Pirates and Traders 2 is now getting distributed across the servers of Google Play. Once it’s arrived, it should be available on this link.
Before you get too excited, though, it is worth keeping in mind what this game isn’t. It is not the full version of the game as I intend it to be. It is not even the full version of the feature-list in the previous post; a combination of work, private life, and unexpected developments ensured that I fell short of that.
I’ve still decided to go ahead with the release though, which I suppose can best be likened to “Early Access” on Steam. But what does that mean?
It means that “Pirates and Traders 2” is going to be under intense, active development for quite a while to come. You’ll be able to play the game while that happens, however, and also upgrade to the Gold! version once I finish hooking in the In-App Billing (and debugging the content that comes with it).
It means that things may still change. I am pretty confident in most of the mechanics that are now implemented in the game, but if there is anything that doing game development has taught me, it is that what seems like a good idea sometimes doesn’t work when put into the hands of players. It means that some features may not work properly, or may not work exactly as I’d planned it. It means that there may be occasional periods where the game is not particularly stable. And it means that there will be a lot of updates in the coming months.
If you think this is a problem, then sorry – I would strongly recommend that you wait a few months before picking up the game. And if you’re really looking forward to a bunch of new features, then you might want to wait at least a few weeks – this first version is not that version of the game. It will be soon, I hope, but it’s not there yet.
I could have just waited till the game is done. But for various reasons, this approach just doesn’t work for me. As you may know, if you’ve read the “About” info, MicaBytes is essentially a single-person company. My development time is tightly constrained, which means that I both need to, and want to, spend my time on the aspects of development that is most interesting. Which is why getting your feedback is extremely useful. The beta-testers in the closed beta have done a great job (and they have my thanks – all of them), but the more people who are actively playing the game, the better the feedback and motivation to improve the game. I have a tendency to perfectionism, at times, and if I did not have that pressure of having you guys pushing me for a release, I could probably have kept polishing and tweaking the game mechanics of this thing for ever. It is time for it to be released.
How long until the game is completely finished? Honestly, I have no idea. Keep in mind that I developed actively on “Pirates and Traders” for more than two years. It won’t take that long before I finish the planned features for “Pirates and Traders 2”, but who knows what new ideas I may get in the interim?
I do hope you’ll join me on the voyage to wherever that destination is, though. May the winds be ever in your favor.