It’s been almost a week since we launched into Early Access and it’s been an incredible week for everyone associated with StudioFOW. For some perspective, we started up the studio in 2013 with just myself, and Yagskie in our underwear making questionable SFM movies. After 16 movies and 4 flash games, it’s incredibly fulfilling to see the hype around the game and our product translate into engagement and sales.
I can’t thank you guys enough for coming out in NUMBERS and supporting Subverse. Special thanks to the sections of the media who bothered to get off their asses on a zero-news week and cover the most successful adult game launch of all time, including Halfpint, GamerTron, SexPositiveGaming, Arch, Hihsasuke, Ana Valens from DailyDot and Tyler Wilde from PCGamer.
Considering we did no marketing, this is a massive success. Yes, you heard right - we spent a grand total of $0 of the backers money on marketing during production. All the trailers were cut by me, all the pictures were done by Manski, and the GIFs were submitted by the dev team. You guys did the rest by spreading the word. And we cannot thank you enough. Much like the game, it was a wholesome team effort all around.
Despite the strong start one thing is for sure, complacency is a killer, and I can assure you that none of the team is getting complacent about the record-setting success of Subverse. We know we’ve got a massive amount of work ahead of us to turn this into a truly excellent adult title, and we’re prepared for the challenge. You wanna know the telltale sign of how you have a fantastic team? When instead of wanting to rest, they actually beg you to go back to work.
And sure enough, the dev team was already hyped up and raring to go on Monday! As of writing, they’re back at it, fixing all the bugs. Most importantly, thanks to your feedback sheets and bug reports, we’re already preparing the first patch that will fix the most egregious of crash issues and technical errors. Please keep in mind, that this is our very first video game (and therefore our very first patch) so please be a little patient with us as we figure things out.
[h3]PANDORA[/h3]
I fully understand that there was some disappointment about the initial sex scenes on offer, after all this is just small morsel, but our focus for this 0.1 build was first and foremost stability. Our objective was to get PANDORA running smoothly on the majority of your PCs before enabling the more experimental features later down the line.
Now that we have a lot of data rolling in, we understand better where the ceiling is. I can assure you that a LOT more scenes are going to be added as well, including futa pairings and fringe kink content . Believe me, there was a reason we went with the real-time system and we will make full use of it as we expand our capabilities. We’ve got a lot more rounds in the chamber, don’t worry.
[h3]SEX WITH THE STORY[/h3]
I also noticed a lot of complaints about the sex not being integrated with the story, and for those that were not aware of the Kickstarter diaries... the Devotion Quests are coming, and they should greatly alleviate the concerns regarding this. In addition to the dialogue options, in my opinion the Devotion Quests (unlocked when devotion reaches a high enough level) are the marquee content of the game, blending thrills, romance and sex into one satisfying package that is capped off with a 3+ minute StudioFOW cinematic movie.
Imagine the loyalty quests in Mass Effect 2 but finished off by an amazing sex scene. That is exactly what the devotion quests will deliver, and I’m so proud of the actors’ performances during these segments. I can’t wait until these are integrated into the game, they make our movies look amateurish by comparison.
[h3]ONBOARD INTERACTIONS[/h3]
The waifus are the heart and soul of the game, and we will be delivering more of them as Early Access progresses. Not just new team members joining, as is the case with psychopathic space-elf Elaisha Sorn in the next Act, but expanding upon the interaction system. This means more depth to the Gifting system, more options to interact with the waifus on the ship, and more combat lines. Please note that this is not feature creep, it was always the plan - we understood what the selling point of the game is very early on in development and we’ll be slowly drip feeding you the good shit as Early Access progresses.
[h3]TIMELINE FOR UPDATES[/h3]
I really despise roadmaps, they rarely communicate objectives effectively and ultimately places extreme pressure on our already stretched-thin dev team (who have worked themselves into the ground these last 3 months) so I would refrain from giving any concrete estimates at this stage. But obviously, a patch is on the way, and that is to be followed by Elaisha’s block and the expansion of the Pandora system after that. But please keep in mind, we are a tiny dev team and there is only so much we can do until recruitment is concluded. (More on that below)
[h3]MODDING[/h3]
We know there is a healthy interest in modding the game, and we’ll be looking into this over the next month but currently, we are focused on hot-fixing and recruitment as the main priorities. I’ll give an update once I am able to.
[h3]RECRUITMENT[/h3]
We need more animators, so if you’re a hotshot Blender/Maya animator who thinks they’re up to the challenge, do drop me an email at
[email protected]Serious inquiries only please, we’ve had cocky hotshots with 20K+ Patreons audition in the past and they’ve flamed out at the first hurdle so let’s not waste each other’s time :)
We’re also hiring for the position of Senior C++/Unreal Developer so if you have experience with both the language and the engine then please drop me a line - we definitely want to interview you as soon as possible! Experience with delivering AA+ titles is a must!
[h3]STREEMSTER[/h3]
As usual, we just can’t launch without external nonsense (Seriously, I could write a book on what it took to get Subverse launched) but the Streemster team is working through the issues and the platform should be operational very soon (I am told, sometime next week) Apologies for the delays but it really is out of our hands at this point. I can’t say much more than that due to legal reasons, but we thank you for your patience.
[h3]REDDIT AMA[/h3]
There will be an AMA tomorrow at
2PM EST on /r/pcgaming I will be attending as well as our Casting Director/VN Developer Samantha and the Voice Actress of DEMI, Bordeaux Black! Feel free to drop by and drop some steaming hot questions all over our faces!
[h3]GOING FORWARD[/h3]
I can assure you we are not buying Ferraris or snorting coke from hookers’ buttholes. You’ve made your voices clear on how you want Subverse to be the leader in the adult scene, and I am completely on board with that. We’ll be using the funds for recruitment and expanding our team first and foremost, making sure that the dev team is in a position to deliver the remaining chapters and module upgrades in a timely fashion. We are 100% committed to working with you guys during Early Access so please keep the feedback coming. We’re all loving the passion and engagement from the community!
Yours Truly,
DC
Founder/Creative Director
StudioFOW
