Listed here are the most frequent questions and their answers. If you have a specific subject you'd like to know more about, press CTRL + F on your keyboard and search by typing a word or sentence, for example breeding, early access, demo and so forth. This will highlight sections in this page where that word is being used.
1. Which platform will Astride be on?
We will be releasing Astride on Steam for PC/Mac first, but we have also been discussing the possibility of releasing on other platforms as well, such as PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.
2. When will Astride be released?
We are aiming to have an early access release on Steam by the March/April of 2023.
3. Which disciplines will be in Astride?
We will be implementing show jumping, dressage, cross country and gaited riding first. We will be adding more disciplines after this, but most likely in different DCLs. For example a DLC for western including different breeds for different western competitions.
4. Will there be racing?
We have not planned on having racing included in the first version of Astride, but it is planned for a DLC where we will be adding different breeds for racing as well as the racing competition (maybe even harness racing).
5. Will there be in-game purchases?
We are happy to say no! As 3 out of 5 of our developers are horse game enthusiasts, we are simply tired of all the games using micro-transactions and limiting the players’ experience down to spending real money after purchasing the initial game.
6. Can we customize our own ranches?
We want to allow customization as far as we can. This does not mean world-building like The Sims, but you will be able to customize a whole lot. We want the players to be able to make their perfect space.
7. Will there be breeding?
Yes. But not in the initial first version of Astride. I will most likely come as an update to the base game a little later.
8. Can I sell my horses?
Yes, you will be able to sell your horses to either a foreign buyer (bot, horse will disappear from the game) or to other players.
9. Will there be a gender neutral character?
Yes, there will be a masculine, feminine and gender neutral character.
10. When will the game fully release?
Depending on the game funding, a full release will be somewhere between 2023-2026.
11. On which platforms will the game initially release?
Astride will be launched by Steam for PC. A Mac release will come at a later time. PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch are also platforms we will be exploring.
12. Will the game be open-world?
Yes, we are aiming to have Astride open-world.
13. Will we get a first or third person perspective?
The player should be able to decide if they want to use either easily in the game settings (or with hotkeys).
14. Which programs are used for the game creation?
For Astride, the team uses Unity Engine, Blender, Zbrush, Substance Painter and a handful of Adobe Softwares.
15. Which engine does Astride run on?
We are currently using Unity Game Engine for the creation of Astride.
16. Is there a storyline?
Yes, there will be a main storyline followed with many side quests.
17. Will there be microtransactions?
Astride will have no microtransactions, but will be having DLCs.
18. Which disciplines will exist at release?
For the initial release, dressage, jumping and cross country will be available. Gaited riding will come as a later update that will be included in the base game.
19. Which horse breeds will exist at release?
When Astride releases, there will be the Icelandic Horse, Norwegian Fjord Horse, Norwegian Warmblood Horse, Norwegian Dole Horse and the Northland Horse.
20. Are horses going to have their own personalities?
Yes. We are aiming to have an intricate personality system that will allow horses to have unique personalities, traits and quirks.
21. What about dressage moves like the piaffe?
We have a lot of dressage moves already planned to go with the comprehensive dressage system.
22. Will the jumping be locked to jumps only?
No, the player should be able to make the horse jump anything and anywhere, within reason.
23. Why DLCs?
As the team behind Astride is experienced with gaming and spending money in-game, we’ve decided to shy away from the standard of in-game purchases and micro-transactions. The addition of DLCs will help the team work on more game content and updates even after the initial release.
24. Which DLCs have been discussed so far?
Western, baroque, racing and more to come!
25. What content will be in the DLCs?
The DLCs will consist of multiple new horse breeds, disciplines, accessories, tack and more.
26. Lead changes?
Lead changes are planned!
27. Are the stables/plots customizable?
Yes. We are aiming to let the players customize a great deal of their stables and environment.
28. Will we have breeding?
Breeding is planned to be implemented and will most likely be introduced as a later update to the initial game.
29. Will there be seasons?
Yes, there will be seasons in the game and the environment/weather will follow this.
30. Will we be able to have stable hands or workers to help take care of the horses?
Yes. You will be able to hire help at the stables. For the multiplayer aspect of the game, the team wants the players to be able to visit and help each other with the daily chores.
