Why Early Access?

“Dunchess is a game about strategy, and we can't balance a game about strategy on our own. Spells, items and elements make so many combinations that we need real people breaking them in real matches. We want to know which spell is broken, which item nobody ever picks, and which dungeon is unfair to whoever moves second. That's the kind of thing you only learn by letting players loose.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We're aiming for around a year, but it depends on how much the game changes once players start telling us what's wrong with it. We'd rather stay in Early Access longer than leave it with the balance in a bad state.”

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

“We're working on a few things beyond the online matches, and we plan to bring them in during Early Access:

Story mode. A set of dungeons that unveil the mystery of why chess is the way it is today. Were there more? Are they still there? Where's the rest of us?!

Dungeon editor. We use it ourselves to make every dungeon in the game, and we'd like to put it in players' hands so you can build your own and share them.

Match replay. You made a cool move? Had a great match? You should brag, and the best way is showing the actual gameplay.

Player history stats. You can't improve what you can't measure, so we want your history in the game to be seen in numbers and charts.

Beyond that, expect more dungeons, more spells, more items, and a lot of balance changes. None of this is guaranteed, and some of it may change or get dropped depending on how development and feedback go.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“Playable right now: online multiplayer matches, all the pieces with their spells, items you find during the match, the interactive elements (vision crystals, crowns, teleports) and our current set of dungeons with the fog system.

Two things to know before buying. Online play needs our servers, so you need an internet connection to play against other people. And since we're still building the stats and progression systems, anything we save about your matches can be reset while we're in Early Access.

The game is playable and we play it ourselves, but it's not finished. Expect bugs, expect balance that feels off, and expect things to move around between updates.”

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

“The price may go up when we leave Early Access, since there should be more content in the game by then. If you buy during Early Access, you keep the game.”

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

“Talk to us. We read the Steam forums and we're in our Discord, and balance feedback is the whole reason we're doing this. Tell us what's broken, what feels unfair, and what you'd want to see in a dungeon. We can't promise every idea makes it in, but the balance pass is going to be driven by what players tell us.”