Why Early Access?

“Early Access is a critical step in the development of Soulfall because it allows me to involve the community in shaping the game while it's still in progress. Developing a game in isolation can lead to wasted effort on features that might not resonate with players. By releasing Soulfall early, I am aiming to achieve the following:

1. Validate Core Gameplay: I want to ensure the core mechanics of Soulfall are fun and engaging. Early feedback will help me identify which elements work well and which need improvement.

2. Iterate and Refine: With the community's input, I can focus my efforts on enhancing the aspects of the game that players enjoy the most. Rapid iteration ensures that the game evolves based on real-world player experiences.

3. Deliver a Polished Final Product: Early Access gives me the opportunity to identify and fix issues before the full release, ensuring a high-quality experience for all players.

I am committed to the ongoing development of Soulfall. This includes engaging with player feedback, regularly updating the game with new features and content, and seeing the project through to its full release. By joining Early Access, players will not only get to experience Soulfall early but also actively participate in its evolution.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“I have tentatively set the development timeline as being a year or less for the 1.0 release, but of course development timelines depend on many outside factors that are not within my control. I plan on posting frequent progress updates so that the community is aware of any potential setbacks and never blind-sided by unexpected delays.”

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

“The current plan for the 1.0 release post Early Access will be to include the following:

• Expansion of the class specialization system, with new class specs, new talent trees, new ultimate abilites, and new builds.
  
• The Relic system, incredibly rare and powerful "relics" offer unique build customization options that drastically alter gameplay and require totally new strategies.
  
• The Bounty Board system, including challenges, quests, boss bounties, and more, to keep the content engaging and establish a strong sense of persistent progression.
  
• 1v1 Multiplayer Versus Mode, an arena PvP battle where both players drop into the arena with nothing, and try to defeat the other while surviving hordes of monsters, and collecting abilities and loot to best their opponent.
  
• Cooperative Multiplayer Mode, where all 4 Acts of the story will be playable side by side in couch co-op or friend lobbies.
  
• New weapons, weapon types, weapon styles, armor types, armor styles, color and material customization and enchantments.
  
• More spellbook abilities, and more ability variants to keep every descent fresh and exciting.
  
• Active skilling modes for players who want to resource gather but don't like "AFK" style skills.
  
• Boss-rush souls-like mode, bosses become massively over-powered and have to be hunted down one at a time with better rewards for faster time completion.
  
• Ongoing balancing patches as certain builds are found to be unfun/boring. The general rule is to buff the boring stuff and never nerf the fun stuff.

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What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The current state of Soulfall offers a fully playable and enjoyable experience with several key features already implemented. Players can expect:

• Central hub "Town" level, including an in-depth character customizer, a shared stash inventory among all characters, skilling/resource gathering, crafting, and class customization via skill trees
  
• 4 Main Acts serving as the full story of Soulfall, each Act is a 20 minute survival challenge with unique biomes, enemies, bosses, quests and loot.
  
• 3 classes with unique playstyles, each having 3 specific class specializations, including configurable talent trees and ultimate abilities.
  
• 5 Tiers of increasingly rare and powerful loot, armor, weapons, resources, potions, and crafting materials.
  
• Narrative driven quest line in each Act, with optional but pivotal consequences effecting the final battle.
  
• Final infinitely replayable level (Act 4) which is a race against the clock mode, slightly subverting the idea of the classic 20 minute survivor countdown timer.

All of these features are designed to deliver a polished and fun standalone experience. While the game is still in development, this Early Access version provides plenty of content to keep players engaged as I continue to improve and expand Soulfall based on player feedback.”

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

“The price of Soulfall is set and will remain unchanged, regardless of the number of new features, updates, or overhauls introduced throughout development. This ensures that players who support the game early on will never face additional costs to access future content or improvements. My goal is to provide exceptional value and a transparent commitment to the community from the very beginning.”

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

“I am open to any suggestions and community feedback whenever and however it arises. I am always reachable on X/twitter for anyone that wants to discuss the game in its current and/or future state. I hope to hear from you!”