Why the rush to release 1.0?

[ornate orbit]

Clearly the game isn't finished and in most instances, gamers associate a games completion with the 1.0 update. Was this the anticipated outcome, or was there an error on someone's part that led us here? I put in 220 in early access looking forward to playing the other WIP areas upon the 1.0 release only to be severely disappointed that many of the games features are unavailable. How does Stairway Games definition of 1.0 alter from the gaming industry? Help a frustrated gamer understand why this wasn't delayed until it was ready.

[verbal shoal]

Yes I'd like to know an answer to this too. They've cut loads of content in order to make it to 1.0 on time. They've removed the cutscene you get when you finish the Local Produce quest - if you remember, in Early Access, Sam spoke to you in the store and the dialogue was unfinished. Insteasd of being words from Sam, it was placeholder text that said something like "Sam is so grateful for the player's work. In fact he is so grateful it spills over to a second page of dialogue. Seeya!" That's all been completely removed, presumably because it's easier to delete it than it is to finish it. I feel EXTREMELY let down by the developers and I would like an explanation.

[wind rock]

I am also extremely disappointed that there's almost nothing that wasn't already in early access. With 1.0 I expect the base game to be finished. I assume the rush to 1.0 is because we had to restart and they thought that was better sooner than later. That or they were running out of money and needed the sales, particular from consoles.

[acoustic crane]

it's the publisher. Humble is going through layoffs too

The team is not in charge of the timeline. They're being rushed

[primal fulcrum]

I agree that the game feel unfinished and not a really 1.0 release. My only guess is the devs had to meet a deadline and they rushed it.

[wind rock]

Ah that explains a lot.

[acoustic crane]

I'm making big assumptions. I won't lie. But seeing what the team was doing prior to humble having issues- and then suddenly we are massively rush- I am 98% confident when I say the blame needs to fall mostly on humble as the publisher.

And I'd bet my kidney that the team has a strong NDA in place and they can't say anything.

So trust me. I KNOW and understand the frustration completely. But the team has very little control outside of- they have to meet the deadlines given

[latent plover]

yeah, I was excited to play this on v1.0. Only to find out that there are a ridiculous amounts of rough edges and unfinished content.

[acoustic crane]

https://videogames.si.com/news/humble-games-layoffs-november-2023

If humble is going under- the game needs to be finished asap- which is where the rush comes from

There's a lot we will never know because of NDAs

[latent plover]

it's honestly very frustrating when a billion dollar industry makes constant money then proceeds to layoff a ton of employees. But what can you do?

while I am not saying every company makes equal amounts of money, I just find it sad how volatile this industry is for both the consumers and developers alike.

[acoustic crane]

There's also a lot of misinformation with this game. What was originally promised by the team is currently in game- this WAS always their 1.0

Everything else was stretch goals because the team raised SO much so fast.

A bunch of gaming companies just laid people off. It's rough all over

The misinformation between the KS promise for 1.0 and what we have now isn't helping.

And I could type till my fingers fall off arguing that every day but it won't make a difference. The damage is done

[latent plover]

Yeah, while I just recently got into this game. I am little concerned with how much bugs I have found with the game on v1.0. Like a ton of them lol

[acoustic crane]

I am dead serious when I say this was NOT their normal quality. This is the results of being rushed (and it hurts to see)

[wind finch]

If this is what they envisioned for 1.0 and that it’s fully released now that’s extremely disappointing.. so idk how you can say that things don’t even feel full the dating/marriage is hollow dialogue is lacking in general. Cutscenes are missing like said above. Idk that a lot of people would’ve bought the game if this was it. And I do really like the game but it’s lacking a lot. There is little difference between this and EA except the same bugs are still there. It sucks I’m sure they have been pushed and don’t want it to be like this but that doesn’t negate the quality of what they released.

[acoustic crane]

This is their first game

They didn't set high expected and their Kickstart EXPLODED.

Have some compassion and do some research maybe because I think if you had all the facts, you'd understand better

[primal fulcrum]

I can understand having compassion for the work that devs do in games but also keep in mind that they raised $1.6 million. They have about 100 employees. Look at Hello Games, they only had 15 employees at the launch of their game which was trash but they fixed their game because they wanted to succeed. Till this day No Man’s Sky is known as one of the greatest comeback games outside of FF14. The state of a Coral Island based on everything the devs have told us, should not have been released in this state. If it was rushed by the publisher, the devs can still be more transparent and let us know that they hear us and are working on it. I would hate to see this game fail, it has so much potential.

[wind finch]

Console players can’t even play!? They spent money on a game they can’t use no compassion for them huh?! Research what exactly they put out 1.0 their choice in the release video they have things you can’t even do yet? You don’t need to infantilize them people are justifiably upset. Nobody is complaining because they hate the devs or the game they want it to succeed and are airing their grievances so they can fix it and put out the game people deserve.

[buoyant dust]

Don't know the reasons behind this whether they were rushed or not. I'm not privy to that info. However, I do know there's a ton of bugs, unfinished content and stuttering/lag being reported here and on Steam. With no response from the team. Very disappointing.

[wind finch]

I’ve thankfully only encountered a couple bugs on PC but the fact that they haven’t put a hotfix out for console players so that they can actually play they game is absurd. Some people bought it specifically because it’s finally out of EA and they can’t even play and radio silence from them is messed up. The only thing to do is wait and see if they issue a statement this week.

