Hello Everyone,
So, you’re interested in helping improve to the Winter Ember experience, and want to try the experimental build? Read ahead! Here, you will find information about how to opt into the Community Beta Branch and what you can expect.
First and foremost, a warning about using the Community Beta Branch! We have massively refactored the save system, now including the ability to quick save! By agreeing to play on the beta version of Winter Ember, you acknowledge you may not be able to return to the original version of Winter Ember and will have to wait until we merge the beta version to the main branch. To avoid this, we HIGHLY RECOMMEND you backup your current save by creating a copy of it and storing it in a different location before testing on the Community Beta Branch. The path of your save file should be: …Users[YourName]\AppData\Local\WinterEmber\Saved\SaveGames Note: AppData will be a hidden folder.
What is the Community Beta Branch?
The Community Beta Branch is a beta test branch for Winter Ember, where we will push updated builds for community feedback before it is ready for the main branch. If you would like to help us shape the Winter Ember experience, you will be able to play the newest updated features, new systems, and bug fixes in the builds that get pushed to this branch.
How can I play on the Community Beta Branch?
Opting into the Community Beta Branch is simple and easy. Right click Winter Ember in your Steam Library and go to Properties. Click into the BETAS section and select the Community Beta Branch from the drop-down menu. You should then see Steam update your game.
What if I no longer want to play on the Community Beta Branch?
Opting out of the Community Beta Branch is the same process as opting in, except instead of selecting the Community Beta Branch from the drop-down menu, simply select ‘None’. You should see Steam update your game build back to the main branch. Make sure you swap in your backed-up save files from before you opted into the Community Beta Branch, to ensure smooth gameplay when returning to the main version of Winter Ember. Naturally, you will lose all progress made in the beta version. Using save files from the beta version of Winter Ember on the main version of Winter Ember is COMPLETELY UNTESTED.
The same logic of backing up your beta save files holds true if you plan to opt back into the beta version later, or wish to continue from the progress you have made in the beta version when we finally release the new version to the main branch.
How often will you be updating the Community Beta Branch?
We currently don’t have a specific schedule or cadence for experimental updates. We are continuing to read and address community feedback as well as feedback from our internal QA teams. As we are currently reworking many things that are larger than simple ‘bug fixes’ and contain changes to design-related features, we will first and foremost be pushing these new builds to this Community Beta Branch.
Where can I find patch notes for the experimental builds?
Patch notes will continually be posted on Steam as normal. We will be sure to make it clear if any patch notes are referring to changes in the Community Beta Branch.
How do I report issues or give feedback?
You may continue to report issues as normal either through discussion on Steam or by sending us an email at [email protected]
Thank you very much for supporting us as we continue to improve and update Winter Ember! Please send us your feedback about the new changes in the Community Beta Branch, even if it is just to let us know that it improves the Winter Ember experience positively! Your feedback is very much appreciated!