published on November 11, 2018 in devlog
Hey everyone, this week's log will be slightly different from our usual ones. If you're the type of person who likes a game like Prosperous Universe, you're most likely good with numbers. And in that case you'll have noticed that this is development log number "3 * 52". Due to this significant if arbitrary anniversary, the honor is mine this week to give you a brief look at what we've accomplished so far and - more importantly - what lies ahead.
Three years is a long time!
Let's get this out of the way first: Three years is a crazy long time! And to be perfectly honest, we wanted to be further than we are at this point. Nevertheless, we're beyond happy that we made it this far and that we managed to keep the company afloat and the development running continuously since late 2015. In that time, we've grown the team both here and over at AirlineSim and we've found a mode of operation that might be somewhat slow but is stable and works for us!
We were busy!
While we had early prototypes ready in 2016 already, we spent a lot of time on making Prosperous Universe the quirky, special beast it is: We completely rewrote the whole UI code (at least) once to get it where it is today. We worked countless hours on the features that form the very foundation of the game to make sure they work even after the "no reset" release. We might have lost a bit of time to occasional onsets of feature creep…but hey, we're just human, too! All in all, I think we created a robust base for very, very cool stuff to come in the near and long-term future!
Time to get serious! Time for "First Access"!
This has been all nice and dandy, but after three years and five closed alpha tests we are more than ready to finally take everything a step further. Cue the "First Access" release!
Never heard the term? This is what it means to us:
- For the first time, everyone will be able to join the game by just creating an account and becoming a licensee (more on that below) instead of having to ask on the forums.
- The release will introduce some pretty big new features, namely Corporations and Planetary Projects.
- The game will still be very much in development - more alpha then beta - and several resets like during the alpha tests can and most likely will occur.
But most importantly, this will be a "release" in the sense that you will be able to become a First Access Licensee to support the development of Prosperous Universe. We don't have a publisher, we don't have any investors and generally we don't have anyone telling us what to do or not to do. But this independence comes at the price of always running low on money. With this release, we ask you for your help in getting Prosperous Universe across the finishing line.
More details will follow, but we will offer different tiers ranging from very basic access throughout the First Access phase to more pricey packs offering a range of perks, including your permanent place in the credits of the game!
And last but not least: Anyone who's participated in our alpha tests so far will get basic First Access for free as a kind of early adopter bonus!
Onwards to Early Access
We intend the First Access phase to last at least half a year but judging from previous experience, it might take a tad longer than that. During that time we'll add what we tend to call the "killer features" internally: The features that finally add the exciting and complex meta game that PrUn is essentially about. Once these are completed, we will switch into Early Access with the main difference being that the game will be free to play for anyone but will offer the full range of features to paying licensees only (no worries: old-school freemium, not micro-transactions or pay-2-win!).
And with this, I conclude this little anniversary special! If you like our project, please consider becoming a First Access Licensee in December. We massively appreciate your support! Until then feel free to join us on the forums and let us know what you think!
Happy trading!