[midnight sigil]

Totally agree, I don't mind a few unfinished bits, (I waited to get the game on console before finally playing it) but I CANT play it, because it's too buggy. I only joined the discord to see what the Devs had said and see when to expect an update for the console, and I'm disappointed. I really hate to say it, because I CAN see that it will be truly brilliant when it's done, but right now it's a been a waste of money :/

[wind finch]

Yeah same for me theres plenty to do in the game while waiting for those quests. The things they did add feel unfinished and rushed which is super disappointing. Having a lot of the same bugs from EA sucks as well. I’m on pc but I’m even hesitant to play i heard there’s a bug in the winter fest that wipes your inventory :/ I think a lot of people would’ve waited to purchase CI and got a different game while they waited for it to be polished some more. Hopefully we hear some good things next week because I would really like this game to be successful.

[ornate orbit]

According to my research, upon the explosion of their kickstarter, the team hired on additional staffing to support this. If you followed the initial roadmap, you'd notice that 1.0 release was not scheduled until 2024 after 2-3 major updates in between.

As a kickstarter backer, I feel i'm owed some explanation as this isn't the project I would've backed initally. If this wasn't a game I'd backed, I'd already have requested a refund.

[wind rock]

This is because growth is the only metric considered important, which is difficult in saturated markets. But shareholders are greedy and consider anything else a failure, no matter how much money you make.

[wind rock]

Divide 1.6 million by 100 salaries + overheads and all other running costs, it's not a lot of money.

[primal fulcrum]

Using that logic then the devs at Sandrock are getting paid less, since they only raised $563,000. I don’t think that’s how that works. The money is also used for their resources to make the game.

[raw hatch]

I just don’t think it was smart for them to go with console releases with a version that is marketed as “full release”, or at least expected to be one by most, just for the game to include a mass upon mass of bugs. It’s not a great way to start out a console debut and can cause a lot of damage. I know that publishers play a big role in this, I just wanted to say that it wasn’t a smart move overall. Consoles have a big impact compared to PC with a lot of games nowadays, and if you mess those up, it can be hard to get back on track with everything and everyone

[acoustic crane]

Again- the publisher has MASSIVE pull for their timeline being rushed

[ornate orbit]

And that's supposed to excuse the massive disappointment? That's supposed to want me to have compassion? I spent $80 to back what this was supposed to represent. Not the current state of deception claiming this is a 1.0 release. In what gaming history is a unfinished game a 1.0 release?

[soft marten]

Sure, but why the radio silence ? Communication was a problem even since launch of EA. EA even started as beta and saves were wiped

[ornate orbit]

For lack of better words, if this is what publishers/devs are going to agree on, then they can face the repercussions when the game tanks

[soft marten]

plus releasing a game that is unplayable on consoles is a scam really

there is no excuse there

Those of us, thanks to EA, that play on steam can easliy play the almost same version of the game we had in the EA( that they said is sooo different that we had to start over again)

but if I bought on console I would be pissed right now adn rightfully so

[ornate orbit]

I'm so upset about this whole release. If I could, I would un-back the project and get my money back. This is not what was promised as a 1.0 release. This is a joke. The fact that anyone involved in this project would put their stamp of approval on this as the 1.0 release is ridiculous.

It was previously stated that this is their first game. If so, how do they expect to get future jobs if this is what their resume is going to show? An unfinished game at 1.0 relelase.

[soft marten]

Well situation at Humble, if it was at fault here,really ruined their start with this game and such damage cannot easliy be fixed. Which is a shame but where is their PR in this

and also treatment of the backers was worse than those that bought this game only now. It is pretty ridiculous. They should have their keys sent a day before or sooner. It was thanks to them that this project got this big in the first place

[ornate orbit]

My mythic pet key was never sent. I had to login to backerkit and claim it.

[wind rock]

Yeah. That's what I said by "all other running costs". 1.6 million isn't a lot of money for a company with 100+ employees.

[wind rock]

I think what's most disappointing is that this is such a fantastic game. I've played hundreds of hours of it. It's great. But when I had to restart for 1.0 I wanted to experience a complete game. Not a game that's going to have it's storyline changed in 6 months time. I dont think this is what the Devs wanted to release either. I reckon this is humble, and I reckon they are refusing the overtime to do the patches asap.

[primal fulcrum]

Publishers are the ones that finance the games and pay the employees. The kickstarter money is supposed to go to the development of the game not paying the employees. They already have their salary from the publishers and executives.

[primal fulcrum]

From my understanding, I'm gonna go with what I know from doing a lot of research with Microsoft/Xbox is that publishers aren't responsible for work schedules of studios, their only job is to finance and promote the game. In this case, continuing the development of Coral Island is on Stairway and not Humble. Again, I'm going with what I know from Xbox and other gaming studios.

[verbal shoal]

Stretch goals is not an excuse. People are coming to this fully released fully finished game for the first time, on PC, Xbox and d PlayStation. To find "WIP" and "TBD" on a finished, published and released video game, is unacceptable. Before, when it was in Early Access, that's fine. Stretch goals etc, that's fine. But now the game is reaching beyond its early access audience and it needs to be finished when they say it's finished. Content in the trailer is not in the game and there is no mention on the store pages that the game is unfinished. It's called a "full 1.0 release". It's not full and it's not finished.

[verbal shoal]

Not acceptable. They took money and promised something in return. They didn't deliver it.

[ornate orbit]

I agree wholeheartedly. I sunk 200+ hours into multiple versions of the alpha and beta variations. I was deeply invested into this game and was excited to share it with anyone I knew, strongly recommending the game.

Now I want a refund. This game was supposed to be everything I was looking for in farm sim-ish game.

But like you, when I had to restart for the 1.0 update, I'm so disappointed, angry, frustrated, and many other emotions over this game.

Where is the explanation? Where's communication? I didn't back a project to be kept in the dark. For me, after spending many hours preparing for a full 1.0 release, this is unplayable. Not because any actual faults in the game, but there's literally no difference between 1.0 and the Fall Update. Why am I going to replay the same exact game when the final product isn't even ready yet?

