Why Early Access?

“Foundation Footy is already a whole game of Rugby League: full matches against the computer, on the couch or online, with leagues, series and a team maker. But it is made by a very small team, and it has been shaped week by week by the people playing it. Most of the rule fixes and balance changes so far came from players telling us what felt wrong.

Early Access lets us keep working that way with many more players. Online play and the balance of the computer's sides in particular need far more matches than we can play ourselves.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We expect to be in Early Access for around six to twelve months. There is no fixed date: we plan to leave once online play has held up across a wide range of players and connections and the main items in our plans below are in the game.”

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

“The full version is planned to be the same game with more in it and fewer rough edges. We plan to:

• make online play smoother and sturdier on more kinds of connection, and build out online leagues and competitions
• keep balancing the computer's play at every difficulty level
• finish thirteen-a-side matches, which are experimental today (the standard match is seven a side)
• add more sound, including more of the referee's calls and the crowd
• add more historic sides, kits and competitions
• keep polishing the menus and controls from what players tell us

These are plans, not promises, and what players ask for will change the order.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The game is fully playable and is updated often. Today it has:

• seventy-two historic sides, and a team maker for your own clubs and custom leagues, which you can share online
• one player against the computer at four difficulty levels
• two players on one screen, over a local network, or online
• League seasons with a ladder and finals, and Series (Tests, tours and tournaments)
• the rules described in About This Game, with a stat sheet for every match
• saved games, Steam achievements, leaderboards, stats and Steam Cloud
• controller support with the right buttons drawn on screen

What is still rough: online play has only been tested by a small group so far, the computer's play is still being balanced, and you may meet bugs.”

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

“We are not planning to change the price when the game leaves Early Access. If that changes, we will say so well ahead of time.”

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

“We read everything. The Steam discussions and our Discord server (linked on this page) are where we take bug reports, rule questions and suggestions, and players there usually see a change within days: many of the fixes in recent updates came straight from players' posts. Every update comes with notes on what changed.”