Add episodic release strategy with 5 releases over 2.5 years and early access pricing model
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@@ -1277,6 +1277,238 @@ Anvil, Forge, Furnace, Kiln, Loom, Spinning Wheel, Workbench, Crafting Table, Al
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**Status:** 🔴 **BLOCKED** - Need to start asset generation NOW!
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---
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## 🚀 RELEASE STRATEGY - EPISODIC DEPLOYMENT
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**Model:** Early Access / Episodic Releases
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**Goal:** Release content incrementally, build community, fund development
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**Platform:** Steam Early Access / Itch.io
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---
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### 📅 **RELEASE TIMELINE & CONTENT**
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#### **RELEASE 0: KICKSTARTER DEMO** 🎯
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**Date:** February 10, 2026
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**Price:** FREE (demo)
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**Duration:** 10-15 minutes
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**Purpose:** Prove concept, attract backers
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**Content:**
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- ✅ Tutorial (Zombie Control)
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- ✅ First Memory (1/50)
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- ✅ Town Discovery
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- ✅ First Survivor (Population: 0 → 1)
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- ✅ Chernobyl hook
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**Goal:** Kickstarter funding + Community building
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---
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#### **RELEASE 1: EARLY ACCESS - ALPHA 1** 🔥
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**Date:** Q2 2026 (April-June)
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**Price:** $9.99 (Early Access Discount - 50% off final price!)
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**Duration:** ~5-8 hours gameplay
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**Status:** Production starts after Demo
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**Content:**
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- ✅ **Story:** Prologue + First 10 Memories (10/50)
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- ✅ **Biomes:** 4 Normal Biomes (Grassland, Forest, Desert, Swamp)
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- ✅ **NPCs:** 40 Biome NPCs + 20 Town NPCs (60 total)
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- ✅ **Creatures:** Wild Animals (15), Farm Animals (10), Chernobyl Mutants (10) = 35 creatures
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- ✅ **Town System:** 1 Town (Tutorial Town) - Population cap: 50
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- ✅ **Farming:** 20 crops, basic farming cycle
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- ✅ **Combat:** Basic melee + 3 weapon types
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- ✅ **Quests:** 20 main quests + 15 side quests
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- ✅ **Crafting:** 50 basic recipes
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- ✅ **Buildings:** 10 farm buildings, 8 town buildings
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**What Players Get:**
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- Full zombie control mechanics
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- Town restoration (first town only)
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- Memory collection (first 10)
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- Basic farming & combat
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- Foundation for future content
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**Early Access Note:** "This is ALPHA 1 - expect bugs, missing features. Your feedback shapes the game!"
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---
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#### **RELEASE 2: EARLY ACCESS - ALPHA 2** ⚡
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**Date:** Q4 2026 (October-December)
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**Price:** $14.99 (Early Access - still discounted!)
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**or:** FREE UPDATE for Alpha 1 buyers! 🎁
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**Duration:** +10-15 hours (total: 15-23 hours)
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**New Content:**
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- ✅ **Story:** Memories 11-25 (25/50 total) + Ana's Story DLC starts!
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- ✅ **Biomes:** +4 Normal (Mountain, Snow, Wasteland, Tropical) + 2 Magical (Dino Valley, Mythical Highlands)
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- ✅ **NPCs:** +80 Biome NPCs, +50 Town NPCs (190 NPCs total)
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- ✅ **Creatures:** Dinosaurs (15), Mythical Creatures (20), Worker Creatures (6) = +41 creatures
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- ✅ **Bosses:** First 6 bosses (T-Rex, Dragon, Nessie, etc.)
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- ✅ **Town System:** 2 more towns (3 total) - Population cap: 150
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- ✅ **Railway System:** 10 stations unlocked
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- ✅ **Zoo & Breeding:** Basic breeding for 30 species
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- ✅ **Museum:** Collectibles system (100 items)
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- ✅ **Advanced Crafting:** +150 recipes (200 total)
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- ✅ **Quests:** +40 quests (75 total)
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**What's New:**
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- Dinosaurs! (Dino Valley unlocked)
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- Dragons & Mythical Creatures
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- Boss fights (6 bosses)
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- Railway fast travel
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- Animal breeding
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- Ana's Story begins (separate campaign!)
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---
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#### **RELEASE 3: EPISODE 1 - "THE SEARCH"** 🗺️
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**Date:** Q2 2027 (6 months after Alpha 2)
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**Price:** $19.99 (Full Episode)
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**or:** FREE UPDATE for Early Access supporters! 🎁
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**Duration:** +15-20 hours (total: 30-43 hours)
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**New Content:**
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- ✅ **Story:** Memories 26-40 (40/50) - Kai remembers Ana fully!
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- ✅ **Biomes:** +6 Magical (Loch Ness, Catacombs, Egyptian Desert, Amazon, Mexican Cenotes, Witch Forest)
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- ✅ **NPCs:** +100 NPCs (290 total)
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- ✅ **Creatures:** Mythical Creatures (remaining 19), Chupacabra (3), Aquatic (20) = +42 creatures
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- ✅ **Bosses:** +10 bosses (Sphinx, Kraken, Quetzalcoatl, Baba Yaga, etc.) = 16 total
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- ✅ **Towns:** +10 towns (13 total) - Population cap: 500
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- ✅ **Railway:** All 27 stations unlocked!
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- ✅ **School System:** Unlocked (teach NPCs skills)
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- ✅ **Capital City:** Discovered (not yet accessible)
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- ✅ **Quests:** +50 quests (125 total)
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**Major Features:**
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- All 6 new magical biomes!
