Why Early Access?

“We’ve been working on implementing online multiplayer for the last year, but it turns out that writing a networked physics game that feels very responsive is stupid hard. Because the timeline for full online play is still uncertain we decided to release the game in Early Access without online multiplayer so we can start to build the community and get feedback. Steam's new feature "Remote Play Together" allows you to play local multiplayer games online with friends. We’ve seen some lag and compression artifacts, and currently it’s limited to four players, but otherwise it’s worked well for us.

During Early Access we'll be focused on two big goals: Building a community and driving development with player feedback.

To build the community, we have a Discord server where we can discuss the game, give you information about upcoming content, and get suggestions and ideas from you. We want to hear what you love or hate about the game or to tell us we are idiots for breaking the latest build.

We want player feedback to drive the development. We feel like the game is in a pretty good place at the moment, but have been playing it ourselves for over two years and don’t want to develop the whole game in a bubble. Hearing from the community will keep us motivated, inspire new ideas, and ensure we’re focused on the features that you want.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We are planning to stay in Early Access for at least 6 months. Thunder Rally will be our first game released on Steam, and all of us are currently juggling full-time jobs while spending our nights and weekends developing it so progress is never as fast as we would like.”

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

“We’ll be adding new cars, powerups, and maps throughout the Early Access period, taking suggestions and feedback from the community as we go. We’ll also be adding various options to allow you to customize the way you play the game.

We would like online multiplayer to be a feature for release. It’s a big job with an uncertain timeline, so your interest and support is needed.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The core of the game is finished, stable, and is entering Early Access with 7 car styles, 25 levels, and 13 powerups. Up to eight players and a wide range of controllers are supported. AI players are implemented to play against, and there is a team-play mode that was recently added.”

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

“Yes. We're adding more content so we expect to increase the price at launch.”

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

“We want to play Thunder Rally with you. The game was designed to be played with friends, and we want to foster that kind of relationship with our community. We think it’s important to play together and get live feedback.

We want your ideas for levels, powerups, cars, and features. We’ve built the game in a way that’s easy to add new content, so we’ll be able to bring your ideas to life quickly.

The Thunder Rally Discord server will be the best place for us to receive your feedback. Please visit our website/twitter or the forum link to join our Discord server. We will also be checking the Steam discussion boards.”