That is quite literally your own definition you tacked on. There is a huge variance in how dev studios have done EA.
I see what yaāll mean, and perhaps itās definitely a perspective thing and to an extent, ignorance on my part.
Iām not here to bash on Moon, I love the studio and Iām pretty confident eventually this game is going to be amazing.
I do, however, think my criticism is valid in the sense that the game felt like it wasnāt even out of the idea stage before it was put into EA. It has an identity crisis right now and most of the mechanics are all over the place.
I knew content was going to be limited, but I had certain expectations for the quality and cohesion of that content, which frankly arenāt there yet.
All Iām saying is this game couldāve been āin the ovenā for a bit longer before the public had access to it. Get itās base mechanics polished a bit more and then get public feedback on the finer details.
Iāll probably wait a few patches until stuff gets polished and new content is added, but just wanted to make it clear Iām not giving up on the game, just voicing my criticisms on decisions I donāt necessarily agree with as a consumer.
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Exactly, I think the same.
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Then go tho the steam page, leave a bad review and go on with your life.
Apparently the majority is fine with what it is, so maybe it is just you. And this is Ok, just leave us out of it.
Yes, I also think they released this EA way too early. For me, the proof is the fact that now the developers are moving from an attribute-based system to a talent tree system, completely overhauling the progression system. Personally, I approached this EA expecting to give feedback on the existing game mechanics so that they could be balanced and improved, but I didnāt expect core mechanics to be replaced with other mechanics, especially because reworking new mechanics to fit everything already in the game, making it balanced and sensible, is not easy and takes a lot of time. Currently, the only elements that the game firmly rests on are the artistic direction and, hopefully, the story. This, combined with the complete absence of a true Road Map, leads me to believe that this EA is not only very far behind but that it will take many years to see it completed, perhaps 4-5 years, or even more.
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It is available since like 3 weeks. What did you expect?
Yes itās right. EA could be Just for balance the game
I expect the project to at least offer a clear vision of the journeyās destination. If the developers themselves are unsure about the direction in which to evolve their product, how can I, as a consumer, provide meaningful feedback? As you can see from browsing the forum, most user discussions revolve around changing entire aspects and mechanics of the game, while very few talk about improving existing mechanics. This happens because, at present, the game fails to reveal its own identity.
Itās forgivable, considering this is an Early Access version.
However, precisely because the EA version currently fails to communicate its nature, the developers should explain more clearly what future vision they have for the game. This would help users provide more sensible feedback, avoiding numerous posts where fans of Diablo-like and Souls-like games argue about removing or changing mechanics that donāt suit their personal tastes.
Iāve participated in several EAs, but this is the first time that, despite being part of the gameās development process, I have no idea what to expect in the future from this game, which is quite concerning. Normally, EAs follow paths marked by specific development timelines and milestones. At the moment, we have no idea about the timelines or the precise objectives the developers intend to achieve with the EA, because objectives like multiplayer and more content donāt actually mean much.
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If you want to see it that way it is your right to do.
If you need a timeline to be happy, then you should not buy it if it is not provided. It is EA, this is communicated clearly. For my part, I am able to give feedback without any fixed objectives.
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I have the opposite view.
I expect Early Access to be like an alpha game. I expect such releases to be incomplete and full of problems. I would normally only expect a beta release to be mostly complete only about balance testing and fixing final issues.
In fact, Iām amazed that this game is as good as it is, given that it is Early Access. There are still things to change, but in many ways it feels the parts that have been released are on par with other games that are advertised as 1.0. In some ways, the game is even better that a few that have had a full release.
Obviously, different people have different opinions about what Early Access should mean. For me, Wicked has met and greatly exceeded my own expectations for the term.
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I donāt get it, how are your still debating this topic.
If the devs put out the EA it is because they needed it. Why they did it we can only guess.
However watever the resaon was Iām happy with it. I got over 100h from this EA which is way more hours than many $60+ AAA games.
If you are not hapy with the state this EA is then just donāt buy it and wait for the full release.
People white-knighting the Devs and complaining people are discussing topics in a discussion forum is baffling to me.
Questioning and providing opinions (yes, also negative ones) is precisely what this place is for.
Canāt speak for others, but I want this game to succeed as much as Devs themselves, and giving my honest opinions (in a respectful way) is the only way I can do that.
Iām certain the Devs appreciate candid feedback, even when itās harsh, because it allows them to know the perception of the player base and make more educated decisions (while still following their vision).
Completely welcome to those disagreeing with my view on EA, but people who want to shut down honest discussion? Shame on you.
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I am very happy that you are enjoying the EA and that you have replayed it so many times that you have reached a hundred hours of gameplay. However, it would be fair to recognize that at this stage, the game offers 20 hours of content (to be generous). Talking about it as if the game currently offers a hundred hours of gameplay to undermine the opinion of those who argue that this EA is rather premature seems intellectually dishonest on your part.
Currently, my Steam counter marks 20.3 hours; I stopped exactly after defeating the Knight of the Echo and exploring the housing, crafting, and daily bounty systems, so I can say that I played it without rushing. I am sure that this game will be much better than many AAA titles in the future, but it is definitely not the time yet, which is why I would avoid making such an argument, which is evidently subjective and biased.
Regarding the often overused phrase, āif you are not satisfied with the current state of the EA, donāt buy it,ā I partly share your opinion, although not completely. As I already mentioned in a previous post, I am not new to the practice of EA and have participated in several of them, such as Baldurās Gate 3, V Rising, Grounded, and Mount and Blade 2. In each of these projects, if not a precise Road Map, at least a rather accurate list with the development objectives to be achieved was always published, which this EA currently does not offer.