[cursive kettle]

The ping-pong between publishers and developers is really know in the industry, especially when the publishers have absolutely no idea how the game dev works as most of them have never participated in an actively developed piece of software.
If you take the rest of the development process and feedback in the last period, it can be seen that the devs really care about the game. No one really wants to release their game in an unfinished state and I suspect they can be now even more frustrated than us.
As a result, I think we can suspect that the 1.0 release date was the best compromise which the devs and publishers could reach.

The most important thing here: the game is not abandoned, you can read in the developer-diary channel that the work is in progress to identify and fix the issues. So, let's have a bit of patience for the hotfixes and in the meantime just focus on some other stuff (life, other games, and so on)

Also, considering that the EA was on PC, of course the PC release will have less bugs than any other platform. The same thing happens when a developer focuses on a console and then the PC release is unplayable. So it was indeed expected that the console release would be a much more rough one.

Lasty, it is almost impossible to have software without bugs. There is no ideal software and you can find issues everywhere if you really want to look for them. Software is written by people and people make mistakes. Of course we have to report the mistakes and keep the devs accountable for them, but we also should give them time. They are not robots and when you have a lot of work piled up, this work is prioritized and some things are fixed later on.

So, anyway, let's have a bit of patience and understanding. Most probably the devs are even more frustrated that they had to release now, considering they have been working on this game for years and they really care about it.

[primal fulcrum]

Most game publishers are game developers. Look at EA, Bethesda, Activision, Ubisoft, those companies are publishers that also own other studios but they also develop their own games. They have full understanding of what goes into game development. I think you’re confusing game publishers with shareholders. It’s not about not having patience nor understanding but when gamers pay for a product, they expect to get what they pay for. Not every game is released unpolished, there are plenty of games that are released near perfect.

[cursive kettle]

yes, you are right 🙂 they all have their publishing segment in the company, but they do fundamentally different stuff. Even inside the same company they have issues between development and publishing, for example you can listen to Mark Darrah's videos about the development process of Dragon Age and there they also had to pitch, get approvals, fight for pushing the release date of the game and so on. In many cases the publishing can be located in a different city/country than the development team, so they have basically no contact. I am also working in an IT company and the sales department is not involved at all in the development process and also developers are not involved in sales. As a result, there is a lack of understanding from both sides. In this specific case, I am not sure if the publisher has any connection to game dev. They are connected to Humble Bundle, which is owned by IGN which does game media, but not development.
This year we were lucky to have a ton of really good game releases, but we also had recently games released where even the developers suggested the players to wait for patches before playing on release day.

I agree that a 1.0 release should be in a much better state than it is at this moment, but there are so many things happening behind the scenes which we cannot see. If this game would not have had the charm, the thoughtfulness, the frequent EA patches, then I would have been skeptical as well. It does not seem to be the case as with the games like Gollum which released in a horrible state, but it indeed seems to be a game made out of passion. This is why I believe that we should give the devs to continue working on the game and deliver everything they plan to. Also, there is a reason why there is a .0 after 1 🙂 .

[primal fulcrum]

I agree with you there.

[wind rock]

You are contradicting yourself. You say the publishers are responsible for salaries, but not their work schedules, but their work schedules, including overtime, would be subject to approval by those paying the salaries/overtime. The ones paying the salaries are the ones who would be responsible for paying overtime. They are probably not approving overtime (especially considering the recent layoffs) so fixes will be delayed.

[crimson root]

Honestly, I backed so many kickstart that the game never even release, and I don't go knock on any door for refund. It is kinda a risk of backing a game. I know Coral Island blew up and everyone has a super high expectation. I for once happy to be able to play the game even when it is not complete, cuz it is constantly updated and cared for. It is version 1.0, it is not a version that we would stay forever. Give you something to look forward to. Honestly, they should have not release on PS5 and Xbox. It was not in the orginal plan. They push it cuz people want it, and know it blew it into their faces. Should have kept it PC, then slowly release on other platforms.

[primal fulcrum]

It’s not a contradiction, sometimes devs don’t get paid for overtime. That’s why there is crunch in the industry which is doing overtime without getting paid. This happens a lot in the industry. A salary is something that is already agreed upon and you receive it whenever it’s scheduled. Developers earn commission through game purchases but that’s subject to the consumer buying the game.

[upbeat halo]

They could have just released it on console still in early access. There was no need to call this version the 1.0 release. That is the sticking point that is causing 90% of the issue. It's not really a proper 1.0 if there is still so much of what should be base game missing.

[steep pumice]

My guess? Out of cash. Get a MVP out the door and earning money. This tracks with console backers not getting codes and it taking A WEEK to send out s three question region survey. Imo they needed the cash until they could buy the codes.

Things have gotten way more expensive since the KS and budget was done two years ago. I bet there were overruns and they needed to get a mvp out the door to start getting sales.

[soft marten]

Yep it was definitely about money.No one would propably mind it if it was still kept as EA and they were transparent ,but then again many people bought it thinking it's full game. So false marketing to gain, some people will get past it some won't 🤷🏼‍♀️ It comes down to how much are you willing to excuse

[silent cedar]

It’s gross that people are blaming the devs when the release demands are made by the producer which is Humble

[primal fulcrum]

On my end, I don’t blame the devs but I am disappointed at the way the game was released. The thing is the Publishers and Shareholders may set the deadline for a game release but all the content in the game and the polishing of a game is 100% on the developer. It’s good that the devs responded today and are working on a fix.

[silent cedar]

That’s still blaming the devs tho? If they aren’t given a realistic timeline to deliver a finished product because of the demands put on them that isn’t their fault

That’s akin to saying g that they haven’t hustled their arses off, which they have been doing

[primal fulcrum]

It all depends on what the devs prioritized for their game. They could of done it for things we don’t really care for. One of the biggest complains I have seen is lack of dialogue but the dev responded today and said it may be a coding issue and they are working to fix it. The gripe people had was the lack of transparency on the devs. If they communicate more to the players we can understand what is going on.

