Alpha testers

Welcome to the alpha

Thank you for helping TATAZO grow. This is an early version of the game. Things may be confusing or broken. That is useful for us to know. You do not need to be good at games to help.

Play for as long as you want. About 30 minutes is a good first try. Your alpha save and tester gifts may not move to the finished game.

Updates

Keys you will use

These are the normal controls. You can change keyboard keys in Settings. The controller names below are the buttons printed on that controller.

*There is no one-button Quick chat control on a controller. Open the controller menu, choose Players, then choose Quick chat. You need a keyboard to type /tester.

There is not a committed “hold the left mouse button to walk” control. Use W, A, S and D or the left stick to walk.

Download and install

Download the alpha below. Windows is ready now. Mac is coming soon.

What you need

The game starts on Auto graphics. If the game is slow, open Settings, then Graphics, then Graphics preset, and choose Low.

Windows: unzip and open

1. Download the Windows ZIP file.
2. Right-click the ZIP file.
3. Click Extract All….
4. Click Extract.
5. Open the new folder.
6. Double-click TATAZO.exe.
7. Click More info if Windows says “Windows protected your PC.”
8. Click Run anyway.

Keep every file in the game folder together. Do not move only TATAZO.exe.

macOS: unzip and allow the first open

1. Download the Mac ZIP file.
2. Double-click the ZIP file.
3. Drag TATAZO.app into Applications.
4. Right-click TATAZO.app.
5. Click Open.
6. Click Open again if your Mac asks.
7. Open System Settings if your Mac still blocks the game.
8. Click Privacy & Security.
9. Scroll to Security.
10. Click Open Anyway next to TATAZO.
11. Click Open.

This alpha is not signed yet, so your computer may warn you the first time.

Trouble installing or opening?

If you still need help, email support@playtatazo.online. Include the exact message and your computer version.

“This app can't run on your PC”

1. Download the Windows file again.
2. Extract it into a new folder.
3. Open the new TATAZO.exe file.
4. Open Windows Settings.
5. Click System.
6. Click About.
7. Read System type.

You need 64-bit Windows and an x64-based processor. If the message stays, email us a picture of it and your System type.

Opening the game from inside the ZIP

1. Close the ZIP window.
2. Right-click the downloaded ZIP file.
3. Click Extract All….
4. Click Extract.
5. Open the extracted folder.
6. Double-click TATAZO.exe.

“Windows protected your PC”

1. Click More info.
2. Click Run anyway.

Antivirus moved a game file to quarantine

1. Open your antivirus app.
2. Open Quarantine or Protection history.
3. Find the TATAZO file.
4. Restore the file only if it came from this alpha download.
5. Allow the extracted TATAZO folder.

Keep antivirus protection on. If it names a threat or you are not sure, email us the warning before allowing anything.

Missing DirectX or Visual C++ files

1. Look at the missing-file message.
2. Get the X64 Visual C++ Redistributable from Microsoft Learn for a VCRUNTIME or MSVCP message.
3. Get the DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer from Microsoft for an older D3DX or XINPUT1_3 message.
4. Restart your computer.
5. Open TATAZO again.

For D3D11 or DXGI, install Windows updates and update your graphics driver. Only download these installers from Microsoft.

The game closes at start

1. Open TATAZO until you reach the title screen, if you can.
2. Click SETTINGS near the bottom of the title screen.
3. Click Graphics.
4. Click Graphics preset.
5. Choose Low.
6. Try the game again.

Update your graphics driver and restart your computer too. If the title never appears, send us the log below.

Find the log and ask for help

1. Open File Explorer on Windows.
2. Click the address bar at the top.
3. Paste %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Duck Mines Game Studio\TATAZO.
4. Press Enter.
5. Copy Player.log before you open the game again.
6. Open the bug_reports folder if you saved feedback.
7. Zip bug_reports if you need to send it.
8. Email the files to support@playtatazo.online.

Tell us the exact message, what you tried, your Windows version, System type and graphics-card name if you know it. Do not send your saves.

