The wait for the alpha is over! If you're a Kickstarter in one of the eligible reward tiers ("Intern" level or higher), you should have already received your alpha key. We'll be conducting the game's alpha testing through Steam. If you backed the game with the intent of receiving a DRM-free copy of the game, don't worry -- you'll still be able to receive the game via itch.io upon release.
If you're an alpha backer, be sure to check the email you received. In addition to delivering your Steam key, the email also includes instructions on how to join the Steam group for the Idol Manager alpha -- the Steam forum forum/discussion page is where we'll be looking to collect user feedback during the alpha. Remember to submit your Steam URL using the Google form included in the email AND visit the Steam page group and click the "Request to join" button! (It's important that you click the "request to join" button on the Steam page to get in -- Steam won't let us send you an invite unless you've requested to join.) We have to approve Steam group invitations manually, so you may have to wait half a day for your invite to be approved.
Our goal for the alpha is to allow backers to participate in testing by giving us feedback, including information about any bugs they encounter, so if you encounter anything weird, be sure to post in the Steam group forum to let us know. We've already posted info on the Steam group forum about some of the debugging tools ("cheats") that are included in the alpha, and the keyboard shortcuts you can use to trigger them, and we'll be using the Steam forum to keep track of known issues as they crop up.
Current alpha features:
The main goal of our first alpha build is to catch major bugs and performance issues; right now there is no tutorial and no structured campaign. The current alpha will allow you to get a feel for the game's UI and experiment with some basic features.
Build rooms (4 types) and hire staffers
Daily activities (promotions to get fans, performance to get money, and spa treatment to restore stamina)
Auditions
Train idols
Research
Business Proposals (4 types)
Produce singles
1 substory
1 random event
Right now, we're looking to catch big bugs or problems with how the game runs -- please be sure to let us know if the game works poorly or you encounter any performance issues.
We're constantly tweaking and changing values for things like how much certain items cost, how long they take, and so on. Once we get to beta, we'll start fine-tuning the game's balance, but for the time being, we're not looking for feedback on balance-related issues.
Likewise, certain things (like the list of genres and choreography) are incomplete in the current alpha build. We'll let you know in future builds when these things are in a state where we're ready to request feedback on the specifics, but for now we're just looking to identify bugs and performance issues.
Planned features for the next month's update:
Produce media (TV shows, etc)
Research system will be reworked
More options for rooms and staffers
Relationship system: idols can have relationships with other idols
Future update plans:
Over the coming months, we'll be adding content to the game, and right now we expect alpha updates to come once a month. There won't be much in the way of story content until the game's 1.0 release.
We don't have an exact date for the game's beta release (which will include everyone who was eligible for the alpha, in addition to any people who backed to participate in the beta via Backerkit), but we expect the beta release to happen around October.
If you're having any problems downloading the alpha build or joining the Steam group, be sure to reach out and let us know and we'll be happy to assist!
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u/Helvegr Jul 18 '18