locker." What interfaces these options accessed is unknown.

#### Design Notes

The design notes of the unused layout's intended functionality read as follows:

*In order to integrate with the game plot and enhance the suspense and exploration experience, the concept of lobby is added to the game. The components in the lobby become the entrances to various functions of the game, which avoids the various functional entrances being placed on the UI layer to destroy the screen. Characters can unlock unknown areas and components through upgrading (unlocking new functional entrances), making the interactive experience more immersive and enhancing the exploration game experience.*
*In the concept of the hall, the choice of camp still revolves around painting. When selecting a supervisor, the survivor will turn into a ball of smoke of the survivor's current color and condense on the drawing board to form a painting. The supervisor will float out of the painting and condense in the hall. If the current selection is a supervisor, the selection entry on the lower left will change to "Choose to become a survivor".*
## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 https://www.zcool.com.cn/work/ZMjc2OTgzNDQ=.html UI Concept Artworks from an official artist, with several pieces dating to the early testing period
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/112252729 Article on the development of UI for the game, which includes early designs for the Diary