What the developers have to say:

Why Early Access?

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

2 months > Campaign polish and balancing



> Campaign polish and balancing 1 month > Heroes Of Might and Magic-like province screens with visualization of

all build assets (both snow and grasslands)



> Heroes Of Might and Magic-like province screens with visualization of all build assets (both snow and grasslands) 1-2 months > Arcade mode (TD only) with the original 26 maps of the campaign,

playable at various difficulty levels and a custom-made upgrade system (similar to the core game but based on arcade mode progress)



> Arcade mode (TD only) with the original 26 maps of the campaign, playable at various difficulty levels and a custom-made upgrade system (similar to the core game but based on arcade mode progress) 1 month > Full merged in-game encyclopedia inc. Towers, Tower Abilities,

Buildings, Enemies, Cooldown Abilities, Province assets and encountered characters.



> Full merged in-game encyclopedia inc. Towers, Tower Abilities, Buildings, Enemies, Cooldown Abilities, Province assets and encountered characters. 1 month > Integration of Steamworks achievements and leaderboards



> Integration of Steamworks achievements and leaderboards 2 weeks > Add features to main map Scouting (display preview of enemies types

and numbers, etc)



> Add features to main map Scouting (display preview of enemies types and numbers, etc) 2 weeks > Special effects for battle map Cooldown abilities



> Special effects for battle map Cooldown abilities 1 month > Additional features to building and research queue systems



> Additional features to building and research queue systems 1 month > Personalized start character for Sandbox mode, Sandbox mode

pseudo-procedural elements

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

Full campaign with 5 Chapters,26 battle maps and research system



All the 17 Towers and 5 Buildings



All the 20 Enemy units



Sandbox mode with free-roaming main map



Arcade mode with 26 different battle maps

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“After almost 5 years in development and several Alpha builds, Empires in Ruins is now entering a crucial final stretch. The very core of EiR is in place; the gameplay has been finalized, the campaign is ready, and the battle maps are planned out and laboriously tested. Nevertheless, we are left with polishing, prototyping and testing optional features, fine tuning, and introducing a few quality-of-life features and aesthetic improvements.We decided that Early Access will provide us with the perfect setting to review these tasks and features, with the players being at the helm of deciding what makes it into the final version and what gets summarily ditched.”“Having planned on a roadmap, we believe that Empires in Ruins can easily leave Early Access after a period of 12 months. More specifically, we will need:Along with the roadmap framed above, we expect that Early Access feedback will provide a constant source of invaluable bug splatting and gameplay and difficulty balancing.”“The main difference will be obvious in the level of polish and balance. We aim to release the full version of the game bug-free, visually robust, and loaded with the features we envisioned.Gameplay-wise, thewill feature more options for Scouting, Diplomacy, Management and information in the form of an in-game Encyclopedia.Thewill have improved balance, some map-unique events and props, and an additional layer of optimization and visual effects.Thewill have its own research-tree system (a variant of the campaign tech tree) and map-unique leaderboards and statistics. Basically, a number of highly requested nerdy stats. We’re so proud of you!”“The game has all the core features, a lot of the “extras,” but lacks several aesthetic elements, balancing, and overall polish. There is also a number of potential gameplay elements and partly developed features that we would love to test with actual players in order to decide how they would work best, and whether or not they would fit to the final release.In detail, it's already available:“During Early Access, Empires in Ruins will be available for a lower price. We expect the difference with the full release to be on the. We plan to gradually raise the price as we ship new content and features. We strongly believe that it’s only fair that people who are able to support us early on and want to get involved in further testing and developing EiR, pay less to own the game!”“Most of the members of the team will be present in two channels; the Steam community forums and our official Discord channel. We have been blessed with a passionate core community which already provides us with daily feedback and lots of interaction in both!We also expect to be able to release a weekly blog entry on Early Access development and changes, as well as stream gameplay sessions where the team can interact with our fans and followers.For those looking for more, we plan to keep a Trello board open with live information about the Early Access development progress.”