Why Early Access?

“Being a small team of 3 developers (one programmer, one designer and one artist) We could really use all the help we can get!
We need to focus all our energy on development in order to get BUCK to play well and have the amount of content we believe will be fun for you.

I can't stress how much we need an external, objective and brutally honest feedback from the community. We want to test all the existing systems and make sure the game is fun at it's core.

As we build and add more and more features, we'll be taking your valuable feedback and implementing it to the best of our abilities, while marching forward towards an official, retail release of the game.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“Our goal is to release the final version of BUCK near the beginning of 2017.
We want to add tons of features into the game, it all depends on how well Buck performs on Early Access. If gamers want more, we'll add more and push the official final release back until both we and the community feel that it is the right time.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“BUCK's Early Access launch build includes:

• Exploration of the first half of Chapter 1 in the game
  
• Player-Driven dialogues
  
• Dual-Pistols and Sawed-Off Shotgun as primary weapons
  
• Basic ranged and melee combat
  
• 5 different Enemy classes with an average of 4 skins per class.
  
• Looting items from chests and enemies
  
• Using items in your inventory
  
• Using fast-travel
  
• Taking up missions from NPC's
  
• 20 in-game inventory items
  
• At least 70% of the first chapter of the story
  
• A Journal to document missions and objectives

Here's what we're hoping to implement into BUCK during it's Early Access run:

• Mac and Linux support
  
• Full controller support
  
• Weapon Customization and upgrades Crafting
  
• Boss Battles
  
• Merchants and Vendors
  
• Lots more items
  
• 2 More weapons for Buck, one ranged and one melee.
  
• The second chapter of the story

In addition we'll need to solve all the bugs, improve performance and polish to every aspect of the game. BUCK might be a small indie game, but we want to officially launch the game when it's packed full of content, polished and fun for everyone.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“Everything described on the Early Access launch build is in the game right now. While it's not completely polished, it's working. Over the coming months, we'll iterate the game with an update every other week.
We know it's not much, but we only have a single programmer. And because we want each update to feel significant, we'll need to make sure we can put as much content as possible in every iteration.”

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“Yes, the game will be lower priced through Early Access, relative to its final full-version retail price. The full retail price will be determined once we see exactly how much content we were able to add into the game during it's Early Access period.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“We use Scrum as our main development approach. This means that tasks are set every other week, which we then attempt to implement into an improved playable build that goes public.
The tasks that didn't make it will move to the next iteration while new tasks are added.

Firstly, we'll provide the community with access to our own "To Do List" on Trello.com. That way everyone will be able to see what were working on right now, what is next on the to do list and what's done and ready to be built.

Secondly, we'll communicate with the community through our forums, community hub and social media. We'll want to gather and address any ideas, suggestions, feedback and issues.

Lastly, we'll be streaming our work on Twitch.tv once every other week so that everyone can come and say hello, see us work and ask anything they want.”