What is included in Early Access?
Everything that you can see in the videos. There won't be any restrictions on the paid version of StarbaseSim.
What is the current state of the game?
There is just one map right now, which is Starbase, and kind of a fake earth which gives the impression that you can go to space.
With every Starbase device you can move around freely as everything is physics driven.
You can drive from Build Site to Launch Site with booster and ship and stack them at Launch Site with Mechazilla, also in multiplayer without much problems.
You can launch, hot stage, return to launch site and catch booster and ship. The latter is a little tricky though currently, but will be improved in the future. Also, while flying (or moving at higher velocities in general), multiplayer is very laggy for physics objects. This is not easy to fix and I am currently waiting for more Unreal Engine updates that make it easier to tackle this.
How long will the game be in Early Access?
Very long, if I don't suddenly get a lot of support. The physics and networking stuff is a lot to do for just one guy with all the other stuff as well.
There isn't any clear end point to early access, either. Maybe whenever I have added a tutorial :D
How often will you be updating the game?
Goal is every one to two months. But sometimes it can take longer.
Will my progress be saved during updates?
There is no save feature in any form right now or progress feature for that matter. Progress happens in your brain as you learn to control the Starbase devices better and better.
Will the price change when the game leaves Early Access?
The price will go up continuously over time as more features are added, also during early access.
Can I provide feedback and bug reports?
Yes, while there isn't a proper system set up yet, you can go to the Discord (在新标签页中打开) to report things and give feedback. I check that daily usually.
You can report bugs also in the known issues thread on Itch (see next question).
Where can I find known issues?
There is this thread (在新标签页中打开) on Itch currently.
Will this go to the moon?
I hope so, but there is a lot to do on Earth first ;)
Will this suddenly die?
Unless I suddenly die, no! I'll always announce when it takes longer for an update or I have to do a longer break. If I ever stop development completely, I'll look into open sourcing as much as possible.
What about Linux and Mac?
Epic Games Store doesn't support Linux for some reason. For Mac, I can't afford development right now. So it will be just available on Windows for a while. There will be Linux builds on Itch again though and hopefully also Mac again in the future here.
I believe, the store itself runs on Wine though and the game maybe also. I couldn't test it yet.
btw, as a supporter you also get a download link for the latest version as Linux binary...
More questions?
For any other questions, please go to the Itch page (在新标签页中打开) and have a look around there. I'll update this more often as it's easier to do there.
Why no sales?
I'm firmly against sales. This isn't like some apples that have to be sold off once in a while. On the contrary, this product will get better and better over time. Accordingly, the price will go up.
imho, offering sales for games is mainly to exploit basic human hoarding instincts for profit maximizing, but at the end you have a library full of games that you feel guilty about never playing. If you are a collector and just want to fill up your library, go ahead and get it now. It will only become more expensive.