Early Access Announcement, FAQ

[DavidBVal]

(See the FAQ in second post)

I'm pleased to announce that in two months (by January 8th if all goes according to plan) we will press the magic button and release the Early Access version of Archaelund on the Steam Store.

This first release will feature the initial chapter of the Archaelund's main quest, plus a large region to explore freely with plenty of side-quests, dialogues, challenges and secrets. By our estimates, this means 15+ hours of content.

We look forward to add more of the beautiful areas we've been working on, and let you explore all the secrets of Archaelund, but we believe it is better to limit the initial content until the areas have been properly tested and given the detail they deserve. Of course, once you purchase the Early Access version, you will get all the future updates of the game at no extra cost.

The Early Access already includes a good measure of Archaelund's rule system. There are five playable races, fifteen careers, fourteen skills, over 60 Talents (unique abilities), and over 50 spells. All of this to cover just the early levels of character development.

I'm immensely excited to share Archaelund with the players, and we count on you to make this game better. Don't hesitate to ask any questions in the Steam Discussions, or at our forums.

Thank you!

David
4 Dimension Games

[DavidBVal]

Early Access FAQ

What is Early Access (EA), and how does it work?

You can purchase a license of the game while it's still being developed. This allows players to experience the game as soon as possible, at a much better price and, more importantly, to influence development with feedback, and also support the team with the purchase.

This is not a "betatest". Certainly, being a product in development, the EA experience may differ from that of version 1.0. and some bugs and glitches may occur, with content being adjusted or rebalanced. But we already have testers that went through the content dozens of times, for hundreds or thousands of hours.

How much does the Archaelund EA cost? Will it be on sale?

The current price of Early Access 0.7 is $19.99 (varies across countries, please check your local price). The price will be increased on each major update that adds extra content to the game, but of course you don't pay extra if you purchased it already.

Regarding sales: We will not put the game on sale in 2024. While the game might be on sale eventually, the discount price will never go below the EA release price.

Will I get all future updates if I purchase the EA?

Yes. When you purchase Archaelund EA, you will get all the future updates up to version 1.x of the game at no extra cost. In fact, if you planned to eventually buy the completed game, you'll be saving money by getting the EA, since we will be increasing the price as we add content and features. So even if you prefer to wait for the full release before playing, purchasing it now is a good deal.

How long will Archaelund remain in Early Access?

Our priority is making the game as good as it can get, and make it huge, so we have no dates set in stone about 1.0 release (main quest completable). But we do have a detailed roadmap in case you want some details and estimated times.

What is included in the Early Access version?

The first EA release includes all the core mechanics of Archaelund, with character progression limited to Level 4.

It features the initial chapter of Archaelund's main quest, plus a large region to explore freely with plenty of side-quests, dialogues, challenges and secrets. While the main quest first chapter can be concluded in about four hours, exploring the whole content should take around 15-20 hours.

Controller support is not present at the moment, but is planned.

What can I expect to be added in future updates?

There are many areas in different stages of development (some of them nearly ready), and even more planned; I intend Archaelund to be a huge RPG, with even more content than my first game, Exiled Kingdoms.

In early 2024 we will publish a detailed roadmap, but for now we can advance that after the 0.7 release, there will be a first 0.8 update with more detail and adjustments than content, but 0.9 will triple the size of 0.7, and include the second chapter of the main quest.
EDIT: corrected version numbers, added more details.

What languages are supported?

Much like with my previous game, I want it available in as many languages as possible; I've coded the game in a way that sets all the text in separate files, ready to be translated. During the early stages of EA, only english language will be available; I'm holding for the moment on more translations because I might want to make changes and adjustments to the text.

What are the system requirements for the Early Access?

Operating system: Windows 10+ (64bit).
Processor: Intel Core i5 or higher.
RAM: 8Gb minimum, 16Gb recommended.
Hard Disk: 20Gb.
Screen resolution: 1280x 720 minimum; 1920x1080 recommended.
GPU (minimum): Nvidia GTX 1060 / 1650, AMD RX580 8Gb/ RX5500XT
GPU (recommended): Nvidia RTX 2060, AMD RX 5600XT

We will work hard to optimize some of the large areas of the game, to lower the minimum requirements. Some of our testers have tried older graphic cards such as GTX 1050 or RX570 and the game runs, but sacrificing a lot of performance and visuals.

MacOS release will come after 1.0 is ready, not during EA. Linux release will happen after that, if no compatibility issues arise.

[GunGriM2]

hell yeah

[Young Clancey]

Hyped

[DavidBVal]

added note about languages supported, and future translations

[Aryn Finngard]

Hey, just double checking that Linux support is still planned down the line, since only MacOS is mentioned in the FAQ.

[DavidBVal]

Originally posted by Aryn Finngard:

Hey, just double checking that Linux support is still planned down the line, since only MacOS is mentioned in the FAQ.

We will also try to have a Linux release after 1.0. Editing the FAQ.

[poip35]

I want in on EA!!! Played EK on mobile through all classes for way more hours than I thought possible. Looking forward to it!

[DavidBVal]

I made some updates to the FAQ in the last days to reflect some adjustments after the final testing feedback. Level cap has been increased to 4, and players are reporting exploring all the content is taking close to 20 hours (from the old level 3 cap, and 12h estimates)

[AVNlover67]

What's the planned level cap when it leaves early access? And what kind weapons can we find throughout the game? Also what about romance? Just kidding. Not necessary.

[DavidBVal]

Around level 15. But there's a limit on what you can plan ahead with pretty spreadsheets but without real feedback from a real playerbase. That's the main reason we're releasing Early Access. Even in this first release we already had to add one level, so...

[AVNlover67]

Originally posted by DavidBVal:

Around level 15. But there's a limit on what you can plan ahead with pretty spreadsheets but without real feedback from a real playerbase. That's the main reason we're releasing Early Access. Even in this first release we already had to add one level, so...

Cool. What about weapons and spells?

[DavidBVal]

Originally posted by AVNlover67:

Cool. What about weapons and spells?

Spells are divided in five ranks. Currently the game includes Rank I and Rank II spells, 49 in total.

There are 43 different weapons in the current version (actually 45 if you add two items usable as weapons). They are divided in categories: Hand Weapons, Light , Two-Handed, Ranged. There's also the Unarmed category that might in the future include weapons, but not yet.

[AVNlover67]

Originally posted by DavidBVal:

Originally posted by AVNlover67:

Cool. What about weapons and spells?

Spells are divided in five ranks. Currently the game includes Rank I and Rank II spells, 49 in total.

There are 43 different weapons in the current version (actually 45 if you add two items usable as weapons). They are divided in categories: Hand Weapons, Light , Two-Handed, Ranged. There's also the Unarmed category that might in the future include weapons, but not yet.

Sounds cool. I can't wait to play it.

[AVNlover67]

What time is it going to release? I'm Eastern time.

[DavidBVal]

Originally posted by AVNlover67:

What time is it going to release? I'm Eastern time.

The decision will be made that very day, but my intention is to have it released around 3PM EST