EA and developer Full Circle have released a new blog post that speaks to feedback since the early access game Skate launched in September, and the developer is not shying away from owning up to some issues. The developer also outlined free rewards coming to players and how some, but not all, will carry over to the next season.
The studio said “tens of millions” of people have played Skate so far, and it has acknowledged the experience has been bumpy for some. “Things have not gone as smoothly for some of you as we would have liked,” the team said.
Full Circle said “a lot more” people than expected turned up to play Skate. “And with that came bugs, glitches, progression locks, and performance issues,” the studio said.
As a thank-you to fans for sticking with Skate, Full Circle is giving everyone 2000 Tix and 500 SVBs. Players must log in to Skate between now and the end of Season 2 on December 2 to claim the freebies.
As for addressing Skate’s ongoing issues and bugs, Full Circle said it has identified key details about the “softlock” issues that are preventing some people from progressing. “Unfortunately, each of these issues is unique and requires a different solution,” the team said.
Full Circle said addressing these softlock issues is a “top priority” for the studio.
Also in the blog post, Full Circle said it recently delivered a patch that should help with issues related to daily tasks. “You should see fewer errors now,” the studio said. “But there still may be a few slip ups.”
Additionally, Full Circle said it continues with its effort to tune the progression and rewards system for players so that “they just feel right.”
“That will mean different things to different players – new players, experienced players, casual players, and to those who skate all day. Rip Chips, Tix, and XP are part of that tuning and it’s all a delicate balance. We appreciate your patience as we dial this in to make our in-game economy and reward system fun, fair, and sustainable,” the developer said.
Changes to the progressions system are coming in December with Season 2. Here’s a rundown of what’s changing, as written by Full Circle:
- Premium item value: We want you to feel good about what you’re spending your SVB on. So we’re working to make Premium items feel even more unique and valuable, and we’ll continue to make adjustments as needed.
- skate.Pass tiers: We’re tweaking skate.Pass so it will be less of a grind to complete. You’ll also see more tiers going forward – all future Seasons will have around 90 tiers.
- Earning more SVB through skate.Pass: We’re increasing the amount of SVBs granted through the combined Standard and Premium tracks of the skate.Pass to 500 SVB.
- More branded and licensed items in skate.Pass: We’re actively working with our partners to include more branded items in future seasons. While they won’t arrive in time for Season 2, you’ll see an update as soon as we have new items to report.
- Event currency surplus: Having a surplus of event currency after Skate-o-Ween has been an issue, so, we’re tuning our event economy. You’ll see changes starting with the 7-Ply Maple Harvest event later this month.
Finally, Full Circle said it “went a bit overboard” with Tix allotments so that some players are “overflowing” with Tix, even after using them to unlock the content they want. To address this, Full Circle said leftover Tix purchased with SVB will roll over to the next season. However, Tix acquired without spending SVB will not totally roll over; instead, only a “portion” of them will. As such, Full Circle said people should spend their Tix to avoid losing some when the next season drops.
“Let us know how this feels through early access and we’ll continue to improve the way we roll over Tix from season to season,” the studio said.
Overall, Full Circle said it promises to make Skate a better game over time during its early access period leading up to 1.0. “We’re truly grateful for your patience as we improve, grow, and evolve skate,” the studio said.
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