Why Early Access?

“Cepheus Protocol is an extremely ambitious game and we are still very much still in development. There will be bugs issues but we hope you will join us in actively giving your feedback, but if not we understand. If you're not ready to jump in yet, then please consider us when we leave out of Early Access.

How often do we update?
We release minor bug fixes and general updates on a regular basis, at least once a week, if not more. Often times we’ll release hotfixes as they are needed or when our community points out issues that are affecting their ability to play Cepheus Protocol. And since we are in Early Access, we release significant updates every month or two. Additionally, we release these updates in our experimental build of the game available on Steam, where the community can test out changes and new mechanics and systems without impacting the main game. When these changes are deemed workable for the general public, we then release these larger updates to the core game, where we continue to take in feedback and suggestions – constantly reiterating the process until everything is working to the level we are aiming for.

Major updates can take much longer to release. For example, we focus our core development on builds such as 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, and 1.4, with 1.4 us seeing as the end of Pandemic Mode. Within each of these builds of the game, different aspects of gameplay, systems, and mechanics are required. And since we are a very small team, implementing new features such as civilian management, Dynamic Civilian groups, the San Francisco city zone, new animations, weapons, vehicles, character models, and more can take some time to be finished. More often than not, there is only one person working on these features in the game. Nevertheless, we always make sure to provide previews of what we are doing, and even our developers will go on Discord and live stream what they are working on.

As a particular build comes closer to being finished, we like to bring our community in as we show off what we’ve been working on and put the update to our test build on Steam. After a few days or weeks, we collect all the information that our community has given us and see what changes or fixes need to be made. Furthermore, we are constantly testing the game ourselves as we try to get ahead of significant issues before the public ever sees them.

Minor updates such as bug fixing we try to get out as quickly as possible, although, with limited staff, it can take some time, depending on how serious the bug is, for it to be fixed and patched. But, if we are taking too much time to get it fixed, we make sure to let our community know and thank them for their support and patience.

It should also be understood that there are always unforeseen events that impact our development. These can be simple things like engine changes or updates to the engine that mess up our development, other new software that has to be learned and implemented, developer illness or people leaving the team, and any hundred other factors that are part of daily life and game development. Nevertheless, we always strive to keep Cepheus Protocol on track and our community informed about what is happening.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“Generally, we want to keep Cepheus Protocol in Early Access as long as it needs to be. The whole point of going into Early Access was to work with our community to build a better game. We’ve come a long way since day one, but still have a long way to go before the game is to the point it can be taken out of Early Access. Nevertheless, our target date to leave Early Access is somewhere around 2024. However, remember that we are a small team with a lot of work left to do. And while we hope to grow our team in the next couple of years, we must plan for what we have to work with right now. If things change for the better and we can speed development up, we’ll leave early access sooner. However, we don’t want to leave until we are certain Cepheus Protocol is ready.”

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

“The full version of Cepheus Protocol will feature the following: Pandemic Mode, which is the current iteration of the game that is playable now. Story/Campaign, co-op, Horde Mode, and Special Operations.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

““See Project Description below!””

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

“The price of the game will change when it leaves Early Access. What the new cost will be is going to be determined at a later date. We will, of course, inform our community of the price change when it happens. Those that have bought the game during Early Access will not have to pay any additional cost as their copy will be updated to the release build. It should also be understood that we will continue to support the game’s development with additional content that will be charged separately from the main game; these include DLCs, skins, special items, and other related content to the game. These updates will be considered separate from the main game and will be charged differently while not being offered free to those that bought Cepheus Protocol during Early Access.”

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

“See above ^”