Name some good early access games.

[small]

space engineers, updated once a week 100% playable and a hell of a lot of fun. ive been playing it now a couple of months and if it was released in that state i would of accepted it as a full game let alone now with all the extras

take on mars is good as well, still needs some tidying up and the patch before new year broke one of the craters so you cant land anything on it, it just falls through into video game purgatory

 

[f1r2a3n4k5]

In addition to the games already mentioned I'd like to name "Factorio".

This looks really interesting. I'm going to try the demo.

It's not on Steam yet... for some reason. But I bought into Unreal World [http://www.unrealworld.fi/] like.... half a decade ago.

It kind of follows the Minecraft model of early access. "Buy one version. We're gonna keep updating this forever." Except that Unreal World predates Minecraft & Early Access by 20-something years.

Fascinating... Looks like a distant relative of Dwarf Fortress's Adventure mode. I'm way too lazy to figure out which one came first, but at first glance one of them seems to have heavily influenced the other.

UnReal World has been around for forever. Wiki says, DF started in 2002 and UrW in 1992.

They are very very similar. Indie developers that live frugally on a budget of donations so they can pour most of their effort into making their games hyper-detailed.

Fortunately, UrW's dev puts more time into UI and graphics, so it's not anywhere near as obtuse. It's in the midst of a major graphical overhaul.

Right now, it's also fo'-free. So no reason not to give it a spin.

 

[WarpedLord]

Mordheim: City of the Damned.

It's a strategy/turn-based RPG based on the miniatures boardgame of the same name by Games Workshop. I've been having a blast with it, and others have rated it very highly as well.

Check out some of the Let's Plays on Youtube. That's what finally sold me.

 

[Atmos Duality]

-Gnomoria
It's Dwarf Fortress, but with graphics. And it was updated fairly regularly.

-Starport Gemini 2: The developers were laser-quick to respond to my technical issues, routinely updated the game, and kept players in the loop. At the very least, it's a promising alternative to Star Citizen, though I admit I haven't kept up with it lately on account of my backlog.

-Edge of Space: It was being updated semi-frequently and unlike a certain other game I could mention, said updates didn't require the alignment of the stars to happen. It has a more structured sense of purpose than other 2D sandbox games.
(defensible base building is essential to progress into deeper, more dangerous biome layers)

I really should reinstall and see where it has gone since then...

Nothing else from the top of me head.

 

[Morgoth780]

Distance is pretty nice. You could argue that it's not really worth it over nitronic rush, but it's still good. Steam workshop integration is a nice plus too imo.

 

[Revnak_v1legacy]

Endless legend. The best Civilization game to ever not be a Civilization game. It is neat, and if I remember correctly, it was early access. I feel like it was on Greenlight too, but that doesn't make any sense since it's a prequel to endless space.

 

[Ieyke]

Minecraft.

Block 'N' Load
Nosgoth

That's all I've got ATM.

 

[AnthrSolidSnake]

Prison Architect. The only early access game that I own on Steam that I actually enjoy playing. It is like Hotel Giant but for people who stab other people. It works remarkably well for an early access game, has mod support, and has monthly content updates. It is also a lot of fun to play. So there's that.

Come on guys, H1Z1. You know, if you don't have time to find guns in a survival game, why not just buy one. Its such a good idea, ammo too. And guess what everyone is buying it, so why not ride along with the borderline scam train choo choo.

...

You can buy guns in that game? Like, with real money?

Ew. Icky.

Never going to touch that piece of crap then.

No, you can't. While H1Z1 does have a pseudo-microtransaction system in play, people have been taking the concept and exaggerating it. You buy a stupid airdrop, which everyone in the game world can potentially see dropping, and ANYONE can grab it even if only you paid for it. There's also no guarantee there will be a gun. Or ammo.

I'll agree it's an incredibly stupid concept, but so do the devs to a degree, who claim that it isn't working as intended and will be fixing it very soon. I'm also not excusing the state of the game right now, the micro-transaction shop is absolutely ridiculous, and there is still a high chance the weapon will be in the airdrop anyway and there will be no one nearby to stop you. So in a way is still does make it pay-to-win.

 

[AnthrSolidSnake]

Out of the 10 I own (Yes, ten. Don't judge me. I spend my money how I want and I find the Early Access process fascinating if it's done properly), and the only one that continues to deliver and impress is 7 Days to Die. It's completely playable and it's main mechanics are functional. That's more than I can say for the other 9 games.

DayZ
Miscreated
The Forest
Interstellar Marines
Rising World
Space Engineers
Rust
Life is Feudal: Your Own

I mean, most of the above are playable, but they're either so Early Access they are boring (Rising World, Miscreated), or they are just fundamentally flawed to begin with (Life is Feudal, DayZ, Interstellar Marines).

 

[Amaror]

Rimworld looks dreadfully similar to Prison Architect. Is it made by the same guys?

