Hi folks.
Just wanted to post a quick update and a few announcements. Again, gonna do it in Q&A form to keep it short.
Q: What’s the progress on the Steam Beta?
A: The Steam Beta is up and some Prismata players are already using it. Additionally, Valve just approved a big wave of keys to give out.
These will be going out to our supporters very soon (Kickstarter backers, plus people who backed Prismata using Paypal instead of Kickstarter). You’ll get an email when they’re ready!
Q: How much longer for Kickstarter supporters?
A: Only a few days.
We discovered one bug in the Steam version that’s a bit serious (it can cause Steam users to access the regular version of the Prismata shop instead of the Steam Wallet version, which Valve would not be too happy about), so we’ll be fixing that one first (it’s a bit complicated and related to version updates).
Updates turned out to be an unexpectedly big pain in the ass, not because Steam makes it particularly difficult, but because Prismata needs the client and server to always be version-synced, so even the smallest problem can be a huge issue if not handled properly. We have to do a lot of manual QA, which takes time.
Q: When are Achievements launching?
A: The same time that the aforementioned Steam keys and email are going out.
Q: I’m not a Kickstarter supporter, can I get a Steam Beta key?
A: Valve generally doesn’t let developers give beta access on Steam to the general public (they make an exception for Kickstarter supporters). That said, I’ll be giving a bunch of Steam keys away on our twitch channel soon; if you’re a long-time Prismata player, I’ll absolutely send you one.
Q: When will Prismata be *publicly* available on Steam?
A: We don’t want to give a date until we’re absolutely sure, but we’re close. There’s still a bit of campaign and sound work remaining, but that’s mostly all that’s left, beyond a seemingly unending amount of polish and fixing to satisfy our stifling perfectionist tendencies.
Q: Mac desktop version?
A: Yep, we’re on it. The plan is to make it publicly available soon for testing so that it’s 100% battle-tested before we launch public Steam Early Access.
Q: When is the Prismata Beta World Championship?
A: We’re gonna start running a series of “Grand Prix” events in early 2017.
Q: Will the format be the same as the Prismata Alpha World Championship last year?
A: We’re still deciding, but there will definitely be some changes. One planned change is to provide the winner of each Grand Prix event with a guaranteed ticket into the playoffs (and retire them from participating in the remaining Grand Prix heats).
Q: Any other events planned?
A: Yes! A bunch of small tourneys in November and December.
Lunarch will be running a series of 1-day tournaments over the next couple of months; a “pre-season” if you will. For example, we’re thinking about running a weekly Swiss with prizes for top finishers and random draw prizes for all participants. Our goal is to make something fun for new players, returning players, and experienced players alike, without demanding more than a few hours of commitment at a time.
We’re gonna do some blitz events too!
Q: How are things?
A: Great! I’m incredibly optimistic about our launch, and sorry that it’s taking so long! It will be worth the wait!