Gold Milestone, PlayStation Demo and PS+ Announcement
over 2 years ago
– Tue, Jul 25, 2023 at 07:07:39 AM
Hello dear backers & supporters!
This is it, the last week before we do our final submission to all launch platforms! Come Friday, Sea of Stars will officially have reached the Gold (master) milestone, and on its way to certification for the official release in 5 weeks!
While the team is hard at work making sure everything is ready, we also had a few updates to share, so here we go!
THE DEMO IS NOW AVAILABLE ON PLAYSTATION 4 AND 5
As announced via PlayStation social media today, the demo is now available on both PS4 and PS5! This means that the demo is now officially available on all launch platforms.
The announcement was accompanied by the publication of a whole new post on the official PlayStation blog, where Sabotage’s Level Designer Philippe Dionne gave an overview of the design philosophy behind all things traversal in Sea of Stars. You can read it all here!
If you feel like helping us spread the word, the best way is by liking and sharing this tweet.
Demo Content
This is the exact same demo that was already released on Nintendo Switch, Steam, and Xbox, including the minor updates that followed.
While the demo features areas that will be part of the final game, we made sure to pick a slice that did not reveal any major spoilers from the main story. It is designed to give a hint of context, but mostly showcase some gameplay systems and mechanics around dungeon crawling and combat. It aims to provide a sense of the tone and vibe without giving away major points of the journey.
Got any feedback? Feel free to come talk to us and share your thoughts in the #sos-demo-feedback channel on Discord!
SEA OF STARS WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR PS PLUS EXTRA SUBSCRIBERS DAY 1
We’re very excited to announce that Sea of Stars will be available to even more players on launch day as it joins the PS Plus Extra catalog.
As mentioned at the time of the GamePass announcement, this deal means we will be getting better store placement and marketing support, which is critical on launch day to secure our long-term ability to focus less on fundraising and more on making games.
As September will be a very competitive month for releases, it is our hope that making Sea of Stars more easily accessible to more players will help us find a proper footing in the busy year that 2023 has been for gaming.
This isn’t an exclusive deal in any way, meaning it has no impact on our ability to bring the game to any other platforms or services. To be extra clear, Sea of Stars is still launching on Steam, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Playstation 4 and Playstation 5 on August 29th.
Deals such as these are a testament to the overwhelming hype surrounding the release of Sea of Stars and we’ll never forget that you guys we’re the very firsts to believe in the vision. We couldn’t be here without your support and, once again, we’re forever grateful.As such, if you feel inclined to change the platform for which you want to receive your copy of the game, you only have to drop us a line at [email protected] and we will make any requested changes despite the surveys being closed.
FULFILLMENT UPDATE: CRYPT & SURVEYS ARE CLOSED
Big thanks to everyone who took the time to fill out their backer survey! It is now time to move forward with the fulfillment process.
For backers with funds yet to be collected, please note that your credit card will be charged this Thursday, July 27th. This charge will appear on your bank statement as < SABOTAGE STUDIO>. Please make sure that you have the correct card information on file. If any issues arise with your payment you’ll receive an email letting you know to confirm payment information.
Should you need to review payment information, you can return to your survey by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page at https://sea-of-stars.backerkit.com/.
If you have physical rewards, it’ll still be possible to update your shipping address in your survey even if the rest of the info is locked. There will be a final notice before it also gets locked in time for delivery.
Regarding the Crypt, our artists recently finalized all the hand-crafted monuments for our top backers! The rest of the memorials (stones and statues) have also been integrated into the game. We hope you’ve kept your retrieval code in a safe spot to find yours throughout the 8,000+ memorials of the in-game Crypt!
Please note that at this point, we can’t make any more updates to Crypt submissions and names in the backer section of the credits.
If you need any support with your pledge, please reach out to [email protected].
THAT’S IT FOR NOW!
