Why Early Access?

“Since it's inception, Nin Online has been a game created with the input and feedback of it's community. Throughout the year's we've shaped the game's development culture around the idea of the community being a direct influence to the game's content, features and balance.

We want to make Nin Online the best game we can for the players and so we're ready to present it to a larger audience, giving the possibility for the Steam game community to take an active part in the game's development. Throughout the beta stages of the game, we've gathered feedback and ideas for features that we're still adding to the game.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“As long as it takes. We take feedback seriously and want to make sure we’re proud of the game. We understand the complexity that goes with releasing an MMORPG title especially with just 2 developers. Because of this we want to ensure that nothing is rushed and our goals are reached before calling the game a full release.

We will release once your feedback is confirming that the game is ready. Realistically, we hope to get all the features we want for a full version within the next 2 years.”

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

“Here’s our roadmap for features we’d like to introduce, complete and polish:

• Final Starting Faction
  
• 2nd Mastery (Class) Advancements
  
• Perks/Talent System
  
• Player Shop System
  
• Clan Special Techniques

Besides this there are currently elements of the game that rely on manual intervention from GMs and Admins to keep running. Eg. the game's role playing political systems, organizations (guilds) and character progression events. We're hoping to automate more of this so it scales better with more players.

Nin Online started development based on a very outdated codebase that begun development in the 90s. For the past year we've been recreating the game's server and client in C#, with modern programming technologies and standards. We aim to have a polished product that we're proud to call a Version 1.0 before moving out of early access.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“There are 4 factions (3 Starting Villages and Missing Ninja), 15 preset bloodlines/clans, 8 classes/masteries to choose from, 6 different summoning contracts as well as over 1000 items, 300 maps, 200 unique enemies & 150 quests in the game. A lot of the fun in Nin Online comes from player interactions and community. We have active players who have played Nin Online for years and believe that it is in a state where you can enjoy for hundreds of hours if it is the kind of experience you are looking for.”

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

“No, Nin Online will be Free-To-Play forever. Since beginning development in 2013, the goal of Nin Online was always to create a ethically monetized online game with close to no budget at the time. We pride ourselves in having zero Pay-to-Win features. All items in the Cash Shop are purely cosmetic with the exception of some Quality of Life Items such as Stat Resets that provide gameplay benefits. However, those are earnable through other means in-game as well.”

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

“Since beginning development in 2013, we've been working on what the players wanted. As a small team of 2 developers, it is hard to individually respond to every suggestion made. We have an active discord community where the developers participate in discussions with players about the state of the game and balance.”