Why Early Access?

“The heart of Backyard Volley: the swing, online play, and the bots are finished and ready for action. The game around it is still in progress. Right now, there's one map, one ruleset, and one kind of match. We want to grow that into a full game with a career mode, new ways to play, and matchmaking with progression. We'd rather build those with player feedback than internal testing.

So far, the only people who've played are our friends and family. Early Access puts the game in front of a lot more of you, and your feedback decides what gets built next: which modes are worth making, how the new rules should feel, what stats you actually care about, and how the swing holds up across every skill level.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We're planning on roughly 6-8 months of Early Access. That depends on how the new modes land with players, so treat it as an estimate rather than a date.”

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

“The full version is meant to be a complete game built around the volleyball that's already here. Our plans, in rough order:

- A story / career mode, so there's something to play through on your own, not only matches.
- New game modes, starting with one where the losing team gets a power-up, to keep games close and chaotic.
- Matchmaking, so you can find a game without needing friends online, and a competitive mode on top of it.
- Steam achievements.
- Player stats you can look at: aces, kills, blocks, perfect hits, and more, tracked across your matches.
- More polish everywhere: UI, audio, new visuals, and the balance of the swing.
- Still designing more every week, so much more to come!

These are plans, not promises. What ships, and in what order, will be shaped by feedback from Early Access players.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“Fully playable. Everything in the "About This Game" section is in the game today:

- All six touches: spike, tip, bump, set, block, and serve, including four serve types.
- Online 2v2 and 3v3 matches with friends through Steam invites or room codes, with instant replays after every point.
- Bots that fill any empty seat, with seven personalities, so you can play with them, against them, or a full match solo.
- Two tutorials (Beginner and Advanced) that each end in a real match against bots.
- A team practice court and solo drills for hitting, passing, serving and receiving.
- One map: the backyard.
- Windows and Mac.

What's not here yet: there's a single ruleset and no progression, stats, achievements or matchmaking. Online play is with friends only. The interface is functional but still plain, and you may run into bugs.”

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

“We plan to slightly raise the price when the full version launches, so early players get in cheaper!
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How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“Through the Steam community hub, our Discord server, and Twitch streams where we'll post what we're working on and ask for feedback on new modes before and after they ship. Bug reports and ideas go there too, and we read all of them. When we're deciding between features, we'll ask you to vote. We'll be hosting listening to community feedback and taking notes!”