31. Will there be gaited riding/more than three gaits?
Yes. The Icelandic Horse is planned for the initial release of Astride and will have five gaits! This includes the walk, trot, canter, but also the tölt and the pace.
32. Will there be other farm animals like chickens and cows?
Smaller farm animals like chicken and bunnies is something we would like to add, but would have to come in a later update.
33. What about companion pets like cats or dogs?
Cats and dogs as pets have been discussed and we want to implement these as well.
34. Will there be game/wild animals?
The team has had discussions about this, and we want to add wildlife to the environment.
35. What about magical horses?
Astride will not have magical horses.
36. Are there real-time competitions/minigames with or against other players?
When multiplayer is initially added, the competition aspect is something we would love to have. Minigames are not specifically planned yet, but will be considered.
37. Will there be bitless options?
Yes! The players should be able to ride with bit, bitless bridles and in cordeo or even without anything (completely tackless). Note that cordeo and tackless will be considered a trait that needs a certain level of bonding with the horse.
38. Can I customize my own character?
The players will be able to customize their character. Gender slider, facial features, body type, skin color, eye color, hair, you name it!
39. What about customization of our barn/housing/plot?
We plan to give the players freedom to customize their own properties such as barn/ranch/stables, player housing and of course outside and around their property/plot.
40. Will Astride be multiplayer?
We are hoping to be able to implement multiplayer. This will not mean online play, but players should be able to visit other players’ ranches and play together. Online, or MMO, is a very large scope that our small team cannot handle at this point, but multiplayer is an option that we want to explore.
41. Can I apply for a job with you?
You may, but we do not have funding, nor capacity to hire anyone at the moment.
42. How much will the game cost?
Upon early release on Steam, Astride will be set to roughly €25 EUR. After the early access period is done and the game is fully functional, the price will rise accordingly. But don’t worry, anyone who has bought the early release will not have to pay more when the price rises.
43. How can I earn in-game money?
You can earn in-game money by doing quests, competing and other kinds of work. Selling and training horses will also bring in money.
44. Can I change my horse’s mane and tail style?
Yes, you will be able to change both of these, but separately. So that you can mix and match to your liking.
45. How will naming work?
You will be able to name your horse or character exactly what you’d like with no restrictions (some slur might be filtered out though).
46. Can I be a game tester for Astride?
You certainly can! But this is for now a feature we will give to our Patreon supporters exclusively.
47. Will I be able to lead my horse?
Leading will be possible in Astride.
48. Can I physically see my horse in the paddock/stalls?
The horses should always be visible and interactable no matter where they are. If you’ve decided to put your horse in the paddock, you will be able to physically lead your horse there, release it and watch it walk around doing horse things.
49. Will there be events in Astride?
We are planning on having both holiday and seasonal events.
50. Can male characters wear female clothes and vice versa?
Since the character models are based off of the same mesh, all of the clothes will be available no matter which orientation you prefer.
51. Will Astride be released in my country?
Yes, Astride will be released worldwide.
52. Will I be able to fall off?
We will be working towards the possibility of the rider falling off the horse.
53. Will horses die in this game?
Horses will die in Astride, but only of old age.
54. Can I play Astride on Mac/Linux?
We will be aiming for compatibility with Mac/Linux.
55. Will there be a chance of twins when breeding?
There will be a microscopic chance of twins.
56. Can I change my horse’s hairstyle separately?
Yes, you should be able to change forelock, mane and tail styles separately!
57. Will I be able to cross breed horses?
You will be able to cross breed horses, but this will give a 50/50 chance of either parent horses’ breed (unless we have the exact combination breed outcome).
58. Can I customize more horses other than the starter horse?
Yes, you will be able to customize new horses, but these horses will not have as great stats or genetics to avoid breeding being redundant.
59. Will we be able to customize our key bindings?
Yes, you will be able to customize your key bindings.
60. Will the horses look different from each other?
We have a big library of facial markings, coat markings, leg markings, coat variations that will be randomized on the market horses. But they will also have slightly different head shapes!
61. Can I change my horse’s appearance after I buy it?
To keep the realism in Astride, you will not be able to change the horse’s colors after it has been created. This also plays into genetics and shouldn’t be altered. You will however be able to change the hairstyles for your horses.
62. Can I wishlist Astride on Steam?
Yes, you can! Click here to visit the Steam Page.
