You enjoy emergent systems, don’t mind bugs, and appreciate visual polish over narrative finality. Wait if: You need a stable, linear experience or are playing on a laptop with integrated graphics.
As Tom himself wrote in the release notes: “The beach is never finished. Only visited.” In that spirit, v1.3 is a worthwhile visit—just bring your own towel and a tolerance for sudden tides. Note: This analysis is based on the publicly available v1.3 Beta build as of early 2025. Features, performance, and developer intentions are subject to change as the “Ongoing” development cycle continues. Real Life Sunbay -v1.3 Beta- -Tom- -Ongoing-
The numbers show a trade-off: Tom has traded raw stability for enhanced visual systems. The game looks better and feels more alive, but requires more patience and hardware headroom. The Sunbay Discord and various forums reveal a community that has internalized the “Ongoing” label as a social contract. Complaints about incomplete features are often met with the reminder that v1.3 Beta is a snapshot of development, not a finished chapter. You enjoy emergent systems, don’t mind bugs, and