Why Early Access?

“A lot of work has been done to bring this title to it's current state, but it's not finished yet.
It's time to reveal what has been achieved and share it with gamers community.
I'm open to suggestions and I hope to build relationships with potential customers.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“12 - 24 months.”

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

“This roadmap provides an overview of how the complete game should look like. It has been devided into 3 sections: general, single player campaign and online multiplayer.

SINGLE PLAYER CAMPAIGN
- The main story will take players through the different kingdoms to discover the past that links them all. Villages and towns will be affected by problems of their rulers. Quest system will be improved to allow different outcomes based on player actions. Side quests will bring players into folklore and mythology of different medieval cultures.
- Survival elements will require players to manage tiredness, hunger and thirst of their team. Consumable items will be obtained from natural resources or vendors.
- Character levelling will be required to wield stronger weapons. The high level npc will be more expensive to recruit, but experience will be gained through battles as well.
- Pawns will be included as inventory items that can be deployed in a battle.
- Justice / reputation system. The player will be able to face consequences for actions undertaken on friendly units like murder or theft. Also enemy behaviour will be expanded to include ambush, retreat, positioning and backup options.
- Villages and towns will be ruled by the lords. The player will be able to overthrow them in various ways. Simple management system will allow players to affect villages and towns they rule.
- Farm animals will source some consumable items. Also wildlife will be introduced outside settlements so players will be able to go hunting or get hunted by different creatures. Horses will provide fast travel options.

BATTLE - ONLINE MULTIPLAYER
- 2x pre-battle phase. Once game mode and map are selected players will enter 2 phases before the game of chess. First one is the unit selection. Out of total points players will select the pieces they start with. The second phase will allow players to position their pieces within their starting area.
- Online community features. Rankings, leaderboards, achievements, stats, daily challenges and events. Some of the above will be introduced through steam to start with. But a 3rd party server will be required in order to verify disconnections on ranked games. Player progression system will unlock customisation options.
- Player interactions. Text chat and voice chat to be available only for friends only. Random players will communicate through emojis. Player rating and reporting will help identify inappropriate behaviours.
- New game modes. Oh yes! King of the hill, shogi and bughouse will be introduced first. There are some interesting ideas worth trying, but it's about quality not quantity. More detail will be revealed once tested.
- Saving functionality. Loading and continuing games will be for friends only. Also, players will be able to save, rewatch and share their games.
- Map editor / puzzle creator. For players to share and rate their creations.

GENERAL
- New environments will require a lot of modeling, but there is much more to be included. New areas like a desert or swamp should diversify gameplay. And surroundings should be more responsive to actions on a chessboard like for example, spectators at the arena cheering for a good move.
- New characters and weapons from all over the world. It's not only the new movesets, but especially the abilities that will diversify the gameplay. Dead rising, mind controlling or vampirism to name a few.
- 3d chessboard. Currently the whole chessboard loads at a specific height and each tile has the same value. Inclusion of elevations and slopes will require all the graphical interface (chessboard and icons) to be adapted. It will also affect character pathfinding, animations and camera movement. But the biggest problem will be to upgrade the core systems to allow 2 separate pieces to occupy the same space at different heights. Unfortunately, everything is recorded in a 2d system so far.
- Cross-platform and cross-progression. It requires a 3rd party server where all the account details will be stored.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“Kingdom Chess currently offers single player campaign, local / online multiplayer, practice against bots and puzzles.

SINGLE PLAYER CAMPAIGN
Here chess meets open world and RPG elements. Gather your team and complete quests. It should take less than 2 hours to beat the game, but that depends on your previous chess experience. So far the single player campaign offers:
- 4 quests are available available: 1. Help the farmer to earn some gold. 2. Kill bandits for the innkeeper. 3. Rescue mission and 4. Boss fight.
- The village serves as a hub where you can find 3 types of NPC: mercenaries, merchants and quest givers.
- Through the crypt located behind the church players can access the underground area where fighting and looting takes place.

BATTLE
Play a single chess skirmish against computer, local or online opponent. Beside classic chess, there are 12 variants expanding the base game with:
- Up to 4 players online and local multiplayer (or practice against bot)
- 4 new game modes (capture the flag, domination, escape and elimination)
- 6 unique pieces (queen of ice, jester, elephant, kirin, cannon and phoenix)
- 10 diverse boards (from 6x6 to 20x20 with some including environmental obstacles)

PUZZLE
Extra section of the game located in "Battle". Over 1.5 million classic chess puzzles have been imported and 4 modes introduced. "Bolt", "Fever" and "Survival" encourage players compete against their own score. And "Explorer" allows to customize the experience by tweaking with "time" and "lives" options.”

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

“Price is not set yet.”

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

“Please get in touch if you wish to receive free beta key before the game is released.
Most feedback has been received directly from players via facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/Kingdom-Chess-100371858527268
Steam forum / discussion board and e-mails are also available.”