[silent cedar]

What response are you referring to?

I agree there’s been a lack of communication but we don’t know the inner workings of the games development aside from the daily dev diaries that are posted during the work week

[primal fulcrum]

https://discord.com/channels/623097219628662784/1175978473014186024

[silent cedar]

That’s good to see

Wish is was made in the announcements or something but encouraging!

[primal fulcrum]

I believe it’s also pinned on the main server.

[silent cedar]

Only this in #🙈coral-known-bugs #🙈coral-known-bugs message

[primal fulcrum]

Her message is also pinned on the very top of the main discord page. Click on the pin symbol, it should also be there. It should be next to your notifications.

[silent cedar]

You mean in #🐔coral-general . Didn’t know what you meant by main discord page

It’s not exactly visible if you didn’t see the initial post

[primal fulcrum]

Not sure if your on mobile or pc app. You won’t be able to see it on mobile but on the pc app, it the pin symbol 📌next to the notification symbol🔔 at the very right top of the discord app, Coral Island server.

[silent cedar]

Thanks but I already know how to find pinned messages. I’m saying that if you don’t see the message in the chat saying “X message was pinned” you don’t know that it exists. That’s why an announcement in the dedicated announcements channel would be better

[primal fulcrum]

I see, she also mentioned something in the developer diary.

[silent cedar]

Yes I noted that previously

[brave hare]

@turbid iris

[ornate orbit]

I wouldn't have a problem with it if the game stayed in early access. With little to no difference between the fall update and 1.0, why cause players to restart files that will essentially need to be restarted again once the final game is released?

Pushing this unfinished product into a 1.0 claim is just wrong. But I guess if you can get enough sales to out balance the number of backers, then who cares if you alienate the people that got you started

[frozen python]

If there was going to be almost no difference in this 1.0 release, they could have at least let us keep our farm layout/mastery levels like they’d previously promised, idk why they made everyone with EA start over from scratch with just money 😭

[vague raptor]

idk why everyone’s mad, did we really expect a clearly quicker than expected 1.0 to be perfect?? It was so obvious from before the 1.0 that they were still working on things like multiplayer implementation and there’s much more to add to the game, they made that so unbelievably clear. I think the game is great even with the bugs. I can’t believe you’re all so mad at them for it.

[lucid merlin]

with the amountof grief everyone is giving the devs i have no doubt they would have let people keep more of their previous saves if they could. We have no idea of the coding in 1.0 as compared to Fall early access. just because we cant tell too much on the gameplay side doesnt mean there werent also some fundamental changes

[novel harbor]

But they literally put things in the trailer than aren’t even available yet

[sharp flint]

People who had not been following the development for years and just bought it when they announced 1.0 are going to be off put by an incomplete game. And I don’t mean major stretch goals. I mean stuff like pets just gazing at walls, WIP actually showing up in text on quest lines , romance dialog either not being there or glitched, and tons of bugs ect.

The general population has no emotional connection to the developers. They are just going to judge the game as is and when you say 1.0 there is expectation there.

Personally I’m just shelving it for now. I’ll come back in six months or so and see where it’s at. With the reviews I’ve read if I hadn’t backed it I would have waited to buy it. I just hope this launch doesn’t hurt the game in the long run.

[ornate orbit]

What was unbelievably clear before the 1.0 update was announced was that 1.0 wasn't coming until 2024; after 2-3 updates between the fall update and 1.0. Those of us that have backed since the beginning were shocked when the 1.0 announcement came, because it came out of left field. What I'm mad at them for is the lack of communication on why 1.0 was rushed and not left in Early Access. I'm mad to start over when little to nothing has changed. So excuse me for having different expectations.

[unreal hawk]

Completely agree, a fully completed full release of a game shouldn't have crashing issues and frame rate tanks as 2 of the main examples with basic gameplay

[frail current]

People who have followed and want this game to be perfect are defending it with their lives. And while it likely isn’t the developers who said the game was ready people SHOULD be upset at the unreadiness of the overall game. This isn’t bashing the creators of it or the people working on it but the company for pushing when it clearly isn’t ready

[ornate orbit]

Like I asked in my initial question, why the rush. All I'm looking for here is some explanation from either the developers or the publisher as to why our expectations have not been met? Why the rush to push forward an unfinished game? I just want some communication around why. Something to explain why so many people are angry or disappointed.

I mean if they want to keep avoiding the issue and neglecting to comment, then I absolutely place the blame on them.

[silent cedar]

That’s not information that we’re ever going to get so best to get over it

Companies are not forthright with their reasoning for things, especially Humble which is currently experiencing difficulties

https://www.pcgamer.com/humble-games-is-the-latest-to-lay-off-employees-blames-trends-that-required-this-restructure-in-order-to-ensure-our-long-term-success/

https://videogames.si.com/news/humble-games-layoffs-november-2023

The game is out. This is the product we have. Continuing to wait for the “why” won’t change the game that we have. Accepting that we won’t get this information and being patient with receiving fixes is literally all we can do

[vague raptor]

No I totally get it, but you’ve farther proven my point in the beginning. It was clear it was expected to release later on in 2024. But as someone previously stated in here, there are possibly agreements that state they can’t communicate their deadlines to us. Clearly the team didn’t want to rush 1.0 but they had to for reasons they can’t control. That’s all I’m trying to say. I understand being upset at the lack of communication about it but they can’t always leak everything to us. That’s all ❤️

[vague raptor]

And i failed to say it previously, so mind my writing, I’m awful with tone and text, but your expectations are completely valid, and I don’t mean to come off as disrespectful for your questioning, I just feel personally the opposite about the situation and figured I’d put an input in.

