Why Early Access?

“While this is the second iteration of the Virtual Touch Screen, it is still very much an experimental product. The first version had very limited reach due to exotic hardware requirements. This newer version leverages AI to make the Virtual Touch Screen possible on ordinary hardware. Ensuring that the product works well for as many users as possible is expected to be an large concern during early access. I want the opportunity to work through these issues before declaring Virtual Touch Screen 2 a finished product. Additionally, I cannot fully predict exactly how the tool will be used in the wild, and I would like the opportunity to adapt the product based on user feedback before declaring it complete.”

Approximately how long will this software be in Early Access?

“If I had to guess how long it would take to finish early access, I would say a year or less. As early access is about the unknowns rather than the knowns. I want to get the product more or less to its final form before declaring it to be complete.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“The primary goal for early access is to ensure that the features that already exist work well for most users. The customization available for the tool is quite extensive, so I expect there will be lots of improvements and additions in this area. The final version will likely contain more customizability, a more polished UI, and perhaps support for scripting.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“I believe it is already a pretty good product. It remains to be seen how well it will work on in all of the various environments it could be used in. With AI, some quirkiness is to be expected always. A very large amount of the work I have put into this project so far has been to better handle the imperfect data provided by AI. To get the best results, users may need to improve their lighting or make adjustments to their background.”

Will this software be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“I believe that the success of Virtual Touch Screen 2 is heavily reliant on early adopters showing others the product. To help facilitate this, I have decided to start with a price that I believe is quite low, with the intent to raise the price in the future if possible.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“I would prefer to use the Steam community forums for bug reports, feature suggestions, and product support. I'll also try to make myself available on the Simplode discord server. Simplode LLC is still a one man company and will have to remain so unless/until a lot more money comes in.”