Topics

1: Release / Status 2: Purchasing Info 3: Help / Bugs 4: Future Development / Features 5: Misc

Is Rodina Out? Where can I buy it?

Yes- Rodina has been released! Try it / buy it on Steam or here at elliptic-games.com!

What is the state of Rodina? Is it in Alpha or Early Access?

Rodina is in Ongoing Development. This means that new features will be added to Rodina over time and it will continue to grow. On Steam Rodina is in the “Early Access” section.

Rodina has been in development for a very long time and has been on sale since 2014. It’s a long-term, personal project with a (mostly) 1 man development team. Progress is always being made, and I have big dreams, but I recommend trying the demo and buying Rodina only if you like what you see right now, and / or want to support development.

What is the current version like?

For specific information about the current version, please check the Readme.

What are the system requirements?

64-bit Windows 7 (or above) and a DirectX11-capable video card are REQUIRED!

Bare minimum:
* Graphics Card with 512MB VRAM (may require lowered settings)
* Dual Core Processor

Ideal:
* Graphics Card with 1024MB VRAM
* Quad-Core processor

Problem Areas:
* Some users have reported bad performance with Intel video cards

Is there a free demo?

Yes! I strongly believe people should be able to try before they buy - especially with Rodina’s development status. You can play Rodina for 90 minutes free of charge. If you like it, you can buy the game and unlock the demo (and your savegames) into the full game.

The demo has the time limit, but otherwise there is no difference between the demo version and the full game.

How can I buy the game?

You can purchase Rodina on Steam, or here on Elliptic-Games.com using your credit card (via Stripe).

How much does Rodina cost?

Rodina is $15 on Steam. On my site, I sell the game on a pay-what-you-want model, with tiers similar to Kickstarter. The “base price” of the game is $15, but customers can buy for as low as $2 if they like. I chose this model for several reasons:

• With Rodina being in Ongoing Development, I don’t want to charge a set price.
  Due to the ongoing nature of Rodina’s development, I believe it’s only fair that the customer should decide what the game is worth to them.
• With tiers, customers who wish to support Rodina’s development can do so.
  Feel free to purchase at whatever price makes sense to you, upgrade to a different tier later, or make a big splash - it’s totally up to you.

A customer once said that, between the demo and the flexible pay-what-you-want model, Elliptic has “the most consumer friendly business model [they’ve] ever seen in gaming industry”. I hope that’s true- my #1 goal is for you guys to be happy!

Will I get a Steam Key if I buy the game here on your site?

Yes. Everyone who is in the Buffet tier gets a complimentary Steam key.

Please visit the dedicated Help Page in order to fix problems with the game.

What is your plan for Rodina’s future?

My long-term, pie-in-the-sky goal is Daggerfall in Space, with fun gameplay. Now, this is frankly a little crazy, and Rodina is a long way from that goal. Development proceeds slowly and I try to update the game with incremental advancements that are each fun in their own regard. Please see the Rodina Roadmap for the current status of Rodina’s development and outlook.

Mac / Linux port?

I’d just love to do this, but unfortunately for the moment Rodina just hasn’t been successful enough to devote the resources required towards something like that. We will see as more development time becomes available.

Mod Support?

Yes. The game already supports modification- it comes with a Blender plugin that modders can use to export new art, and all of the gameplay scripts in Rodina have been exposed for editing. In the future, I will release better support to make managing mods easier and more functional.

Will the game have Multiplayer / Infinite Star Systems / Graphics Feature X / The Kitchen Sink?

Rodina has been in development for a long time, and so I try to stay away from making any promises about future features or pie-in-the-sky ideas.

Multiplayer, in particular, is probably out of the question for a while, but would obviously be a great addition to the game. We’ll have to wait and see if things like that become possible.

Are you going to upgrade the visuals?

Rodina is still in development, with an indie / programmer-driven workflow. I don’t work with artists anymore, I do everything myself. However, new features will be more or less “final” looking. Existing features will continue to look gnarly until I get a chance to go back and upgrade them.

In an ideal world, Rodina would find a publisher and we could talk about real art, but for now it’s being developed on an indie budget.

How do I access one of the beta branches?

In order to switch branches, do the following:

* Going to Rodina in your Steam Library
* Right Click -> Properties -> Game Versions & Betas -> Choose a branch from the selection menu
* Steam will automatically download your new files

What are the beta branches?

With Steam, I can offer different versions, or “branches” of Rodina for those who are interested in helping test Rodina, or those who are interested in the current status of the game. For example, currently on Steam you can switch to the following branches:

Default Public Version: This is the branch to choose if you just want the basic, normal version of the game. When the build in the Beta branch is deemed stable, it will be moved over to this default branch.

beta: This branch is the final step before release. New builds will be put on the beta branch in order that the community might help test them. Only switch to the beta branch if you are willing to experience an untested build and to report any bugs you find! (Thank you for your help!!)

dev: Stay on the cutting edge of Rodina development! This branch will be updated periodically with the broken, in progress, partially-complete version of Rodina I am currently developing. For the curious, only!

version_x.x.x: I keep old versions of the game online for posterity. Useful only if you want to revert to an early era of Rodina.

Do you allow Youtube video monetization?

Yes! Here’s an official notice:

Elliptic Games explicitly grants permission to anyone to make recordings of Rodina, and to monetize any videos of the game they produce.

Is the ship bigger on the inside than it is on the outside?

No. I’ve heard this dozens of times, as far back as the first demo video. The ship interior fits snugly within the exterior! No idea what the illusion is there.

Is it true that Rodina was the first game with this kind of seamless freedom?

Yes! There have been many cool space games which have attempted some portion of the seamless / totally free experience. Elite 2, Evochron Mercenary, Noctis, No Man’s Sky, and others have gone for this experience. As far as I know, Rodina was the first ever to provide a 100% seamlessly immersive space experience where you can fly anywhere, land, walk inside / outside your ship or the planet surface, with full-sized planets in a huge solar system, all without cuts or loading screens.

The primary goal of Rodina has always been immersion, so this kind of 100% seamless experience is very important to the game. It’s always been my goal to give people the feeling they are doing something like piloting the Enterprise or the Millenium Falcon, and I don’t think that limits or loading screens are conducive to that fantasy!

Feel free to join the discussion on Rodina.reddit.com or Twitter or to email me directly at brendan@elliptic-games.com.