[ornate orbit]

Maybe it's because I'm a little autistic, but no I won't get over it. This is the consequences of their actions.

Sure I can just shut up and take it, but what does that tell the developers/producers? That people will continually be okay with these sad excuses for content? Absolutely not. It's cause and effect, for every action there's a reaction. I will absolutely be voicing my concerns until I feel it's been resolved. I didn't back a project and give my input on something to be shut out. They don't feel any regard to letting their backers know what's going on, then I don't feel any for down talking an unfinished product claiming it's a 1.0 release.

[frail current]

I want you to know I completely agree. People should not expect an unfinished game when the trailer said official release it’s misleading for people who aren’t on this app or big on social media and just because others want to desperately please the devs or want everyone to like the game they like you don’t need to. Whether it was developers fault or not we don’t know because they havent communicated to us and it’s not okay. You are completely valid in all of your reasoning and I hope the people who continue to argue what you’re saying see that it’s unnecessary and if this is what they are accepting from other games doesn’t make it right

[heavy acorn]

Honestly, it's nice to see everyone talking about this, because playing this release kind of.. worried me? Ha ha. This is one of the most unfinished games I've ever played at launch, indie or not, no question. I'm super anti-crunch and anti-dev-harassment, and I also really hope we get some kind of explanation to clear things up. I'm another person who is gonna just shelve it and wait awhile; hopefully stuff will get fixed. I also feel like (and again, I could be totally wrong), but compared to other indie game servers I've joined for the purpose of bug tracking, while there is a way to "report bugs and crashes" on here, there really isn't a super concise way to check what's actually been reported/logged/etc.

Which feels to me (100% speculation, could be totally wrong), that the QA/mod team are so utterly overwhelmed that they're either backed up on bug tracking or they aren't really using the reports here to fix stuff. I also didn't back this game and don't know what the bugs looked like in beta compared to this, but it seems like there's way too much that needs fixing for a clear roadmap to be laid out yet.

Lastly, I wanna echo that I think it's really understandable to be disappointed with this, especially as backers. I really hope it gets cleared up in the near future, because honestly the stuff that works in this game works SO WELL, and it has the potential to be so, so good. I really wish all the devs well.

[latent plover]

Regardless of circumstances, a game should never release in this unpolished state at a v1.0 release. Doesn't matter if you are indie or AAA or a beloved company. We are consumers and we paid for it(backers invested more), we should have more self-respect. This game is 90% bugs, in 20 hours of gameplay I have encounter a numerous amounts of bugs and glitches. This is literally Bethesda-level games of unpolished releases. I wasn't even trying to find any in the first place, I literally encounter one every hour or so while I am playing and I am not even done with the game yet!

Honestly I am going to uninstall the game and wait for the game's original release date of 2024. I am going to give this game another year before it fixes itself. I think many games have a chance of redemption, but that doesn't mean a big screw-up should be forgiven so easily. While the whole story isn't known to us, and I would love to blame the publishers as much as the next person. I am just disappointed...

[lyric olive]

I have not played since...summer, so I'm not sure about the bugs since then. But it feels like there are more bugs in this version than there were in the EA versions I played before. I share many of the above opinions that this state of game is so outside the team's usual pattern that something must have come up and forced their hands. I don't blame them for that, but I blame them for not finding a way to be clear about their plans on addressing that. I've seem people even held down by an NDA figure out how to say "we hear you, this is important to us, and we're moving priority work to fixes" etc.

I bet they'll still eventually get to the place they originally planned to be, probably closer to the originally planned timeline. Feeling for everyone who spent money on it early without having any of this context. T.T This is not 1.0 quality.

[ashen lava]

Was really looking forward to a full polished game... I was also dissapointed. I have played 120+ hrs since I discovered CI as EA on steam. I would have understood that it still needed a few more months to polish before the big launch.

[woeful hemlock]

While I may understand the history of Coral Island game dev/rushed launches in general and am willing to wait for fixes, not everyone does or is 😞

The 1.0 trailer has quite a few things shown that aren't accessible in game and honestly I just feel bad about the number of people I heavily recommended an unfinished game to. In my humble opinion, anything that still says WIP or TBD should just not be in the full access game. Yes, people can get refunds but first impressions matter. I wanted my friends and communities to love the game as much as I do and now it will be an uphill battle to win back that trust whenever the game is cleaned up 😮‍💨

[pliant quartz]

you know what also bothers me (which is not the devs and teams fault at all) but they keep posting their promo tweets and popularity contest, as if nothing happened. it infuriates me for some reason.
like is there even an official message, saying like "hey, we know there's a few bugs - we are working on a hotfix" and I know they need to do their promos, it's just -

[timber garnet]

Who sponsored it deserves to be angry.

[primal fulcrum]

The biggest thing the devs need to do for Coral Island is be more transparent about what they are working regarding our feedback like other farming sim games have been doing.

[hard wasp]

It is really shameful to release this as 1.0. Bought it as 1.0 came out and had not played before and seeing this state of the game is quite frankly, terrible. I do understand that they have their circumstances, releasing it to somehow get more funds and reach out to a wider crowd who don't want an early access game or something. But this game sure should have been still in early access! Calling it 1.0 just damages their reputation and people's trust.

Luckily, I still loved the game and wish for it to succeed so in a sense, they succeeded with what they hoped for with me but I still feel it's quite dishonest and bad to do this. I worry that most people are not as forgiving. I sincerely hope they get out a hotfix for all them crashes and some major bugs as soon as possible as to avoid getting worse reviews. It's been a week since release now and well, we still don't know when we will get a hotfix.

