Asked and answered.

No. You do all the fighting. VESPER watches and forges: when you ask, she builds a new move or power from the game’s own pieces, and the game’s rules check it before it reaches you. Landing it is up to you. She can’t block, aim or choose your timing.

A new move gives you an opening. It never guarantees a win. The Rule Book explains what you can ask her for.

• A PC or laptop: Windows, Mac or Linux. Chromebooks may work but haven’t been tested; tell me if you try one.
• A keyboard, or a game controller. Xbox and PlayStation controllers are recognised, and the game shows their buttons.
• A recent desktop browser. Chrome or Edge is best.
• Optional: a microphone, to speak to VESPER. Headphones help.

There is no measured minimum computer yet. If the game stutters, lower the graphics setting in Settings, and tell me how it ran: that is part of what the playtest is for.

Not yet. You can read this site on a phone, but the duel needs a keyboard or a controller, and there are no touch controls. Phones and tablets can’t play for now. A laptop with a touchscreen is fine, because it has a keyboard.

Use a recent version of Chrome or Edge on your computer. Safari and Firefox may work, but they haven’t been tested yet. If you try one, tell me how it went.

No. A microphone lets you speak to VESPER, but buttons cover forging, readying and recalling, and the game plays in full either way.

If you use one, tap the talk key, speak, then tap it again. She only listens between your two taps. Your browser asks your permission first. Headphones are recommended, so she hears you and not the game.

English, Hindi, and Hinglish written in Roman letters (like “naya aag yoddha banao”). She understands all three, and mostly answers in English. Other languages aren’t supported yet.

She sometimes mishears, or writes a word in the wrong script. Catching those moments is one of the things this playtest is for.

Yes. Joining the list and playing the playtest cost nothing.

Two reasons. Every time VESPER forges, an AI model does real work, and that costs real money. And I read every report myself. So I let people in a few at a time, in small batches.

If a place opens for you, you get an email with your own way in. Being on the list doesn’t guarantee one, and until then there is nothing you need to do.

A short guided first fight, a Training mode and a way to change your keys are being finished now. The plan is for them to be in the build you play. Until then, the Rule Book explains the controls and the rules of a duel.

Yes, please. Streams, clips and screenshots are welcome. Just say it’s an early playtest build, so people know it’s unfinished.

Your access is personal, so please don’t share your invite. The Playtest Agreement has the details.

There’s no date yet. Astraya is planned as a desktop app on Steam. If you tick “Email me about future playtests and the Steam launch” when you join, you’ll hear when the Steam page opens.

Everyone who plays this playtest is one of Astraya’s Founding Testers, and Founding Testers may receive a free Steam key, a thank-you in the game’s credits, or both. That is a “may”, not a promise.

Don’t count on it. The playtest build is unfinished and will change, and nothing from it is promised to carry over to the finished game. Your story progress is kept in your browser, on that computer, so clearing your browser’s data clears it too.

Only when you choose to talk: tap to start, tap again to stop. She hears only what you say between those two taps; nothing is recorded outside them.

That clip goes to Fish Audio, a speech service, to be turned into text; the game doesn’t store the audio. The text goes on to the AI model that forges your move. During the playtest, the words you ask for may be kept as text, so I can see what players imagine and where VESPER falls short. The Playtest Agreement says exactly what is kept, and for how long.

It’s kept by Kit, the service that sends this list’s emails, and used for this playtest only. If you also tick the box about future playtests and the Steam launch, it’s used for that news too. It stays on the list until you unsubscribe. If you’re invited, it’s also copied to the playtest’s own records and the service that sends your invite; the Playtest Agreement lists them.

Because the playtest collects your email and, if you choose to speak, your voice. Data-protection law in India, where most testers are, treats every minor as a child, and a small playtest has no way to check a parent’s consent.

Every email has an unsubscribe link at the bottom: one click and you’re off the list. To have your signup answers deleted too, write to hello@astrayagame.com and I’ll remove them.

Playtest data is deleted or anonymised 12 months after the playtest ends. Your email address stays only until you unsubscribe. The Playtest Agreement has the full list.