Okay, time to get back to the final stretch. There will be a lot happening over the next month, and we’ll make sure to keep you all updated as much as we can.
All the best,
-SaboTeam
FOOTNOTES
As we are self-publishing, growing awareness is paramount throughout production. Now more than ever as we’re getting close to the game’s release. If you have a moment to help us even more than you already have, here are a few ways you can can do so in 30 seconds or less:
Invite a friend or internet traveler to do any of the above!
Documentary Announcement + Demo Available now on Xbox
over 2 years ago
– Tue, Jul 11, 2023 at 10:10:32 AM
Hello dear backers & supporters!
As of writing this, there are less than 50 days left until Sea of Stars finally releases. Can you believe it? We can't.
Anyway, we’ve got a few updates to share today so let’s get into it.
DEMO & PRE-ORDERS AVAILABLE NOW ON XBOX
As featured in today’s ID@Xbox showcase, you can now download the Xbox playable demo. Pre-orders are also available, though as a backer you're most likely all set already! More info on the Sea of Stars’ Xbox store page.
If you feel like helping us spread the word, the best way is by liking and sharing this tweet.
Demo Content & PlayStation Rollout
This is the exact same demo that was already released on Nintendo Switch and Steam, including the minor updates that followed. For those waiting on the PlayStation release, that's still happening ahead of launch! Stay tuned!
While the demo features areas that will be part of the final game, we made sure to pick a slice that did not reveal any major spoilers from the main story. It is designed to give a hint of context, but mostly showcase some gameplay systems and mechanics around dungeon crawling and combat. It aims to provide a sense of the tone and vibe without giving away major points of the journey.
Got any feedback? Feel free to come talk to us and share your thoughts in the #sos-demo-feedback channel on Discord!
SEA OF STARS WILL COST $34.99 USD
As a backer, you are most likely already set as far as game copies go, we're just keeping you updated on the happenings of the project.
At the end of a long analysis, thorough discussions with fellow devs, and looking at similar titles, we landed on a price that accomplishes our two main goals: first, to be as affordable as possible, and second, to secure our ability to work on the next game.
Starting from the $34.99 USD baseline, we will make sure to apply regional pricing skewed towards the buyer. This only means more people will experience the story we crafted, which is a big plus for us!
All in all, we truly believe that after the game has been played through and through, players will feel like it was a fair ask for the serving they got.
A DOCUMENTARY MAKING OF IS COMING, COURTESY OF THE ESCAPIST
During our Kickstarter campaign, one of the stretch goals was the addition of a behind-the-scenes documentary. Well, here’s a first glimpse at an upcoming piece produced in collaboration with The Escapist!
If you feel like helping us get the trailer seen, the best way is to like and share this tweet.
Their team flew to Québec in order to visit the studio for a few days back in April, and sit with a few members of the team for some interviews.
We had in-depth conversations about the vision for Sea of Stars, daily life at the studio, our hopes, our challenges, and reflected upon our 7 years journey as Sabotage.
We won't say anymore for now, the full documentary comes out on August 15th!
BACKER SURVEY REMINDER: ORDERS LOCK TOMORROW
This is the final warning regarding the backer survey. At 2PM EST tomorrow, the orders will be locked and you won’t have access to your survey anymore. Until then, you can still go back to it and make any necessary updates.
If you never received the backer survey, please reach out to us right away at [email protected].
For BackerKit pre-order backers who haven’t been charged yet, we’ll process those payments at the end of the month.
THAT’S IT FOR NOW!
Stay tuned for more announcements as we get steadily closer to launch. Debug is going well and we expect the game to hit the GOLD (bug free) milestone at the end of July, which will leave us a full month for the certification process, and to ensure everything is in proper shape to welcome all of you.