As I have already written before, this is not a good thing because it does not clearly indicate the direction in which the development of the game is going. I have also participated in several EAs that started in this exact same way, without setting solid objectives, and do you know what happened to these EAs? They were never completed. For this reason, I do not agree with the phrase āif you donāt like the state of the EA, donāt buy itā because it completely ignores and trivializes absolutely legitimate concerns.
To such a response, I can only say, āokay, if you do not agree with the content of this discussion, simply do not participate.ā What do we achieve with this response? Absolutely nothing constructive, exactly like your previous message.
I would like to add that I paid for access to this EA to try to provide feedback on game systems desired by the developers and offer my opinion on how to enrich, balance, or utilize them for specific gameplay dynamics. Unfortunately, I notice that in this forum, in the feedback section, most discussions revolve around what the game should or should not be, or other discussions where the removal of mechanic X is requested to introduce a ābetterā mechanic Y. In my opinion, this completely violates what should instead be born from the developersā vision and creative will. The worst part is that these posts are being pushed forward by the same 10-20 users, literally a clique of players arguing to steer the development in the direction they prefer, which is another very bad sign for an EAās health.
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No one is saying stop giving feedback.
But complaining why the devs released an EA make no sense.
If they didnāt you would not be here giving feedback.
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Soā¦ let me sum up your post, since it is quite bloated:
- game too short whine
- i be master of EA, listen to me, this EA bad
- some āad absurdumā argumentation
- opinion of others bad, only mine good, this group mean
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Folks, I understand the concerns some of you have regarding Early Access and us launching into Early Access was obviously something weāve discussed internally up and down and frankly, Iām extremely glad we chose to go with EA and our current development approach 
As you all know, we always had big aspirations for No Rest for the Wicked and if we had to just go with another boxed product, weād never have been able to do all the things we still want to do with Wicked.
Early Access to us doesnāt mean that you get an almost finished product that just needs some balancing. Instead, we knew we wanted to achieve something remarkable that can really change the status quo and that is a massive undertaking.
So the only way for our studio to achieve this was to release into Early Access and let players already get a taste of what we have while taking in all the data and feedback and allowing all that to perfect the final experience
Iām not at all concerned about us still making bigger changes to systems - I mean, you see the Diablo crew constantly making drastic changes to Diablo 4 and that was a full-price game that will now also have full-price expansions, etc.
Making ARPGs is incredibly difficult and time-consuming. This isnāt a linear single-player game that you just play once and youāre done with it, instead, we always wanted to create this kinda experience that you could play for an insanely long time while still always finding new ways of enjoying it and that in itself is just many magnitudes more complicated to design.
And I think weāve seen this approach paying off already, even with the amount of content thatās available right now - some players have already put 50-150 hours into NRFTW by making multiple realms, trying various different classes, etc. - and that number will just grow and grow the more content weāll be adding 
Iām also not sure itās apt to compare Wicked to Hades 2 - Supergiant is a smaller team and hence, they made a smaller product that perfectly encapsulates what they can bring to the table. Itās also a sequel to Hades 1, which means that itās using the same engine, a lot of the same mechanics, etc. that you already saw in the prequel. I like Hades a lot, but I think comparing Wicked and Hades is comparing Apples and Oranges.
We started this from scratch and want to ultimately make a much, much bigger, fully formed experience that youād normally only see a studio of a massive size being able to make. Speaking of Hades 2, ultimately our Crucible is going to end up giving people that rogue-lite kick they get from a game like Hades. But in Wicked, itās going to be just one way to play the game instead of that aspect being the entirety of the game. And that just gets me super excited. We built all the systems and tools to make that happen
And frankly, I doubt most AAA studios would even get a project like No Rest for the Wicked greenlit these days because itād be deemed too risky, too different from the norm, etc. Thatās probably why Diablo 4 is still very much following in the footsteps of Diablo 3.
Our goal ultimately is to just ship an amazing ARPG experience and thereās just no other way we could have accomplished that. So yeah, if youāre not into Early Access, no hard feelings, I can totally empathize with that. In that case, play whatās there right now and then wait for 1.0 to come out, at which point I promise you youāll get the super polished, fully featured package youāre expecting
Iāve been a game developer for the better part of my life now and Iāve never been this excited about where weāll be heading. Listening intently to the community and getting people excited with all new ways of playing Wicked while finally pushing the genre forward and setting a new direction is what gets me out of bed every morning. If you want to be part of that journey, you can follow along on our Early Access journey. But if you want to just wait and play the finished product later down the road, thatās totally fine, too 
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Thank you for giving us some āofficialā perspective on this, Thomas.
I agree with my comparison with Hades 2 being inequivalent, at the time it made sense to me but you bring up some very important points as to why I was mistaken.
As for this whole EA thing, you know best what NRFTW looks to achieve (from what you say, itās going to be epic), so I will trust your process and method and take what you say to heart.
I played the EA, I saw the potential, but perhaps I donāt want to keep playing bits and pieces of it. I will wait for the game to evolve enough to feel fresh and exciting again, and will support the development in other ways whenever I can.
Thank you for being transparent, honest and unapologetic.
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Ty for the answer @thomasmahler i Hope the best for this art opera. Have good work
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i think you are thinking of a demo. to many games these days have used āearly accessā as a term for demos. Early access should be exactly this, alpha and beta testing to get feedback. Early access should be like the public test realms that some mmoās have.