NETfishing
Alpha playtest

Thank you for trying this early private playtest.

NETfishing is an early multiplayer fishing game. This alpha includes local
progression, player-hosted and dedicated multiplayer sessions, public room
discovery, and direct UDP connections. Expect rough edges and please keep a
backup of any save or identity data you care about.

INSTALLATION

1. Extract the entire ZIP into a new folder.
2. Keep the executable and netfishing.pck together.
3. Launch netfishing.exe on Windows or netfishing on Linux.

Windows may show a warning for an unsigned application. This private build is
not code signed. Only run a copy received from the playtest organizer.

Linux users may need to allow execution:

    chmod +x netfishing

CONTROLS

Move                         W / A / S / D or left stick
Jump                         Space
Sprint                       Shift
Sneak                        Ctrl or click right stick
Slow walk                    Alt
Rotate camera                Hold right mouse, or use right stick
Cycle active hotbar slot     Mouse wheel or D-pad left/right
Select hotbar slot           1 through 9
Zoom camera                  Shift + mouse wheel
Primary tool / fishing       Left mouse or right trigger
Inventory and player pages   Tab
Game Menu / back             Escape
Interact                     E
Chat                         T

Keyboard and controller bindings can be reviewed and changed in Settings.

FISHING

- Hold left mouse to select cast distance, then release to cast.
- The target preview shows whether the selected landing point is fishable.
- While waiting, hold left mouse to withdraw the bobber.
- A bite starts the chase automatically.
- Hold left mouse to advance the green catch meter.
- At barriers, use distinct left-click presses to damage the barrier.
- Do not let the red chase meter catch the green meter.
- Accessibility auto-click can be enabled in Settings.
- Approach the Fishing Shop and interact to open it.
- Move sellable inventory entries into the shop's sell tray, review the total,
  and confirm the sale.
- Buy supplies, equipment, and persistent upgrades from their shop tabs.
- Move world-use items into the hotbar and select their slot to use or hold
  them.
- Coffee improves movement; other supplies temporarily improve fishing.
- Inventory and storage capacity can be expanded permanently at the shop.
- Reel Speed upgrades increase authoritative green reeling progress.
- Rod Power upgrades increase damage per valid barrier action.
- Shop upgrades persist in the local progression save.
- Escape closes shop confirmations before closing the shop itself.

FEATURES TO TRY

- Hosting a private or public room and joining compatible online sessions
- Direct-IP, saved-server, recent-server, and public-room connection flows
- Text chat, player calls, player lists, relationships, and moderation tools
- Movement, jumping, camera rotation, and zoom
- Short, medium, and maximum-distance casts
- Valid water and invalid land casts
- Manual withdrawal before a bite
- Barrier-and-chase catching
- Accessibility auto-click settings
- Catch showcase and fish size variation
- General inventory, separate tackle, hotbar storage, player storage, and the
  Logbook
- Fishing, net gathering, and beach digging
- Equipment and consumable use from the hotbar
- Fishing Shop sell tray, wallet updates, and persistent upgrades
- Seeded generated worlds and the authored starter-island layout
- Save, Continue, New Game, and Delete Save
- Game Menu and persistent camera settings
- Water-entry recovery from several shores

SAVES AND SETTINGS

Progression and settings are stored outside the extracted game folder. The
Data & Identity page shows the active player-data location. Delete Save removes
progression but preserves device settings.

This is an early save format. Keep expectations modest and report any failure
to Continue, save, sell, move, favorite, or retain an inventory entry.

FEEDBACK

Please include:

- Your operating system and whether you used mouse/keyboard or controller
- What you were doing when a problem occurred
- Whether the issue repeated after restarting
- Screenshots or a short recording when useful
- How movement, casting, chase pressure, barrier clicking, menus, and camera
  controls felt

KNOWN ALPHA LIMITATIONS

- Public sessions remain direct connections; restrictive NAT or carrier-grade
  networks may prevent some players from joining.
- Multiplayer, dedicated-server deployment, UI, and balance are still alpha.
- Some fish and character artwork remains temporary.
- There is no installer or automatic updater.
- Windows builds are unsigned.