We’ll be back with more news soon. And as always, thank you for the positivity and support, it helps a lot in this final stretch! <3
All the best,
-SaboTeam
FOOTNOTES
As we are self-publishing, growing awareness is paramount throughout production. If you have a moment to help us even more than you already have, here are a few ways you can can do so in 30 seconds or less:
The survey was sent to the email address associated with your Kickstarter or BackerKit pledge.If you still haven’t received yours, please reach out at [email protected].
With the deadline one week away, we can’t stress this enough: do not wait any longer to fill out your survey!
WHAT'S NEXT?
Once we reach the deadline we’ll lock the orders, which means that it won’t be possible to change your order or update your survey answers past this point.
Credit cards for BackerKit pre-order backers who haven’t paid yet will get charged soon after.
For backers with physical rewards, it’ll still be possible to update your shipping address if needed. The shipping address will be locked at a later time when we’re ready to deliver these items. We’ll keep you updated as we still don’t have an ETA for this.
Digital rewards will be sent at launch to the same email address used to fill out the survey. Again, we’ll keep you all updated as we get closer to the release date.
THAT’S IT FOR NOW!
Again, thanks for your support <3
This phase of fulfillment has been very smooth so far, thanks to everyone’s patience and collaboration. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach us out at [email protected] or in the #fulfillment-support channel on Discord.
All the best,
-Saboteam
FOOTNOTES
As we are self-publishing, growing awareness is paramount throughout production. If you have a moment to help us even more than you already have, here are a few ways you can can do so in 30 seconds or less:
Invite a friend or internet traveler to do any of the above!
Steam Next Fest: PC Demo Available Now
over 2 years ago
– Mon, Jun 19, 2023 at 10:05:14 AM
Hey everyone!
Steam Next Fest starts today, and we’re happy to confirm that Sea of Stars is part of the week-long event.
Not only is this a great opportunity for Sea of Stars to gain visibility on Steam and grow the wishlist before launch, it also means that the demo is now available on PC!
If you feel like helping us spread the word, the best way is by liking and sharing this tweet.
While the demo features areas that will be part of the final game, we made sure to pick a slice that did not reveal any major spoilers from the main story. It is designed to give a hint of context, but mostly showcase some gameplay systems and mechanics around dungeon crawling and combat. It aims to provide a sense of the tone and vibe without giving away major points of the journey.
For those who might be wondering, it is the exact same demo that was released on Nintendo Switch back in February, including the minor updates that followed.
The demo will remain available on Steam after the Steam Next Fest. The same slice is also coming to PlayStation and Xbox before the official launch as well, so stay tuned!
PLEASE SHARE YOUR FEEDBACK ABOUT THE DEMO!
We’ll increase our presence on our Discord over the following days to gather feedback and answer questions. Feel free to come talk to us and share your thoughts in the #sos-demo-feedback channel!
Also, while we did a pass for compatibility testing, it’s virtually impossible to cover every and all possible hardware configurations. Should you encounter any technical issues and want to help us make adjustments for your configuration type before launch, you can provide any details you find relevant along with the following information:
Windows version
Graphics card
Graphics driver version
Motherboard
CPU model
Monitor resolution
Monitor refresh rate
Input device
WHEELS MINIGAME REVEAL!
We finally revealed Wheels, the famous game known by all in the world of Sea of Stars. Wheels is an optional tabletop game that you’ll be able to play whenever you want to take a break from adventuring.
If you want to know more right now, here’s Thierry showing the minigame while the pirate band plays music:
82% OF BACKERS HAVE ALREADY FILLED THEIR SURVEY
It’s been two weeks since the surveys were sent out, and we want to thank everyone who has already filled theirs. Out of 30,438 backers (Kickstarter+Backerkit), 25,007 have completed the process.
In case you missed the Kickstarter update for the survey, you can find it right here.
As a reminder, your survey was sent to the email address associated with your Kickstarter or BackerKit pledge. If you still haven’t received yours, please reach out to [email protected] and we will be in touch!
The deadline is July 3rd. We cannot stress this enough: all surveys must be submitted by July 3rd.
