Why Early Access?

Our game has been bootstrapped without any funding and after 3 years of work we feel we have it in a state ready for early access. We are hoping the revenue will allow us to speed up the pace of updates through studio growth and continue onward to fully realize our vision for this game.

Who are the developers?

My brother and I are a team of two that have worked for 3 years to bring this game to life. What started nearly 6 years ago as a novel has transformed into a competitive online game that we hope can provide a fresh take for competitive fantasy games.

How do loadouts work? I get to keep my upgrades and can swap mid-match?

Yes, you get to keep your earned upgrades and items. Dimension Equipment is however a temporary single-game gear system.

Loadouts allow you to swap gear mid match. For example, you could start the match going full damage, but decide a tank set of armor would suit you best. Loadouts are customizable and you can have multiple loadouts that fit your playstyle.

We have ensured your upgrades are transferrable automatically within the same category of gear. As such, when you upgrade your chest armor for example, the cost to upgrade is for the entire chest armor category. This allows players to constantly change-up their playstyles and offers a fresh and convenient take on gear progression in our opinions.

Why is the primary mode a 16v16?

For the start of the game we wanted to have a mode that felt large-scale and eliminate issues that small scale games have, such as 1 afk teammate costing your team the match. With so many players there is a greater emphasis on coordination and teamwork, as well as amazing battles.

If I come into the game with fully upgraded gear, how is that fair for the enemy team? Are you going to match me with players of similar gear only?

We personally feel games have tried to over analyze matchmaking and fairness to the point where the analytics teams of certain games can predict whether you will win or lose before the match is played. We are going to take gear and skill into account with our matchmaking, but we want to bring back a bit more of the casual matchmaking feel, with the occasional underdog victory. If you walk into a game and have a significant advantage, then that is the advantage you have earned. Enjoy teaching the other players why they should be more like you. (Assuming you have the skill to do so.) We want our game to behave much like most common MMORPGs today, gear is 1 factor in the equation, but skill is the largest factor in determining the victor of a battle. That being said, we do want to ensure there is fair matching between teams usually.

Are there plans for a mass-survival world with PvM and PvP? Other game modes?

Correct. We hope to release an open-world game mode in a future update, but this will be somewhat dependent on the level of community support.

Why are there seasonal wipes? Why can't I keep my gear forever?

One of our favorite moments in gaming is when a new MMO releases and there is a race for gear. There is truly nothing like it on the market currently, except when a new MMO releases. (They take forever to make.) We want our game to fill this void every 6 months or so with a brand new season as a thrilling race for power unfolds. New weapons, bosses, game modes, and balance changes are thrown in, and players get to experience the game in a fresh way.

How did you two make this game?

Coffee.

What game engine is this made in?

Unreal Engine 5.4
Without Unreal Engine 5 and the innovation provided by Epic Games, this game doesn't come close to existing.

Why does this game say it is cross-play compatible?

We are also released on another PC platform and online play will include those players as well, and if we have a decent level of success hope to bring the game to Xbox and PlayStation later on.

Controller Support? Key-bind swaps offered?

We do offer controller support in an experimental state. There may be some UI navigation issues or clunky-ness we are still trying to clean up, but as we get feedback and prepare for consoles we expect this area to be cleaned up. For now controller users do not have the ability to swap keys as keyboard users do, but we hope to add this soon in a post-launch update.

Are there items (such as additional content, offers or currency) for sale that are used in the gameplay of your product?

We plan to offer cosmetics sales on launch or shortly after launch. We also plan to have a virtual currency which acts as the primary transaction method for these cosmetics. We may eventually add a cosmetic focused battle pass or game mode, but we do guarantee never to sell items that could directly impact player's progression in a season or be deemed as P2W. We want this game to represent true competitive integrity similar to old-school MMORPGs.

Will you add Pay to Win? (P2W)

Never. Box cost & Cosmetics only with potential for battle passes later on. We want to reinvest heavily, but never at the expense of the game's competitive integrity and progression loops.

Can your product be used without making any in-app purchases?

100% correct. Cosmetic offers are meant to provide players with greater personalization and allow players to support our development further. They are never required.

Are in-app purchases refundable?

Refunds are not available unless otherwise required by law as described in our privacy policy here: https://www.chainsoulstudio.com/privacy-policy (在新标签页中打开)
Section 11.

In the future as we grow past a team of two people, we hope to be able to offer a more flexible policy.

What payment platform is used to facilitate these purchases? Do you use Epic Games’ platform or a 3rd-party (including your own) payment system?

Currently we plan to exclusively use the Epic Games' platform.

How long will the game be in Early Access? What is included in Early Access?

2 years is our current plan.

The core game mode currently is an 8v8 arena style mode. We also plan to test out different game modes, end-game raids & sieges, new weapons, new balance changes, new monsters, and a multitude of new content depending on what the financial generation of the game is.

What is the current state of the game?

The current state of the game is comparable to an Open Beta. We are working to find and fix any bugs. Limit test our database systems. Ensure our servers can handle influxes. And we are also working to implement changes based on feedback. As a team of two we certainly need help improving this game and finding bugs, but we are confident most players will enjoy their experience and find the PvP, PvM, and gear progression to be exciting.

How often will you be updating the game?

We plan to update the game every few weeks with bug fixes, balance changes, improvements, and once we really get going—new content. If we see rapid revenue inflows, we may need to focus more time on hiring and business sided things at the start.

Will my progress be saved during updates?

It should be. There is a chance that due to database overload or various unforeseen issues we may need to pull a rolled back version off the shelf, but we are trying to mitigate the possibility of this happening.

Will the price change when the game leaves Early Access?

Most likely we will need to increase the price at release, as we will have a significant amount of reinvestment in the game providing drastically more content at that point.

Do you ever plan to go free to play like other Battle Arena competitors?

Currently we do not ever plan on going free to play as our business model. One benefit of the box cost is it provides insulation to force potential bad actors (cheaters, extremely toxic community members.) to put ‘skin in the game’. As a small bootstrapped indie team we need consistent revenue inflows in order to sustain ourselves and keep the vision and direction of this game within our control. Our game on full release will provide plenty of value to justify maintaining a box cost well into the future.

Can I provide feedback and bug reports?

ABSOLUTELY! For this community to grow and succeed it is vital for us to get feedback, bug reports, and anything else that can help us steer this in the right direction. Our discord is our main place to contact us. Please join us at: https://discord.gg/RtyCEPC7uX (在新标签页中打开)