[ashen lava]

I do still love and enjoy the gameplay + characters, I am rooting for their success (as a fellow Indonesian I want Indonesian game devs to achieve success in game industry and this is such a promising project!) but tbh I would stop playing for now and wait until they actually added all the contents in. I would hate to have to redo everything again....

[untold lantern]

While they still haven't addressed why they pushed dout 1.0 too soon at least a hotfix for the console audio issues is finished? (#📓coral-developer-diary message ) Still hoping they communicate to us directly about 1.0 being too buggy and incomplete and how they will remedy that.

[trim loom]

Based on what I know of other companies the developers would get in mega trouble for saying “our producers made us do it” and producers are never going to own up to their bad decisions

I’m also disappointed but asking them to say “this is not what you were promised but it’s not our fault” is like asking the cashier to say “yeah our products suck” in front of the manager. Even if they feel bad they’re not going to risk their jobs about it

[glacial swallow]

I have the same thoughts, I thought at least the main quest was done but now I have to wait for ||Gort|| to be released. There are lots of bugs even in just PC, imagine those people who bought via PlayStation. As someone who have worked on these kind of things, there could be an internal problem within the devs, or they are working on some unimaginable quota, sadly.

[wary spade]

im honestly glad there is a post regarding this; i feel like everything has been cut somehow the gameplay feels...idk weird compared to when it was in EA...from Takeba going poof from the townie's menu list, even tho he seems to have a story behind him...kinda sucks that he isnt a giftable/friendable npcs, to in-game to bugs all over the place...crashing at every moment you try to save or just play events, somehow i feel like its more buggy now then it was in ea.I really hope that they will go back and take the time to finish what they said they promised us I know it aint there fault but yeah...don't get me wrong I am still enjoying the gameplay but honestly now I'm just sad and annoyed that it came out like this 😢

[trim loom]

To be blunt the video games industry seems to be in turmoil right now :(

[wary spade]

I know :c I was kinda hopping (long shot) that coral island would be different

[trim loom]

It’s sad because I was fine with everything up until now and I’m still enjoying it but…

[wary spade]

Yeah ik what you mean

It's like they made a big deal about the realse but it just ended up a mess and honestly was hopping it would be different, I'm not saying I blame the devs or anything just got my hopes up yk?

[uneven timber]

Ok, that is total misrepresentation and the examples you gave are not at ALL the same thing. No Man's Sky was in development for YEARS before their lackluster original release, and it took them FOUR YEARS to make their "comeback". FF14 took THREE with a gigantic studio. Coral Island has barely been out for a over a year and I've never seen so much transparency with acknowledgment of bugs, issues, answering questions. Your comparison of games with such dramatically different circumstances is not a good look.

[pliant quartz]

just leaving this here bc it hit the nail on the head

• also romances are broken/not even finished yet

[primal fulcrum]

Good look? I'm not here to impress anyone. Just stating some observations I have made in the gaming industry. It doesn't matter how long or how short someone works in a game. Developers being transparents and working on the issues that gamers tell them they are having are important. White knighting for a company isn't a GOOD LOOK nor does it help them.

[frail current]

No this. Just because some games have issues doesn’t make it okay. And why people refuse to accept criticisms of this game is ridiculous

[primal fulcrum]

Exactly. Plain and simple, this game was rushed and it shows.

[uneven timber]

Where are they not being transparent? They are constantly acknowledging their known bugs, following up on those issues with individuals and offering weekly blog updates. It seems more so that the issue is with them calling this release 1.0 more than anything else? If they had kept it in the 0.0 naming the result would be exactly the same, it's still being updated and improved and the version of the game that people would be happy with is still down the line. That wouldn't change. The issues aren't fun, nobody is ignoring the bugs or saying they're not there, but it is definitely not fair to compare this tiny studio that started to develop this game with a giant ass company like Square Enix.

[frail current]

Obviously you disagree so just block this person or move on. Why do you keep arguing with people who won’t agree with you?

[pliant quartz]

not only did they call it the 1.0 they also increased the pricing. - which in itself is fine, but not if there's next to no difference to EA

[uneven timber]

That's along the lines of saying "If you don't like the game just don't play it". It's not helpful. Perspective from boths sides is

[late flower]

It is extremely disappointing how they handled the game release and the "aftersale" customer support of their product. On my part, I knew that Coral Island was still in the Early Release which meant (usually, all the time) that there are still bugs to work out here and there and some testing here and there - so I stopped myself from buying the game on Steam and decided to wait until the game got out of its Early Release (which usually means that most of the bugs are fixed) and the basic functions of the game is smooth). I was estatic that they announced the release on console so instead of Steam I planned to buy the game on PS5 (I assumed that they tested it on console for them to release it at full price)... Then Nov 14 happened and wow I've never been more active reading and posting game bugs fixes in my entire life of playing. I know there are a lot of CI fans defending this game saying there's a roadmap and all, that they announced that they're still working on the "main" story (which imo should be the main goal before releasing a v1.0 game), that this is the norm of the gaming industry nowadays, they're gonna fix it and it's not whoever is at fault blah blah... The list goes on... But from the standpoint of somebody who was promised a v1 game, bought the game at full price and expects to play it at release date with minimal bugs (aside from the game-wide performance issues on some games)... This just isn't it 😂 This is not a v1 game imo. It's an early release which you pay in full price. And the way they behave with their tweets on the first week of release - ignoring the players woes esp does who backed them and instead posting some popularity contest? Only commenting on tweet posts that congratulates them blah blah... Tsk it's rather... frustrating and annoying for those who paid and can't wait to play the game. Sorry for not being patient like the others lol.

[primal fulcrum]

First of all, I didn't compare the company to SE. What I said, is that both No Man Sky and Final Fantasy 14 were trash when released but because the players were vocal about their disappointed., they did not hesitate to fix it and respond immediately. That's what some have been saying. Whether you like it or not.

