Why Early Access?

“We feel that Ikarus is in a state where people can see the gist of what it is supposed to be. As well as already find the present features useful.
However a time has come where Ikarus can benefit from the inclusion of a community.

We know what we want for Ikarus, and where we want to take it. Though the more people the merrier - Ikarus has a great potential and that only excels when more people take part in its development.”

Approximately how long will this software be in Early Access?

“That depends.
Both on how much support we receive, as well as on how many useful features people want to see in the final release.
But that release (first two columns of the roadmap) should:tm: be doable within one to two years.”

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

“There are a lot of features Ikarus will have to contain before we publish the full version.
Here's a boiled down version, for all planned changes, check out the roadmap.

• A story editor, a map editor, and a timeline for your world and its events
  
• Steam Workshop Integration to share content and creations
  
• An improved UI and UX
  
• An overall improvement in stability and usability
  
• A website to request features, report bugs, and ask questions
  
• And whatever other good features people request during the development

”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“It is the barebones concept of Ikarus in program form.

You want to specify __? Well what is a __ to you? What information do you need to know about __ in your world? And how does __ relate to other things in it?

Once you've specified that, go ahead and create as many __ as you want.

__ could be characters, locations, races, countries, or contacts in your phone book - it's up to you!

You may also specify constraints to validate the data you can input. Characters can only be between 1.30m and 2.46m tall? No worries, Ikarus will make sure to tell you if you accidentally exceed those constraints.

Additionally the custom calendar system is already setup, allowing you to create your own calendars and specify dates within them.”

Will this software be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“Yes Ikarus will cost money once it is released, though the pricing isn't final yet.”

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

“It is in our interest to have a close relationship to the community - how close depends on how many people will take part in it of course. We'll be active on the Discord as much as we can, answer questions and consider any suggestion. In addition ot that I will post weekly dev diaries to make development as transparent as humanly possible.

Ikarus has a finished and laid out roadmap, containing features we want to see in the final release. During alpha development some of our testers have already given us great feedback and suggestions. We plan to expand this in the open beta, i.e. people can leave suggestions, feedback, and bugreports for us to investigate. Infact we plan to have a website setup soon or soonish where people can post ideas, and vote on them. The most popular ideas will then take precedence.”