Why Early Access?

“While the ultimate goal is to create a world-class game in terms of art, sound, functionality, and entertainment; we think the game is fun. Right here. Right now. We discussed it at some length and were unable to determine a reason to not make Starcross Arena available during development.

Fans of indie game development may be especially pleased with the current state of Starcross Arena, as there is still much left to be decided. We're very open to community input. For those that choose to join us early, we're extremely grateful. Your early support will propel the continuing development of Starcross Arena at an accelerated rate.

To summarize: Game fun. Support help game grow.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“Early Access development of Starcross Arena will progress in stages.

Alpha stage will contain the basic art assets and functionality required to establish full production methods, and assess the limitations of the tools at hand. This process is expected at the time of this writing to take several months. This may shift as necessity dictates.

Beta stage will entail the full-scale production of art assets and the refinement and extension of functionality. This would be difficult to estimate a timeframe for at the time of this writing, but we expect it to take 6 months at least.

Final release stage will be the "polish pass" to fix any bugs reported during the beta phase. At that time a digital art book and soundtrack release is slated to accompany the final game release.

That said, "Final release" may be considered a tip-of-the-hat to convention. We have no plan to cease development of Starcross Arena upon release.”

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

“The Final release version of Starcross Arena will contain additional modes of play including Team vs Team play. Significant enhancements to the ships, animations, effects, environments, player options, and more are on the to-do list. We plan to develop the game to take full advantage of Steam's features for your convenience and enjoyment. This means leaderboards, achievements, statistics, trading cards, workshop, Linux, Mac, and more.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“Current version of Starcross Arena is Alpha 0.1f which we consider to be "proof-of-concept" state. We have a long way to go, and we're getting there happily. Players can host or join online matches for 4, 8, or 16 players. Currently 2 levels are available for play, and hosts can choose between Free-For-All or Elimination matches.”

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

“We plan to increase price as we increment stages. The price of Starcross Arena will increase by 25% of the Alpha price when the game enters the Beta phase, and by 50% of the Alpha price when the game enters the Final phase.”

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

“Through the use of the Steam Community Hub, we hope to interact with gamers that are interested in what Starcross Arena can become, and we look forward to your feedback, suggestions, and ideas. We love ideas.”