Dev Diary #100

[Aleš Ulm 1725]

Hey there, Ylanders!

It's been some time since we last talked, right? I've been sooo busy with getting 1.0 through the door that I barely have time for anything else.

What later became Dev Diaries had started on 12th July 2016. I've been talking with you about our plans, achievements and fails for quite some time and now, when there's big news to be told, I'm here again to both tell you about it and then discuss with you any potential concerns.

Let's cut right to the chase: with version 1.0 Ylands goes Free to Play, or to be more exact, most of it is. For new players, Exploration will be available in a separate Exploration pack whilst Early Accessers will already have this pack and all that comes with it.

Why are we doing this?

Ylands is predominantly a creators platform. For a platform, it is crucial to be available to as many players (and creators) as possible. Because of this, changing to a Free to Play format is a logical step. With this one "simple" step, suddenly a massive number of players will be able to access Ylands, play it and create new content. There will be more creators resulting in a higher quality of games and more players to play these games (monetized or not). We never wanted the premium model to be what keeps this beautiful platform alive in the future - this can be achieved only by a strong and transparent ecosystem with enough creators and players.

At the same time, we believe strongly that Exploration brings a unique experience and is worth the money. With 1.0 it will get a lot better and we will keep enhancing it for many years to come. However, please note, that currently, Exploration will be available only on the PC, not mobile devices. The reason for this is simple: We don't want to compromise the PC Exploration experience for the sake of the Mobile version.

Also, one thing needs to be clearly said. Even though this is an add-on, this doesn't mean we are planning to add others like this one. We are not in the "DLC" business. It's just a convenient way how to make an already existing specific part of Ylands premium on Steam. We are focusing all our work on making all of the different aspects of the game better, be it Exploration, Sandbox Mode, Playlands or the Editor.

 

How much will the Exploration pack cost?

We are planning to sell the Exploration pack containing the Exploration mode, a hefty amount of Coyns and some cool cosmetics and pets for 20 USD. Early Accessers, of course, won't have to buy this, as they'll already have the Exploration mode unlocked and they'll get the extra items and Coyns upon release.

What about you, the players who already bought Ylands in Early Access? 

You helped us get where we are now and we will not forget. It goes without saying that for you nothing changes - basically you already own Exploration. In addition to that, you'll get every bonus that those who buy Exploration separately get (a truly epic special costume, a great pet and coyns). And on top of that the promised pet that only you, the Early Access supporters will own.

When planning this, the most important thing on our mind was to make sure this doesn't affect you in a negative way. I'm happy to say that you will always be the ones who get the best deal because you stuck with us for all those years.
 

What will happen to coyns you currently possess and all your purchases?

You will keep all your coyns, purchased costumes, pets etc. as we move into 1.0.

What does this mean for Ylands itself?

If anything, the only change you'll probably notice will be us putting more continuous effort into making the Exploration mode more awesome. Ylands will release as a free game for everyone with the mobile version being also free. This will mean, that anyone will be able to make a game on their PC and jump right on to their mobile device to play it there and share their game with their friends and others in the community. 

The mobile platform truly lends a huge new aspect to the game, because for creators it brings a brand new audience to create for and connect with and in the future, once we also release on Android, anyone anywhere will be able to join in the fun of Ylands. We believe this will really help Ylands grow as a platform and it will also serve as a gateway for players to then go and download the game on their computer as well because they'll want to try out the more majestic creations, that only a PC can offer.

We understand that this is a big change and we're ready to discuss all your concerns until there are none.

Thank you for your patience, support and for staying classy!

[zarwil 393]

I'm cautiously optimistic about this. This will pretty much guarantee a solid player base from the start (which I'm vary happy about), but it could also potentially tie your hands in the future if it turns out that the f2p player base earns you more money than the paid explore pack, in which case I would expect less development focus on the latter. Unfortunately, development focus will always be prioritized for what is most profitable... the world would be crazy if this was not the case

The balance of this really depends on your ability to tempt new players in to buying the explore pack, so for the sake of the explore die-hard's, I really hope it ends up popular.

Just now, Aleš Ulm said:

If anything, the only change you'll probably notice will be us putting more continuous effort into making the Exploration mode more awesome.

As mentioned, this won't really be the case if nobody buys the explore pack.

 

Just now, Aleš Ulm said:

We believe this will really help Ylands grow as a platform and it will also serve as a gateway for players to then go and download the game on their computer as well because they'll want to try out the more majestic creations, that only a PC can offer.

In regards to mobile, this is key for me, and really the main reason why I'm positive about this change. It ensures continued focus on the PC version, since a (probably) significant portion of mobile players will also try the game on PC. 

