A couple weeks ago the second closed Beta invite went out to a few dozen mailing list subscribers. If you didn't get one, there will definitely be at least one more round of closed betas before Early Access, probably more. If you'd like to be included on mailing updates and potentially be included in future betas, you can sign up on the website. The next round of closed betas will start in about two weeks:
http://www.starcomnexus.com/closed-beta-mailing-list-sign-up/
Based on tester's feedback, I feel confident that the game will enter Early Access before the end of the year. While there are some bugs and quality of life feature requests (it is a Beta), most players reported really enjoying the experience. The data suggests they weren't just being polite: almost 90% of the playtesters who installed the game played for at least an hour and almost 90% of those played nearly all of the main story content currently available (roughly 3 hours as of that build).
In other news:
- The game now has a Discord channel where you'll find me most days: https://discord.gg/ezFPXcW
- First pre-release curator review from Space Game Junkie: If you love space exploration akin to Starflight or The Long Journey Home, but without the tedious rover stuff, you'll LOVE Starcom: Nexus. It's fantastic with exploration, discovery and its writing. Given how much I loved Starflight, that made me really happy.
The game still has a ways to go before it's complete. As the playtesters have seen, this is a very content-rich game and it will need a lot more content before it is done. One the main reasons for Early Access: I have a vision for the overall story of Starcom:Nexus, but I want your help filling in the details and the path that takes you to the end.
- Kevin