As of December 18th, 2024 all the rewards for participation were sent to the eligible players as per our Discord announcement:
To qualify, you needed to have played in the OTG Pioneers playtests on PC & PS5 up until October 8th, or in the Xbox Insider Program before Nov 13th. You should see a pop-up that confirms you are eligible for the rewards. Click the "Claim" button to add these rewards to your account; then head over to HEXES / Pro to decode them (cost to decode = 0.1 GUN). Thank you for being a pioneer of Off The Grid and helping shape the game during its early days. Enjoy this exclusive set of customizations, you shiny Zeroes!
With the release of Early Access for Off The Grid, we are temporarily pausing our Pioneers Program on all platforms (PC, PS5 and Xbox) and moving all the activities to Early Access. We are extremely grateful for all the feedback so far. The article remains published for all the participants of the program as a reference, for example in case of questions regarding rewards.
What is OTG Pioneers Program?
OTG Pioneers Program for PC allows participants, called Original Zeroes to play specific, work-in-progress parts of Off The Grid (Pioneer builds) during playtests before the general public, provide invaluable feedback and help shape the game’s development. The Pioneers Program will be on PC only, but we will run similar console events in the near future.
How long will OTG Pioneers Program last?
We will be releasing our Pioneer builds weekly. These contain work-in-progress features that may be rough around the edges and have a fair share of technical issues but are damn exciting to toy with. These builds will become available during specific hours on each play day announced.
Is there a deadline for submitting my entry to OTG Pioneers Program?
You can apply for a slot at any time via the Pioneers Program website, or the Official OTG Discord. We will continue accepting users as long as the Pioneers Program is running. So, send in your forms!
Are there any selection criteria to be granted a space on OTG Pioneers Program?
The Pioneers Program is a ‘closed’ initiative where we will be inviting limited numbers of players to try early versions of our game Off The Grid before anyone else. As it is essential for us to receive qualitative feedback, not mass data, and carefully listen to each player who gets to experience the game, only carefully selected players will join the Pioneers Program. This selection is based on hardware, location, and general gaming preferences. Pioneers Program entrants should be enthusiastic about offering constructive feedback on the Pioneers Program Discord channels and we want to ensure these users possess PC hardware capable of delivering a fair OTG experience.
Will there be a similar program for consoles in the future?
Absolutely, and we are looking forward to sharing more details about this when we’re ready to do so. We made the decision to focus on one platform to ensure we get crucial player insights while not impacting game development itself. As you may know, creating playable builds for different platforms requires a lot of dedicated resources to optimize the game, thoroughly test it, and then (when and only if everything goes well) get them reviewed & approved by the respective platform owner. To streamline this as much as possible for our first playtests, we decided to focus on Epic Games Store. Rest assured, we will be looking at doing playtests on other platforms in the future to e.g. test cross-play. Stay tuned.
How many players will have access?
Whilst we cannot put an exact number on how many players will be able to join the Pioneers Program, we will grant entry to enough players to ensure we get sufficient feedback. Be aware that we will not invite everyone all at once. So, if you miss the first wave of invites, you might still get one later. Additionally, we reserve the right to revoke access in certain cases — including toxic behavior or inactivity. Slots made available in these circumstances will be randomly given to players on the waiting list.
If I am selected, how will I be able to download and play the game?
Players selected for OTG Pioneers Program will receive a confirmation email (to the address provided in the form) with instructions on how to play Off The Grid.
The game will run on PC (Epic Games Store) during the initial test. An active Epic Games account is therefore required to play.
Does the content of the Pioneer builds represent the full set of features and modes of the final game?
The Pioneer builds shared with the players are merely the foundation of our game, with many aspects and elements still work-in-progress. It’s not representative of the final quality of the game or variety of gameplay. It is meant to be the first opportunity for our players to share their feedback and suggestions about the game. Our main priority at this stage of development is to gather gameplay insights and collect detailed player feedback, so that we can build upon this and continue development accordingly.
What content is available in the game during each playtest? Can you specify that?
