Stickbash · team feedback 20 Oct · page 36

TOO MANY MODES

So confusing.The team, after the play-test

Too many cards, look-alike modes, unclear names.You, in the Q&A

Some minimal way. And show a multi-step one too.You

idk bro, its too much.You, on what to cut

Three ways to clean up MODE SELECT. Each one grows out of the screen you picked (the left rail, big cards, select then START), so it still feels like the same game. Every phone below is live: tap through it, or press PLAY THE FLOW. Each approach has a merge map that shows where all 17 of today’s cards go, so nothing a player needs gets lost. Pick one approach and one naming set, then press COPY MY PICKS.

SHOW

What the team saw

17 CARDS, 9 TABS, 4 SHORTCUTS

The real MODE SELECT from the tested build. Each rail has three tabs and six cards, and the top right repeats three of them as shortcuts. Several cards start exactly the same match (checked in FrontModes.cs).

Today's MODE SELECT, real capture (ONLINE)

1TRAINING and PRACTICE are cards too, and WI-FI ROOMS is the rail.

2RANKED holds one card that QUICK also shows; EVENTS is empty.

3BIG MAP BRAWL starts the same match as FREE-FOR-ALL.

4SURPRISE ME: which mode? which map? Nobody can tell.

THINGS TO READ3 rails + 9 tabs + 4 shortcuts + 17 cards, before a new player plays a single match.

17cards

9tabs

4shortcuts

8look-alikes

1TOO MANY CARDSSix per rail, and every rail also has tabs. Two tabs say SOON and hold nothing.

2LOOK-ALIKE MODESFour cards open the same Wi-Fi room. Three are one deathmatch. BIG MAP BRAWL is FREE-FOR-ALL.

3UNCLEAR NAMESSURPRISE ME, BRAWL, BIG MAP, LADDER. PLAY TOGETHER vs ROOMS NEARBY vs WI-FI ROOMS: what’s the difference?

Fewer cards, nothing lost

WHAT MUST STAY ONE TAP AWAY

Whatever we cut, these nine things stay easy to reach. Every approach below shows where each one lives, with a tick.

DECIDED: BIG MAP IS NOT A MODEEvery match picks a map that fits the player count, at random, never twice in a row. So the three BIG MAP cards can go: with 5 or more fighters, the big maps simply come up.

Pick one

THREE WAYS TO CLEAN IT UP

A minimal one, a multi-step one, and a playlist one. Each phone is true to iPhone 16 landscape and fully tappable: switch rails, select a card, open SETUP, press START!.

THE BIG FOUR

RECOMMENDED

The screen you picked, minus the clutter. No tabs. Each rail shows at most four big cards. Look-alike cards fold into the one they copy: bot count, level and “win by” live in SETUP, and team, co-op and deathmatch rooms become the Wi-Fi room’s MODE.

CARDS 17 10TABS 9 0SHORTCUTS 4 1TAPS TO A MATCH 2 (1 if still selected)

WHYNothing to relearn: same rail, same cards, same START bar. It just shows 10 cards instead of 17, and every old option is still one tap inside SETUP.

STATE

ATAP ANYTHINGRails switch, cards select, the SETUP chip opens the options, START! starts. Edge cases: no internet greys ONLINE, several rooms share one card, no rooms dims it.

WHO, HOW, GO

Two questions, four words. Step 1 asks who you play with (the rail as three big doors). Step 2 shows the same four cards behind every door: 1V1, FREE-FOR-ALL, TEAMS, MOST KOs. Learn them once and they work online, vs bots and on Wi-Fi. Practice, training, joining and codes sit in a small strip under them. Step 3 sets the details and starts. AGAIN on step 1 replays your last match.

WORDS TO LEARN 4CARDS ON A SCREEN 3-4TABS 9 0TAPS TO A MATCH 3 (1 with AGAIN)

VARIATION

BWHO › HOW › GOBACK and the crumbs step back. In the 2-step variation, step 2 keeps your picked START bar and a SETUP chip.

PLAYLISTS

Pick a vibe, and the game picks the mode. Three playlists per rail. QUICK MIX rotates free-for-all, teams, most KOs and big maps, and matching shows NEXT UP. Bots get a mix plus one CUSTOM card. On Wi-Fi, the host starts a PARTY MIX and friends vote the next mode between rounds.

CARDS 17 9TABS 9 0TAPS TO A MATCH 2

VARIATION

CTHE GAME PICKSPress START! on QUICK MIX and watch NEXT UP land. With LOCK ONE MODE, tap a mode in the mix to play only that one.

Works with any approach

CLEAR NAMES

Three naming sets. Tap one to rename every phone on this page live, then pick. Each card also keeps one plain line under its name that says what happens.

PLAIN

RECOMMENDED

Says exactly what happens. The team’s complaint was unclear names, so the plainest words win.

FREE-FOR-ALLTEAMSRANKED 1V1VS BOTSMOST KOsHOST A ROOM

SHORT

One punchy word per card. Bigger letters, faster to scan, a little less obvious on day one.

BRAWLTEAM UPDUELBOT BRAWLKO RACEHOST

STICKBASH

House flavour built on the game’s name. Fun and on-brand, but players must learn them.

QUICK BASHSQUAD BASHSHOWDOWNBOT BASHKO FRENZYTHROW A PARTY

NLIVE PREVIEWApproach A with the naming set you tapped. Every phone above changes too.

A, B and C side by side

SIDE BY SIDE

	TODAY	A · THE BIG FOUR	B · WHO, HOW, GO	C · PLAYLISTS
FIRST SCREEN SHOWS	3 rails, 3 tabs, 4 shortcuts, 6 cards	3 rails, 4 big cards, 1 SETUP chip	1 question, 3 doors	3 rails, 3 playlists
CARDS IN TOTAL	17	10	4 words + 1-2 extras per door	9
TAPS: ONLINE BRAWL	2	2, or 1 when still selected	3, or 1 with AGAIN	2, but the mode is a surprise
TAPS: MOST KOs VS 5 HARD BOTS	7	7	5	8 (CUSTOM)
TAPS: HOST TEAMS ON WI-FI	3	5 (or change MODE in the room)	3	5
FIRST-TIME PLAYER	Lost	Clear: four plain cards	Clearest: two questions, four words	Easy, but never learns the mode names
REGULAR PLAYER	Fast, once learnt	Fast: last pick stays selected	Slower without AGAIN	Can’t choose the online mode (unless LOCK)
NEW MODES (PAGE 37)	EVENTS says SOON	THIS WEEK card + the room’s MODE list	The THIS WEEK strip on ONLINE’s step 2	They join the mixes
LOOKS LIKE THE PICKED SCREEN	It is the picked screen	Yes: same rail, cards and START bar	New step screens, same cards and START	Yes, with playlist cards
BUILD	—	Small: fewer cards, no tabs, a SETUP sheet over the existing room presets	Medium: three step screens; every door runs the same 4 presets	Medium: playlist rotation + NEXT UP; a Wi-Fi mode vote (RoomVote already votes arenas)

MY LEANA. It’s your picked screen with the clutter taken out, and every old option is still one tap inside SETUP or the room’s MODE. B is the clearest to learn (four words everywhere) but adds two screens for everyone. C is the calmest, but it takes away the choice of mode online.