Soldato
- Joined
- 17 Aug 2003
- Posts
- 20,160
- Location
- Woburn Sand Dunes
Stick to your day job, IMO.
Early Access is now officially out of hand
- Thread starter saintdefender
- Start date
Stick to your day job, IMO.
Subnautica is a great example too.
Exactly what I do. "We Happy Few" has been on my wish list for ages.
I half agree with this, I agree that its getting out of hand, but not that 'something needs to be done'. Nobody is forcing any of us to buy early access games, if enough people keep supporting them then its just going to continue. @Darujhistan is right, if a little harsh (and obviously the grammar correction was unnecessary). I feel like this may sort itself out in time anyway, as more and more people get bitten then there will be less people willing to support these games.
Its a really odd one anyway when you think about it, even if you really like the look of a game why would you want to play it in an unfinished and buggy state. I can't imagine this working for any other form of entertainment or product.
Personally I got bitten with Godus, I somehow got sucked into the excitement as I loved the original so much, but that's put me off any other early access.
Its a really odd one anyway when you think about it, even if you really like the look of a game why would you want to play it in an unfinished and buggy state. I can't imagine this working for any other form of entertainment or product.
Personally I got bitten with Godus, I somehow got sucked into the excitement as I loved the original so much, but that's put me off any other early access.
- Joined
- 7 Dec 2008
- Posts
- 757
Seems you can do, not that I ever bothered to check all this time though as I ignore most of what the store throws at me.
Click name in top right corner and go preferences.
This is a masterstroke, thank you for pointing this out to me and others who didn't know.
I've only ever backed one Early Access title - the excellent GRIP - and that was only because I'm friends with the Lead Programmer from my ATD days. Otherwise, I deliberately avoid them. For me, the number of games I'm actually going to have time to play through more than once is pretty tiny and I've got a library full of barely played Steam games. I'd much rather experience the game for the first time when it's complete and finished rather than play an unfinished version and spoil myself for the final product.
It does help smaller outfits with their cashflow problems so there's that.
It does help smaller outfits with their cashflow problems so there's that.
Permabanned
- Joined
- 9 Aug 2009
- Posts
- 12,234
- Location
- UK
Legend, ty.
Seems you can do, not that I ever bothered to check all this time though as I ignore most of what the store throws at me.
Click name in top right corner and go preferences.
Associate
- Joined
- 28 Nov 2016
- Posts
- 460
You reminded me, I bought Squad on release and its the only game I refunded ironically.
I have bought 3 EA titles
Rust - Not a fan, but people that like it get thousands of hours out of it
7 days 2 die - Awesome game, have put 500 hours into it and every update brings new content. Its very nearly out of EA as well.
Subnautica - Bought after it was out of EA, but it goes to show the system can work.
Rust - Not a fan, but people that like it get thousands of hours out of it
7 days 2 die - Awesome game, have put 500 hours into it and every update brings new content. Its very nearly out of EA as well.
Subnautica - Bought after it was out of EA, but it goes to show the system can work.
Soldato
- Joined
- 23 Dec 2009
- Posts
- 18,217
- Location
- RG8 9
Without early access most of the games would never see the light of day. So if you are happy with just AAA titles which you pay through the nose for then fair enough.
If you are willing to take a punt on a smaller developer with the associated risks, then early access is the only way to go. These small developers cannot conjure up money and games need a lot of money and care to come to fruition.
If you are willing to take a punt on a smaller developer with the associated risks, then early access is the only way to go. These small developers cannot conjure up money and games need a lot of money and care to come to fruition.
I think early access is a great idea, many hidden gems would have never been finished and released. Games like Factorio, FTL, Kerbal Space Program, Prison Architect and Eleven Table Tennis are just a few of the examples. Like all things, you have to be careful.
FTL was kickstarted rather than Early Access, wasn't it?
You are right, It was, I remember now, I bought it on release for a discount.
Umm, there were non-AAA and indie games before early access. Sure there may be some decent games that would not exist without early access, or maybe a small publisher would have taken a punt on one of those? If it was just the odd game that didn't make it to completion I'd agree it was a great thing, but its not is it.
Early Access also hugely increases production time and cost. Developers need to spend a lot of time polishing the wrong bits to make a playable game and keep it playable instead of working on more valuable stuff.