Why Early Access?

“Prototype is a persistent co-op sandbox: balance, server stability, and multiplayer pacing only become clear when real groups play for weeks, not in isolated tests. Early Access lets us ship a playable core—terraforming, crafting, building, farming, animals, and shared worlds—while we finish combat polish, dedicated and PC hosting, Steam matchmaking, and the remaining content and performance work with players who care about this kind of game. We prefer honest iteration over a long silent development cycle.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We plan to stay in Early Access until co-op hosting (dedicated server and PC host), the intended 1.0 feature set, and our performance and stability targets are proven on release hardware—not on a fixed calendar alone. We expect this to take on the order of 12–24 months, but it may be shorter or longer depending on feedback and test results. We will not call the game “1.0” until our own release gates are met.”

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

“We plan to complete and harden systems that are still in progress at EA launch: full ranged combat and related stamina rules, remaining equipment and progression tuning, prospecting and mining where not yet fully exposed in the UI, server browser and Steam lobby integration, and broader multiplayer soak tests (reconnect, authority, and cross-machine saves). We plan a full content and UX pass (icons, audio, onboarding, and settings), stricter performance budgets on the 3072 m world, and removal of debug-only workflows. We plan dedicated Windows and Linux server builds as part of the 1.0 offering. We do not plan MMO-scale politics, siege warfare, or 64-player worlds in 1.0; those remain out of scope.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The EA build is a low-poly 3D sandbox with a large persistent heightfield world, solo play and listen-server co-op, and headless dedicated server support in development builds. Players can shape terrain, gather resources, use tools and workshops, craft along many recipe chains, manage furnaces and seasonal farming, work with animals, place and complete building blueprints, trade via in-world markets, and engage in melee combat with stamina and equipment wear. Skills, inventory weight, weather, and seasons affect day-to-day play. Multiplayer replication exists for movement and many world actions, but not every system has finished cross-player visual and balance proof. Some menus and progression hooks (for example full ranged combat, survey/mine flows, and Steam invites) may still be incomplete at EA launch. Expect bugs, balance changes, and occasional save-format updates; we will note breaking changes in patch notes.”

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

“We plan to keep a single base price at Early Access launch that reflects an incomplete but substantial game. As we add major milestones—multiplayer polish, content completion, and 1.0 readiness—we may raise the price before full release. Early Access purchasers keep the game they bought; we do not plan to charge again for the 1.0 update. Any future price change will be announced in advance on the store page and in the Steam Community.”

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

“We plan to use the Steam Community hub for patch notes, known issues, and discussion threads for balance, co-op hosting, and bug reports. We plan to read structured feedback from discussions and support emails listed on the store page, and to prioritize fixes that affect persistence, multiplayer authority, and progression blockers. We plan occasional focused questions (for example server settings defaults or pacing) when a decision needs real play data. We will not promise that every suggestion ships, but we will explain when feedback changes the roadmap or when it is out of 1.0 scope.”