And they’re off! Corepunk’s alpha 4 officially kicked off at 4 p.m. EDT today with an amusingly stoic preface from Artificial Core: “On the first night, there might be things that go wrong or happen later.” The team also warns players “not to have overly high expectations for the game” in this phase, which is a paid phase for preorder purchasers ahead of the early access launch later this fall.
“Alpha 4 is primarily a test of the game, which is still in active development. Our goal is to gather as much information as possible to improve, fix, and adjust everything for early access. The test does not represent the final product quality, and much of what you see will be in a prototype state. Content, balance, game systems, and rules may be added, adjusted, and reworked, so expect a substantial amount of ongoing work on the game. There’s nothing more effective than working on the game with real-time feedback while it’s being played. After a month of such work, we will have all the necessary information to significantly improve the game in all its aspects. We believe we can release a game of launch quality by early access, and Alpha 4 plays a crucial role in these plans. We want to remind all test participants not to have overly high expectations for the game in Alpha 4 and to approach it as a process where players and the studio work together to improve the project.”
Note that there are seven servers on deck – one in the Netherlands, two in the US, one in Brazil, one in India, one in Korea, and one in Singapore. The team also posted a list of new features returning testers can home in on, including trading systems, new swamp and steppe biomes, a new city, mounts, new NPCs, new crafting consumables, new quests, and leveling to 20.
