Why Early Access?

“Kangaroo Court is a multiplayer role play game at its core that originally started as a passion project, its important not just that the game is developed in a way that if fun for players but in a way that lets the product live up to its full potential. That is only possible through community feedback. We have tons of functionality that we plan on adding into the game that we want community feedback on for balancing, bug fixing, and suggestions for gameplay as we want all 40 possible characters in the game to have a unique feel to them when players are playing as them.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“It's hard to say for sure, as early access timelines can vary depending on the feedback we receive and the progress we make. We're focused on delivering the best possible version of the game, and we hope to keep the community updated as we move forward! A rough estimate could be 2 years if the game has strong demand, and less if very little popularity.”

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

“We are considering adding custom character models for each playable characters.

We also plan to possibly add role specific functionality, some possible examples that are not planned with 100% certainty yet could include: news crew that can film and interview during the trial, jury that can throw paper airplanes, use a straw to fire spitballs, order a mid trial recess for discussion.

Possible Consideration of a Mafia type character for Gallery with the goal of rigging the trial.

We are considering adding an evidence system which acts as crime scene images which can spawn in items of evidence, however this may change or be dropped from gameplay based on community feedback. Additionally, we are considering adding the ability fake evidence, and then attempt to introduce said evidence into the court room, however this heavily depends on early access feedback on if mechanics like this are actually added or not.

gameplay enhancements, game tutorials, and additional maps are being considered as a possibility but is not yet planned with 100% certainty. If added a tribal volcano map (with burning hot consequences if found guilty), and other community suggestions might be decided on.

More content in terms of tasks, tools, weapons, and items are being looked into and may be added based on community feedback.

Improvements to sounds, animations, and gameplay based on community feedback is a primary consideration and possibility.

We plan on looking into how to incorporate a solo player mode into the game, but only if demand is high enough and after the core gameplay mechanics are finished. Solo player mode is not an immediate goal currently unless we receive an overwhelming demand.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The game is fully playable in its current state so long as you have a party of 4 - 40 players.
Main gameplay mechanics are finished and implemented
session creation, server searching, graphical settings options, dedicated servers, all implemented. There are currently 201 different possible trial charges for which one is randomly selected from each match. Two maps are currently available to play on: "CourtRoom", and "PirateShip". The Pirate Ship map may have poor performance on lower end pc's in the current version of the game.

Known issues and Bugs:
All of the character roles are playable (can pick up items, interact with world, take damage, interact with other players) but some of the characters do not yet have animations and are set to T-Pose. There is also some networking issues, in which other players may not be able to see certain actions you perform, one example of this is the judges gabble which locally will shout a sound variation of "objection!" but due to some networking issues other players cant currently hear it. Similarly, some items like the microphones are supposed to change the voice chat from proximity chat to server wide voice chat so all players can hear, that is not the case currently, it does not appear that the intercoms are actually affecting the players voice chat volume or attenuation which is unintended. Likewise, currently the UI doesn't fully specify what buttons are pressable with items such as the judges gabble. The current version of the game is designed where the judge starts the match but its also possible for the match to start when 4 players join the match. Lastly, a small bug causes the match to not reset after a match finishes meaning that players may have to leave the lobby and create a new one after a match finishes. There are likely other unknown bugs, however the game is playable.”

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

“We do not plan on changing the game price. Due to the number of players currently required for a lobby (at least 4, and up to 40). We believe the product should be affordable to all so that the lobbies can be filled for all to enjoy playing the game. Additionally, our developers grew up in a time when video games costed less than 30 dollars a game, and want to carrying those memories forward to the next generation with this product.”

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

“Players will be able to give their feedback and suggestions on our official discord server of the game. Additionally we will be actively reading feedback from the discussions forums.”