Episode 3

[ALQRD]

Is there any information on episode 3? It's been a significant amount of time since 2, and I've seen absolutely nothing on the next chapter.

[MasterSJT]

Yea i wouldn't mind an update myself

[durango39]

Would be nice to no if the devs are still alive or not and if they are actually going to release the next 3 episodes

[G-Force Gaming]

im sure they will be working on episode 3, it took the better half of a year for us to get episode 2 - sadly its just really slow moving, but i am sure they havnt ditched the project - just have to wait again - maybe by 2020 we will have the full 5 episodes to play though

[VojNov]

Well they better not ditch it otherwise Im gonna be really pissed since I bought the whole game already ages ago. I would want a refund in that case of course.

They said Ep. 2 came out so late because of other platforms I believe but dont quote me on that. Not sure why third is taking this long. Would be nice to have some sort of information and estimate for the third episode.

I mean, I love this game, its a bit strange but unique and atmospheric and so far both episodes were amazing so I cannot wait for more. So yea, as long as they deliver at least two episodes per year and those episodes are amazing then ok Im fine with waiting personally.

[MasterSJT]

If it's the same quality i'm fine with waiting. but it's gotta make you wonder then longer the project takes the more money it must be eating up. Still at this point i'd take a Hello, work on EP 3 is still under way we are aiming for a Q4 relaeace atm. Or something like that

[G-Force Gaming]

I agree, something from the devs tosay they are still working on it would be nice

[Mr. Skipperpocket]

I edited my reccomended review to not reccomended...don't feel good about it since I still think the game is really good but frankly I can't reccommend a game like this with such a massive gap between episodes and no communication

[markrosswilson]

I'm with you on that. The first two episodes were amazing and yes, I did understand I would need to wait for new episodes.
However, they haven't made any statements in the last 3 months.
That smells of extremely poor customer service at a minimum and smells like a rat at worst.
That's why I don't trust them anymore and won't pay them another cent

[G-Force Gaming]

Sadly I bought the full season over a year ago thinking it was complete, soon noticed it was only the first episode. There should be a full disclaimer on the store page because lots of people seem to have done the same. If the game is never finished I along with lots of others will be more than angry and understandably so. They need to confirm one way or the other now

[clint]

I do find it rather annoying as well. I didn't even start playing episode 2, because there is no way I am gonna remember the details of the story more than half a year later on.

It looks like they were still busy porting the game to the various platforms, especially the Playstation 4. I can only assume that they focused their entire PR-effort towards the PS4 launch and ran out of manpower to update the Steam site as well.

A quick look at their website http://acrowdofmonsters.com/category/news/ confirms that they are still working but that it will take their time due to the fact that they aren't funded in advance by a publisher.

I guess it boils down to a trust / risk scenario: We are funding them in advance, trusting that they will deliver in a reasonable amount of time. With an increasing rate of failed or sloppily managed projects, this type of funding model might be eroded in a not too distant future.

That should encourage developers to set their priorities straight. It might have been a wiser move to finish the game on here and either then port it or to start a new, cross-platform project with the funds generated by the first one.

But dancing on seperate weddings at the same time might turn out to be the perfect way to disgruntle your user base.

[G-Force Gaming]

I dont mind funding a decent project and helping games like this along, I think there should be more doing it, especially when they can create games of this standard.

The problem is that they are so far removed from their customers on steam at the moment that we have no idea what is happening and the wait times are getting worse between episodes. I'd like to think ill wait until all 5 episodes are released and play them through in one season but that will take a very long time until I get to play again. I agree though that playing episodes a year apart is a nightmare and you do forget most of the previous episode and ideally should play them again but that would mean playing them so many times over when they release a new one that it would fast become boring

[MasterSJT]

Originally posted by clint:

A quick look at their website http://acrowdofmonsters.com/category/news/ confirms that they are still working but that it will take their time due to the fact that they aren't funded in advance by a publisher.

It's a comfort to know that they are still working on it atleast. i do wish a dev had been the one to say it here somewhere just to keep morale up

Originally posted by clint:

That should encourage developers to set their priorities straight. It might have been a wiser move to finish the game on here and either then port it or to start a new, cross-platform project with the funds generated by the first one.

Yea i feel your probably right there. I'd imagen there are a portion of customers who will wait for the full sieres to be complete befor getting it if peoples viewing habits on other T.V. shows is anything to go by

[clint]

Mhm. And I think it's important that the customers are voicing their frustration about this odd shift of priorities. There have been quite a few indie teams who have done better with their early access (let's be honest, B&B is exactly that), especially in terms of communication.

But I fear a lot of developers still underestimate the importance of a serious community management. It's perfectly understandable if people who paid for the entire season feel pushed into the backseats, especially while the development team is praising their release on a different platform which was only possible because they've already collected money from the customers on here.

[MasterSJT]

It's really a suprise when you think about it. In theory game developers should be quite good at displaying progression to a user. exp bars, hp/mana circles, gear score and even the the 3 star system for mobile games ect. But they often forget that it is just as crucial when in an early access like program.

[ZedClampet]

I sort of know the devs (not very well, though). The game is still going. I've sent one of them a message asking about episode 3 and will post back here when I get a reply. Personally, I love this game, but agree that it's taking a little too long to produce. They are a really dedicated team, though, just also really small.