Hi everyone. The JoE team have just updated the roadmap to give an up-to-date summary of what you can expect over the next few months of development. Take a look at the image below to see what fancy new features you can expect to see moving forward into the future.
End of 2021 Roadmap
Click on the image above (stay on Steam) or here, to see an enlarged version of the roadmap on our official website http://playjoe.gg/roadmap/
Early Access FAQ
Secondly, we would like to take the opportunity to share our newly updated FAQs to help answer any questions you might have about the game's early access stage. Steam’s official Early Access FAQs have predefined questions, so this post will cover a few extra questions we think you might want to know. If there’s anything you are unsure of not covered by the FAQs, please feel free to drop us your questions in our Discord (https://discord.gg/playgoegame).
Why Early Access?
In May 2019, we temporarily launched an alpha prototype of the game on to Steam alongside our fundraising Kickstarter campaign. Following the fundraising period, we intentionally closed the store page because the game was not sufficiently developed for the majority of people to enjoy (this is why our storefront says May 2019). Now, three years later, Jaws of Extinction is ready to start it’s journey into Early Access. The game has developed massively during its time in Alpha, and we are now confident in sharing our progress with everybody. There is still much to do during Early Access, but the game is at a stage where we feel that the majority of people playing will have a fun and memorable experience.
What is included in Early Access and what to expect?
Early Access includes the basic version of the game and 4 player co-op, which will be only available in an experimental state to start with. Almost all of the core mechanics are available with some systems still being developed.
Some of the features already in the game are: base building, hunting, cooking, swimming, trading and traders, firearms and basic melee combat, hostile and friendly NPCs, quests, vehicles, crafting and harvesting.
How much of the world is available in Early Access?
The playable area currently consists of approximately a fifth of the map. Since Eden-Nadir is so large, this is actually a massive area already. The world will continue to grow over time as gameplay mechanics become more complete, meaning we can concentrate on filling out the remainder of the map.
Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?
We approximate that Early Access will be around 2 - 3 years from the launch of Multiplayer, as we are aware that JoE is a very ambitious game for such a very small team.
How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?
Early Access is about implementing the fundamental game mechanics and making the game stable and enjoyable to play. Once the game is ready to leave Early Access, we expect the gameplay mechanics to be well refined and the world to be complete.
Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?
Yes, we are selling JoE at a reduced price during Early Access because we don’t consider it fair to charge people the full price when they don’t get the full game yet. When the game is finished we will charge full price.
Will Downloadable Content be available, and what is to be expected?
DLC will be available at multiple points during development to help support the game and to give a little something back to the community helping us to grow the game. We only plan on aesthetic content and character outfits of which will NOT include any kind of pay-to-win aspects. DLC content such as world expansions will be considered after full release.
Will my game saves work across updates?
Your game saves will typically work following an update, although as gameplay features are updated, loaded games may cause those features to not work as expected in some cases.
How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?
We already have a flourishing community on Discord (https://discord.gg/playjoegame), Steam and our social media pages. We encourage our players to share and discuss their thoughts with us and a lot of the feedback we have received has been taken on board; some of it even shaping the game. We love hearing what everyone has to say and if it is constructive we will find a way to use it.
Is it possible to provide feedback and bug reports?
Feedback and comments are always most welcome. Please visit our Discord (https://discord.gg/playjoegame) to get in touch. Additionally, you can press [F1] in game to fill out a form to send us specific issues you have found.