Yeap, I'd read FAQ. And Im not asking about when in time meaning? But "What do you want from game to get a beta status"? Or it will not have it at all? Its not a queastion of life, but im just curious?
(And maybe you'll say some spoilers of your plans, while (IF) answering this post) ;)
I'll probably skip beta and just go to final release around the same time as the Steam release, because a lot of people won't buy early access games due to being burned over and over.
When? It's kind of arbitrary at this point. The game has enough content to be complete, and even if it goes 'final' it's not like I can't keep releasing updates.
It deserves a thread so that the "collective intelligence" of the community can weigh in on it.
Is the game ready for you now / as of alpha 9?
Are there crucial systems needed that can't wait or that can't be covered by mods?
I would say that water is the most crucial system, followed by a more robust interaction system with other groups on the rim world, but I already see some mods working on that content.
To be honest, this could be a full game. I would expect a smaller price tag, however.
Quote from: ishot2drop on January 15, 2015, 11:31:25 PM
To be honest, this could be a full game. I would expect a smaller price tag, however.
If you factor in the modability, the price is very good. That's why Skyrim is a great deal even at 60. Those Bethesda games are worth over 100 imo.
I accept that you want to avoid Early Access, but I think your reasoning is silly.
The issue with most EAs is that they're active for 2-3 months, then become infrequent. The devs don't communicate, no updates (or incredibly small hotfixes) are made, and they have no evidence that they've put any effort into the work.
In YOUR case, none of these apply. Your game's been around for quite a while now, it's CLEARLY getting large updates, you've got amazing community support (and - holy hell - an active mod community), you've got a changelog that is updated almost daily, and I've honestly only seen one or two other devs - EVER - who interact with their community as often as you.
Quote from: Tynan on January 15, 2015, 09:53:37 PM
I'll probably skip beta and just go to final release around the same time as the Steam release, because a lot of people won't buy early access games due to being burned over and over.
It seems like right way for Rimworld, except "a lot of people" doesn't mean "noone", so you could earn some money by EarlyAccess. But it's not critical, i guess.
Quote from: Tynan on January 15, 2015, 09:53:37 PM
When? It's kind of arbitrary at this point. The game has enough content to be complete, and even if it goes 'final' it's not like I can't keep releasing updates.
Yeap, the game is already playable and we all hope, there will be versions 1.1, 1.2 and so on, with diff new cool stuffs. And maybe some Expansion Packs like "Rimworld: Medieval"... Noone is hurring you for release...
And... no tasty spoilers?.. Emm... okay... :'(