Grid Empire has been in development for almost a year now, I think now is a good time to reveal my plans and vision for the future of GE.
When is Google Play release?
I have given a specific release window for GE exact once, and that was almost a year ago. Back then I thought that a year would be enough time to polish the game and add the missing features and then release the game this summer, but as always, plans usually change, and this is no exception to that.
With the latest news of Pixel Worlds rebooting at the start of April, I no longer see it as a viable option to release the game at the same time as they do. I suspect that they're going big on promotions this summer and honestly, I'd say if GE was released this summer, it would be overshadowed by PW. So the original plan of releasing GE this summer is thrown out of the window.
But what about after summer? Well, turns out another sandbox MMO game is planning to release this fall: Crystal Realms. If it wasn't already difficult to compete with one game, it's idiotic to try to compete with two other MMO sandbox games releasing at the same time.
I am still open to options and it all really depends how well the release goes for those two games, but I'd say that it's smart for me to see how PW's and CR's release go so I don't make the same mistakes as they do. It's not worth it to be first of these games to release just for the sake of being first.
I have also thought about the option of shadow-releasing the game to Google Play at the end of the year, without promotions, just so we can get our playerbase revived a little bit. (I know many of you REALLY want more players to the game.) Honestly, nothing is set in stone right now, but I wanted to write this just so you know what to expect on the release.
Shifting the design direction
My original direction for GE was to take all fan-favorite features from Pixel Worlds and call it a day. I saw Pixel Worlds shutting down as an opportunity to really try and appeal to that game's audience. But as you may have guessed, this direction has quickly become obsolete. And to be honest, I never even liked their design-direction that much, but I'll talk more about that later. The reboot of Pixel Worlds means that you will not see similar mechanics to theirs in GE — instead I'll begin to innovate more and go in my own direction. Yes, this means that the previously promised fishing and mining mechanics from PW will not be coming to GE.
Future Updates
GE's core gameplay-loop is simple: break blocks, craft items, build worlds. I feel like each new feature and addition should complement this gameplay loop, instead of replacing it.
This is why I've decided I will not add new ways to earn coins that would replace farming. Features whose whole purpose is just to be a faster way to get coins would quickly make block farming obsolete. And if I balanced the activities to give coins at an equal rate, it raises the question: why bother adding those features at all if they are no better than farming? So no matter how I would balance it, either some mechanic would overshadow the others, or they would be balanced so equally that the features stop making sense entirely.
Instead, new activities will have their own goals, items, and progression systems. Things worth doing for their own sake, instead of speeding up the coin grind. The fishing update will be a prime example of this new direction.
I want GE to be a game that has a clear core gameplay-loop, instead of a game which does a little bit of everything and has an identity crisis in the process.
Fishing Update
Many of you have hoped for the fishing update, and I don't blame you — I love fishing in sandbox games as well. I can proudly announce that the fishing update is officially in the works, and it will be the next content update coming to GE, planned to release in April. I don't want to share the specifics yet, but the feature will have a new major progression system and tons of new items to grind for. And again, it will NOT be an alternative way to get coins.
Removal of some gacha mechanics
This rework will happen after the fishing update, and probably during or after summer. There are an increasing number of laws in different countries against selling loot boxes in-game, and that's why at some point I plan to remove the mystery box section from the shop entirely and replace it with something more fair and enjoyable for everyone. Now before you take your pitchforks out again — I want to clarify I am NOT removing mystery boxes from the game, but they will only be available for free and not for coins. Alongside this change I will create an alternative way to get the mystery box rares instead of opening boxes.
I know this rework is not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but let's be honest, mystery boxes have been frustrating. If a feature makes a player so frustrated that he quits the game, is it really that good of a feature in the first place, even if some people love it? I'd say not. I also dislike how the core monetization of GE currently revolves around selling mystery boxes. I want to create a game that feels fair for everyone, and that's what this rework is going to achieve.
Boosters technically also fall into the category of gacha, and I will see what I can do to make them fair as well.