Why Early Access?

“Wych Ring is in Early Access as "Beta Build 1" which will give the developer valuable feedback from players in order to make any changes that would improve the Final Release. Any feedback will be considered - gameplay, level design, combat, weapon balancing, enemies, loot and final art. This is a Solo Developer project and is extremely large in scale that would only be typically made at a larger studio, the support is meant to help complete the project.

How often do I update the community?

All updates will be on this Steam page and on the Wych Ring Discord that will be done on a near daily basis with text updates, images and video clips.

How often do I update the game?

There will be no updates to the Beta Build 1, this is the only release that will be available to the public until the Final Release which will be the entire full finished game. This is single player only, no online elements or in-game transactions. Game Save progress will not carry over to the Final Release as it will be an entirely new build that will not be compatible with the Beta Build game saves.

The Final Release is expected to take up to 6 months from the time of the Beta Build 1 release date. This is approximate as it may be slightly less or more depending on the number of changes and / or feedback implementation.

What is required for Final Release?

Simply, Developer time to finalize all the game elements, it is content complete as in all content exists inside the Beta Build and no new features are being created. This is simply a period of polish, tuning and balance.

What about after the Final Release?

The Final Release is intended to be the "Final Version" and completed game. Depending on the level of support from the community once finished there could be plans to expand the final game with DLC Add-On content that would feature an entirely new level and world to explore, this would not affect the original final version.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“It is planned to be in Early Access for up to 6 months or less before Final Release, there will not be any other updates until the Final Release. Beta Build 1 is the only Beta version available.”

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

“The Planned Wych Ring Final Release Roadmap:
- All Final Level Content (Over 25 Sub Levels)
- Additional Side Quests to the Main Quest Line
- Armor Sets for all enemies and Armor Loot for player
- Final Ending Level with story finale
- Final Skill Tree for XP use
- Final Balance on Combat
- Final world content for Limbo and Wychwoods
- Final UI Art
- Final Audio Pass
- Final Cinematics and Dialogue
- Any Player Feedback that is deemed acceptable to implement”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The Beta Build 1 is fully playable and represents what the Final Release will be like, it is only limited in level content. The Beta Build gameplay includes:
- A main preselected combat playable character in 1st or 3rd Person views
- Melee combat with single or dual wielding options
- Melee single hand weapons with a massive variety of swords, knives, axes, maces
- Melee double hand weapons with Great Swords and Great Axes
- Melee dual wield with single handed melee weapons, or use an offhand Shield
- Gun combat with Pistols, Rifles and Snipers - Dual wield pistols
- Bow and Arrow combat with regular, poison and explosive arrows
- A variety of explosive grenades
- Inventory Management of weapons, shields, health, poisons and Books
- Independent XP Leveling system, only Level Up by choice
- Each Character Level grants a Skill Point, Enemies also scale in difficulty
- Level Content up to the first 7 Quests - Approximately at least 2-4 Hours of gameplay
- Single Main Quest Line that drives a linear story through an open world setting
- Interactable NPC Friendly story dialogue that is optional to explore
- A large variety of Enemies from Zombies, Creatures, Skeletons, Medieval Knights to futuristic cybernetic Robots armed with melee weapons and guns
- Lootable Enemies carry weapons, XP and/or Coin money
- Coin Money currency which is used to purchased weapons and items found into loot containers
- Explore the open world of Limbo and the open world of Wychwoods
- Sub Levels within Limbo are combat zones set in different time periods
- A set of cinematics during key sequences to drive the story
- Player selected Save Game, with Auto-Saves at key points
- Player Interactable Health Restoration Units in Level, no automatic health restore”

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

“The Early Access version will be at a cheaper discounted price for the entire Early Access period, due to the game being a limited Beta giving players a chance to see the game before Final Release. Wych Ring will return to its original intended price when the Final Release launches.”

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

“Players may join the game creator's Discord linked in the Wych Ring Steam Store link which will give direct access to the developer creating the game. All feedback can be posted at this Discord channel and will be considered by the developer. The players can post anytime, and the developer will be active nearly every day until the Final Release. Players will receive updates on the games progress from the developer through text posting, screenshot images and video capture clips. This will be crucial to receive real-time feedback on the development process.

In addition, players who Wishlist and/or Purchase the Early Access, then post a screenshot on the Chad Steingraber Social Media X account will have their account name added to an in-game book collectable that will ship with the Final Release to show early access support by player names.”