Why Early Access?

“We believe the core twin-stick shooter gameplay of Protocol Paradox is already fluid, engaging, and highly replayable. However, the heart of a great roguelike lies in its vast variety of content and finely tuned balance. Early Access provides us with the perfect opportunity to build the game alongside our community. We want to collaborate with players to refine the balance of our extensive item and weapon synergies, gather feedback on new 'anomalies' and bosses, and prioritize features that the community is most excited about. We believe this collaborative process is the key to making the Protocol Paradox experience as rich, challenging, and polished as possible.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We currently estimate that the game will be in Early Access for approximately 12 to 18 months. This timeline is flexible, as our main goal is to incorporate player feedback and add the significant content we have planned. The final duration will depend on the development progress and the valuable insights we gather from our community. Throughout this period, we will keep everyone informed with regular updates and a public roadmap to share our progress and upcoming plans.”

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

“The current version of Protocol Paradox offers a complete and replayable core gameplay loop. We plan for the game to evolve significantly during Early Access as we expand on this foundation with feedback from the community. Our development is focused on several key areas:

Expanding Content: We aim to increase the variety of gameplay by creating more conceptual anomalies, which will result in a wider pool of unique weapons and passive items.

Building New Worlds: Our roadmap includes designing additional procedurally generated sectors to explore, populated with new enemy types and challenging, thematic bosses.

Deepening the Narrative: We plan to add more lore fragments to discover, further unraveling the mystery behind the game's corporation and the origin of the anomalies.

Exploring New Features: We are actively exploring potential new systems and modes, such as co-op multiplayer.

Continuous Polish: Throughout development, we will be constantly working on balance, performance improvements, and bug fixes based on player feedback.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The Early Access version of Protocol Paradox is a fully playable and stable experience that represents the core vision of our game. It includes the main gameplay loop: exploring procedurally generated sectors, engaging in fast-paced twin-stick combat, and experimenting with a substantial number of weapons and items derived from anomalies. Players can complete runs, fight several unique bosses, and begin to unravel the game's lore. We consider it a solid foundation that is already fun and offers high replay value, ready for players to dive in and help us shape its future.”

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

“Yes, the game is available at a lower price point during Early Access to thank our early supporters for their trust and invaluable contributions. Our plan is to raise the price as we add significant new content and features. Therefore, the price for the game upon leaving Early Access is expected to be higher than the current price.”

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

“Community involvement is central to our Early Access strategy. Our primary hub for communication will be our official Discord server and the Steam Community Hub. We are committed to actively listening to and engaging with our players through:

* Direct Feedback: We will have dedicated channels for bug reports, suggestions, and general feedback.

* Balancing Discussions: Player feedback will be crucial for balancing the vast number of item synergies and enemy encounters.

* Prioritizing Content: We will monitor community discussions to help prioritize which new features, anomalies, or quality-of-life improvements to work on next.

* Regular Updates: We will provide frequent updates on our development progress, sharing what we're working on and how player feedback is directly shaping the game.”