[primal fulcrum]

It also doesn't help that they increased the sale price.

[primal fulcrum]

I think you misunderstood what that person said. They're not talking about playing the game. 😉

[late flower]

That is what's frustrating. You'd think (sorry if I'm not an expert at this we can wait until you fix it games) that since the price increased that they at least finished or even polished the game... But no 😂 I saw some posts saying that the bugs on this v1.0 release were just the same during the early release... So what really was the point of putting that price tag on an incomplete game? 😂 And really, the main story unfinished on a v1.0 game is... 😵‍💫 wow

[primal fulcrum]

I can say that is true. A lot of the issue the game currently has were also in EA. The repeating dialogue is one of them.

[late flower]

This is not even an online game 😂

[primal fulcrum]

It will be once they add multiplayer...lol.

[uneven timber]

I completely understood but it seems like you didn't. I'm saying not discussing where both parties can gain perspective is just as useless as if someone told everyone here complaining to just not play the game.

[uneven timber]

I actually get that but I feel like all I see is evidence of them working on the game still?

[late flower]

Right. That will somehow justify the lack of main story... as if 😂

[primal fulcrum]

I can understand that but I also notice that you're being very defensive on their behalf. People have a right to also be upset, especially when you put money in a game.

[weak schooner]

The fact that I’m seeing typos i reported literally months ago still popping up in the bug channel (some of which are single character fixes) screams rushed and uncareful release

[uneven timber]

I am not happy about pretty much the same things as you, especially the merfolk romance... lol. But I think the experience as is is still quite enjoyable, and like I said I think perspective is important here. I will repeat myself and again say it's not quite fair enough to compare their response to larger studios. And even though I am/was not aware of them ignoring people on twitter about the game being incomplete I don't really understand why people are saying they aren't trying to improve the game or not working on it etc.

[uneven timber]

I kind of chalked that up to them being foreign though, because the grammar is wonky at times as well

[pliant quartz]

but why isn't this fixed yet? especially if people are willing to help

[weak schooner]

It’s not that the typos ever existed it’s that they persist for months despite being reported a number of times

[primal fulcrum]

The issue I saw players having was the lack of a quick repsonse from the devs. It took them almost a week to say something. When comparing the responses from other devs, it doesn't matter whether a studio is big or small. They are all game developers. By the way, the studio that does No Man's Sky has less employees than Stairway Games.

[pliant quartz]

also - and i've said this before and i'm aware that different departments - the fact that they kept talking about the popularity contest for a week straigth without even a "we see your feedback" is BOTHERING ME

like if you don't want it publicy, at least ping us here ijskso

[weak schooner]

Their communication in here isn’t great but it’s DIRE in other platforms

Not everyone uses discord

[pliant quartz]

i know, but that would at least be a small thing yk

i'm honestly not expecting much atp

also for my taste they are too slow on #🙈coral-known-bugs

i'm really jut being petty at this point and I hate it bc CI really did shape up to be one of my all time favourites but rn I am more frustrated than anything

[primal fulcrum]

I think one of the issues is that technically, the game wasn't supposed to be released this early. It was scheduled for sometime in 2024. What we were supposed to get this winter was the Winter/Merfolk update in early access. Then for some odd reason, they changed it.

[pliant quartz]

I KNOW, which is why I am so cranky about it - i would've gladly waited a little longer.

[finite lintel]

I can totally understand why folks would be and are frustrated with the state of the game, especially because of the increase of price and the game being marketed as a full release. However, as a software engineer I know that the priority that tickets take isn't always up to the developer. We don't know the dev team's team structure, or the ticketing software they use, but as a software engineer a lot of the time features can be given a higher priority than bugs, especially bugs that are typically considered low priority like a typo. Obviously none of this is an excuse but I'd say it's a good sign that they have been posting dev diaries consistently, and have been including bug fixes in those diaries, it's a sign that they are working on the bugs, even if it's not as fast as some folks might want. A lot of the time, functionality breaking bugs are prioritized over aesthetic ones

[pliant quartz]

https://fxtwitter.com/coralislandgame/status/1727532998185419171?t=AH1PQTOqVIoUN7zZ1h483A&s=19 not them posting this when for a lot of people Marks route is bugged. see, this is what I'm talking about

[pliant quartz]

totally!! but i feel like the game breaking bugs, such as the festival crashes should have been acknowledged somehow - especially since people are still reporting them. they are not even mentioned in #🙈coral-known-bugs as far as I can see.

[finite lintel]

There's definitely no excuse for that, I didn't realize they weren't including all the known game breaking bugs in those lists 😔

[late flower]

They were the ones who didn't assure their clients that "they are working on it" during the first few days after the game release... They just went on twitter saying they did it (yey!) and posted daily popularity contest even responded to congratulatory posts and fan made arts then proceeds to ignore players who have issues here says a lot. Yeah, they were "probably" working on it maybe even during the first day release when they noticed the bugs... Again "probably"... But the frustration of the players during those first few days (me included because I waited to press the buy and download button so I could play on the first day when I should be in my bed asleep) who can't enjoy the game and the lack of response (silence, even) during those days that they need an answer resulted to these "discussions" 😂 I for one doesn't have the expertise of knowing how a game is even done (just know that v1 games are supposed to be complete, imo) blah blah so I can't blame whoever should be blame. Those* people who are upset might not even be pinpointing anyone in this team. We just wanted to play the game that we paid in full... That's just it...

[finite lintel]

I understand, and those frustrations are totally valid! I just hope that knowing that they are working on it now, and vocalizing that, even if not every single bug, even if it's just some of them, helps relieve those feelings a little. It's extremely sucky that they weren't vocal about the bugs and crashes at first, and I definitely think that, that indicates a need for some process improvement in the way the team does things! But at least they're working on it now, and telling us!

