The new game called Starsand Island is out, and the folks who made it have said a few things. They talked about the game’s rules, called an EULA, which had players worried. They also mentioned new stuff coming to the game and fixes for problems. And get this, they’re even wondering if a bunch of really good reviews are actually a trick, calling it “overpraise as an attack.”
Let’s start with those rules, the EULA. People playing the game were first concerned because the EULA talked about “virtual goods.” This made them think the game would soon have “microtransactions,” which means buying small things in the game with real money. The old rules, in section 4, said: “You can get different Virtual Goods in many ways in the Game, and we might let you ‘buy’ some Virtual Goods with ‘real money’ or game money (like any kind of digital money). Some Virtual Goods in the Game might not be available if you don’t buy them.”
But now, these rules have been changed. The game makers wrote on their Starsand Island chat group, called Discord: “Starsand Island does not have a system to buy things inside the game, so please enjoy the game without worry.”
Also, the game makers talked about other parts of the old rules that caused problems, especially for players who like to make their own changes or “mods” for the game. They said: “All the unfair or too strict rules in the user agreement have been taken out. We will never stop players from using mods or other custom stuff. After the game is fully released, we will also open up Steam Workshop so everyone can freely make and share their ideas.”
When it comes to complaints about how the game plays, the company also said they are always working to make the game better. They mentioned: “About problems like models going through each other and controls that feel stiff, we have heard your reports and will keep making the game better. We will share updates so everyone can see how we are fixing things and making improvements.”
“Starsand Island isn’t perfect, and we will keep listening carefully to what our players say while always making the game better and smoother. We truly believe that only by working together, both the game makers and the players, can we build a good community. Again, we sincerely thank you for telling us what you think and for your continued support.”
So far, all of this sounds like good news for the Starsand Island players. But what’s really odd is another message they put out on their Discord chat, right after the one we just talked about. This message was about a bunch of good reviews that the game makers think aren’t real, and they even suspect some might have been written by computers.
They said: “At first, we thought this meant our game was being noticed and liked. But then we saw something strange on Steam: some comments were posted after very little playtime, and they all came out at almost the same time (they seemed like they were made by a computer program).”
“This made us realize that something might be wrong. Is this like someone giving too much praise as a way to attack us? We don’t have solid proof, but it does feel like someone might be doing this on purpose. What makes it even more confusing is that this kind of trick isn’t cheap, because you have to buy the game to leave a review. (We later found out that some of these accounts got their money back for the game after writing their reviews.)”
“We want to say this clearly: making an independent game isn’t easy. We just want to focus on making a good product and giving the players who truly like our game a better experience. So, to whoever is doing this, we kindly ask you to stop. Please let us focus on making our game in peace. We are not bothering anyone.”
Starsand Island is otherwise a nice, relaxing game where you build a life, and it’s been pretty popular since it came out early on Steam. If you’re thinking about getting it, you can look up some codes to help you get started in your calm adventure.
