Why Early Access?

“The team has spent nearly a year building and iterating. Though much is left to be done, we want to get Trainscape to you early and solicit feedback. This would help us focus on what you find fun and address what you find frustrating.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“Our number one objective is to maintain solid performance so your VR experience is never disorienting. Unfortunately, this means we have to scrutinize every feature and piece of content that we add into the game.

There is some major functionality that we want to implement before we exit Early Access, such as terrain, bridges, tunnels, branching / merging tracks, and more. Some are easier than others. Some may be difficult with today's hardware and technology. Unless feedback from Early Access takes us in a completely different direction, we would like to exit Early Access by the end of 2017 / beginning of 2018.”

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

“The plan for Trainscape is to release feature updates as regular patches and release new content as micro-transaction items. During Early Access, we will reward FREE items on a regular basis. These items will be made available to all active players within a specific window. At some point during Early Access, micro-transactions will be available for players who want to expand their toy chest with more items.

We leverage Steam Inventory for all items within the game. There may come a time when we mark certain items as marketable and/or tradable. In which case it would enable a player-to-player economy. If you are one of the early supporters, then some of the free items may become collectibles one day. This is our way of saying thank you for supporting us on day one.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“You will be able to quickly build a fairly complex layout with vertical elevation. Tracks can cross over themselves but branching and merging are not yet available. Place trains on the tracks and conduct them with the remote control. Yes, trains do crash but they won't break. (Crash definitely can be more spectacular -- and we are working on it!)

Decorate the layout with props from your Starter Box as well as regular Gift Boxes. If you come across one of the townsfolk, such as the Station Master, you can even cycle through a handful of poses to match the scene you are building.

Once the world is built, jump onto the table and view it as if you were a toy yourself. The world feels much more alive, and it is an experience not possible in real world model railroads.

Objects collide with each other just like toys, though we are still fine-tuning the physics behavior. We also intend to improve overall visual quality as long as we can hold the experience at a steady frame rate.”

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

“We may or may not adjust the initial download price. At this moment we do not know what we will charge for micro-transaction items. But if we do adjust pricing, it will most likely be higher than it is during Early Access, excluding sales events. However, the benefit of supporting us during Early Access is you will have troves of freebies on a regular basis. After we exit Early Access, free items, if any, will only be awarded during special occasions.”

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

“We want to hear from you. That is the whole purpose of releasing it in Early Access. Contact us through support email or here on Steam forums. What did you enjoy? What did you find frustrating? What kind of features and/or content you would like to see?

We also want to involve you in creating assets for the game. However, at this stage, we are still optimizing the content pipeline and defining best practices. In other words, creating functioning assets is not as trivial as we like it to be. However, if you would like to lend a hand, reach out to us and we would like to collaborate with you!”