Nope, the developer just wasn't good enough in doing art for the game to create his own graphic style, so that the art he made on his own was heavily inspired by PA. Part of the reason he did a kickstarter was to get enough money to hire an artist for the game. He has the artist now but the fans liked the overall style of the visuals so the visual style is still pretty similar to PA. I think he even asked the PA artist if it's ok.
It's completely different in gameplay though and in my mind a lot better. At least i have gotten bored with PA way way faster than Rimworld and have not gotten interested enough to continue playing, while i played every new rimworld alpha.

On Topic:
I can aggree with a lot of mentions here:
Dwarf Fortress
Rimworld
Factorio
All these games are unfinished, sold and great nonetheless.
Though i want to mention
Stonehearth
It's still really early in development and a lot of stuff is not in place yet. But it's allready pretty fun, although for roughly one to two hours at most, since there isn't much content. Additionally the developers are very open in their development which in my opinion is integral to keeping the trust through a long time of early access development.
They release a video update about new features pretty much every week and have recently started to livestream their development two times a week. You can literally watch the developers fiddle with the code and models of the game for a couple of hours two times a week.
This is also a reason why i think that Rimworld is so great, because the developer releases the changes he made during development every day.

 

[SmapdyAge8]

As others have said, Prison Architect and Space Engineers are by far the best values for early access games out there. Both provide many days of play value in their current state.

I would also recommend Kenshi. It is a bit rougher than the other Early Access games mentioned before, but is making good progress and can provide lots of rewarding gameplay in it's current state.

Essentially Kenshi has you controlling one guy at first, but can later hire others, all of whom can be individually controlled. You can then start your own faction as well as build your own town that is recognized by wandering NPCs and Bandits who both show up for trade or plunder. Or you could just be a lone wanderer traveling the world doing as you please. There is currently no plan to add goals or anything to the game, it is designed to be pure sandbox. Worth a look.

 

[Ieyke]

Block N Load
Team Fortress 2 by way of Minecraft.

Here's the Yogscast's first set of battles
Team Lewis/Simon/Duncan/Sjin/Martyn VS Team HatFilms/Sips/Turps:

 

[CommanderL]

As others have said, Prison Architect and Space Engineers are by far the best values for early access games out there. Both provide many days of play value in their current state.

I would also recommend Kenshi. It is a bit rougher than the other Early Access games mentioned before, but is making good progress and can provide lots of rewarding gameplay in it's current state.

Essentially Kenshi has you controlling one guy at first, but can later hire others, all of whom can be individually controlled. You can then start your own faction as well as build your own town that is recognized by wandering NPCs and Bandits who both show up for trade or plunder. Or you could just be a lone wanderer traveling the world doing as you please. There is currently no plan to add goals or anything to the game, it is designed to be pure sandbox. Worth a look.

I seceond kenshi the devs also post often with road maps and just general progress updates

kenshi is amazing and keeps getting better

robocraft is also amazing

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

I'll second Interstellar Marines heartily; the co-op missions are varied and interesting, though there's still a few bugs. Space Engineers is basically Minecraft IN SPACE, for all that entails- if collecting resources for crafting is your "thing" (or doing so with friends) then you might very well enjoy it, and the game has been receiving regular updates.

Despite what some naysayers would have you think, "early access" doesn't automatically mean "cash-grab garbage". You just have to be a lot more discerning as to whether what you see and what's promised is worth your money.

 

[Ieyke]

robocraft is also amazing

Oh, yea. Robocraft is awesome.
I lost DAYS in Robocraft when I first started playing it.

It's like....Armored Core by way of Minecraft.

 

[sanquin]

space engineers, updated once a week 100% playable and a hell of a lot of fun. ive been playing it now a couple of months and if it was released in that state i would of accepted it as a full game let alone now with all the extras

Yyyeeeaaa...no. While I do agree that Space Engineers is a good early access game it's not nearly '100% playable'. A lot of people have problems even starting the game, and it's a poorly optimized atm. And if you try to multiplayer there are still quite a few issues they need to fix. Like magnetic locks not exploding and damaging everything around it when locked onto a surface. Or rotors exploding out of nowhere. My and a friend can barely use any landing gear, and rotors are a big no-go for now. Which sucks as I LOVE working with rotors/pistons.

 

[uncle_yuri]

Nuclear Throne and Kerbal Space Program are probably about as good as it gets at the moment. If you are into games like Titan Quest, Grim Dawn might be worth a look as well.

 

[CommanderL]

robocraft is also amazing

Oh, yea. Robocraft is awesome.
I lost DAYS in Robocraft when I first started playing it.

It's like....Armored Core by way of Minecraft.

do you still play robocraft would love a platoon buddy

 

[Ieyke]

I'm not playing it ATM, no. I'm gonna let the game come out before I play again so that I'm not burned out on it by the time it's really awesome.