Special Announcement


We LOVE making Autonauts. More than any other game we've worked on (and we've made quite a few), Autonauts is the first game we've made that feels like ‘us.’ We've worked on it now for five months, mainly figuring out what the game is and where it might go, but that’s not enough time to make it into the full game it deserves to be. Behind the scenes we’ve been busy planning out how things will shape up, so we think we've got a good idea what the future of Autonauts looks like.

Since we launched Autonauts we've received donations from incredibly generous people who weren’t expecting anything in return, just expressing how much they love the game. These donations have made all the difference between us stopping development and continuing with it. The Friday updates just wouldn't be happening right now without the donations.

As much as we love the fact we can give this game away to everyone, the problem is we're running out of money and we need to find a better way to fund development. We've looked at a number of options and the most viable one seems to be crowdfunding. Doing this means we can really dig into the meat of the game and deliver the full experience everyone’s looking for.

We're thinking along the lines of six months’ worth of funding with a lowest tier of £10 paying for all future updates (we'll probably have a limited number of £5 early-birds available, too). If we choose this path, it means the free version won't continue. We find it hard to put a value on things we've made because we enjoy the making part so much and love giving our stuff away but "old man reality" says this can't go on.

It's not just up to us though; we want you to believe in what we do too. We’d appreciate it if you’d make your thoughts known through the new community channel 'Autonauts Funding Thoughts' (yes, even any negative ones). Of course, if you have any alternative suggestions to crowdfunding, do say because we value ALL opinions.

Gary and Aaron

<3 <3

Get Autonauts

Comments

Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.

(1 edit)

Turning a free game into a paid game is a quick way to upset a lot of people. I've seen too many good games die that way to recommend it.

A better idea might be a paid Beta - paying users get access to the latest version, whilst free users get both less frequent updates, and are always at least a few versions behind the paid version.

People can be surprisingly impatient, and willing to pay for getting something quicker. Also, players who actually enjoy the game will be more willing just to help  - and will literally pay for the chance to help. Please, at least try it.

Good Luck, Autonaughts!

you know what will happen if you make this game cost monney right?igg.game whould make it free making it to where you don't get monney at all,so what i suggest you do is make another game that we don't know 'bout cost monney!that way you won't get ripped of by igg-games!

so do it stealthy and don't let the game you make with money to popular or els the same problem will happen,so just make a bunch of "Common" games that cost monney,don't let them know you creat it or els,you know what...Popylarity!i know pop is good sometimes but can be bad like the sims 4 is on igg-games!so just be careful and don't make any of your games"on your studio that everyone knows"cost mons!there is your solution to get your funds to keep developing without making it cost mons! your welcom!

- scintillate you fan/game lover P.S. best game ever!

you should add cosmetics that you can buy like a create your character screen for $5 and even more customization for $10

(+1)

Patreon. Many people have found success through patreon as it's pretty simple and straight forward. Set it up to be per release or per month, certain pay tiers can be set, and all the consumer has to do is choose how much they would like to donate per cycle.

(-1)

paid cosmetics?

if you set up the crowdunding, what will happen with that guys and girls that already donated that amount or more? are they getting the game for free or do they need to spend the money again? 

(+1)

Good question. We're considering options for this issue. And it is a real issue so we're not dismissing this. Hopefully we can have a resolution to this problem soon.

(1 edit)

That option better be honoring your sales instead of treating this like a big bait and switch if you don't want a lot of rightfully negative reviews.


That kind of practice is why I will NEVER buy a game from Uber Entertainment or its founding people again.

(+1)(-1)

Strictly speaking, they have made zero sales at this point. Everyone's gotten the game for free, and some of us have tipped them, donating money for the pleasure. So there are no sales for them to honor. However, they do intend to grant the game to those who have donated above a certain amount if you look at the presentation mockup they published, treating those as sales.

The fact is, we got to play a prototype - almost a demo - without having to do much for it, and it was a ton of fun. I salute this notion, greatly appreciate it, and intend to back the Kickstarter.

(1 edit)

I think you're quite confused on what constitutes a purchase. Money was exchanged for an item. The fact that they stated we could name our own price doesn't change that. Humble bundles work the same way. If these purchases aren't honored later, I'll be happy to never purchase anything they do again, leave negative feedback, and warn others to do the same.

Just to be sure, I've got screenshots of all the UI elements clearly stating that the game may be had by naming your own price, and it is described as owned in multiple places.

(+1)

@Ikiris - I think you're stretching. Did you not get the game on itch.io for either free or after providing a tip? I don't think they make any claim that the version on itch.io would be the final version or that tipping would entitle you to such a version. It's a bit pedantic to then pick choice words and ignore other facts to meet your end. 

I personally tried the game, liked it a lot and have been waiting for an announcement on how they're going to handle a full release. Soon as that kickstarter is up I'll be laying down my money. I wish people would stop trashing developers who are actually making a very good game just because they want a solid revenue stream. We should be greatful that there has been an opportunity to play the game in such an unrestricted state for many months.

On a point of balance I'd say that those who tipped should probably receive a higher tier reward not just a copy of the game. Additional content that won't be present for the kickstarter for example. Minimal cost to the Devs but a nice gesture to those who supported them through early development.

denki read what i said you will like it!

if you set up the crowdunding, what will happen with that guys and girls that already donated that amount or more? are they getting the game for free or do they need to spend the money again? 

(+1)

having £5 or £10 sounds good - But what about existing people that donated that got game like me which i donated £1 for it