Why Early Access?

“We're a 3 person dev team with no publisher working on this project full time. Without the support of our community through Kickstarter and early access this game wouldn't exist at all. That essentially means people are paying us for an unfinished game because they like us and they believe we will make the game they want to play. We also want to play that game so we're doing everything we can to prove them right.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“The planned final version of this game is pretty ambitious and we expect to go through many iterations before completing the single player story and having the game world in a state we consider to be complete. We also want to be able to evolve the game over time in response to feedback so we are expecting early access will last more than a year.”

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

“Expect massive changes on a regular basis as we add features and new types of depth to the engine and the game world.

Our initial early access release represents multiple years of work put into getting the bare minimum framework of the engine and persistent world working as intended. During early access we plan to have many iterations where game-wide features are added, and then content using those features can be integrated into the game world. That means major updates will contain game-changing features and new content such as new zones, new factions, new story arcs, new world generations, new item types, new interface elements, and new game mechanics.

An example of something we plan to add in the future is the ability for EVA activities which will allow entering and exiting ships without using an airlock. It should drastically change how salvaging activities play out and will probably change how you interact with the entire game world.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The game has an open persistent world with various space biomes for the player to explore. Each biome will have a different set of enemies and challenges in the form of enemy encounters, space-complexes to explore, and hidden treasures to unlock. The story driven elements are incomplete and more will be added with every patch, but for now the game is mostly a sandbox with some introductory story and setting lore.”

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

“The game might be slightly cheaper during early access. However if you want the best value for your money you are probably already avoiding early access games and we respect that.

We're here because we need income to continue development and if money were no object we would probably hide in our developer caves until the game was finished. The core benefit of buying into early access is participating in the development process and being part of the community that shapes the Zero Falls story and universe. This is not a "get the game for less money because it sucks" sort of deal, it is a "I think these guys deserve to feed themselves while developing their game" sort of deal, and we appreciate your support.”

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

“We have open discussion on our forums and we respond very quickly to feedback and bug reports. I once found, fixed, and uploaded a patch for a bug before the end of a live streaming event where the bug was revealed. We have backers who are designing ships to be put into the single player campaign, and we have been discussing modding tools with the community from day 1. We also sometimes host community ship design tournaments in order to stir up conversations and feedback about balance and game mechanics.

The truth is we're making a big open sandbox game with enough space for a lot of unique game play ideas and elements, and we want to put in every type of kitchen sink. Our time is probably split evenly between 3 tasks:

1. core engine development
2. core story and content implementation
3. tweaks, edits, and additions in response to feedback”