It probably doesn't make the frustration go away completely which is valid, it makes sense to feel angry or cheated in some way, just hope the above perspective helps 🙂

[primal fulcrum]

It’s great that they are fixing the issues with the game but unfortunately they released an incomplete game and raised the sale price. The main storyline is not even complete. Currently right now, from what I save seen in some spoilers, it ends in a cliffhanger. The merfolk storyline which I think is connected to the main storyline is not even implemented, they are still writing the story. This game, should of stayed in early access until it was really ready.

[frail current]

I feel like people are not hearing what you’re saying 😂 either way I agree. This is still early access but they better not make us restart again

[pliant quartz]

they are so gonna make us restart if we wanna play in multiplayer mode eventually

[finite lintel]

Unfortunately they probably will make folks restart at some point, depending on how interconnected the pieces of the game are, they might just not have the ability to keep the saves

[real stirrup]

While every update to the EA was exciting, it always felt like the devs were implementing too many new pieces without first finishing the main components. Kinda like building a house but halfway through adding an indoor swimming pool, bowling alley, ten car garage, alternate exterior paints, and exotic landscaping before just laying down the foundation. Let alone making sure the walls and roof were stable enough to stand on their own.

[wary spade]

does anyone know if they will release more reptiles as pets?? because im kinda disappointed with some of the pet stuff...

[true flame]

They haven’t specifically mentioned adding more pets, as all of the current pets were backer ideas/designs. But honestly, given the state of things, I wouldn’t be optimistic. The most I feel we can hope for in pets is more freedom in what they do day to day (instead of just walking to a certain part of the house, then walking back) and maybe a few furniture items for them to interact with. Just my opinion Given the 1692001 issues and reported bugs rn

[true flame]

This is perfectly worded!

[wary spade]

Yeah true. I am just really annoyed with how the state of the pets is...I feel bad for Lizzy? ( i think that the name) one being The beared dragons encloser...let alone the only pet furniture for the beared dragon is a bed even if it was a backers idea/design I just wish they would of added more detail of reptiles stuff just makes me sad to see this as me and my partner own a bearded dragon.

[true flame]

I totally agree. A lot of the components in game are very unfinished. All we can do is hope that we get a complete experience before they call it quits

[wary spade]

but i am not 100% sure if they added more pet furniture

[wary spade]

i agree! this game has so much potential, i just really hope they dont call it quits when the game is in this state

[true flame]

I’d like to think they’d be smarter than that, considering the game was added to box console and pc gamepass.. and from my understanding Microsoft has a strict policy for full release games on that specific section of their platforms in regards to their condition. Makes them look bad when publishers 💩 the bed like they are rn

[wary spade]

huh i didnt know that but makes sense. just going to have to wait and hope for the best

[shell ridge]

Really interesting topic.

I've sifted through it (realllyyy too much to read). I understand that most likely we will find out if the rush from Humble Games was the factor for presumably rushed release of 1.0.
Do you know/anticipate any official update anytime soon acknowledging current status of the production and near/far future plans.

I want to know what is ahead of us, what content will be worked next first, and what will need more time to be completed.

I want to know if the Mines (especially combat!) will get some more love, because compared to many other mechanics in the game which are really great (I LOVE DIVING AND BUG CATCHING!) that one stantds out pretty negatively.

[untold lantern]

Agreed. I'd rather they slow down implementing new features rn in favour of prioritizing game breaking bugs, especially on consoles. I blame the pusblisher on rushing them.
I myself luckily haven't encountered most of the bugs (mostly wonky controls, repeating dialogue and a certain lack of performance optimization) but I am backing up all my saves in case I do. And I feel bad for everyone who can't enjoy the game rn and would have rather they did not rush 1.0 and stay in EA.

Like many in this thread I also wonder why the community managers haven't directly addressed the disappointment about 1.0 being buggy yet. They wouldn't have to tell us why they released early, just that they heard the disappointment.

[wary spade]

Maybe they can't? Idk

[primal fulcrum]

The community managers can only relate information to us that’s given to them by the development team. That’s not to say that the devs can’t say anything themselves.

[wary spade]

Oh I see

[polar pelican]

Yeah I am pretty baffled that the game launched to 1.0 like this. It feels less stable than the last iteration of EA. There doesn't seem to be a huge difference in the breadth of finished content compared to EA. It feels obvious it is a desperate attempt to gather more funding.

I told a lot of friends to check it out on Nov 14 but now I'm kinda walking that recommendation back. Stardew Valley did not attempt multiplatform release for a while after its PC launch. This game probably should have not attempted it, but those are markets/$$$ lost.

Ultimately, this ain't a charity. The bad will and bad feelings generated by this misstep will be costly.

[vernal pawn]

They should do “state of the game” acknowledgment. They don’t have to tell us why or place blame, just tell us they recognize the messy release and affirm that things will be fix/finished. Like, they need to stop acting like the release was fine or as if they were still in early access.

[real stirrup]

Yeah and honestly I would have been totally okay with any bugs (luckily I haven't encountered anything game breaking yet. but I'm on PC) if the game itself was mainly completed. And by that I mean at least the main island restoration and relationship questlines. Really they could have held off with the entire ocean clean up questline for an expansion. That way you could go through that area in its entirety AND all the merfolk stuff involved.

[blazing adder]

There's honestly so many things that could have happened

• Low on development funds
• Pressure from the publisher
• Cashing in on holiday season
• Pressure from Microsoft because they put it on game pass
• They needed more game feedback input from the wider world rather than just the Early Access and Kickstarter community
• All of the above

[primal fulcrum]

The can’t be low on development funds since since publisher pays for game development and they also raised over a million dollars on kickstart. As for it being on Game Pass, Microsoft pays devs to put games on Game Pass.