From the dusty edges of K'Tharsis – a dispatch from the team behind the frontier...

Howdy, space cowboys!

It’s been a while since our last major update — and if you’ve been wondering what’s going on behind the scenes, let me reassure you: the silence isn’t a bad sign. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

We've been riding hard, heads down, working on bringing our game closer to the finish line. The good news? We’ve recently crossed a major internal milestone. Most of the core content is now in its final stage, and we’re shifting gears into polishing, balancing, and rigorous testing.

One of the most ambitious and rewarding aspects of our game is the focus on handcrafted, meaningful quests — many of them branching, interconnected, and full of consequence. Our aim is to deliver something memorable, something that sticks with you long after you log off. But designing non-linear questlines means the number of possible paths (and player builds!) multiplies fast.

To put it bluntly: every single quest has ripple effects. Choices matter. Builds matter. And that means we need to make sure everything is functional and balanced across a huge number of possible playstyles. That’s a big reason why we can't release isolated quest updates easily — everything is connected. Dropping in one new quest might impact several others, or even the world state itself.

It’s a complex, living world — and we want to do it justice.

We’ve been using your feedback from Early Access to identify pain points and improve systems across the board. We read every message — seriously — and we’ve built a solid understanding of where the game still falls short and where it shines. Your reports have directly influenced improvements in design, balance, and UX.

Our goal for full release is to avoid the pitfalls that have plagued many ambitious RPGs: technical hiccups, broken quests, or incomplete narrative arcs. Of course, we’re a small team with limited resources, and we know that surprises will still pop up when thousands of players with thousands of builds explore the world in ways we haven’t predicted. But we’re doing everything in our power to minimize bugs and ensure a smooth experience from start to finish.

Another major focus is the dialogue and narrative flow. Our game features a lot of characters with stories to tell, and we want those interactions to feel meaningful — not like exposition dumps. It’s a delicate balance: giving players depth and lore while keeping things engaging and concise.

All this content needs to work seamlessly with level-design, sound-design, combat, optimization, and pacing. And we want to ensure a consistent level of quality across the entire experience — whether you're meeting a dusty trader, or standing at the crossroads of a major factional decision.

We know many of you have been following this journey for years — and believe us, we feel the weight of that expectation. We're not interested in dragging this out indefinitely. But we're also not going to rush the release. The goal is clarity over haste. We’ll share a concrete release date as soon as we're confident in it.

In the meantime, know this: we are getting close.

Your support means the world to us. Every kind comment, every post cheering us on — it helps keep the engine running. So thank you. We’ll be back soon with more detailed updates. Until then, keep your revolvers loaded, your boots dusty, and your eyes on the stars.

Stay tuned,

Alersteam

Please share your feedback, report any issues, and join the discussion on Discord[discord.gg].

https://store.steampowered.com/app/531660/Exoplanet_First_Contact/