And here we have it folks, some concrete information about what we can expect in the Alpha 1, a time frame of “second half of December” and what the plans are going forward.
Discuss away!
http://stonehearth.net/2013/11/26/what-to-expect-from-stonehearth-alpha-1/
and the masses (or as least, me) have been sated:
- Random world generation
- Ability to choose where you want to settle
- Harvesting resources (wood, berries, etc) and storing them in stockpiles
- Basic crafting, with one profession: the Carpenter
- Day/night cycle
- Your citizens will eat when they get hungry and sleep when they get sleepy
- Basic construction of walls and houses
It will be fun to see new features get introduced. Perhaps the most exciting of which will be the ability to save! 
I’m really happy that they’re bringing us all into the design process so early.
Whoa, for a second there I thought they were delay the release. Though all sounds good and I’m glad they decided to release frequent small updates instead of large updates less frequently.
so many positive takeaways from the update:
We promised a release this year, and we believe in sticking to promises. We know a lot of you are excited to get your hands on the game, even at this early stage.
exceptionally difficult task, but i applaud your commitment to a promise…
Going forward, we will update the Alpha frequently. When new features are ready, big and small, we will push them into the game immediately, so you’ll get access to them right away.
rapid application development + games = 
The goal is to get your feedback early and often.
rapid application development + games + community collaboration = 
we’ll also publish a development road-map
regardless of how rough it might be, having even a notion of the development direction is always appreciated! 
Thanks so much for your support, everyone. 
It’s been a really intense week for all of us as we tried to figure out exactly which bits of code are stable enough for inclusion.
I couldn’t agree more (but I can try ;-))
One word:
Awwwwwwwwyeahhhhhhh!!!
Can’t wait! This game is finally shaping up and taking form! So close, I can almost taste it…
You guys have done a fantastic job on the development, and especially in keeping us in the loop!
Now, here come the questions.
Launcher: Will it be a Minecraft-style launcher, with a “stable release”, “dev release”, and “old version” options? Or will there not be a launcher, and we’ll have to redownload each time?
Carpenter: What percentage of the Carpenter’s repertoire will be available, do you think, at the beginning?
Update Cycle: About how often do you think the big updates (Alpha 1 -> Alpha 2, Alpha 2 -> Alpha 3) will be coming out? Biweekly, weekly, monthly, or (better yet) daily?
YouTube: Will we see a new preview copy being released any time soon? I almost want to say I hope not, because I want to experience the magic myself, but either way, STONEHEARTH!!!
Enemies: Has mob generation been implemented yet? I know it says it hasn’t, but I still feel compelled to find confirmation.
i know it amounts to basically zilch, but here’s my best guestimation:
given that the initial client download will be via direct download or steam (eventually), and the intention for updates is to “push them into the game immediately, so you’ll get access to them right away”… i wager you’re right, and they have a client update/launcher of sorts…
especially since they intend to offer different release tracks (stable/unstable)…
probably rapid at the onset, to address things that snuck into the initial client, and then tapering off as the client stabilizes… the “dev builds” perhaps every 1-2 weeks, with the “stable” builds monthly… again, pure speculation, based on my own experiences…
I’m totally OK with the plans I’ve heard and am enjoying the ride while I savor the destination. I could be fine with weekly drip-feeding of new stuff, but I’m also ok with waiting for a monthly serving of meaty content.
I’m just excited for what is coming.
If you look at how CastleStory progresses I’m afraid this will progress as slowly as CS after release of the alpha.
Let’s treat things on a case by case basis shall we?
Nothing so far has shown that Radiant are unable to deliver when they say they will; their determination to get a build out this month when they could quite easily turn around and say “no sorry guys we’re delaying” proves that.
Indie development is never plain sailing, not by any stretch of the imagination, but a little faith in the developers will go a long way.
oh yea! cant wait to let my citiziens starve! :3
In addition, they haven’t spent more than a year on this, and it’s already playable. Based on the progress they’ve made since March, I’d say that they are doing pretty #@&%#*& good.
Sorry for the wholesale quote of @ManOfRet 's post but I can’t “+1” or 
or 
this statement enough.
To see a game, which started out as being made by two people, just TWO people, (though I am glad they have made a few more friends since the time they started) go from an unplayable (i.e. there was no game) state to having a sizable chunk of playable content AND A MODDING FRAMEWORK BUILD IN to boot, I think this is amazing.
The fact that they had to rebuilt their entire working demo since it didn’t allow for modding only adds sparkle to the story. And the fact that all their care and attention to moddability has payed (and will continue to pay) off for the community is evidenced by the fact that within days of the release of the graphics test, people on this forum had it modded and were filling THE GRAPHICS TEST with new content.
Amen! (even though I’m not religious)
Sometimes I wonder if some people want this project to fail. Enough allready with the negative sentiment. So far there hasn’t been a single sign pointing towards failure or (exteme) delay.
I think the team is doing great, and comparing them to any other team is pointless. Every team is different and every project is different.
Keep up the good work Team Radiant!
Congratulations to the (brave) step of calling the first, playable release an Alpha. This will make it hopefully clear to all participants what and what not to expect.
I hope one of the first features to be updated will be the save function. Other than that the features we will see in December are more or less in-line with my expectation. I hope you have some in the backhand to ensure deployment of additional ones in the first weeks after the release .
Count me in as a frequent tester…
No saving on first release?!
I is sad.
Would the ability to mod be in alpha, or is it not functional enough yet? 
I somewhat feel my question is either really stupid and already answered in the news post, or something wasn’t mentioned in the “What to expect” list.
It is built in, if the graphics test is anything to go by.