Everything you need to know before launching the first alpha

All information regarding key handover, launch, duration, playtime, progression, the NDA, co-op mode...

All the news > Everything you need to know before launching the first alpha

Published on Sep 01, 2023

Hi Survivors!
The alpha is fast approaching, and we are in the process of finalizing preparations for its launch this Monday, September 4th.

Here are some key pieces of information you should know:

Key to Access the Alpha

  • You are Founders (Lone Wolf and above)
    The key granting you access to the Alpha of Rooted will be communicated to you between September 2nd and 3rd, 2023, via your Rootedthegame.com account and by email. Remember to check your spam folder, or simply log in to the Rooted website!
  • You are registered on the website to participate in the alpha
    Invitations will be sent by email throughout the duration of the alpha. If you haven’t received a game key in the coming days, don't worry! You may have a chance to receive it a bit later. No need to register again.
  • Important Information
    Several people have asked us on Discord if we plan to let you pre-download the game to be ready right at the alpha launch. Know that we are truly thrilled by your enthusiasm, but we are only in the first alpha. We're saving marketing techniques for the early access launch!

For now, we're focused on development, and there's a good chance the build you'll be able to download was compiled just a few minutes before :)

Alpha Launch Date

We are planning to launch on September 4th at 2:00 PM CEST. 

Alpha 1.0 Content

As announced for several months now, this first phase comes early in the game's development. It has several objectives:

  • To thank all the founders who support Rooted by allowing them to set foot in the World of Tomorrow as soon as the alpha goes online.
  • To obtain initial feedback from players, whether it’s feedback, bugs, or technical information exchanges,
  • To continue developing Rooted transparently, as we've been doing since the beginning, to build this amazing post-apocalyptic survival experience together.

In this first alpha, you'll be able to control the character for the first time, discover the entire Monastery area, (listen to your PC's fans), play with the initial puzzle game elements, explore dark or hard-to-reach areas...
And day by day, week after week, we will be releasing fixes and updates for content and features.

As a reminder, the Alpha will be split in four major phases, each featuring numerous patch updates and new feature additions. Learn more here: https://portal.productboard.com/rooted/2-rooted-alpha

Co-op Mode Available

Craft your own adventure or connect with friends on Steam/Epic Games Store to discover the Monastery area together. Joining existing games is also a great way to make new friends!
Features are limited for now (VOIP, chat, friendly fire enabled by default to test your friendships...), and they will be quickly improved and supplemented by others.

Duration of Alpha 1.0

This first alpha phase may last several weeks, or even months. We will correct bugs reported by players, optimize the game, add new features, and improve existing ones based on player feedback.

Don't hesitate to log back in regularly to discover new content!

Gameplay Time for This First Session

It's hard to quantify this, as our internal tests have produced very different results depending on the players.
What I can tell you is that the alpha isn’t just about walking around. Open your eyes, explore, and analyze! Discovering the remnants of past civilization is not necessarily an easy task.

Where to Follow the Alpha News, Access Patch Notes...?

To stay updated on the alpha, find us:

Content Under NDA

Since day one, we’ve been transparent about our progress, sharing numerous things on social media and our Discord server. So why an NDA asking all testers not to share anything about the Alpha?

Rooted is receiving strong enthusiasm from players, and we simply don't want the alpha to be presented as the final game. In terms of gameplay, environment, user interface, and many other points, there is still much to do. Sharing on social media would not serve much purpose at this stage.

For content creators, we will share numerous screenshots and videos in our Media folder that will allow you to talk about Rooted and the Alpha launch, the Monastery, but we rely on your discretion not to talk about what we do not show :) Thanks from the entire team!

Let's move forward together using the tools provided to build a great Rooted experience, and you'll have the entire future to share content about the game during early access.

The NDA will be available at the game's launch. You will be required to review and accept the NDA, as well as link your Rootedthegame.com account to the game (by providing the email address used on the website), in order to gain access to the Alpha.

Report Bugs

We have added an in-game bug reporting system so you can easily inform us about the issues you encounter while playing. We instantly receive the tickets, and we make every effort to publish fixes quickly. You can directly check the status of bug reports in the game.

Even though we have created dedicated channels for the alpha on Discord, no bug reports will be considered there. For organizational reasons, please use exclusively the in-game reporting system for any issues.

Want to Interact with All Other Alpha Participants?

Our Discord server has private channels dedicated to the Alpha. To access them, it’s simple and automated:

What Hardware is Needed to Play the Alpha

The alpha will allow us to receive lots of feedback on performance, and we will optimize rendering accordingly.

Rooted is a "next-gen" oriented game developed with Unreal Engine 5 and uses many of the new features of the engine, for which newer PCs will naturally have better performance.
However, we will take into account your feedback and make the necessary adjustments so that the experience is as enjoyable as possible even on older hardware.
Feel free to play with the graphical settings to achieve better performance.

The latest technologies like DLSS 3 with Frame Generation are also available. If you are the proud owner of a Nvidia 4000 series, don't hesitate to activate it!

An Alpha with Respect for All

Our entire team is ready and excited to face the influx of feedback from you, while continuing to fully work on the game to roll out updates. We know it's customary to compare indie productions with AAA studios, but no, we are just a few enthusiasts dedicating all our time to the development of Rooted! Please consider this when giving your feedback.

Thank you again for your support!

The Rooted Team