Colony Ship: A Post-Earth Role-playing Game - Early Access Release Date Revealed
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Iron Tower Studio is gearing up to launch their Colony Ship RPG into early access on April 6, 2021. When that happens, you’ll be able to play through the game’s first chapter and get a good feel for its systems. And in the meantime, the developers have updated Colony Ship’s Steam page with new screenshots and are currently working on a trailer.
Here’s what you can expect from the EA phase:
Why Early Access?
“We're making this game for you, so not only your feedback matters a great deal, it's an integral part of the design process. It played a vital role when we were working on our first game (The Age of Decadence), helping us improve every aspect of the game and refine our design philosophy.
Now that Colony Ship's first chapter is ready to be evaluated, we'd like to run it by you and see what you think. What you like, what you dislike, what you think is missing or should be improved. Together we'll go through every chapter and location until the game is ready to be released.”
Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?
“Approximately 18 months. We're planning to add improvements on a monthly bases and add new locations as follows:
Jun - Factory
Aug - Mission Control
Oct - Shuttle Bay
Feb - Habitat and the end of chapter 2
Apr - ECLSS
Jun - Heart (the mutant town)
Aug - Bridge and the end of chapter 3, all locations are done.
Nov - Endgame (chapter 4)”
How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?
“The full version will have 4 chapters. The current Early Access version contains the first chapter, roughly 25% of the game. The game is feature-complete, so al that's missing is the content (3 remaining chapters).”
What is the current state of the Early Access version?
“The Early Access version includes Chapter 1, consisting of 3 locations (a container town sitting in one of the cargo holds, the armory, and hydroponics). The chapter is self-contained, inviting you to take part in a local conflict with far-reaching consequences. It's fairly well-polished and doesn't have any unfinished content.”
Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?
“We plan to gradually raise the price with each chapter.”
How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?
“We read every single post and constantly interact with the players, discussing their concerns and suggestions. We don't have community managers, as players should be heard not managed, so you'll be communicating directly with the developers and influencing the development process.
Now, before you start getting all teary-eyed, here's a caveat. It's a niche RPG and the core design is set in stone:If you'd like to help us improve this design, we'll work with you and together we'll make the best game possible. If you want us to radically change it because you prefer a different type of RPGs, we won't be able to accommodate you and we want to be upfront about it. Try the combat demo before you buy to make sure that the overall design and direction are to your liking.
- Challenging turn-based combat: You will die. A lot.
- Your character isn't a great hero destined to save maidens in distress and kittens stuck on trees.
- Your character's stats and skills determine what you can and cannot do. Prepare to fail a lot of skill checks, which really is ok. You can't be great at everything, right?
- Since it's a role-playing game, the players need plenty of choices to craft their own tales. These choices will come with consequences (good and bad) giving meaning to those choices and altering your tale.
- Your choices will close some doors and open others. In practical terms it means that you won't see more than 40% of the content in the course of a single playthrough. Some players like it as it makes the game more replayable, others don't.
You can post your thoughts and suggestions on our Steam forum, on our studio's forum, or email us directly.”