Players will have access to a selected range of cyberlimbs, weapons, areas and extraction elements, on a specific game mode that has been developed for the purpose of each playtest. We want to see how players will interact with those elements before adding more content.
At launch, OTG will have a wealth of features - including but not limited to additional limbs, weapons, areas to play on, customizations, drivable vehicles, and more.
Once each playtest ends, should I keep the build for future tests (updating) or delete it?
Being a member of the Pioneers Program automatically grants you access to all playtests! Therefore, once the playtest ends, you can safely keep the game for future sessions. These might require an update of the game on the Epic Games Store, unless specified otherwise.
How can I leave feedback on the game during OTG Pioneers Program?
When you earn the title of Original Zero, you will unlock the doors to our exclusive invite-only Discord channels. There, you can get yourself sorted with all the information you need to dive headfirst into OTG. We want to hear it all. Share your insights on everything and don't hesitate to raise a flag if you encounter any rough patches during play. Your feedback isn't just appreciated; it's crucial, shaping the game's development every step of the way.
What if I encounter an issue during one of the playtests? (bug, technical problem, etc.)
If you encounter any bugs, glitches, or other problems while playing OTG Pioneer builds, please refer to our article.
Will my progress and items carry over to OTG / Will there be a wipe?
You will keep the player level and extracted and decoded items (from HEXes). We will also reward playtest participants with exclusive in-game rewards (more about it later). Those items will carry over to the full release, but any in-game currencies (including GUN) will not be carried over.
All the items including Pioneers Program rewards can change their characteristics during further development of the game. That includes but is not limited to visuals, serial number, rarity and stock limits.
Is there any reward for participation?
Yes, apart from extracted and decoded items (from HEXes), there will be exclusive in-game rewards, and you will receive them soon after each iteration of the Program is over.
For current Pioneers Program, which already ended, two of them were given to the players automatically just for participation and the rest was granted for finishing daily and weekly challenges.
All the items including Pioneers Program rewards can change their characteristics during further development of the game. That includes but is not limited to visuals, serial number, rarity and stock limits.
Will I be able to stream the game?
All playtests running under the Pioneers Program are private. Participating players will be required to sign a Non-Disclosure-Agreement (NDA) upon first playing the game. It is therefore strictly forbidden to stream, capture or share footage of any kind, discuss the game publicly, have another person watch you play Off The Grid or invite unauthorized users to private Pioneers Program channels. All discussions about the game are to be kept within the respective private channels on the Pioneers Program Discord only.
Why do I need to sign an NDA?
Off The Grid is still in development, and it’s important to keep in mind that many aspects of the game are subject to evolve over time - in parts due to crucial player feedback we receive during playtests. We will be closely monitoring all feedback and suggestions players may have while playing to understand what you enjoy and what may need tweaking in the future. As such, we ask that playtest participants do not share any footage of the game outside of the dedicated private Discord channels.
As we set up a private environment where playtest participants will be able to discuss & share their thoughts, we will be actively monitoring any breaches to the NDA and will take appropriate actions accordingly to ensure classified information stays within their respective channels.
How do I access the Pioneers Program Discord Channels?
Once you receive an invite email to join the Pioneers Program, you will unlock the doors to our exclusive invite-only Discord channels. Please note that you’ll have to have the NDA signed in-game in order to gain access to the Pioneers Program channels.
Controller Support / Aim Assist
Whilst we do not offer controller support nor aim assist in the current version of the game that is available via the Pioneers Program, both of these features are planned to be included closer to launch. Who knows, they might even be part of the new features to try throughout the Pioneers Program!
Region Support / Language Support / Accessibility Support
OTG’s Pioneers Program playtests will be available to play around the world with servers located in Europe and North America. These playtests will be presented in English only. More languages will be supported closer to launch.
Accessibility features such as customizable control schemes, color blind mode, text-to-speech, and more are under development and planned for release. However, support is limited for most features during the playtests.
What’s the control scheme for the game?
Please refer to our article explaining controls. Please keep in mind that controls can evolve based on provided feedback.