Hi
i am knew here and i was wondering if LT will be available for Steam Early Access.
This way he could get a lot more funding and people playing early which allows him to get feedback and months more to post updates without people complaining about it not being released yet.

1. Be welcomed ser Beutlin

2. No
it was discussed to death

Oh, ok damn

I'm always curious what people think he would do with more money, since he isn't hiring anyone else... buy fancier Ramen? get a maid? get a small supercomputer? Sure he could work on it longer, but all that money isn't worth jack if all he wants is to go back to school and get on with his life.

Hyperion wrote:I'm always curious what people think he would do with more money, since he isn't hiring anyone else... buy fancier Ramen? get a maid? get a small supercomputer? Sure he could work on it longer, but all that money isn't worth jack if all he wants is to go back to school and get on with his life.

A maid? A supercomputer? Why not both?

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For those that know me, they know I would never suggest this.

However, I honestly think with the way things are, this almost needs revisiting.

LT isn't dead, and Josh has renewed his motivation to continue on. From his previous entries, LTSL has done quite a bit with the game and has made progress faster and easier. We've all discussed LTSL to death and we're still only on the tip of the iceberg.

So while I know the stance (of course I do, I'm one of the ones locking threads in regards to it!), it might actually be worthwhile to open up LT to early access and let the community start helping to complete the game.

I know this is completely backwards to Josh's approach, and one that we as mods have upheld for him. However, there is still a lot that needs to be done, and Josh is only one man (albeit a great and prodiginous one).

As for kickstarter rewards, there could be an easy solution too. Give the beta access to those that pledged at the higher level, and then trickle that release to the masses after say, a month or so.

OR you could even go as far as doing releases in minor and major increments. Give those that pledged for beta every single minor release, and then push that up to a major release for others.

The analogy I'm thinking of is Minecraft with their weekly snapshots and major releases. Yeah, that game isn't 'done' either, but by breaking it down to who gets what, it might ease that along. LT Beta Backers would get the equivalent of weekly snapshots while the rest (or steam early access) gets access to the major releases. Humble Bundle Store has ways of allowing you to even update DRM free versions so no one would be purposely locked into a specific distribution platform. What can also be done to speed things along (and I saw it happen with a few other games) is to create release automation like what Factorio did (halfway down the page) a few weeks ago.

Yeah, we can easily say "Nope" or similar, but I think this warrants a fair and balanced discussion by all. Keep it civil guys, unlocking topics like this is a once-in-a-lifetime moment.

Let's turn this into more of a "How could you accomodate beta backers while still allowing early access" or "if you're an early backer at that level, would this bother you", or even a "is early access the right thing to do" discussion. Let's keep vitriol out, and let's hear what rationale minds have to say.

As someone who never had a chance to back Limit Theory, I support this idea. Let the Elder Counsel be the first to test LT and offer their feedback. As LT becomes more feature complete allow lower backers into the circle and stop at those who pledged for the beta. Once the game has been in beta for at least a month and is feature complete then open it up with Steam Early Access. Use Steam Early Access for testing the stretch goal features as they are implemented. After these features are in LT exit Early Access and advertise as a complete product.

This plan should prevent a lot of bad reviews while also providing Josh with valuable and honest feedback.

I would also support the idea, mainly because I would get to play LT sooner than I otherwise would
You could do it like E:D does it, release new versions for beta backers first and when they're tested to the rest

I don't support this, for one reason: Josh is a perfectionist.

Given how much he controls the information flow via videos etc., I get the feeling that far too much time would be spent trying to get "presentable" Early Access releases, with stop-gap code to hide the imperfections at every stage, that it'd increase the development time significantly.

That and having another avenue of people bitching and moaning isn't usually a good thing.

i'd also personally like to have a "rolling release" sorta kinda, but duck has a definite point

I leave it up to Josh.
I mean, both sides have very good arguments, and there are good reasons for each, but I would just leave it up to Josh.
Although, Josh, getting feedback from the Elder council is probably a very good idea; that's really my only opinion on the matter.

I'm also of the mindset of "Hey, realize that none of this is perfect but it's being worked on" and only open up feedback/bug reports for a select amount of time each month/number of bugs to prevent being overrun by known issues or non-issues or things that will get fixed when other items are put into play.

Yes, Josh is a perfectionist, but if that sort of mindset attributed to a part of being overwhelmed and burnt out, it might be worthwhile to rip that band-aid fast than try to peel it off slowly and agonizingly.

Keep in mind, when I wrote out my thoughts, the idea of "Getting LT into the hands of the people sooner" was actually the last thing on my mind. It was more of progressing to a stable stream of fix/feature mindset that many developers work by (AGILE anyone?).

DWMagus wrote:I'm also of the mindset of "Hey, realize that none of this is perfect but it's being worked on" and only open up feedback/bug reports for a select amount of time each month/number of bugs to prevent being overrun by known issues or non-issues or things that will get fixed when other items are put into play.

Yes, Josh is a perfectionist, but if that sort of mindset attributed to a part of being overwhelmed and burnt out, it might be worthwhile to rip that band-aid fast than try to peel it off slowly and agonizingly.

Keep in mind, when I wrote out my thoughts, the idea of "Getting LT into the hands of the people sooner" was actually the last thing on my mind. It was more of progressing to a stable stream of fix/feature mindset that many developers work by (AGILE anyone?).

Hear, hear! Of course, we should leave the bandaid part to Josh and whoever is helping him through this, but I'm sure that you already thought of that.

Releasing the game into EA is not my cup of tea.

One, we have more than enough beta backers to go ahead and test the whole thing extensively. People who paid good money for this privilege (including me ). That tier of backing didn't sell because it was 'one month early' or 'exclusive snapshots', it sold despite the very inflated price because people wanted active part of development and brainstorming as they tested the game. Early Access would cheapen this considerably, drowning out the voice of the lucky 'few'.

And two, tossing out a half-baked copy to the masses isn't going to do the game any justice. Folks pick it up, play around, meh out at the compatibility breaks and missing features, have their share way before release. It's something we want to avoid, and make the best possible initial impression to the wide market with the first game and biggest dream of solo dev Josh Parnell. Can't do first impressions twice.