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- Underwater exploration (Atlantis preview)
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- Mythical creature taming
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- School system (NPC education)
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- Boss rush mode unlocked
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---
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#### **RELEASE 4: EPISODE 2 - "THE TRUTH"** 🔍
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**Date:** Q4 2027 (6 months after Episode 1)
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**Price:** $24.99 (Full Episode)
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**or:** FREE UPDATE for Early Access supporters! 🎁
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**Duration:** +15-20 hours (total: 45-63 hours)
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**New Content:**
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- ✅ **Story:** Memories 41-50 (50/50) - **FULL MEMORY RESTORED!**
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- ✅ **Biomes:** Atlantis (full unlock) + Chernobyl (accessible but not final area)
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- ✅ **NPCs:** +90 NPCs (380 total) - Almost all!
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- ✅ **Bosses:** +6 bosses (Sea Serpent, Leviathan, etc.) = 22 total
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- ✅ **Towns:** +14 towns (27 total - ALL TOWNS!) - Population cap: 1000
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- ✅ **Ana's Story:** Fully playable! (15 hours campaign)
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- ✅ **Capital City:** Unlocked!
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- ✅ **Politics System:** Unlocked (town governance)
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- ✅ **Nomad Raiders:** Enemy faction introduced
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- ✅ **Quests:** +75 quests (200 total)
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**Major Features:**
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- Full memory restored! (Emotional climax!)
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- Ana's Story complete!
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- Capital City unlocked
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- Politics & governance
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- Preparation for final battle
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---
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#### **RELEASE 5: FINAL EPISODE - "THE RESCUE"** 🔥
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**Date:** Q2 2028 (6 months after Episode 2)
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**Price:** $29.99 (Complete Edition)
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**or:** FREE UPDATE for ALL previous buyers! 🎁
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**Duration:** +10-15 hours (total: 55-78 hours)
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**Final Content:**
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- ✅ **Story:** ENDGAME - Storm Chernobyl, save Ana, confront Dr. Krnić
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- ✅ **Chernobyl Reactor Level 7:** Final dungeon (7 floors!)
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- ✅ **Final Bosses:** Giant Troll King (3 phases), Dr. Krnić (final form)
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- ✅ **ALL 109 Creatures:** Complete bestiary!
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- ✅ **ALL 24 Bosses:** Complete boss collection!
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- ✅ **ALL 388 NPCs:** Every single NPC generated!
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- ✅ **Multiple Endings:** 5 different endings based on choices!
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- ✅ **New Game+:** Replay with all powers unlocked!
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- ✅ **Endgame Content:** Boss Rush, Arena Mode, Speedrun Mode
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- ✅ **Achievements:** 100 achievements to unlock
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**COMPLETE GAME:**
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- Full story (all 50 memories)
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- All 20 biomes
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- All 27 towns
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- All systems unlocked
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- 5 different endings
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- 55-78 hours main story
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- 100+ hours completionist
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---
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### 💰 **PRICING MODEL**
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| Purchase Timing | Price | What You Get |
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|-----------------|-------|--------------|
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| **Kickstarter Backer** | $15 (Early Bird) | ALL future updates FREE forever! 🎁 |
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| **Early Access (Alpha 1)** | $9.99 | ALL future updates FREE! 🎁 |
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| **Early Access (Alpha 2)** | $14.99 | ALL future updates FREE! 🎁 |
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| **Episode 1** | $19.99 | Episode 1 + All future updates FREE! 🎁 |
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| **Episode 2** | $24.99 | Episode 2 + Final Episode FREE! 🎁 |
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| **Final Episode (v1.0)** | $29.99 | Complete game |
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| **Complete Edition (Lateral)** | $39.99 | Buy any time after v1.0 |
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**Early Supporter Benefit:** Buy EARLY, get EVERYTHING! 🎉
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---
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### 📊 **CONTENT PROGRESSION**
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| Release | Biomes | NPCs | Creatures | Bosses | Hours | Price |
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|---------|--------|------|-----------|--------|-------|-------|
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| **Demo** | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.25 | FREE |
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| **Alpha 1** | 4 | 60 | 35 | 0 | 5-8 | $9.99 |
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| **Alpha 2** | 10 | 190 | 76 | 6 | 15-23 | $14.99 |
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| **Episode 1** | 16 | 290 | 118 | 16 | 30-43 | $19.99 |
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| **Episode 2** | 18 | 380 | 124 | 22 | 45-63 | $24.99 |
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| **Final** | 20 | 388 | 109 | 24 | 55-78 | $29.99 |
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---
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### 🎯 **DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY**
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**Why Episodic?**
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1. ✅ **Funding:** Each release funds next development
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2. ✅ **Feedback:** Community shapes the game
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3. ✅ **Quality:** More time per episode = better quality
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4. ✅ **Hype:** Regular releases keep momentum
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5. ✅ **Testing:** Catch bugs early, fix before final
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6. ✅ **Loyalty:** Early supporters get lifetime value
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**Release Cadence:** New content every 6 months
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**Total Dev Time:** ~2.5 years (Feb 2026 - Q2 2028)
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**Community Involvement:** Discord, Reddit, Surveys between releases
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---
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### 🔐 **COMMITMENT TO EARLY SUPPORTERS**
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**Promise:** Anyone who buys during Early Access (Alpha 1 or Alpha 2) gets **ALL FUTURE UPDATES FREE FOREVER!**
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This means:
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- Buy for $9.99 in Alpha 1
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- Get $29.99 worth of content by Final Episode
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- **LIFETIME SAVINGS: $20!** 🎁
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**Why?** Because you believed in us when we had nothing! ❤️
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---
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**Status:** ✅ Release strategy defined and locked!
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---
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#### **🔥 PHASE 1** (Alpha 1 - Core Gameplay)
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**Target:** Playable first 10 hours
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**Includes:**
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