Why Early Access?

“OddFauna is a cozy, interactive sandbox game being built by just the two of us. Because the game revolves around a charming, living ecosystem where everything is hand-sculpted, and where creatures, plants, and your terraforming all naturally react to one another, seeing how players actually play in the sandbox is crucial. Early Access allows us to observe how these interconnected features behave in the wild, helping us balance the fun, squash bugs, and ensure the core experience feels satisfying as we execute the rest of our planned roadmap.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We currently estimate that OddFauna will be in Early Access for roughly 1 to 1.5 years. However, because it is just the two of us, this timeline is flexible. Our main priority is making sure the game feels complete, polished, and perfectly cozy before we officially launch version 1.0. ”

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

“Our goal for the full 1.0 release is to expand into a large, feature-rich world. While the core loops are already in place, the full version will offer a much wider variety of content and ways to play.
Throughout Early Access, our roadmap includes adding:

• More OddFauna: A larger roster of unique, hand-sculpted creatures to discover, tame, and bring back to your TerraBeast.
  
• New Biomes: Expanding the map with entirely new areas to explore, each with their own unique flora, fauna, and resources.
  
• Expanded Crafting & Gardening: A huge increase in the number of seeds to plant, items to forage, and recipes to craft at your workbench.
  
• New Gameplay Mechanics: We plan to introduce entirely new systems to the sandbox, such as season, weather, cooking, fishing and much more..
  
• Story & Lore: Adding more narrative elements and quests to help you uncover the secrets of the TerraBeast.

Because it's just the two of us, this roadmap may naturally evolve as we observe how the community interacts with the sandbox, but our focus will always be on adding charm, depth, and coziness to the world.
”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The Early Access version of OddFauna is a fully playable core sandbox experience. While we are still expanding the world and adding new systems, players can currently enjoy the foundation of the game:

• Befriending OddFauna: You can discover, feed and befriend a variety of unique, hand-sculpted creatures (like Ovoks and Logurs!). Befriended OddFauna will join your party, live on your TerraBeast and interact with the ecosystem based on their skills.
  
• Terraforming & Gardening: You can freely shape the clay-like terrain of your TerraBeast. Carve rivers, dig for treasure, and plant a variety of seeds to grow your own thriving garden.
  
• Foraging & Crafting: The core gathering and crafting loops are in place. You can forage for materials, use your workbench to create tools and contraptions, and build cozy shelters for your creatures.
  
• Exploration: The initial biomes are ready to be explored, allowing you to discover rare forageables and new beasts.

Each of these systems will be deepened and expanded upon throughout Early Access, and we plan to introduce brand new mechanics in future updates.
”

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

“Yes. We want to reward the players who support us early on! The game will launch at a lower price during Early Access, and we plan to increase the price when we reach our full 1.0 release. ”

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

“As a two-person team, our time and energy are entirely focused on building and polishing the game. To ensure we can efficiently review your thoughts without slowing down development, we use dedicated, organized forms for all bug reports and game feedback.
Links to these official forms will be provided directly in the game and on our Steam page. While we won’t be actively monitoring or participating in the Steam Discussions, Discord, or other social forums, please know that we carefully read every single form submission. This structured approach is the best way for us to stay organized, avoid getting overwhelmed, and channel all of our focus into making OddFauna the best sandbox it can be.”