Additionally, this really gives you huge incentive to advertise the PC version and the Explore pack as effectively as possible, since it will boost that revenue stream, which, again, ensures a healthy focus on the PC version of the game. 

All in all, this move could have the potential to save this game, if you handle it correctly.

 

 

(edit: this also opens the door for more egregious micro-transactions...  ...we'll see about this.)

 

 

Edited October 16, 2019 by zarwil

[Adam Snellgrove 1451]

6 minutes ago, zarwil said:

I'm cautiously optimistic about this.

Happy to hear zarwil ?

Concerning your...concerns, we'll never abandon Exploration, because it is an integral part of Ylands. It's where we try out all our new features and so it will constantly get updated because otherwise nothing else gets updated. And there will always be a team here dedicated to Exploration, so I wouldn't worry about this too much ?

And to your second point, we really do believe a lot of mobile players will also want to try the game on PC and when they see the expanded possibilities, we feel a lot of them will stay ?

[Aleš Ulm 1725]

Adam said it well enough, but to make sure you believe it  - Exploration is, indeed, here to stay. Not only are we already planning what new features and improvements it will receive in 1.1, but we will start working on those as soon as 1.0 Release candidate version is ready.

We've spent years working on Exploration and we intend to continue  

[zarwil 393]

Just now, Aleš Ulm said:

Adam said it well enough, but to make sure you believe it  - Exploration is, indeed, here to stay. Not only are we already planning what new features and improvements it will receive in 1.1, but we will start working on those as soon as 1.0 Release candidate version is ready.

We've spent years working on Exploration and we intend to continue  

I have no doubts that this is your ambition now, but I think of this similarly to politics. Even if you trust the current government to handle some new regulations, what is to say that a future government will not abuse it? In this case you are the same government, but the point still stands   

Soo many things can change in the future, but maybe it is pointless to think about it now  

[RedEagle - P1Gaming.net 25]

This solves my most pressing concern for the future of this game as a PC game. At some point I realize that when people paid for the game and then saw the micro transactions they wouldn’t stand for it. 
 

I would have done it the other way around where people unlocked the free-to-play part of things as a free DLC in a paid game. 

 

I think you were on to something massive with  explore itself And it would’ve been a great starting experience for all those who later move on to playing the mini games.

However, this idea that you have will bring a lot more players because there will be no pay-gate. 

I do have a question though, won’t new players be able to join the custom explore servers?

Also, I know a lot of people who have a PC who cannot play ylands because they don’t have a graphics card. Is there going to be an option for them? The advantage of many free to play games I know is that they can be played on any device. I was thinking that a scaled down version like the mobile version of the game could be made available?

 

[RedEagle_P1. 905]

That is me on mobile via siri. It is a bit messy I know  

 

Edited October 16, 2019 by RedEagle_P1.

[RedEagle_P1. 905]

I just bought a lot of copies (45+) of the game. Are they going to have any real value once this game goes live/F2P? 

 

[Aleš Ulm 1725]

We plan that players who have Exploration will have ways to host the game even for their friends who don't own  the pack.

When Ylands comes out it we expect that it will run even on much weaker PCs than it has so far.

[bojo2736 1016]

I just woke up so bear with me. Are you saying that the free to download part is what we think of as the games created inside the editor? 

Also, I am not opposed to DLC if it gets me goodies I want like new decor items, costumes etc. I am a Sim player as well, I love me a good stuff pack.

[Shadow72 187]

It's cool that everyone who bought the game during early access will get a special pet. I am wondering if there will be a special reward for players who bought the game before it was even on steam?

[Adam Snellgrove 1451]

35 minutes ago, bojo2736 said:

I just woke up so bear with me. Are you saying that the free to download part is what we think of as the games created inside the editor? 

Yep, that's the basic idea ?

30 minutes ago, Shadow72 said:

I am wondering if there will be a special reward for players who bought the game before it was even on steam?

Nothing planned yet, but I'll ask in the office ?

52 minutes ago, RedEagle_P1. said:

I just bought a lot of copies (45+) of the game. Are they going to have any real value once this game goes live/F2P? 

It should still unlock the Exploration pack and all other content tied to Early Access.

[Miguel Preguisa 443]

4 hours ago, Adam Snellgrove said:

Concerning your...concerns, we'll never abandon Exploration, because it is an integral part of Ylands 

No. 

It surely won't be an "integral part of Ylands". Most people playing Ylands won't ever play Exploration. DLC is NOT the integral part of any game.

I'm more than bit worried that buggy F2P mobile game with the main gameplay being minigames done by amateur players themselves will shine. 

