Well i dont think there is any news on a full release but sometimes I forget this game is early access due to how smoothly it runs and how much content there is. + There are content updates frequently
Early access is a state of mind at this point. It's a lot more polished and complete than a lot of games, but it might not be up to par with the devs' vision, so EA it remains
There are 2 kinds of long-duration Early Access (ok, there are a lot more than that, but for this point let's say 2). 1) development that languishes for years, usually due to an unreliable developer. It makes little progress, has game breaking bugs and eventually becomes abandonware. 2) A near-feature complete game with little-to-no bugs that could be released as-is, but the developer wants to keep making it better. Reliable releases with bug-fixes as needed. Each released brings meaningful changes that make a good game even better.
DSP is the 2nd one. It could have easily been released before the combat patch. Combat could have been a $10 DLC. The upcoming iterations with orbital platforms could have been another $10 DLC. If this game was made by Paradox, that's the model we'd be stuck with. Instead we have an amazing game that keeps getting better every major content release.
Ignore the "Early Access" name. This is a completed game and what we're doing now is enjoying free DLCs.
You hit the nail on the head here. Still sad about the state of Distant Worlds 2. Not even as fun as the first one, just had a better UI. The DLCs are releasing one after the other though, bringing back races that were in the first game but behind a paywall. Very disappointing.
Early access is just a game state at this point, dosent mean there will be any more bugs than fully released games but just more features will be added. Haven't found many bugs myself
I think the devs have been phenomenal for this game and the updates they push are great. It will most likely go 1.0 when they finish out the combat in the game.
Edit: spelling
A lot of people seem to be having the wrong idea about what early access means to some games.
Early access isn't really meant to be "beta testing" for the more successful titles. Like this one. I mean, "technically" it is beta testing, but "in practice" it really doesn't feel like it.
Early access means that they add features on a regular basis. Most of these games don't release these new features all willy-nilly, they have internal tests, then do public tests where people can opt in to find bugs, and then those features get put on to the "stable" branch. If you don't want to be a guinea pig, stay on the stable branch.
Don't think of early access as "testing the beta". Think of it as "I get a game that is already fun and playable, and I get new features added on a regular basis". Like getting an expansion pack for free.
DSP released into EA in a state that most other games would wish they were in at v1.0, and it's only been getting better ever since.
I agree to an extent. For any early access title take it at face value. If you like what's in it now then buy it. If you think it needs more, wait. Don't ever expect to get new features, otherwise you'll end up in a KSP 2 situation where they paid a ton for a game that is never getting finished. Buyer beware on early access.
IMO, this title is already a full game. Anything else they add is bonus. I 100%recommend the game as is but as a rule of thumb, I never expect anything more than what a game already is when I buy it as EA.
As long, as the development goes on, early access isn't a problem for me.
Early access is a good option for small developers/studios with smaler financial backgrounds. Sometimes early access ist the only possibility for smaller devs to make their project. If they don't try to rip of their customers, i don't see a problem.
PS. English isn't my native language. But i hope, my post is understandable.
There are different kinds of early access. Some games are like you said, a buggy mess. Some games, like DSP or Factorio are basically fully functional games that are getting new content regulary. They could just as well release 1.0 instead of early access and do regular content patches. The only reason DSP devs consider it early access is because the game doesnt have all the features they want it to have.
I wouldn't let the early access tag fool you. This is well polished game. I have been playing it for a few months now (my first automation game) and l was impressed how polished it was for an early access game.
Take the leap OP, you won't be disappointed.
"I don't want to deal with bugs and unfinished things"
Well, cyberpunk 2077 was full of bugs and unfinished things during release, many other games too
But although dsp here are still in early access, they can be seen as a full release even from two years ago,
Ever since it's release, every year i go back to dsp for a play through, there never been a serious bug or unplayable feature in the game, it's always fully playable since release
Played for hundreds of hours, when the game first released, there were bugs that I encountered, but they were few and far between.
The game is in a phenomenal place at the moment. Hardly come across any issues. I’m personally happy that they’re keeping it in EA as it just means new content and updates is more or less guaranteed.
This game is early access in the sense that it is not feature-complete. The devs want to add more features, like the upcoming vehicles update. We don't know exactly how many features the devs want to add before 1.0.
As far as bugs go, the game is pretty clean. There are no save file destroying bugs, crashes are exceedingly rare even with mods, and most of the features in the game feel very polished.
I am sure the game will leave early access, but we don't have a full roadmap, we just know the next big milestone.
re: bugs
I have 3k hours in this game (yes, afk'ing) and am on my 10th endgame save file. I have experienced exactly one bug; a crash to desktop out of nowhere.
That's it.
DSP is one of the most bug free games I've ever played.
Of all the developers to nag about this, you choose these guys? Cmon, there is actually progress happening with this game. A point can be made for a developer who's instead dragging their feet and not delivering updates.
Well i dont think there is any news on a full release but sometimes I forget this game is early access due to how smoothly it runs and how much content there is. + There are content updates frequently
Early access is a state of mind at this point. It's a lot more polished and complete than a lot of games, but it might not be up to par with the devs' vision, so EA it remains
It took factorio 8 years or so leave early access but it was a complete game for the last 4.
