Why Early Access?

“Caveman vs. Everything is playable from the first stage through to the tank at the end, but a roguelite needs balance, and forty stages balanced by one person is exactly the thing that needs real players to get right. Early Access lets us tune it against how people actually play rather than how we assumed they would. There is also a fifth act teased at the end of the run, and we would rather build it with feedback already in hand than guess at it in private.
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Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“Roughly six to twelve months. The four acts that exist are finished in shape, so what changes during Early Access is the balance, the size of the upgrade pool, and the final act. A longer Early Access means more content. A shorter one means we lock in what works and move on.”

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

“The fifth act and its boss, which the current ending only teases. Controller support. Steam achievements. A wider upgrade pool, so a run has more shapes it can take than it does today. More enemies built on the existing behaviour spine. And a balance pass across all forty stages informed by real runs rather than one person's playthroughs.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“Fully playable start to finish. Forty stages across four acts: the wild, a rival tribe, the powder age and the modern world, each ending in a boss, from a mammoth to a tank. Around two dozen enemy types. Destructible terrain in four material tiers, which you and the enemies both chew through. Upgrades drafted three at a time between stages and seeded per run, including a shield line, returning spears and charge throws. Equipment that outlives death: each act boss drops something the first time you beat it, and you wear it on every run afterwards. Settings, a loadout screen, sound and music are all in. It is keyboard and mouse only for now, with controller support planned. The scope is deliberately tight, but the shape is complete.”

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

“No. The price stays the same throughout Early Access and at full release. Anyone who buys during Early Access keeps the game and receives every update at no extra cost.
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How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“The Steam Community Hub is where we will read feedback and bug reports. This is a one developer project with AI helping on code and art, so we cannot promise a fast patch cadence. But a roguelite's balance is exactly the kind of thing players spot faster than a solo developer ever will, and the order we work in will follow what comes in.
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