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this post was submitted on 18 Feb 2024
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I swear the last half a dozen games I wishlisted have all been early access. I refuse to pay for a game to be a beta tester. I can't be the only person who dislikes this approach to modern game releases.
If it's done well, it's an excellent process. It lets smaller studios start getting paid earlier, which helps significantly. It also lets them establish a strong feedback loop with their player base.
Factorio is an excellent example. The player base provided instant feedback on the gameplay, as they brought in more features. They also weren't afraid to change things that didn't quite work as well as planned. It also helped guide where to focus efficiency efforts.
Unfortunately, a number of big companies have jumped on the bandwagon. They don't quite get what early access is good for, and just use it as an excuse for bugs, as well as to drum up cheap advertising.
Or an excuse to dump whatever they have built so far and say "we'll finish it" and never do.
Another great example is Project Zomboid.
I think they're the worse example of early access.
It's a stable game for years. And the early access title is hurting it.
Move it to the Terraria's and Minecraft's of the world, and continue releasing new features, rather than this purgatory of refusing to call it a "completed" game.
It's not finished though. They don't have NPCs etc which is the scope they set out to do, but it's a great game and very polished in its own right.
Drg survivor has been done right too as was drg. GSG is a great developer.
Depends on the developer tbh.
I concur. I usually avoid early access games unless I know the devs' reputation(s), or have already heard good things about it (Project Zomboid, Factorio, Deep Rock Galactic, Subnautica, BattleBit, Lethal Company, and Palworld just to name a few).
But I've also heard horror stories of devs taking the EA money and dumping the game before it's finished. Though I haven't heard anything like that in a while.
Subnautica is an amazing game that I really enjoyed experiencing, but even the full release was buggy. I can't imagine playing a game where atmosphere is so important and then being pulled out of it by bugs.
That is true. I forgot about that with Subnautica. I remember experiencing lag spikes with terrible texture pop-in when entering new biomes. I remember watching a streamer play a version near release and he built a large base to mess with one of the leviathans. But it caused the game to seriously lag. In the following video, he says the devs asked for his save file so they could use it to optimize their programming. I don't remember how much of an impact it made, but it did improve a little.
I dislike it too, but not always. It's usually dependent on how long they start in EA. If you read their "how long will this be in EA" and they say anything more than 1 year, or they make vague statements that don't give you a time scale, it's almost always a pass from me.
Genre also matters. Roguelites are great EA games since normally they just flesh out the item pool. Crypt of the Necrodancer was great in EA. Survival games tend to stay in EA forever.
You have to know what you're buying into. It's not a finished game.
When you say "survival games stay in ea forever", I don't follow. Does that mean the game is never done?
I've been like that for years now. You do not need it. Fuck FOMO.
The only times I didn't wait were games that had millions already, like Valheim, V Rising. And while they were pretty polished honestly, I hate that I have to wait years for updates. Don't get me started on Project Zomboid's abuse of the early access title.
The one time I bought a Early access that was 100% absolutely worth it was Against the Storm. They made Early access like a conversation between player and dev. Baldurs Gate 3's early access (for like two years straight) was also like this!
But the 10 other times I did early access, it was a major headache and not worth it. Do it because you WANT to help the dev. Don't do it if you just want to play something.
Especially since there's so many polished games out now.
I only play single player games anyway. There's nothing I am missing out on by waiting.