I’ve decided it’s time to remove Tile Miner from early access. Here are the reasons why:
1. I’m nowhere near the final release. When I released Tile Miner back in 2014 I had fully expected to release the game within a year to a year and a half. Development always takes longer than I think it will. At this point my estimation for a final release is 2-4 years from now. That blows my mind. When I entered early access I expected 1.5 years and now 2.5 years later I expect ANOTHER 2-4 years. With the actual release being so far out I can’t possibly imagine keeping a community of people who have purchased the game excited with the progress. It’s just unrealistic.
2. I don’t have the bandwidth for a quality early access experience. If a quality early access experience was a release once a year with a 3-4 times a year update I think I could swing that. But I believe a quality early access experience includes weekly if not daily updates with a release every 1-3 months. That’s not even close to feasible for me. I don’t want to sell people on an early access experience I can’t actually provide.
3. Focusing on the final release will make it come sooner. If I’m making 6 updates before launch day it’s going to take longer to get there. Every update requires extra polishing and making sure it’s ready for public consumption. Releasing one time instead of 6 will make a huge difference on how long it takes for the game to be released. I may release a closed beta before final release for bug testing purposes. But it will be the full game. Not a partial release.
There are other little reasons besides this but these are the big ones. I’m sorry to everyone who’s been a part of this process and hoping for a great early access experience. I can’t provide that. In the end I think what everyone wants is a great game. My hope is that in the end I can at least provide that. Thanks!