Encased Update #33 - Closed Alpha Release and Early Access Delay
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Prior to getting a full release, Dark Crystal Games' Fallout-inspired RPG Encased will be going through an Early Access phase, and according to this Kickstarter update, that phase will be going live later than originally planned. The update explains the reasons behind this delay and also informs us that the game's alpha backers should now be able to get their hands on a playable alpha version of Encased. Check it out:
The Dark Crystal Games team that never leaves its office is once again with you, and we have some news.
The first one: we are forced to postpone the early access game release (we’ll tell you a bit later why).
The second one: we are releasing a restricted access version of the game for alpha backers on Steam. And if you are an alpha backer, then perhaps the access key for the alpha version is making it to your email inbox right now, and the alpha build itself is being uploaded to Steam!
We are well aware that delays suck, but sometimes they are necessary, and here’s why.
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“Early access” almost always means that a game feels raw, unstable and poor in terms of content. We do not want to see Encased like this even at this stage of development, and unfortunately we have to choose between the earlier release and the quality. We choose quality.
Encased is a game with a rich atmosphere and a deep, developed world. And nothing kills all this like stuttering, crashes and bugs.
Sure there will be some bugs in the Early Access version of Encased, but their numbers will be minimized, and they will not spoil your game experience. To deal with errors (small and large), we’ve introduced a special system: in every game version there’s an option to send a bug report or a suggestion to the developers: just click the button in the corner of the screen, describe the problem, and the system will automatically send us a screenshot and your text, adding your computer stats to the message (in certain situations this will help to diagnose the cause of the bug). This system will help to make the game better as quickly as possible and even, over time, implement some of your proposals.
Another equally significant reason for the delay is the constant work to improve the interface, polishing game mechanics, rewriting, writing and editing the text – trust us, Encased has a lot of text. From the very start of the development we’ve set ourselves a fairly high level of quality, and now we are trying to keep up to it with everything we have.
We want you to see the game as it is intended. This requires effort and time, resources a small team often lacks. We hope you understand and ready to wait a bit longer.
And for alpha backers we have an alpha version.
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“Alpha”, that is coming out in the next couple of hours, is an unfinished version of the game. The content of the first official version of Encased is very limited, all that the game consists of, including graphic assets, render, role-playing system, sound, interface, plot, et c. is in the non-final state and will be finalized by release date.
The alpha version of Encased is not intended for public display and sale, and is distributed exclusively for kickstarter-backers. But what is waiting for you in this “alpha”? An early version of the character editor, several large locations and quests, a lot (really, a lot!) of loot. As well as the opportunity to fry a cockroach, climb into the ventilation, make a bat with nails and look at the gloomy sands of the Dome, covered with fog.
In fact, this closed alpha is the first official release for us as a team. And we, like you, want this game to be of high quality, interesting and exciting, and hope that the adventures under the Dome will be remembered by everyone who happened to get into it.
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Aside from the delay, our plans remain the same: shortly after the alpha, we will release the beta, which will be available to a much larger number of players. After eliminating bugs and polishing the content, the long-awaited EA-version will be released.
We cannot announce the release date yet, but be sure that this will happen soon enough. The Spire accepts shipments, the White Wing examines relics, the team works, and Encased moves towards the early access.
