Hello! So, first off, thanks for anyone who's kept up with Acro Storm so far, and are looking to get into the game! Now, considering this IS Early Access, we feel it's only right to give you guys some heads up on a few things- namely, how we intend to move going forward, in terms of rolling out content, bug fixes, and the sort as we gun for that finish line called full release!
First, a couple of things we want to note:
- We are always up for suggestions. They might or might not be used, but a large part of the time they're more than welcome to be had.
- Things will, undoubtedly, change. If you have a problem with something like the physics or some of the weapons, or anything else, let us know! (politely, if possible) Chances are you'll see that concern addressed sooner or later.
- We do have certain priorities in terms of what might get looked at sooner than later. That's not to say whatever your concern is will be ignored, but we're trying to make Acro Storm as tight an experience as possible. There will be bugs. We're already gearing up to squash them.
- At the moment there's a lot of missing features. Obviously we intend to fix that as time goes on- Early Access, after all! At the time being, you guys will have access to the following modes: -Grand Prix
-Arcade (Single Race for now)
-Time Trial. We hope you'll have fun with those for now, and give us a lot of feedback, as we expect to improve upon these modes rapidly in the future. Arcade Mode in particular we intend on improving with a myriad of options.
Now, onto the general roadmap! Of course, as stated above, things are subject to change, and the timeframe is fluid, but in general, here's how we're looking at things to come:
- Initially, we want to roll out content in 'packs' of one character + one track at a time. These packs will also contain bugfixes, and generally unless something absolutely gamebreaking is found (this is entirely possible) we'll restrict adjustments and bugfixes for these packs. This will allow us to have a more solid frame of time and general order to things- once a character and track are near complete, we'll generally give a heads up here/in forums, so that if there are any notable bugs you want looked at, there'll be a cutoff date, else they'll be moved to be fixed in the next pack.
- Online functionality. This is a major thing, and we'll be working on it throughout content creation, but at a reduced pace...up until a certain point in time. After we've passed a specific threshold of content, we'll be putting more energy towards online functionality and making sure everything we want works as we'd like.
- Story Mode will take some time, but we're already working on the basics of it. It's obviously intended to be a major part of the game, so expect things to move somewhat slowly here as we make absolutely sure it's up to our standards.
- Graphical quality is important to us, but not quiiite as important as making sure the game runs, runs well, and is generally fun. We intend on giving Acro Storm a newer coat of paint as the days go on, to be certain, and chances are you'll see it happen at least once, but the final graphical improvement pass will likely come not long before full release, after all the (major) bugs have been ironed out and the game is content complete.
One more thing to note- the price. We'll be very up front about this- as Early Access goes on, we feel as though the worth of the game will increase, as content is rolled out, bugs are fixed, and things in general look better. So you can expect a price increase- ONE price increase- in the future before we release in full. We have a specific litmus for it, as well- once all 16 initial tracks have been released (as well as all characters) we will increase the price to $9.99. It will increase once again on full release, and that price is yet to be determined. So it's a good idea to look into buying it sooner than later if you want to get in on the ground floor!
Thank you SO much for your time, interest, and patience. Of course should you have any concerns, complaints, praises, fears, etc, please feel free to let us know in the forums, or by contacting us directly! Thank you for your time, and we'll see you on the racetrack!