63. Can I change my horse’s name?
The name in the horse’s pedigree will not be able to be changed, but the barn name/nickname of the horses will be changeable. This correlates with the breeding and lineage that will be coming.
64. When do I get my Kickstarter rewards?
Depending on which rewards you chose, the time of delivery of each reward is roughly estimated in the description of the rewards. The rewards may come sooner, but also later.
65. Do I have to be an active Patreon supporter to be able to test the game?
You will not have to be an active supporter to get access to your rewards. As long as you have subscribed one month to a selected tier, you will keep all of the rewards even after you cancel your subscription. But canceling will however lock you out from the Patreon posts/updates.
66. When will the demo come out?
A demo isn't planned for now, but it would most likely not be done until the game itself is completed and we get to the stage with developing DLCs.
67. Will there only be Norwegian horse breeds?
As the main focus of Astride is set in Scandinavia, a lot of the breeds will originate from there. But there will be other breeds from different origins added as well.
68. Can I change the height of my character and horse?
When creating your first horse, you will be able to change the height of it. However, the riders will all have the same height due to rigging and animation purposes.
69. Why can’t I download the game on Steam right now?
Astride is not published yet and is still in development. But wishlisting the game on Steam will give you an email notification once the game is available for download!
70. I backed Astride on Kickstarter, why do I not have the role yet?
We’ve created a bot for the purpose of assigning the Kickstarter roles, so please head over to kickstarter-info to learn about this.
71. When can we start testing the game?
Testing is already available for our Patreon supporters!
72. When we test the game, are we allowed to share footage from the test game?
You are more than welcome to share footage from the testing, but we do ask that you inform that the game is in early stages and that changes are prone to happen.
73. I have two Steam game keys as a reward. Do both Steam keys have all of the rewards?
Yes, both of the Steam game keys will get all of the rewards.
74. I have more Steam keys than I need, what can I do?
You are always free to give one away if you have a friend or family member you’d like to give it to. Giveaways are fine!
75. Will the horses have genitalia?
The horses in Astride will by default not have visible genitalia. But there will be an option in the menu to turn on visual gender differences for the horses.
76. Will there be breeding animations?
There won’t be any detailed or NSFW animations for breeding. There will however be a grooming/cuddling animation between the two horses being bred. We are aiming for a PEGI 3 rating with Astride (this does however not mean we are aiming for a childish game).
77. Is Patreon still going to be available after the launch of the early access?
Yes, the Patreon will still be running, but some of the rewards will be changed as the game keys will be available on Steam from that time.
78. Will there be tutorials or walkthroughs in the game?
Since some of the riding and functions will be more on the intricate side, there will be tutorials in place for the riders to get used to the game and the riding mechanics.
79. When the game is released, do I have to pay for the full game when I already bought the early access?
If you’ve already purchased the early access version, you won’t need to buy the full version as that will be a part of the early access.
80. How optimized will the game be, and can I play it on my lower-end computer?
We can’t make any promises, but we will be doing our best to optimize Astride so that as many players will get to enjoy the game.
81. What is Astride’s target audience?
Astride’s target audience is horse game enthusiasts between 13 and 30. This means people who love horses and video games.
82. Can we mix and match tack and equipment?
You’ll be able to change bridles, saddles, saddle pads, protectors and so on separately, so there is a lot of room for mixing and matching of tack!
83. What is the difference between early access and full release? And why will you be doing it?
Early access means that the game will be available for playing before it is finished. This means that there will most likely be bugs, lack of features and other flaws that will be worked on whilst receiving feedback from the players. The reason we are going for an early access release is for two reasons; funding and working alongside the community. Astride is Raidho Game's first project, and because of this, the company doesn't have funds from earlier projects. Releasing the game earlier can generate some funding that will help the team continue working and developing the game whilst taking feedback from the community. Receiving feedback while developing a game is also a crucial step we are taking to be able to create an even better game.
84. Why is it called a test and not beta version?
The testing before early access is not referred to as a beta test. Mainly because beta refers to a game that has all the content/features and is nearly finished. Astride's beta stage will most likely take place during early access. Astride's early access version will start from an early alpha state, where the key gameplay functionality is implemented and assets are partially finished.
85. Can I test the game on my Mac/Linux?
The current test available for Patreon is sadly only available for Windows 10 operated computers and above. We do not have access to a Mac/Linux system yet, but we will have this ready for early access once it comes.