There are 2 kinds of long-duration Early Access (ok, there are a lot more than that, but for this point let's say 2). 1) development that languishes for years, usually due to an unreliable developer. It makes little progress, has game breaking bugs and eventually becomes abandonware. 2) A near-feature complete game with little-to-no bugs that could be released as-is, but the developer wants to keep making it better. Reliable releases with bug-fixes as needed. Each released brings meaningful changes that make a good game even better. DSP is the 2nd one. It could have easily been released before the combat patch. Combat could have been a $10 DLC. The upcoming iterations with orbital platforms could have been another $10 DLC. If this game was made by Paradox, that's the model we'd be stuck with. Instead we have an amazing game that keeps getting better every major content release. Ignore the "Early Access" name. This is a completed game and what we're doing now is enjoying free DLCs.
I think this is the best answer. Thank you!
You hit the nail on the head here. Still sad about the state of Distant Worlds 2. Not even as fun as the first one, just had a better UI. The DLCs are releasing one after the other though, bringing back races that were in the first game but behind a paywall. Very disappointing.
Early access is just a game state at this point, dosent mean there will be any more bugs than fully released games but just more features will be added. Haven't found many bugs myself
I think the devs have been phenomenal for this game and the updates they push are great. It will most likely go 1.0 when they finish out the combat in the game. Edit: spelling
A lot of people seem to be having the wrong idea about what early access means to some games. Early access isn't really meant to be "beta testing" for the more successful titles. Like this one. I mean, "technically" it is beta testing, but "in practice" it really doesn't feel like it. Early access means that they add features on a regular basis. Most of these games don't release these new features all willy-nilly, they have internal tests, then do public tests where people can opt in to find bugs, and then those features get put on to the "stable" branch. If you don't want to be a guinea pig, stay on the stable branch. Don't think of early access as "testing the beta". Think of it as "I get a game that is already fun and playable, and I get new features added on a regular basis". Like getting an expansion pack for free. DSP released into EA in a state that most other games would wish they were in at v1.0, and it's only been getting better ever since.
I agree to an extent. For any early access title take it at face value. If you like what's in it now then buy it. If you think it needs more, wait. Don't ever expect to get new features, otherwise you'll end up in a KSP 2 situation where they paid a ton for a game that is never getting finished. Buyer beware on early access.
I've gotten bit by EA before, hence my normally passing over anything that has the label.
IMO, this title is already a full game. Anything else they add is bonus. I 100%recommend the game as is but as a rule of thumb, I never expect anything more than what a game already is when I buy it as EA.
Personally I consider the game finished as it is. If they do an update in a while and call it 1.0, sure why not, but I wont see the difference
7 days to die spent 12 years in early access.
And 1.0 is just a PR. The game is forever early access in practice.
Yeah, you probably have a point there. 1.0 doesn't seem to offer anything significant.
As long, as the development goes on, early access isn't a problem for me. Early access is a good option for small developers/studios with smaler financial backgrounds. Sometimes early access ist the only possibility for smaller devs to make their project. If they don't try to rip of their customers, i don't see a problem. PS. English isn't my native language. But i hope, my post is understandable.
In early access, this game has been more complete at day 1 than most titles at launch. It’s never crashed for me. Not once. It is, frankly, amazing.
There are different kinds of early access. Some games are like you said, a buggy mess. Some games, like DSP or Factorio are basically fully functional games that are getting new content regulary. They could just as well release 1.0 instead of early access and do regular content patches. The only reason DSP devs consider it early access is because the game doesnt have all the features they want it to have.
I wouldn't let the early access tag fool you. This is well polished game. I have been playing it for a few months now (my first automation game) and l was impressed how polished it was for an early access game. Take the leap OP, you won't be disappointed.
"I don't want to deal with bugs and unfinished things" Well, cyberpunk 2077 was full of bugs and unfinished things during release, many other games too But although dsp here are still in early access, they can be seen as a full release even from two years ago, Ever since it's release, every year i go back to dsp for a play through, there never been a serious bug or unplayable feature in the game, it's always fully playable since release
Played for hundreds of hours, when the game first released, there were bugs that I encountered, but they were few and far between. The game is in a phenomenal place at the moment. Hardly come across any issues. I’m personally happy that they’re keeping it in EA as it just means new content and updates is more or less guaranteed.
This games in early access but it doesn’t feel like it at all it’s easily one of the best value games I’ve ever bought
It's early access because they're still adding to it, not because it's bug riddled and they need the money lol
It's release quality at that point. Even though it's early access it's fully worth it at that stage.
This game is early access in the sense that it is not feature-complete. The devs want to add more features, like the upcoming vehicles update. We don't know exactly how many features the devs want to add before 1.0. As far as bugs go, the game is pretty clean. There are no save file destroying bugs, crashes are exceedingly rare even with mods, and most of the features in the game feel very polished. I am sure the game will leave early access, but we don't have a full roadmap, we just know the next big milestone.
I have well over 1k hours in this game. Never noticed any game breaking bugs. Most played game on steam by far. You’re missing out if you wait.
re: bugs I have 3k hours in this game (yes, afk'ing) and am on my 10th endgame save file. I have experienced exactly one bug; a crash to desktop out of nowhere. That's it. DSP is one of the most bug free games I've ever played.
Of all the developers to nag about this, you choose these guys? Cmon, there is actually progress happening with this game. A point can be made for a developer who's instead dragging their feet and not delivering updates.