Is this game abandoned?

[Noval]

Just asking for a friend who is asking for me

[Adesanya]

It sort of feels like it, as there is so little communication between the devs and the customers/players. But no ... I'm sure they haven't abandoned the game so soon after release.

[krunjar]

They basically rushed promised 1.0 content out bare bones. So yeah wouldn't surprise me if it was abandoned. Even if it isn't they're going to spend half a year just making good on the actual kick starter content they promised us. The very fact that they gave us bare bones versions of promised content rather than delays is kind of a red flag. As it is now they've TECHNICALLY delivered on all their kickstarter promises. So if they ran with the money now thye'd have no legal issue.

[Deputy Dawg]

Originally posted by Samsara:

Just asking for a friend who is asking for me

Short answer is... NO

Long answer... I feel confused by this post from Samsara, and even more confused by the post from Adesanya. I've seen constant communication from the Stairway devs, who are doing their best to answer as many player questions as possible, in the shortest possible time. Stairway have issued two patches since v1.0 was launched, which addressed a significant number of player complaints.

I've been playing PC games longer than most people I know, and I can count the game developers who keep in touch with their players on a daily basis without taking my socks off.

I agree that version 1.0 was rushed out. I'm fairly sure that Stairway were forced to release early, so that the publisher could cash in on the Christmas bonanza. This is an excellent game, even in it's current guise, and it's going to get better. Just wait and see...

[Poison Cackler]

Not abandoned, but unfortunately this is another game where the devs are supposedly "very active" on Discord, but not here on Steam.

While they do try and respond to most bug reports, even a weekly dev post would show they really do care, and do alot to mitigate player unhappiness. It needs to be a forum post, too - half the people that come here either don't bother or just don't know to check the game news.

This trend of discord-only developer updating really needs to stop. Games don't sell through Discord, they sell through Steam(or other platforms). Many people, obviously, don't use discord for different reasons, and need to have a way to interact with the devs or even just see they are still there.

Edit - I actually love the game and the devs. I just don't like the dependency on discord for the majority of communication. Like Deputy Dawg said, I also believe they were forced by the publishers to release before the game was ready.

[Deputy Dawg]

Originally posted by xeiroe:

This trend of discord-only developer updating really needs to stop

I think devs use Discord because of the file sharing possibilities

[Poison Cackler]

Originally posted by Deputy Dawg:

Originally posted by xeiroe:

This trend of discord-only developer updating really needs to stop

I think devs use Discord because of the file sharing possibilities

Yes, and it is easier to communicate -I mean, I do understand the use of it, I just think it leads to people being upset and a lack of developer activity on the forums.

[Noval]

I didn't know they had a discord server. But i agree, many don't know what discord even is.

[Aaron]

They provide almost daily updates over discord on what's being worked on that day.
For example, this is what they posted yesterday:
January 17th, 2024

-Working on more cutscenes
-Updating various NPC heart events
-Working on more outfits for Farmer and NPC
-Continue working on [Redacted] spawner
-Working on [Redacted] waypoints

-Updating translations and localizations
-Continue working on cutscene scripts

-Continue working on various multiplayer system
-Continue working on [Redacted] quest
-Updating UI & UX
-Fix miscellaneous bugs and crashes

-Working on mine collision
-Working on more decor

-Updating SFX for various cutscenes

[Powerferret]

What kills me is it looks like they have a bot set up on the forums here for bug reports, but not one set up to just post these updates from the discord.

[Deputy Dawg]

Originally posted by Powerferret:

What kills me is it looks like they have a bot set up on the forums here for bug reports, but not one set up to just post these updates from the discord.

It would be extremely "player friendly" for Stairway to duplicate those Discord daily updates onto a dedicated post thread here on Steam.

[Deputy Dawg]

Originally posted by Aaron:

-Continue working on [Redacted] spawner
-Working on [Redacted] waypoints
-Continue working on [Redacted] quest

I'm guessing the [Redacted] info probably relates to the Savannah update

[Irrevirre]

Originally posted by Deputy Dawg:

Originally posted by Powerferret:

What kills me is it looks like they have a bot set up on the forums here for bug reports, but not one set up to just post these updates from the discord.

It would be extremely "player friendly" for Stairway to duplicate those Discord daily updates onto a dedicated post thread here on Steam.

This is an excellent idea!
I don't like to be forced to use discord to see what happens to a game I bought.

[Adesanya]

Originally posted by Aaron:

They provide almost daily updates over discord on what's being worked on that day.
For example, this is what they posted yesterday:
January 17th, 2024

-Working on more cutscenes
-Updating various NPC heart events
-Working on more outfits for Farmer and NPC
-Continue working on [Redacted] spawner
-Working on [Redacted] waypoints

-Updating translations and localizations
-Continue working on cutscene scripts

-Continue working on various multiplayer system
-Continue working on [Redacted] quest
-Updating UI & UX
-Fix miscellaneous bugs and crashes

-Working on mine collision
-Working on more decor

-Updating SFX for various cutscenes

I see. I'm not on their Discord, so of course ... I wouldn't know.

Yes yes yes ... I have to be on their Discord if I want any info. Noted but sighs. I love the game but here on Steam where I purchased it ... it looks abandoned :-(

[Piperbird]

Originally posted by Deputy Dawg:

Originally posted by Aaron:

-Continue working on [Redacted] spawner
-Working on [Redacted] waypoints
-Continue working on [Redacted] quest

I'm guessing the [Redacted] info probably relates to the Savannah update

My guess is it's merfolk stuff. I think we're getting that before we get the savannah.

I know there are people that just hate discord, but it's just a better way of communicating. You can post screenshots and videos, get answers faster, pin information, have different channel, voice chats. It's so much harder to help people here because you can't easily add screenshots to see what people are talking about.

[Devlukka]

Originally posted by Piperbird:

Originally posted by Deputy Dawg:

I'm guessing the [Redacted] info probably relates to the Savannah update

My guess is it's merfolk stuff. I think we're getting that before we get the savannah.

I know there are people that just hate discord, but it's just a better way of communicating. You can post screenshots and videos, get answers faster, pin information, have different channel, voice chats. It's so much harder to help people here because you can't easily add screenshots to see what people are talking about.

That's all well and good for reports but transparency of what's going on in the development should never be locked behind a platform. It should be available for people that either don't use discord or just don't want to join another server out of the 100 other servers they're already in.