Why Early Access?

“Tactics Rogue is a top-down tactics rogue-like game, and as such involves throwing the player into randomly generated scenarios that require them to think on their feet and react to what the game has thrown at them. The number of different potential situations that can arise is impossible for one, or even many, to experience for themselves, and as such can result in circumstances that cause a player to stop enjoying their experience. By using Early Access, the plan is to iron out these kinks in the gameplay experience before the game has completed development, so that players purchasing the complete product will have a complete and more enjoyable experience.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“A defined release point has not been set, but instead a list of release goals has been organised into a Roadmap which is published online for public viewing https://trello.com/b/ExHxO4Bl/tactics-rogue-roadmap. Once these goals have been accomplished the game will be released from early access. A very rough estimate of completion is Q2 2019. The list of goals covered by the Roadmap is only the minimum amount of content that will be added to the game.”

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

“The 1.0 version of the game will be a fully fleshed out realization of the early access version.

The plan for the 1.0 release version of the game is to create a extremely dynamic gameplay loop, where switching up the classes of the characters you bring with you on a run into the dungeon will completely change the way you play. As such the number of classes available will be much larger in the release version of the game. These characters will travel through the six main areas available on release, and will be able to find up to 100 unique items every run, that will shake up the way you play even more.

Multiplayer has been a key focus during the development of Tactics Rogue, and will be released soon after the release of early access. This will allow players to drop into another players game and control any number of their characters to complete the dungeon together.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“Currently there are three areas to delve into, with six classes to unlock and play with, each with their own unique skill trees. There are 31 possible items to find throughout each run, and two crystals which change characters skill trees, found by defeating the two bosses. To unlock everything play time is between 3 and 6 hours depending on your luck (it is a rogue like after all). There is a few extras added randomly to floors, such as merchants and challenges, with many more planned for the future.”

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

“No, this game will remain at the current price after the early access period.”

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

“I will be monitoring the community forums very closely for feedback, especially in the area of balance and potential bugs. I plan to ask for feedback in regard to which features in the Roadmap are most wanted, so that these can be added sooner.”