Dev Diary #16 - What to Expect from Early Access

[p]Only 5 days until Oceaneers releases! Not long now folks. [/p][p][/p][p]Early Access means different things to different people, and every game handles it uniquely. With that in mind, we wanted to cover what Early Access means for Oceaneers.[/p][p][/p][h2]Let's take a deeper look![/h2][p]Just a quick reminder, the best way you can currently support the game is:[/p]

[p]Wishlist it, in preparation for release on 13th April 2026[/p]
[p]Let your favorite YouTuber/Streamer know about the game.[/p]

[p][/p][h2]Early Access[/h2][p]As a gamer, I've played a lot of early access games. Personally, I love survival crafting games, and it's incredibly common for games in this genre to use Early Access.[/p][p][/p][p]Early Access is a great system for getting players involved in the development and help shape the direction of features. For us, that's one of the biggest benefits.[/p][p]It's for this reason that we've entered early access:[/p]

[p]Highly polished, and including a range of QoL features.[/p]
[p]With a lot of content, including the main story objectives.[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Playtime & Content[/h3][p]Going into this, we wanted players to have somewhat of a "complete experience" from day 1. This is why the main story is ready to play right away.[/p][p]Players can get 35-60 hours from a single playthrough with the content that's already there. [/p][p][/p][p]Internally we "speed run" the game using only the highest speed, not exploring everywhere, only doing the minimum story requirements, and already knowing what to expect - and we usually come in at around 25 hours. Someone playing "normally" can easily double that, and even more for those that want to create the perfect colony with the best islands.[/p][p]Note that it isn't our goal to make the game "take more hours", we're often trying to reduce the time while having pacing at a level that skill mastery matters (e.g. crafting with a level 10 crafter is noticeably faster than a level 1 crafter).[/p][p]We're planning to add more content during Early Access, so the variety of interesting things players can do will just keep increasing.[/p][p][/p][h3]Tutorial System[/h3][p]Yes you can turn off tutorials![/p][p]There's quite a few systems and more depth than many players expect in Oceaneers. We have a robust and detailed tutorial system already in the game (including a search feature).[/p][p][/p][p]This has been quite important as we've had a mix of player types that have really enjoyed the game, and some players are less familiar with colony-sim mechanics.[/p][p][/p][h3]Achievements[/h3][p]Love achievements? We've already got them! Well, the first set of 16 achievements. We are expecting to add more and improve the achievement icons during Early Access. [/p][p][/p][p]Have an idea for an achievement? Let us know![/p][p][/p][h3]Translations[/h3][p]Even though we are launching in English, we are currently hard at work implementing a community translation system. It's already working and we are just hooking everything up, which is quite time consuming with so much text.[/p][p]We're expecting this to be ready close to release or shortly after.[/p][p]If you're interested in contributing, please let us know here or on Discord![/p][p][/p][h2]Our Goals, Methods & Values[/h2][p]Ultimately, our goal is to "find the fun" if everything we implement. We want players to be having a good time, and feel like they are getting both enjoyment and value from their time playing the game.[/p][p]This generally means:[/p]

[p]If we try something and it doesn't feel quite right, we have no problem trying another way, or scrapping it if need be.[/p]
[p]If we make balance changes that don't end up feeling right, we have no problem reverting them.[/p]
[p]We loving having things you can do that players don't expect (how many games let you kick crabs, or your poop off the side of an island!). [/p]

[p][/p][h2]Plans[/h2][p]I'll preface this with, "these plans are subject to change".[/p][p]Internally we have a heap of content and feature plans. Once the dust settles after launch, we will go over your feedback to see what players are most interested in and that will guide the roadmap a little.[/p][p]These are some key items (but by no means an extensive list):[/p]

[p]Community Translations: As we are releasing in English, one of the first things we have planned is a community translation system so that players can start the translation process for any language they want.[/p]
[p]Creature Taming: We're excited to see how far we can take this and have some fun things planned.[/p]
[p]More Tech: There's already heaps of things to research, but we have more planned at the higher end of the tech (even beyond what is currently shown in the tech tree).[/p]
[p]Side Story Content: There's already a handful of unique side-story expeditions, adding more of these will increase re-playability.[/p]
[p]Modules: A range of new modules are planned.[/p]
[p]Building Upgrades: More building upgrades where it makes sense.[/p]

[p]That only scratches the surface, and in addition to content there will be visual improvements, new animations etc.[/p][p]The foundation for the game is really solid, and there's a lot of different ways we can expand content which is really exciting![/p][p][/p][h2]Your Feedback[/h2][p]All feedback is important to our process. We read it all, and try and understand your frustrations, excitement, what things are working and what isn't. The best way to get involved in feedback is by joining our friendly Discord community. We also read the Steam Forums.[/p][p][/p][h2]What's Next?[/h2][p]The game releases in 5 days! Wishlist it today so you are notified, get in on the 13th and enjoy![/p][h2][/h2][p]----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/p][p][/p][h3]Controller & Steam Deck Support[/h3][p]Some players have already played on the Steam Deck, but we don't have official support just yet. We do plan to have it fully playable on the Steam Deck further into development (and we have our Steam Deck ready to test!)[/p][p][/p][p]Controller support is challenging for this type of game that has this much depth, and we don't want the gameplay to be limited by controller inputs. Our plan is to look into this once we have all of our features in to see what is possible. We have good experience implementing controllers and it is on our mind during development, but we are also aware of the limitations.[/p][p][/p][h3]Found a Bug?[/h3][p]Please report them! Whether it's a typo or something more significant please let us know via the forums or via Discord.[/p][p][/p][h3]If Somethings Needs Better Tutorials[/h3][p]There is a lot of depth in the game and we already have a heap of tutorials shown in the handbook. We do have more tutorials planned so if you find something is not explained well enough or are still confused about anything, be sure to let us know.[/p][p][/p][h3]Come have a chat![/h3][p]Our community is growing, and everyone has been amazing and really friendly. Come chat with the devs and other players in our Discord[/p][p][/p][h2]Leaving Feedback[/h2][p]If you encounter any bugs, or would love to discuss features please do so via the Steam forums or our Discord. It's really helpful to know about the parts of the game you enjoy, as well as anything you don't.[/p][p][/p][p]You can also check discord for a list of known bugs, community suggestions and upcoming plans![/p][p][/p][p] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[/p][h3]⚡ Be sure to Wishlist Oceaneers, and stay tuned for the next dev diary and more announcements. ❤️[/h3][p]

[/p][h3]Join Us![/h3][p]Join our discord to discuss the game and share your ideas!
Join discord here

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Some recent Dev Diaries in case you missed them:
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