Why Early Access?

“Crossfall was designed from the beginning as an ambitious RPG built around many interconnected systems: combat, magic, crafting, mini-games, quests, factions, and mastery progression. I am developing the game on my own, and the current foundation is already playable, but a project like this benefits a lot from real player feedback.

Early Access is important to me for several reasons.

First, feedback. The game has many systems, and the way they feel and balance in practice is something real players can judge far better than I can alone. Combat difficulty, mastery progression pace, the economy, dungeon rewards, and mini-games are all areas I want to tune with the help of the community rather than relying only on my own assumptions.

Second, content development. The game is built on a flexible foundation that makes it possible to expand it with new items, spells, quests, dialogues, monsters, and regions over time. Early Access gives me the opportunity to grow the world step by step, guided by what players actually find interesting.

Third, I am working on the game alone. My wife helps me a lot by testing all kinds of new features, but building the kind of RPG I want Crossfall to become takes both energy and time.

For me, this is a passion project, and I want to build it openly and honestly together with the people who care about it.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“I am currently aiming for roughly 1–2 years in Early Access.

Since I am developing Crossfall on my own, I would rather give an honest and realistic estimate than make a strict promise. My plan is to use that time to expand the game’s content, continue polishing and balancing the existing systems, and adjust development priorities based on player feedback.

If the game feels ready earlier, I may move toward the full release earlier. If feedback shows that it needs more time, I would rather continue improving it than rush the release at the expense of quality. My main benchmark is the game’s readiness, not the calendar.”

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

“The Early Access version already includes the game’s core systems: turn-based combat, magic, crafting, mini-games, quests, factions, and mastery progression. During Early Access, I plan to continue expanding the game with more content, further development of existing systems, and general polish based on player feedback.

My current development goals include:

Expanding the world over time with additional regions, dungeons, monsters, items, spells, recipes, and story quests.

Continuing to improve the combat system with more tactical options, clearer feedback, and better overall game feel.

Developing peaceful and collection-focused systems further, including possible new mini-games, activities, journals, and a bestiary for players who enjoy exploring the world more fully.

Exploring additional mechanics that I am currently considering, such as companions, a customizable player home, item upgrading and enchanting, and dynamic world events.

Improving usability and accessibility through better onboarding for new players, clearer explanations of game mechanics, and general interface polish.

Continuing to adjust the balance of combat difficulty, economy, progression pace, and rewards based on player feedback.

These are my current plans and goals, not promises. The final list, scope, and priorities may change depending on development progress and what turns out to be most important to players.

Crossfall is designed as a single-player game that works offline and has no microtransactions. I do not plan to change that core direction. As a possible optional feature, I may experiment with asynchronous multiplayer in the future, but it would not be required to play.

You can find the current roadmap and development notes on my website.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“Crossfall at the start of Early Access is a complete, playable RPG with its core systems in place, not an early prototype.

What is already available:

Character creation with visual customization and a magical mark, which defines affinity for a school of magic.

Exploration of a tile-based world with grid movement, energy costs, and random events along the way.

Tactical turn-based combat with body-part targeting, zone defense, adaptive enemy behavior, and effects such as bleeding, poison, and stun.

Magic systems, including spell schools, learning through scrolls, up to seven spell slots, and spell mastery progression.

Inventory and equipment systems, including eleven equipment slots, a quick-access belt, item grades, durability, and drag-and-drop controls.

Crafting across four disciplines: alchemy, blacksmithing, cooking, and general crafting, including an experimental recipe system.

Mini-games such as fishing, herb gathering, and woodcutting.

Action mastery progression and a synergy system.

Quests, including standard, repeatable, and daily quests; branching dialogues; trading; factions with reputation; dungeons; buffs and effects; and an achievement system with Steam integration.

The game is already stable and, I hope, enjoyable to play through the currently available content, but it is still growing. During Early Access, I plan to expand the amount of content, improve individual systems, and continue adjusting the balance. Bugs and rough edges may appear, and I will actively work on fixing them. Bug reports and suggestions are extremely helpful.

Updates will be released gradually, and I will do my best to keep development active and transparent. The game already offers a complete Early Access experience, and I want to keep improving it together with the players.”

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

“The price may increase over time.

As Crossfall grows during Early Access, I may adjust the price to better reflect the amount of content and the overall state of the game. I do not want to promise an exact price change or timeline yet, but the current plan is for the Early Access price to be lower than the price of the full version.

Buying Crossfall in Early Access is intended to be the most cost-effective way to support the project early and follow its development as the game grows.

And yes, I do need to eat too, and maybe even drink something from time to time...”

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

“I plan to communicate with players through Steam discussions and read reviews, bug reports, and suggestions. Community feedback will help me make decisions about balance, feature priorities, and the order in which new content is developed. Since I am developing the game on my own, player feedback is especially valuable to me.

I also have an idea to create a convenient interface on my website where players could help shape development priorities, possibly with a user rating system. However, this idea is still early and may change as I better understand what would be useful for the community.”