On Mac, press Command + Shift + G in Finder. Paste ~/Library/Application Support/unity.Duck Mines Game Studio.TATAZO/bug_reports for reports, or ~/Library/Logs/Duck Mines Game Studio/TATAZO/Player.log for the log.

First steps: start a world

Click a picture to make it bigger. The screens can change while we improve the alpha.

1. Start at the title

1. Click PLAY in the middle of the title screen.
2. Or move the left stick to PLAY.
3. Press A on Xbox or Cross on PlayStation.

Click SETTINGS to change sound, graphics or keys. Click CONTINUE to return to your last world.

2. Choose a mode

1. Click the ADVENTURE picture card.
2. Or move the left stick to ADVENTURE.
3. Press A on Xbox or Cross on PlayStation.

Adventure is a good first world.

3. Open world setup

1. Read the words on the Adventure page.
2. Click NEW WORLD near the bottom.
3. Or select NEW WORLD and press A on Xbox or Cross on PlayStation.

4. Make the world

1. Click the world-name box near the top.
2. Type a name.
3. Leave the Adventure rules and Solo on for your first test.
4. Click CREATE AND PLAY at the bottom.
5. Or select CREATE AND PLAY and press A on Xbox or Cross on PlayStation.

5. Pick a gator

1. Click a gator card in the middle of the screen.
2. Click START at the bottom.
3. Or select a gator with the left stick.
4. Press A on Xbox or Cross on PlayStation.

If NAME YOUR GATOR opens first, click the name box, type a name, pick a look, then click SAVE. The look does not choose your class.

Activate the tester characters

Tester characters let you try later-game classes. They are separate from your normal gators.

1. Start or load a normal world.
2. Wait until you can walk around.
3. Press Enter, the big key on the right of the letters. The Quick chat window opens in the middle of the screen.
4. On a controller, press Menu on Xbox or Options on PlayStation. Choose Players, then Quick chat. Use a keyboard for the next steps because there is no controller keyboard binding for /tester.
5. Click the long empty box at the bottom-left of the Quick chat window. This is where you type.
6. Type /tester: one slash, then tester, with no spaces.
7. Click RUN just right of the box.
8. Or, after typing, press Enter.
9. Wait for the game to save and leave your normal world.
10. Look for the gator-picker screen. You are now in the separate tester profile.

1. Click a Test gator card in the middle of the picker.
2. Click START at the bottom of the picker.
3. Or select the card with the left stick.
4. Press A on Xbox or Cross on PlayStation.
5. Roll the mouse wheel to move along the gator row. The fifth tester is Test Monster.

What each tester gator gets

• One of the five classes at level 120, with trained skills.
• The best gear that class can wear.
• Every pet unlocked.
• Coins and crafting materials.
• Free tester copies of paid items. Nothing is bought.

The Vault Key still needs a Home Vault you built. Tester gifts do not move to Steam or the finished game. The /tester command works only in the alpha.

What to test

Pick a few things you enjoy. You do not have to do everything. Tell us what was fun too.

Try each mode

Start a mode from PLAY on the title screen, then pick its picture card. Use the left stick and A/Cross on a controller, or click with the left mouse button.

Read Explore worlds, Survival worlds and "Apocalypse: hold the line in Braveheart Basin" for the rules.

Compare all five classes

1. Press K to open the Skill Book, or use Menu/Options → Skill Book.
2. Choose one ability on the screen.
3. Try that ability in the same area with two different classes.
4. Tell us which one felt clear, too strong, too weak or fun.

Try a Knight up close, a Mage from far away, a Shooter with ranged weapons, a Ninja moving fast and a Monster with its creature ally. See Picking your class and Combat and elements.

Explore the game's systems

• Crafting: Press C, or open Menu/Options → Craft. Try a recipe with one missing thing. See Crafting: discover recipes and make anything.
• Building: Press B, or open Menu/Options → Build. Make a small home, leave, then come back. See Building and waterworks.
• Pets: Open the pet screen shown in the game, call a pet, then leave and return to the world. See Pets.
• Starmane Pegasus: Follow Getting around, and animal friends. Try taming, mounting, climbing and gliding. Tell us if flying, the camera or landing feels awkward.
• Everyday life: Fish, farm, meet a townsperson, visit the market and try a make-believe building quest.
• Settings: Press Esc/Menu/Options. Choose SETTINGS. Try Auto and Low in the same busy place. Restart the game and check that your choice stayed.