FOOTNOTES
As we are self-publishing, growing awareness is paramount throughout production. If you have a moment to help us even more than you already have, here are a few ways you can can do so in 30 seconds or less:
Invite a friend or internet traveler to do any of the above!
Content Lock, Survey Update and Game Pass Announcement
almost 3 years ago
– Tue, Jun 13, 2023 at 11:16:02 AM
Hello dear backers & supporters!
As of this writing, there are less than 80 days left until Sea of Stars is released worldwide (!!!)
Given all the exciting announcements we have surrounding the launch of the game, the pace of updates is bound to increase. For your inboxes' sake, we'll do our best to present them as bundles.
Alright, here's today's news!
SEA OF STARS IS NOW CONTENT COMPLETE
Last Tuesday (June 6th) was a big moment for the team as we officially achieved the Content Complete milestone! This means that Sea of Stars is now fully playable from title screen to end credits including all of the optional content, the Wheels minigame (??) and all of the hidden items. Everything has been fully reviewed frame-by-frame, polished and balanced to what we are happy to call "done".
We now have two full months ahead of us to go from BETA (content complete) to GOLD (bug free). Just like we did before releasing The Messenger, we invited the QA professionals over at Lionbridge to provide analysis and advice on the bugs that need to be fixed for the game to be at the level of quality we are shooting for. With 11 testers joining the ranks, it will be a busy final stretch for the dev team!
Meanwhile, localization is also going at a steady pace. Most of the game's content has already been localized in French, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, German, Russian, Korean, Japanese, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese, with proofreading beginning next week.
It's been almost 5 years since the initial pitch for Sea of Stars happened internally at Sabotage, and here we are at last.
If you're reading this, we thank you once again for your support. You've made this journey all the more incredible, and we sincerely hope that our little game will exceed your expectations.
Here's a team selfie we took to capture our joy at reaching content complete, in which trying to get everyone to yell at the same time was absolutely not a bad call.
78% OF BACKERS HAVE ALREADY FILLED THEIR SURVEYS
It’s been one week since the surveys were sent and everything went smoothly so far. Out of 30,438 backers (Kickstarter+Backerkit), 23,816 have completed the process.
In case you missed last week’s update, you can find it right here.
As a reminder, the survey was sent to the email address associated with your Kickstarter or BackerKit pledge.If you still haven’t received yours, please reach out to [email protected] and we will be in touch.
The deadline is July 3rd. We cannot stress this enough: all surveys must be submitted by July 3rd.
SEA OF STARS WILL BE AVAILABLE ON XBOX GAME PASS AND PC GAME PASS DAY 1
We’re extremely excited to confirm that Sea of Stars will be joining the PC and Xbox Game Pass catalog on launch day. It’s incredible for us to imagine how many more players around the world will get to experience Sea of Stars and join the conversation around our project!
On the business front, this means we will be getting better store placement and marketing support, which is critical on launch day to secure our long-term ability to focus less on fundraising and more on making games.
The discussion with Microsoft took place over a couple of years, and they really helped us make sure that there would be no compromises to our vision and promises. As such, this isn’t an exclusive deal in any way, meaning it has no impact on our ability to bring the game to any other platforms or services.
As you well know as backers, it has always been our objective to bring the game to as many players as possible, and we at Sabotage are happy to visualize the increased number of people who will have access to this little game that is so dear to us.
To be extra clear, Sea of Stars is still launching on Steam, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Playstation 4 and Playstation 5 on August 29th, Game Pass is just a bonus!
We couldn’t get this kind of deal without the overwhelming support and hype for the game coming from our community, and we’re forever grateful for that.
Once again, we can't thank you enough, and look forward to putting the game in your hands.
All the love,
-SaboTeam
FOOTNOTES
As we are self-publishing, growing awareness is paramount throughout production. If you have a moment to help us even more than you already have, here are a few ways you can can do so in 30 seconds or less:
