Why Early Access?

“We are releasing the game in it's Beta stage so that we can polish the game balance, flow and the game experience itself to an even more higher level. We are committed in deepening the experience by adding more side quests and further content.
We very much are hoping that the early access players would suggest new features and things we might've not thought about to give the ultimate experience and develop this game to what the community would like it to turn into.

The game has been tested with a closed group, but there might still be bugs we have missed and which we want to smooth out but it is always important to hear fresh suggestions from larger crowd that come from various gaming backgrounds.

We really want to make the game as good as we can. We know there might be much more to work on but before going too far, would love to connect with the players and give them the possibility to steer us into the right direction.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“From few months to a year, depending on the complexity of the possible new feature requests. And even then we are planning to constantly add more content for existing players as a token of gratitude for the players who support us already at this earlier stage. We have the needed resources and financing to do this.”

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

“The full version will be the same core gameplay with some additions : There is a roadmap for more collectibles, level updates, skills, more interaction with the resources and NPC's, side quests etc. Basically deepening the experience even further with more challenges and generally more to do.

We are also toying with possible voice actor additions for dialogues, depending on the more general feedback.

We believe in "stretchy" game development where we keep on working on the good that is well liked rather than just providing game as-is with "take it or leave it-attitude. We want to hear out from the players what ticks in the game and what we should continue with.

We see the development of this game as a long process and are fortunate that we have the resources to continue the game development for longer time vs. normal indie studios that are vulnerable and often forced to quit after launching.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The major features stated in the About Section are in place: the player is able to roam around different islands, help local NPCs and animals, collect resources to upgrade their tools by trading with NPCs. Upgraded tools can better keep the islands from falling into the mysterious catastrophic states. Dialogue with NPCs will be richened and more side quests and stories implemented.
There are levels and things to explore for couple of hours of gameplay already.
Graphic performance might still need some polishing and updating in places. There is still also optimisation to do to make the game run on lower-end systems but the game does work on fairly general systems with a bit lower fps. We are aiming to bring the fps up as well in the coming versions.”

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

“The game will go through some increases in price along the way as we update the game. This is because we feel there might be lot of content coming in the future and want to give easier access at this stage to players for the game for lower price.”

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

“We are serious about involving the community in the direction of the game. The early access version has a Discord link to join Dancing Pandas Discord community right in the main menu of the game. On our Discord players can throw in ideas, discuss features, give suggestions and troubleshoot with the developers.
We would love to hear comments about any possible new features or ideas and fixes for the game. The simpler they are, the more possible it is they might end up in the game of course. Our indie team is fortunately having resources to scale where needed but even we are limited to a point so features that are practical to implement and support the main game core and would be fun for the player will be prioritized.”