How do I get into the SALVOR ADRIFT playtest?

Apply through the form on the playtest page. Approved applicants receive a playtest agreement to sign and return, and the build follows by email.

Does the playtest cost anything?

No. It is free, and there is no obligation attached to it in either direction.

Can I stream or post footage of the playtest build?

No. The build is confidential until release. Footage, screenshots and written descriptions of unreleased content are not permitted without written permission.

PLAYTEST

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The game is not finished. That is the point. I am looking for a small number of people to fly it while it is still moving, and tell me the truth about it.

Want to fly before you apply? ACT ONE is a free demo on itch — the starter system, the first directives, no application needed.

What this is

A closed test of SALVOR ADRIFT, sent out in small batches. Free, no obligation, no purchase, nothing to install — it runs in a desktop browser.

Batches are small on purpose. I read every report myself and I would rather have fifteen people I can actually answer than five hundred I cannot. If you apply and do not hear back immediately, you have not been turned down; you are in the queue for the next batch.

What I am asking for

Play it and tell me what actually happened. Not what you think I want to hear.

The most useful report in the world is "I did this, I expected that, this happened instead." Three sentences like that beat three paragraphs of praise. If you got confused, say where. If you got bored, say when. If something felt unfair, say so — some of it is supposed to be hard and some of it is just broken, and from the inside I cannot always tell which is which.

Nothing you say about this game will hurt my feelings. Not knowing about it will cost me months.

What you need

A desktop or laptop. Windows, Mac or Linux. Phones and tablets are not supported yet.
A recent browser. Chrome, Edge or Firefox. Safari needs to be 16.4 or newer and is untested — if it is all you have, tell me and I will find out with you.
Keyboard and mouse. Both, together. This is not a one-handed game. An Xbox pad flies the ship if you prefer one, Bluetooth included, but the menus are still mouse and keyboard.
An email address you can read. That is where your personal link arrives. The build sits behind a door and the link is yours alone. Nothing to install and nothing to download.
An hour or two, ideally more than once. The first twenty minutes of anything is the tutorial. What I need to know is what the third hour feels like.
To be eighteen or older. There is an agreement to sign, and minors cannot sign one.

The terms, in short

There is an agreement, and you sign it before the build goes out. Here is the whole of it in plain language so nothing about it is a surprise later. The full document arrives with your approval.

PLAYTEST AGREEMENT — SUMMARY

Do not share your access. The login is yours. Not the address, not the code, not a saved copy of the page.
Do not publish footage. No streams, no video, no screenshots, no clips, anywhere, until it is released or I give written permission.
Do not describe unreleased content publicly. Saying you are testing it is fine. Saying what is in it is not.
Feedback you send me, I can use. Freely, with no payment and no obligation. If your idea ends up in the game, it belongs to the game.
The build is as-is. It is unfinished software. It may crash. There is no support promised and no guarantee it keeps working.
Access can end at any time, for any reason or none.
Every session is tied to your address, so anything that comes out of the build can be traced back to the account it came from.

How it works

YOU APPLYThe form below. Takes two minutes, and you get a copy of what you sent. I read all of them.

I APPROVEIf you are in the batch, you get an email from salvoradrift@gmail.com with the agreement attached as a PDF.

YOU SIGN AND RETURN ITType your name into it, or print, sign and photograph it — either is fine. Send it back to the same address.

YOU GET THE DOOR CODEUsually the same day. I put your email on the list and send you the address. You go there, ask for a code, it arrives in your inbox, and the game loads in your browser. Nothing to download, nothing to keep.

There is no file at your end, which is deliberate. It means I am not asking you to delete anything later, and it means a build that is three weeks stale cannot be floating around while I have moved on. You always get the current one.

Apply

FIRST NAME OR HANDLE * ARE YOU 18 OR OLDER? *

there is an agreement to sign, and minors cannot sign one.

YES NO

WHAT WILL YOU BE PLAYING ON? *

operating system and browser. "Windows 11, Chrome" is a whole answer.

REALISTICALLY, HOW MUCH TIME CAN YOU GIVE IT? *

UNDER AN HOUR ONE OR TWO HOURS SEVERAL SESSIONS AS MUCH AS IT TAKES

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO PLAYTEST THIS GAME? *

one or two sentences. Honest beats impressive.

ANYTHING ABOUT HOW YOU PLAY I SHOULD KNOW? — optional

input devices, accessibility needs, anything.

CALLSIGN FOR THE CREW MANIFEST — optional

a callsign you pick for this — not your real name, not a handle you use elsewhere. Leave blank to stay off the manifest entirely; that is a perfectly good answer.

I have read the terms summary above and I am willing to sign the agreement.

transmit opens the confirm screen with your answers aboard — enter your email there and press SUBMIT. That press files it, and your copy arrives at that address.

The form is the only way in — applications sent any other way do not get read, and that is not me being difficult. Every application lands in one place, in one shape, and gets answered. Loose emails get lost, and somebody who took the trouble to write one deserves better than that.

If the form above will not send, use the plain application form — same questions, same desk.

Questions people ask

Does it cost anything? No, and it never will. Nobody is buying anything and nobody is owed anything.

Do I get the finished game? That is not promised, and I would rather not promise it than promise it and change my mind.

Will I be credited? Yes, if you want to be. Everyone who tests and sends a report goes on the crew manifest on the crew page, under a callsign you choose yourself — not your real name, and not a handle you use somewhere else. A callsign, picked for this. Choose no callsign and you stay off the manifest entirely, and that is a perfectly good answer too.

That is not me being careful on your behalf. It is the same rule I hold myself to, and it would be strange to keep it for myself and spend it on somebody doing me a favour.

Worth knowing why that stands out: nobody else on this project is credited by name, including me. The game credits THE OPERATOR and the site credits an organisation. The playtest crew is the one exception, because you are the only people doing something for it that is not mine.

What if I find something and cannot describe it? Send it badly. A vague report about a real problem is worth more than no report, and I will ask you questions.

Can I show my friend? No. That is the one thing the agreement is actually about.

What I do with your details

I collect your name or handle, your email address, and whatever you write in the form. I use them to decide who goes in a batch, to send you the agreement, to put you on the access list, and to answer your reports. That is all, and none of it is published.

One thing does become public, and only if you ask for it: the callsign you choose appears on the crew manifest on the crew page. Nothing else you give me ever appears anywhere — not your name, not your handle, not your email. Choose no callsign and nothing about you is published at all. Change your mind in either direction later and write to me — adding you or taking you off is a two-minute job and I will not ask why.

Nothing is sold, nothing is shared, and there is no mailing list — you will not get anything from me that is not about the test. Applications and signed agreements are kept while the game is in development and deleted afterwards. If you want your details removed before that, write to salvoradrift@gmail.com and I will delete them and tell you I have.

The application form is a Google Form, so a submission passes through Google on its way to me. The build itself is behind a login that records which account signed in and when, which is how access gets granted and withdrawn.