A word of warning about the Alpha

The Space Pirate

The Space Pirate
Ayo said:
To those looking forward to playing or watching others play with the Alpha builds

Don't get your hopes up. It will probably be pretty boring to play initially with nothing much to do. It will crash and bug out on many machines. I'm sure it will put many people off the game.

This is just my attempt to manage expectations, knowing that there will be complaints and people not understanding what Alpha means.

Here is an example of unrealistic expectations.
Click to expand...

I guess that won't be the case with the beta? Obviously I know that beta is far from finished, but it should be in some sort of playable state, wouldn't you say so? Still, probably not a bad heads-up to throw out there.
 

Mazhurg

Mazhurg
Here's what to expect for the Alpha, at least at the beginning:

Expect it to break, crash and burn - report on how it does it.
If it works, break it - and report how you did it
If it works and you can't break it, then find ways to cheat in it, and report this too.

One thing you should not expect is that it will be seamless and painless, or that it will be "fun" (in the sense of gameplay vice bug hunting).

Expecting and doing the above will greatly enhance the experience at beta!

:cool:
 

Calebe

C
Alpha means first general release test version. It will work for some, work then crash for others, and still others will see a loading screen then nothing (or not even that). Any or all of that is to be expected. Some will try on XP and it won't work. XP won't be supported, so I hope people remember that. XP doesn't work don't even make a post as it is already known and they won't fix it. Vista on up only.

Just report any and all issues and observations both pro and con. Any exploits, video issues you can duplicate (or can't but seen it more then once), etc...

Above all have fun and test, test, and test and report back to FD.

See you all in Alpha.

Calebe
 

Serpentstar

S
I do not believe that most people even understand what it means to be an Alpha tester.

The way I could see it is we received a list of modules to test, then enter the test area for interacting with that given module.

So it is possible for one module to be combat, one to be mining, one to be space station docking, another would be scanning out resources, etc.

I do not look forward to any semblance of an actual game, but I do look forward to this as many of the other users do. I help get to ensure that this is not just a great game, but an Elite game, if not the most Elite game ever produced. (Yes, this is a VERY tall order)...
 

Ivyy

I
I'm pretty sure that there will be some people that will complain, start whining and raging and whatsoever 'cause they don't understand what this is all about...
But keeping in mind that alpha access isn't "cheap" to get, i suppose that probably most of the people spending those bucks DO know what "alpha testing" means.
So i'm very confident that their contributions will be very valuable for the dev team :)
The only point i'm a little bit worried about are the very short sheduled test phases...
Having been participant in several beta tests in the past, i'm very curious how such a complex game can get rid of most (important) bugs and can be polished (so it will be playable and fun) from alpha to release in under 6 months...?!!? :rolleyes:
I have seen too many games being released in a bug-driven beta stadium...

But my hopes still live that this game will be awesome...! :cool:
 

kilvenny

kilvenny
The fact there is not a non disclosure agreement suggests to me that for most with a reasonable spec machine the "modules" you get to test will be good enough to show the game in a good light otherwise You Tube will be full of negative press.
 

Kemo

Kemo
I consciously decided to limit my involvement to the early Beta stage, I sadly do not have the time currently to devote to an Alpha test that ED deserves, additionally I also want to experience a more rounded, fuller game and am debating whether I should skip the first round Beta... i'll dither over that point next year :D

I am however greatly looking forward to the reports and any feedback that will be available. This is the next great milestone for the game and as such I trust that all the Alpha testers treat this in the spirit and commitment that it deserves.

Good luck to all you Alpha's.
 

Flak

Flak
kilvenny said:
The fact there is not a non disclosure agreement suggests to me that for most with a reasonable spec machine the "modules" you get to test will be good enough to show the game in a good light otherwise You Tube will be full of negative press.
Click to expand...

I don't intend to post video of the game breaking. I think this would be the wrong thing to do as not everyone understands what an alpha is and could leap to the wrong conclusions.

I do intend to post screenshots publicly, and video of the things that do work. All the things that are broken, I will report to FD and post to the alpha forum to share with other alpha testers. No need for everyone to worry about broken features until the game goes into gamma :p
 

jan

jan
Alpha are

A - ll hopes in 1 basket.

