Hello everyone!
We need to take a moment to talk about the demo.
If you prefer a TL;DR version, here is a Steam thread that's more straight to the point than this blog post!
https://twitter.com/SelacoGame/status/1783947199795036514
What is happening to the demo?
We have made the decision to delist the demo from our Steam Page. However, preservation steps have been taken to ensure it will forever remain accessible.
For starters, all three versions of the demo will soon be uploaded to Archive.org. This includes the initial Nextfest version, the patched version, and 'The Big Update' we launched six months after the demo's initial release. Additionally, anyone is welcome to distribute copies of the demo across the web. There is no DRM for the demo.
Why did we decide to do this?
There are many reasons, but let's discuss the two biggest ones:
1. The demo and full release have incompatible saves
Because of how much the game has changed, saved games cannot carry over. This means that anyone who beats the demo before deciding to purchase the game, will have to immediately redo a (mostly) similar level. This is not how we want to introduce new players to the game, and it may potentially harm the first impression for many.
It is worth noting, though, that the level has been reworked in many areas. If you've actively played the demo before, you will notice these differences right away!
2. It's outdated. Very outdated
While we really love the demo and still find it enjoyable to play through today, it hasn't aged all that well. It is simply not a good representation of the game anymore. Many of the critiques we frequently received are problems we addressed years ago, and many of the suggestions to improve things have been implemented. I still hope to make a blog post in the near future to explain a bunch of these improvements!
To put it bluntly, the upcoming release version blows the demo out of the water. Everything has been refined, portions of the demo map have been reworked, performance is better than ever, and our AI is now capable of much more. Everything feels a lot better. Nothing is left untouched.
Having the demo out there doesn't make us feel as comfortable anymore because we know how much things have improved.
Why not update the demo instead?
We would love to! Unfortunately, updating a demo takes a significant amount of development time away from the full game, which is our current priority. In game development, it's often easy to underestimate how important every single day of development is. Maintaining a demo can easily take away entire weeks of progress from the full game.
Perhaps once we are ready to leave Early Access in the future, we will consider launching a demo that's more representative of the final product. No promises here, but we would love to do it!
What difference does it make to keep it on Steam?
Having it front and center on the Steam Page means the demo will still receive a lot of attention, which could lead to the aforementioned issues. By making it a bit more obscure, we can minimize these problems without sacrificing preservation.
For those who truly wish to play it, it will still be easy to find if you go out of your way to look for it! However, for the broader audience who can see the demo on Steam, we are concerned it may cause too many problems when transitioning to the release version.
Can I make a backup?
You can! If you want to make a backup, you can find all builds in the 'Betas' tab. 'None' is the most up-to-date version of the demo.
While I am not entirely sure, I believe you get to keep the demo if you have it installed on Steam as well!
Conclusion
We hope you understand why we are doing this. We are not fans of delisting demos either, which is why we are taking so many steps to prevent this demo from becoming buried and forgotten.
If you have any questions about this, sound off in the comments and I'll get to you!