Miksi Early Access?

WHY EARLY ACCESS?

Building a Trilogy the Right Way

The Oort Protocol is a three-part story spanning the entire solar system. Rather than developing all three games in isolation, we're releasing them in Early Access to ensure each part delivers the hardcore tactical experience you expect—and that your choices carry weight across the trilogy.

Roguelikes Are Built Through Iteration

The classics—Angband, Nethack, ADOM—were refined over years with community feedback. Hardcore roguelikes demand brutal but fair difficulty. Early Access lets us:

- Balance tactical encounters that challenge without becoming arbitrary
- Tune permadeath consequences and squad progression
- Refine faction mechanics and strategic choices
- Ensure the learning curve is steep but climbable
- Test mission variety and replayability

Your Feedback Shapes the War
We need commanders in the field telling us:

- Which tactical situations feel challenging vs. unfair
- Where the game assumes knowledge it shouldn't
- How faction balance plays out over campaigns
- What lore works and what needs clarification
- Whether the difficulty curve delivers satisfaction or frustration

Transparency First
No marketing nonsense. Here's the truth:

- Perihelion enters Early Access with core systems functional but content incomplete
- We're a small team committed to quality over speed
- Updates will be substantial, not cosmetic
- The trilogy will be completed—roguelike developers don't abandon projects
- Your purchase supports real development, not vaporware

What Early Access Means
You're getting:

- A playable, challenging tactical roguelike
- Regular content updates and balance patches
- Direct communication with developers
- Influence over mechanical refinement
- The foundation of a trilogy

You're NOT getting:

- A finished product (yet)
- Hand-holding or simplified mechanics to "broaden appeal"
- Rapid-fire updates—quality takes time
- Changes that compromise the hardcore vision

When Will It Leave Early Access?
- When Perihelion is complete—full faction campaigns, balanced progression, all core systems polished. We estimate 8-1 months, but we follow roguelike tradition: it's done when it's done.

Each subsequent game (Helion, Aphelion) will also use Early Access to maintain quality and incorporate feedback.

The Bottom Line
Early Access lets us build this trilogy with the community that understands what hardcore tactical roguelikes should be. If you want to help forge The Oort Protocol into the uncompromising experience it's meant to be, join us.
If you want a finished, polished product, wishlist and wait. We'll get there.

Your terminal is waiting, Commander. The war begins now.

Miten kauan peli tulee arviolta olemaan Early Access -vaiheessa?

Estimated full release: Q3 2026

Millä tavoin lopullinen versio tulee eroamaan Early Access -versiosta?

HOW WILL THE FULL VERSION DIFFER FROM EARLY ACCESS?
Early Access Version (Perihelion - Current State):

- Core tactical combat system functional
- Basic squad management and customization
-2 playable factions with preliminary campaigns
- Character origin selection system
- Interrogation/dialogue system (2 full, story-driving dialogues with consequences)
- CRT terminal interface and visual style
- ASCII tactical battlefield
- Foundational lore and mission briefings
- Limited mission variety
- Basic permadeath and consequence systems

Full Release Version (Perihelion - Complete):
Content Expansion:

- All major factions playable with complete campaign paths
- 20+ distinct mission types with environmental variation
- Full Story arc with 25 pre-designed mission and procedural side-quests (which still support game arc and narrative)
- Expanded interrogation scenarios and intelligence gathering
- Complete lore integration across all missions and dialogue
- Multiple ending paths based on faction and command decisions
- Expanded squad customization and equipment loadouts
- Additional soldier classes and specializations

Mechanical Refinement:
- Fully balanced difficulty progression
- Refined permadeath consequences and squad continuity systems
- Polished tactical AI behavior
- Complete equipment and resource management systems
- Strategic layer connecting missions into cohesive campaigns
- Faction reputation and relationship mechanics
- Save system with roguelike integrity maintained

Polish & Quality:
- All placeholder content replaced with final assets
- Complete sound design and audio implementation
- Refined CRT shader effects and visual consistency
- Extensive bug fixing and stability improvements
- Performance optimization
- Quality-of-life features that don't compromise hardcore design
- Comprehensive keybinding options

Story Completion:
- All Perihelion story arcs concluded
- Setup for Helion (Part 2) properly established
- Full faction lore and background materials
- Complete character dialogue trees
- All planned interrogation sequences

What WON'T Change:
- Hardcore difficulty philosophy (no dumbing down)
- No hand-holding approach (no tutorials)
- CRT terminal aesthetic
- Turn-based tactical gameplay
- ASCII battlefield representation
- Keyboard-primary control scheme
- Permadeath and permanent consequences
- Lore-through-gameplay approach

Post-Full Release:
Once Perihelion reaches 1.0, development shifts to Helion (Part 2), which will:

- Continue the trilogy story
- Import save data and choices from Perihelion
- Enter its own Early Access cycle
- Expand to new locations in the solar system
- Introduce new factions and escalated conflict

Timeline:
Perihelion full release: 8-10 months from Early Access launch (subject to quality standards, not artificial deadlines)

The Promise:
Every update adds substance, not filler. When Perihelion leaves Early Access, it will be a complete, challenging, uncompromising tactical roguelike that respects your intelligence and your time. No compromises. No casual mode. No quest markers.
Just war.

Mikä on Early Access -version tila tällä hetkellä?

**WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATE OF THE EARLY ACCESS VERSION?**

**Implemented Systems:**

**✓ Core Interface**
- Main menu with CRT terminal aesthetic
- Functional green phosphor shader effects
- Military terminal visual style established
- Screen navigation system

**✓ Character Creation Flow**
- Faction selection interface (choose your allegiance)
- Origin selection system (background affects story)
- Full Squad creation and loadout pipeline functional
- Mission briefings

**✓ Dialogue/Interrogation System**
- Complex dialogue engine operational
- 2 interrogations fully implemented as proof-of-concept
- Branching conversation trees
- Lore integration through dialogue
- No hand-holding—read carefully or miss intel

**✓ Technical Foundation**
- GameController managing game state
- Scene management system
- Data persistence framework
- CRT shader effects optimized

**Currently in Development:**

**⚠ Squad Management**
- Permadeath integration with progression

**⚠ Mission Structure**
- Mission variety and generation

**⚠ Strategic Layer**
- Campaign progression
- Faction reputation
- Resource management
- Choice consequences across missions

**Not Yet Implemented:**
**✗ Multiple Faction Campaigns** (framework exists, content in development)
**✗ Full Mission Variety**
**✗ Advanced Equipment Systems**
**✗ Secondary Interrogation Scenarios**
**✗ End-game Content**
**✗ Sound Design** (placeholder/minimal audio)

**What This Means:**

You can currently:
- Experience the CRT terminal aesthetic and UI flow
- Create characters with faction and origin choices
- Play through the Jones interrogation sequence
- See the foundation of the dialogue system
- Play the 2 first missions (1 story-driven, 1 procedural)

You CANNOT currently:
- Progress through a campaign
- Experience permadeath mechanics
- Complete a full playthrough

**Development Roadmap (Next 3 Months):**
1. **Next Mission Set** - 5-7 playable mission types with objectives
2. **Squad Persistence** - Permadeath, injury, and experience systems
3. **Faction Campaign Framework** - Connect missions into coherent campaigns

**Why Release This Early?**
Transparency. We're showing you the foundation before building the house. If you:
- Want to support development from the ground up
- Are interested in seeing how a hardcore tactical roguelike is built
- Want to influence core systems before they're set in stone
- Understand "Early Access" means EARLY

Then welcome aboard.

If you want playable progression mission-to-mission and campaign progression, **wishlist and wait ~3 months.** We'll notify you when the alpha drops.

**Current Price Reflects Current State:**
Early Access pricing is lower than planned full release. Price will increase as major systems come online. Early supporters get the complete trilogy content at a discount.

**No Bullshit:**

This is pre-alpha in everything but the interface and dialogue systems. Buy now only if you want to support development and watch it grow. Wait if you want a game you can actually play through.

Your choice, Commander.

Muuttuuko pelin hinta Early Access -vaiheen jälkeen?

The price for early access will be lower than the full game.

Disciplined Commanders also have the possibility to pre-purchase the whole upcoming trilogy at a discount right now.

Miten yhteisö otetaan mukaan kehitysprosessiin?

**HOW IS THE COMMUNITY INVOLVED IN DEVELOPMENT?**

**Direct Communication, No Corporate Filter**

The Oort Protocol is developed by a small team that actually reads feedback. No community managers, no PR spin—just developers talking to players who understand hardcore tactical roguelikes.


**What We Want From You:**

**Feedback That Matters:**
- "This encounter felt unfair because X" (with specifics)
- "The UI didn't communicate Y clearly"
- "I expected Z to work, but it did W instead"
- Bug reports with reproduction steps
- Balance issues with concrete examples
- Lore contradictions or inconsistencies with CANON

**Feedback We'll Ignore:**
- "Make it easier"
- "Add a tutorial"
- "This is too hard" (without explaining why it's unfair vs. challenging)
- "Add quest markers"
- Requests that compromise the hardcore vision

**How Community Shapes Development:**

**You CAN influence:**
- Tactical balance and fairness
- UI clarity (without dumbing down)
- Bug priorities
- Quality-of-life improvements that don't hold hands
- Mission variety and scenario design
- Faction balance and equipment viability
- Lore consistency and depth

**You CANNOT change:**
- Core difficulty philosophy
- No hand-holding approach
- Permadeath mechanics
- Learning-through-playing design
- Lore-embedded storytelling
- CRT aesthetic direction

**Development Transparency:**

Regular posts on:
- What's being worked on currently
- Design challenges and solutions
- Community feedback that influenced decisions
- Roadmap updates (realistic, not marketing)
- Technical deep-dives for interested players

**Other Channels:**

- **Steam Community Forums** - Bug reports and technical support
- **Steam Announcements** - Major updates and releases

**The Ground Rules:**

1. **Respect the Vision** - This is a hardcore game. Suggestions that compromise that won't happen.
2. **Be Specific** - "This sucks" helps no one. "This mechanic fails because..." helps everyone.
3. **Understand Development Takes Time** - Quality over speed, always.
4. **No Entitlement** - Early Access is support, not ownership of direction.
5. **Read the Lore** - Before asking "why doesn't X do Y?", check if the CANON already explains it.

**Community-Driven Content (Future):**

Once core systems are stable:
- Community mission scenarios
- Fan-created lore content (subject to CANON approval)
- Tactical challenge scenarios
- Modding support (if feasible with Godot architecture)

**You're Not Just Players—You're Test Commanders**

Every bug report, balance observation, and lore discussion helps forge The Oort Protocol into the uncompromising tactical experience it's meant to be. This isn't design by committee—but it IS development informed by commanders who understand what makes hardcore tactical games work.

Your intel matters, Commander.