L - earns the true meaning of the word alpha.

P - leads to the pc as its struggle whit making the game even run.

H - ate and frustration builds up as you start your 20+ bug report.

A - sigh of released stress that next build got les bugs in it.
 

Dr Jimmy

D
I'm sat here having only just upgraded to 1st Beta, now thinking about the current shop closing tonight with all that could mean and considering becoming a Founding Member while all the time I'm thinking I should just do what I really want and pledge the extra for the Alpha... :S
 

Cmdr Eagleboy

Cmdr Eagleboy
Dr Jimmy said:
I'm sat here having only just upgraded to 1st Beta, now thinking about the current shop closing tonight with all that could mean and considering becoming a Founding Member while all the time I'm thinking I should just do what I really want and pledge the extra for the Alpha... :S
Click to expand...

Pledge as much you *can*. There's no reason to bankrupt yourself. 1st beta will come sooner than you think :)
 

Hellhawk666

Hellhawk666
Flak said:
I don't intend to post video of the game breaking. I think this would be the wrong thing to do as not everyone understands what an alpha is and could leap to the wrong conclusions.
Click to expand...

I think all the alpha testers will be conservative and post material that is interesting and good PR, rather than clips showing nothing but problems. That is after all one of the benefits for FD of restricting alpha access to people who are motivated enough to cough up £200+ for the privilege.

Alpha will be work, but enormously satisfying work. This is our chance to finally get actively involved in the physical development process and I'm sure everyone will make the most of it. I know in years to come I will take great pride in the fact that I contributed in my own small way towards the creation of ED.
 

Jack Schitt

Jack Schitt
Ivyy said:
Having been participant in several beta tests in the past, i'm very curious how such a complex game can get rid of most (important) bugs and can be polished (so it will be playable and fun) from alpha to release in under 6 months...?!!? :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
I have to confess similar trepidation. I've only been involved in one alpha test before, and it was for productivity software rather than entertainment, but it took just under a year to go from alpha to v1.00 release.

Granted a single example isn't much comparison, and looking at the development videos it would appear that bits of ED are already reasonably stable, at least on the development hardware. Nonetheless the timescale does worry me. Even if the alpha is released this week it could take well into 2014 just to polish and tweak the NPC combat, and that's just a fraction of the whole game experience.

My gut feeling is that ED is either much further along the development curve than the alpha tag might suggest, or that the mooted March release date will slip significantly. Personally either of those would suit me, as I just want it to be the best game it can be regardless of the launch date. But there will be folk out there who see the release date as a "promise" and who will take any slippage as a very bad sign and vent their frustrations accordingly. Managing that negative publicity could be FD's biggest hurdle if the release is postponed.
 

Maxeren

Maxeren
I have faith in our alpha testers and the game, because with a community like this one, i would figure they would want to protect the game from bad publicity and making it a great game with their commitment to the game in finding bugs. :smilie:
 

TheDarkKnight

TheDarkKnight
If the Alpha actually loads on my PC and I can move the ship it will be more than most Alphas I have been in.

I expect.

A lot of down time.
Bugs... lots of them.
Clipping.
Functional issues such as things not working.
Not being able to log in.
Errors on the download.
Lots of issues to report.
etc.

Normal alpha stuff.


Note: I hope there will be a separate thread for us to post our discoveries such as bugs etc. Or even better an in game bug reporting tool.
 

Hellhawk666

Hellhawk666
TheDarkKnight said:
If the Alpha actually loads on my PC and I can move the ship it will be more than most Alphas I have been in.

I expect.

A lot of down time.
Bugs... lots of them.
Clipping.
Functional issues such as things not working.
Not being able to log in.
Errors on the download.
Lots of issues to report.
etc.

Normal alpha stuff.


Note: I hope there will be a separate thread for us to post our discoveries such as bugs etc. Or even better an in game bug reporting tool.
Click to expand...

Yep - all of that.

Did you really name a station "Norman & Mavis' Bingo Palace"?
 
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