[Aleš Ulm 1725]

3 hours ago, Miguel Preguisa said:

It surely won't be an "integral part of Ylands". Most people playing Ylands won't ever play Exploration. DLC is NOT the integral part of any game.

It's true that many people will not play Exploration but it will always be integral part of Ylands in a sense that for every new feature implemented (if it's not directly meant for Exploration) we ask "how can Exploration benefit from this" and this way Exploration grows larger and better (you'll find some preeeeetty cool things in 1.0  Exploration possible only because of things we added primarily for Creators). Also we have planned something very special for Exploration which will hugely expand it's replayability and very likely draw many of those who might not want to play it otherwise. We wanted to have this before 1.0 but it will take some more time to implement . 

[Indian Chief 239]

Very interesting...

For me personally, I love being able to use the editor to make/design a build but just so I can bring it to a Server.

I really hope explore stays an important roll in Ylands for many years to come.

Adam did a good job or answering most of my question's a few diary's ago.

But a burning question still hasn't been answered in over a year... so my new tactic will be to continue to ask until I receive a response.

Can we please get all the items from the editor being made craftable in explore? PLEASE!

If you require a list with pictures I can provide.... but an e.g is that fantastic purple chair in your shared picture.

As long as private servers stay in game I won't have to worry about the new influx of 10 year old's trying to kill me/ take all my free placed items. Speaking of free placed items.. that leads me into my last question.

I read somewhere before that the ability to harden a free placed object was being looked into.... any news on this feature?

Oh and good luck on fixing the 100% loading problem... 3/4 months without being able to play multiplayer... I'm going through withdrawals hahaha

[Adam Snellgrove 1451]

18 hours ago, RedEagle - P1Gaming.net said:

I do have a question though, won’t new players be able to join the custom explore servers?

If it'll be a hosted (P2P) server or a rented one, then then yes ?

[Adam Snellgrove 1451]

6 hours ago, Indian Chief said:

Can we please get all the items from the editor being made craftable in explore? PLEASE!

To make every item craftable isn't an easy task, but if you tell us, what exactly you're missing, we'll look into it ?

6 hours ago, Indian Chief said:

I read somewhere before that the ability to harden a free placed object was being looked into.... any news on this feature?

Yes, this will very likely happen at some point - we want to add the ability to "glue" items so that they can't be easily removed, but it's not going to happen before 1.0.

[Indian Chief 239]

Much appreciated Adam. I would love to see the Purple chair included(suggested crafting would be 10 nails,4 cloth,4 planks and 2 beams), the Ottoman(5 nails,2 cloth,2 plank an/or beam), books(5/10 paper, 1 leather, paper press (this would give another reason to make the paper press), the cart wheel (10 nails, 8 planks) along with the golden items(Coins, the statues, the golden cup etc) which would make for another reason to collect gold. 

I understand it's not easy implementing new items, but it definitely would add to the experience of the game.

Thanks Chief.  

Edited October 17, 2019 by Indian Chief
.

[bojo2736 1016]

The coyn furniture was taken from being a purchased single use pickable item to being free, craftable and unpickable.  I have faith the devs could easily make it happen.

And just to clarify for you why this is important to players: this is the only real nice piece of furniture we have. Give us more options please.

[WijkagentAdrie 384]

I'm actually pretty satisfied with this as well, I bought this game mainly for exploration, and seeing that it hasn't been forgotten and will get it's own place is good news!

[bojo2736 1016]

I think it might save us from the drive by trolls.

[Deadeye_Rob 908]

20 hours ago, Indian Chief said:

, books(5/10 paper, 1 leather, paper press (thiswould give another reason to make the paper press)

Definitely need craftable/writable books!

[Aleš Ulm 1725]

Thanks everyone for your feedback and have a great weekend! ?  If you have any more questions, just ask - we'll keep checking this thread  

[RedEagle_P1. 905]

28 minutes ago, Aleš Ulm said:

Thanks everyone for your feedback and have a great weekend! ?  If you have any more questions, just ask - we'll keep checking this thread  

Will you still be planning a big marketing campaign on launch? 

[Adam Snellgrove 1451]

7 hours ago, RedEagle_P1. said:

Will you still be planning a big marketing campaign on launch? 

We definitely have some cool stuff in mind for this, so look out, but since we'll be making a lot of big updates regularly after the release, we'll maybe just keep a stream of cool stuff coming ?

16 hours ago, Deadeye_Rob said:

Definitely need craftable/writable books!

I talked to Aleš about this some time back and we'd love to do it and probably will some time after release.