Early access release
It is with a mix of excitement and relentless stress that I type the following: Tales of Autumn is now days away from officially being in early access!
It’s been a relatively short timescale when I compare it to other games and projects, but when I reflect on the fact it has been a part-time hobby for the last 16 months, time has flown past!
What’s in early access?
Essentially the core gameplay is done (pending your feedback!), and now I’m adding more activities and content. I’ve created a roadmap page here that shares some detail on whats coming next. As I work towards the full release, I’ll be updating the early access version too
When will the full version release?
Assuming the early access isn’t received horribly, I plan to juggle player feedback with my planned content through May and June, resulting in a full release in July.
The only thing I’ve retracted from the early access is playing it on Macs. So far 0% of wishlists are Mac, so it’s just a matter of priorities. I’m quite keen to add it though, so if there’s anyone hoping to play it on Mac, make yourself known to me!
In closing
Up until about three weeks ago, I was 50/50 on whether to run early access at all (I would have done a closed beta instead, and controlled it a bit more). The testing that’s happened so far has been amazingly positive, and has given me the nudge to just go ahead.
I plan on doing a larger ‘thank you’ blog post when I finally release the full version, but here’s a couple of nods to testers so far…
B for enduring the intro cutscenes more times than I’d care to count
Spadge for being the king of exploits. My design ambitions to have a ‘constantly low wallet’ needs a rethink every time he’s played it. And if anyone in the future ever thinks that they aren’t getting enough gems out of each mining spot, you know who to blame!
ThrillhouseMitch for a dedication to experimental watering can use, resulting in many game crashes
Dave for his keen ear, spotting all the non-looping audio that I never would have noticed
Nixie and Lots for their blunt: “I just don’t get it” - hopefully you do now!
Here’s the link to the Steam page, and to Discord for anyone not already there. Look forward to talking to you there soon!
Getting there!
Scott
