Rooted Devlog #0

A small info drop from the developers!

Earlier today, the developer of Rooted released a small video detailing info on the upcoming Alpha. I enjoyed it! It was a nice balance between actual information and the normal “hype” style shit most people shoehorn into their video updates.

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Key Takeaways

• Release date. The Alpha will launch on Monday, September 4th at 2 PM EST on Steam and the Epic Game Store. Registering to the website will put you in a lottery for random selection Alpha access. Or! Specific tiers of their Kickstarter will provide Alpha access- that’s how I’ll get it!

• The developer self-described the game as “halfway between Solo Narrative Game and Open World PvP” with “exploration necessary for survival, skills, equipment.” I’m withholding judgment, I guess. I can’t say I’ve enjoyed typical PvP within DayZ, SCUM, or New World- so I’m always wary when that’s a factor. Given that we know nothing about The Day Before, I don’t want to say that Rooted has similarities- besides being another post-apoc style game. But does anyone feel like Rooted has a similar vibe? Maybe it’s just a generic avatar running through a destroyed world thing.

• I liked that the developer specifically warned (timestamped) that the Alpha is an Alpha is an Alpha. Translation. It will be a technical demonstration to test and improve game mechanics and features. Alphas and tech demos can involve restarting and dealing with bugs or glitches. Developers rely on you to bang your head on shit to help troubleshoot issues. It’s not meant to be relaxing gameplay fun. TLDR: If you're easily frustrated or bored, don't do it and be a complainer.

• The Alpha will be under NDA, which we knew. (Not surprising, either.)

• As per the roadmap, there are four main phases of Alpha development and testing before it swaps to Beta. "Foundation" is the phase starting in Q3 of 2023, with the rest building on the previous phase's success. (Or failure.)

• The developer warned that the game will -more than likely- be taxing on hardware. It will be interesting to see how that plays out! Icarus launched with a similar warning regarding the benchmarks required to play the game, which got a fair amount of backlash. I understand wanting to use technology rather than cater to older systems or GPUs. And I guess we aren’t in the same spot as a year (or was it two?) ago, where you couldn’t find a GPU anywhere.

• You’ll want to watch the part about the POI development since it’s nifty and much easier to enjoy with your eyeballs.

• Going big with the soundtrack, including dropping the opening track to the major music hubs. 

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Overall the video was a nice info dump that solidified my current stance on the game- I’m interested and keeping track of significant announcements.

Otherwise, very “I’ll wait to get hands-on with it.” That’s a fair middle ground between The Day Before (disdain) and Wanderlost (anticipation.)

Would love to hear your thoughts!

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