Why Early Access?

“INTERCEPT is a small independent project, and we want the people who fly it to help shape it. The core of the game is in place and playable today: the F-14 with a detailed flight model, a large real-world map, dynamic weather from clear skies to thunderstorms, day and night, computer-controlled opponents and wingmen, and online multiplayer.

A flight combat game lives or dies on how it feels in the hand, and that is something we can only get right with a lot of pilots flying it on a lot of different setups: gamepads, keyboard and mouse, joysticks and full HOTAS rigs, on fast and slow PCs. Early Access lets us put INTERCEPT in players' hands now and use their feedback to tune the handling in both Realism and Arcade modes, the behaviour and skill of the enemy pilots, the difficulty, the controls and the performance.

It also lets the community steer what we build next. We have a long list of planned content (more maps, more aircraft, air-to-ground combat, a campaign, a mission editor with Steam Workshop support and more), and player feedback will help us decide what comes first. We plan to release regular updates and to talk openly with players about what we are working on through Steam announcements and the community hub.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We expect INTERCEPT to be in Early Access for around two years. That is our current estimate for building the content and features we plan for the full release, described in the next answer.

During that time we plan to release regular updates: smaller patches with fixes and tuning based on player reports, and larger updates that add new content and features. The time frame may change as the project grows and as we respond to player feedback; if it does, we will say so in our update notes and Steam announcements. We will only call the game finished when the planned content is in and the game is stable and polished.”

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

“Early Access starts with the core of INTERCEPT: the F-14 , flown solo or as a two-person crew, over NAS CRUMA, a 1:1 recreation of the Fallon, Nevada area, with dynamic weather, day and night, computer-controlled opponents and wingmen, and online multiplayer. Here is what we plan to add before we call the game finished. Plans may shift with player feedback, and we will announce every change in our update notes.

NEW CONTENT
- More maps: we plan new theatres beyond NAS CRUMA (desert canyons, an island, coastal waters and high mountains), plus more detail on NAS CRUMA itself: the bombing ranges, a fully lit airfield at night, and paved taxiways and aprons.
- More aircraft: we plan new jets for opponents and wingmen first, then more aircraft you can fly yourself.
- Air-to-ground combat: we plan to add ground attack, a targeting pod, and ground units (vehicles and air defences) to attack and defend against.
- Missions and a campaign: we plan more single-player and multiplayer missions, and a campaign that links them together into a story.

NEW FEATURES
- Mission editor: we plan to open the in-game mission editor, held back for now, to everyone, so you can place units, set routes and objectives, script events, and share your missions with other players on the Steam Workshop.
- Customization: we plan a hangar, custom loadouts and liveries for your aircraft.
- BISHOP, your back-seater: we plan more voice lines and more calls (checklists, takeoff, navigation, approach and landing), and a bigger hand in radar and weapons work.
- Smarter computer pilots: we plan for them to fly strike and ground-attack missions, manage fuel, and crew the back seat.
- Damage and effects: we plan aircraft breaking apart, fire and wrecks, a crash camera, G-effects (greyout and tunnel vision), vapour, wingtip streamers and better aircraft lights.
- Weather: we plan more cloud types (high cirrus layers, towering storm tops, fog banks) and wind gusts in multiplayer.
- Steam features: we plan achievements, leaderboards, and Steam Cloud for all your progress.
- Polish: more sound, better performance on older PCs, more control options, and fixes from player reports.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“INTERCEPT is playable today, solo and online. What is in the Early Access version:

- The F-14, fully modelled inside and out, flown from the cockpit or outside views. Fly it alone, or as a two-person crew with a friend in the back seat (or ride in the back seat of a computer pilot's jet).
- Two flight models: Realism, built on the real aircraft's performance, and Arcade, for pick-up-and-play dogfighting, with mouse aim as an option.
- Full controller support: gamepads, keyboard and mouse, joysticks and HOTAS, with rebindable controls.
- NAS CRUMA, a large 1:1 recreation of the Fallon, Nevada area built from real terrain and aerial imagery, with its airfield, towns, roads and mountains.
- Dynamic weather and time of day: clear skies, cloud layers, rain, snow and thunderstorms with lightning, and full day and night with the moon and stars.
- Air-to-air combat against computer-controlled opponents, with computer-controlled wingmen on your side.
- BISHOP, your back-seat crewmate, who talks to you in flight with a recorded voice.
- Online multiplayer through Steam: lobbies, friend invites, missions with player slots, and dedicated servers for larger matches.
- A photo mode for screenshots, with camera controls, zoom, field of view and depth of field.
- A modern head-up display and working cockpit screens.

What is not in yet: air-to-ground combat, more maps and aircraft, a campaign, the public mission editor and Workshop, customization, achievements and leaderboards (see the answer above). As with any Early Access game, you may meet bugs, and balance, handling and performance will keep changing as we tune them with player feedback. We plan to keep adding content and improvements throughout Early Access.”

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

“We plan to raise the price gradually as we add new content and features, with a moderate increase when INTERCEPT leaves Early Access and the full version releases. Buying during Early Access is the lowest-cost way to get the game.

Everyone who buys INTERCEPT during Early Access will receive every update, all the content added during Early Access and the full version when it releases, at no extra cost. We will announce any price change in advance on the store page and in our Steam announcements.”

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

“We plan to involve the community through our Discord, social media and live streams, as well as the Steam forums. Players and beta testers will help shape INTERCEPT through feedback, bug reports and testing of new features before they are released.”