Why Early Access?

“Void Crawlers started as a passion project, and has evolved to the point of a playable prototype, the entire development has lasted about 6 months so far, the current feed back has been very positive, and I'm developing a game I want to play.

Early Access is also one of the conditions for the "Emerging Gamemakers fund" which I am currently waiting to hear back from, but, it has been submitted (I will hear back in a few weeks), even if that fails, I aim to finish this game, it will be at the very least, a portfolio piece of a completed game.

Early Access as a solo developer, will help greatly with receiving feedback as well, even after 6 months, I am still super excited (all though tired) to see how this being on Early Access will shape this passion project of mine, seeing other projects flourish under Early Access is just exciting, a community that's engaged in something I made? What a dream.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“This game is scheduled for Early Access in July 2026 as per the roadmap, and is predicted to be in Early Access until July 2027, which will complete a 2 year development cycle of the game, at the moment, currently, I am on track to meet these requirements (If not a bit ahead).”

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

“The full version's roadmap is planned to have 3 game modes, Arcade, Story and Gauntlet, plus achievements.

The graphics aren't planned to differ greatly from the final product, it already has a defining style, there will just be more in the way of decoration with spars textures.

As development continues on the project, I plan to polish the gameplay, for every new feature that is on the road map.

Arcade mode's is planned to be more fleshed out, with an upgrade and unlock system (Think of a "ship creator" but there's slots for the ship's parts), while in game you can level up your unlocks, if you fail the run the current level ups are removed if you fail to get to the end of the level, which then at the end of the level you can press on to fight harder and more rewarding enemies or you can go back to the start and keep what you have earned, the generator is planned to have bosses that are not room bound, so they can plow through walls which if you have not cleared those rooms, will alert enemies making the situation tougher.

Gauntlet mode is planned to work differently to arcade mode as I have planned to have several stages, waves will come to attack you, on some of the other levels, it will be a "defend the core" type of scenario, or themed to hold a point to defend waves.

Each level you get an upgraded ability for the max of what the ship that you selected before can hold, this is more about farming unlocks than farming upgrades, it's planned to be a unique experience compared to Arcade mode.

Story mode is planned to have some of Arcades room to room but also part of gauntlets open area wave type, while telling a story as you go down the floors, then get to a final boss to escape, this is planned to be for people that enjoy more of a story.

Accessibility is a key planned feature to have, colourblind mode (Several different pallet swaps) and minimal text, for where there is spoken Audio, there will be subtitles.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“Currently implemented is: Full 3D menus, a complete core loop of Arcade mode with 1 current enemy (3 are there but I am currently making them unique) and 1 boss, the levels for Arcade mode are randomly generated, but limited to 3 sets of floors until you have to go back to the beginning and play again, there is some destruction for objects to add a bit of "Juice".

The Generator doesn't just generate a grid based system, it generates odd shaped rooms, so in like other rogue-lites, you're not bound to the 1 room, it also has a "smart camera" that navigates these pretty fluidly, though I am tweaking it a bit.”

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

“The current price is planned to stay the same through out development, even after leaving early access, except for a large DLC, but there is nothing like that planned.”

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

“Utilizing Steam's community board I plan to view this almost everyday and announce patch notes, I do not feel the game is large enough to warrant a discord channel.

Seeing Steam's community discussion board is sufficient enough for this small project, I am also frequent in various discord communities and deal with some feedback there, but at the very least I want to utilize the Steam's message board, as when I have had to use it in the past, it has been great, and for a solo developer this is quick and easy, so I can get back to game development.”