Play with friends on the same network

1. Check that both computers have the same alpha version.
2. Connect both computers to the same home network.
3. Click PLAY WITH FRIENDS on the title screen on the host computer.
4. Choose HOST.
5. Start the host world.
6. Click PLAY WITH FRIENDS on the other computer.
7. Choose JOIN.
8. Choose the host world.
9. Allow TATAZO to use the local network if your computer asks.
10. Walk, fight and build together.
11. Leave the world.
12. Join it again.

The host must keep the world open. Steam invites and the Steam friends list are off in this alpha. See Hosting, visitors and password worlds for more help.

Report a problem or share an idea

1. Press F7 to open FEEDBACK. It opens in the middle of the screen.
2. Or press Esc on a keyboard, Menu on Xbox, or Options on PlayStation.
3. Select FEEDBACK in the pause menu.
4. Press Enter on a keyboard, A on Xbox, or Cross on PlayStation.

1. Click a kind: Bug, Looks wrong, Idea, Something I loved, Too hard or too easy, or Other.
2. Click the big writing box in the middle of the Feedback window.
3. Type what you did.
4. Type what happened.
5. Type what you thought would happen.
6. Look at the screenshot preview and map place near the bottom of the window.
7. Untick the screenshot or game log if you do not want to send it.
8. Click SEND to send the report.
9. Or click SAVE to keep it only on your computer.

If SEND fails or the game closes

1. Open the Feedback window again if the game opens.
2. Click Open the reports folder.
3. Go up one folder.
4. Zip the bug_reports folder.
5. Email the ZIP to support@playtatazo.online.

On Windows, open File Explorer, click its address bar, paste %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Duck Mines Game Studio\TATAZO\bug_reports, then press Enter. On Mac, press Command + Shift + G in Finder and paste ~/Library/Application Support/unity.Duck Mines Game Studio.TATAZO/bug_reports.

If the game cannot open, email the steps and exact error. Do not send your whole save folder.

Known issues, privacy and where to talk

Things we already know about

• The game can be slow in busy places. Try Low graphics and tell us where it stuttered.
• Isle towns still share the first river town's look.
• XP can arrive very quickly around levels 5–6.
• The market can be empty during the first minute of a new world.
• The camera can start too close after you arrive on another isle.
• The builds are unsigned. Follow the first-open steps above.
• Steam achievements, friends and the store are off. Tester gifts let you try paid items without buying them.

Please still report a known problem if you find a new detail, a way to make it happen or a way around it.

What a report contains

SEND shares your words, report kind, game version, operating system, graphics card, graphics preset, recent performance and area name. It includes the screenshot and game log only when you leave them ticked. The small online report does not include your account or exact map coordinates.

If you email the zipped reports folder, it can include the exact game-map place, camera direction, character state, open menus, nearby objects and recent game events. Check the picture and your words first. Do not write your real name, home address or other private details.

No webcam images or camera data are included. Solo play needs no internet. Reports stay on your computer until you choose SEND or share them yourself.

Help improve TATAZO? (your choice)

The first time you open the alpha, you may see HELP IMPROVE TATAZO?. Choose NO, THANKS to keep game data off. Choose YES, HELP only if you want to send anonymous play numbers that help us find hard steps and crashes.

These numbers can include the game version, broad device type, class, level band, coarse area name and crashes. They never include your name, chat, account, Steam ID, IP address, exact map place, camera or webcam data. You can change this later at SETTINGS > FAMILY & PRIVACY > Game data. Choose Forget game data there to turn it off and remove the local random ID. A child profile sends nothing unless a parent enters the PIN and chooses anonymous totals.

Keep in touch

Email questions, ideas and reports to support@playtatazo.online. Be kind to other testers. Describe the problem, not the person.

Thank you for helping the river valley grow. Your next discovery may make TATAZO better for everyone.