Why would I think otherwise?!?!?
Beta is beta, I paid for premium beta, let´s get it together.
I don´t see one GOOD reason to see this difference in release...
April Alpha
- Thread starter Amorelia
- Start date
Why would I think otherwise?!?!?
Beta is beta, I paid for premium beta, let´s get it together.
I don´t see one GOOD reason to see this difference in release...
Yes, but a Beta is something that has gone through Alpha first. Even when I had backed Beta I knew that by definition it would be the next part of the process. I think everyone assumed that Alpha would be functionally complete first originally, but I'm puzzled as to why you thought it was this first line/new features thing?
Not sure if its been said already, I only read through to page 25... 
FDEV could always release an Alpha No. 4.xx.xx (final Av) a couple of days before it is "miraculously" released for the Premium Beta access..? That way Alpha people will still officially be Alpha testing and won't be getting early access to the Premium Beta version
This would keep everyone happy...
It should also be stable enough by the time Standard Beta is due that it wouldn't need testing......although if there were game breaking issues on Standard Beta release then who / where do we all look at because its not been tested?
FDEV could always release an Alpha No. 4.xx.xx (final Av) a couple of days before it is "miraculously" released for the Premium Beta access..? That way Alpha people will still officially be Alpha testing and won't be getting early access to the Premium Beta version
This would keep everyone happy...
It should also be stable enough by the time Standard Beta is due that it wouldn't need testing......although if there were game breaking issues on Standard Beta release then who / where do we all look at because its not been tested?
Beta is a next round of TESTING on features that have already gone through the alpha phase no? Or do you see it as the chronological continuation of Alpha testing in which they just throw more testers into the mix and continue testing new features with the larger group? I have never heard of that kind of beta testing personally, that would just be a bigger alpha.
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If I get what you mean (sorry if I am wrong), I had no thought that you were Alpha testing the Beta, you were Alpha testing Elite Dangerous ... and once Travel and trade was completed (and has been stated by Devs - alot) Beta would start so we, beta testers could Beta test Elite Dangerous ...
Not (which it has become) after Travel and trade was completed, Beta would be given to the Alpha members before we get our hands on it ... "Beta come after Alpha..." that was the line we were fed ... Look I have no problem with Alpha members being happy with this news, all power to you ... I just feel let down that my waiting, patiently for Beta has to wait just that little bit longer ... I feel that FD have made an error here, In my view.
In the next few weeks Alpha will have tested Combat, Multiplayer, Docking, Outfitting, Travel & Trade
They won't have found half the issues in those core components of game-play so they now need to be passed into Beta. So you get your hands on that lot and you start testing and you will find really interesting play testing bugs, really cool stuff instead of silly problems like the game not loading.
My understanding (and maybe I'm wrong) is that there are more CORE components to be added to this set of features. Those will need to be Alpha tested first.
So lets say they have a release next for the "Background simulation and missions", the Beta testers will have a couple of weeks still testing the last major build while the Alpha testers do the first run of tests on that new release.
I may be wrong, but I seriously doubt that 'Travel & Trade' makes the game CORE complete and that all we're getting from now on is bug fixes.
the Problem is I paid for "first round access" to the Beta ,which has now been downgraded to second round access.
And in the online store it still states "Pre-order the Elite: Dangerous Premium Beta now to get early access to the first beta stage of game "
So how does being in the last and final test group to get access qualify as early access?, as I'ts not being rolled out to second Beta players thats final access !!!
You are right their is no issue with Alpha backers having access to Beta they have that exact same reward in KS that us Beta+ did ,only now they get exclusive access to fist round Beta+
Jenner
I wish I was English like my hero Tj.
It's the latter. Beta is typically used to refer to software that is feature complete, but still undergoing testing. Alpha is not feature complete. They are not used to refer to testing 'stages', but rather the state of the software as a whole. In this case, ED is currently in an Alpha state. It's in pieces and is not a whole product. When Beta rolls around I would assume that the game would be complete for the most part, and they'll obviously have more people testing it. However, I see no reason why Alpha backers should get their hands on it first. (and I'm an Alpha backer - full disclosure). It makes more sense to me to not have seperate client versions and/or builds floating around for the Beta stage.
That's actually untrue. You paid to participate in the first round of the Beta. Nobody said you would have first access to it. "first round" seems to refer to the code, not the participants.
I would say that there are no clear definitions but I would expect a Beta to be at least Core feature complete. It's a moot point, my point is I expect that Frontier still have lots of core stuff to do and they are avoiding passing this stuff straight into the Beta pool.
I notice you ignored the second quote from the on line store that states early access!
and when ever has "first round" been used to "refer to code"?
I wasn't convinced it was relevant, since early =/= first.
I read that from this "The Alpha process is being phased, with a number of releases each focused on different capabilities and features of the game, offering you the opportunity to play, test and send your feedback to us.
Once the Alpha phase is completed, there will be two Beta phases as the whole game begins to come together, again with the opportunity for you to play, test and feedback to us."
Taken from the store also, this strongly suggests to me that phase is being used to mean "build", and that "round"="phase".
Not that I actually particularly care. I think this entire thread should perhaps be renamed the "storm in a teacup" thread, since you're probably talking about a time difference of a few days to a week max. I think people need to learn a bit of patience and consider that if you cause hassle for FD to sort out in the forums, it will be yet another thing they have to focus on instead of making the game.
Because a Beta build is a Beta build.
If it fails, oh well, that's part of being a Beta build - regardless of how many get to experience the fail.
And IMO the players who have been patiently waiting for even acknowledgement from FD of when Beta might realistically happen will understand this far better than newbies who jump on the £200 "exclusive access" bandwagon now.
To all that think that some of us Beta access Peep's are moaning about nothing, please try to remember we have been watching the Alpha's, hearing the comments and getting very excited for our chance to test the game over the last few months, then we get yesterdays news, I must say here that I have an immense amount of respect for the Alpha backers who see why we are not happy .. thank you ...
What we then got, after venting our disappointment, was quite a lot of the hardships of Alpha backers and how they deserve to be rewarded as their games didn't work all the time .. it's an alpha it will be broken .. I know that I am prepared for (and expecting) major problems with the Beta ..
like I have said before if you don't understand what Alpha/Beta testing is, don't participate ... I (Personally) feel, being told that I can't test Beta because the Alpha's have to make sure it's safe for us, or even if it is just a "perk" and we get the game 24 hours later (which I doubt is the case) is a bit of a slap in the face ..
It wasn't advertised that way, and it shouldn't be that way ..
What we then got, after venting our disappointment, was quite a lot of the hardships of Alpha backers and how they deserve to be rewarded as their games didn't work all the time .. it's an alpha it will be broken .. I know that I am prepared for (and expecting) major problems with the Beta ..
like I have said before if you don't understand what Alpha/Beta testing is, don't participate ... I (Personally) feel, being told that I can't test Beta because the Alpha's have to make sure it's safe for us, or even if it is just a "perk" and we get the game 24 hours later (which I doubt is the case) is a bit of a slap in the face ..
It wasn't advertised that way, and it shouldn't be that way ..
Alpha or beta is the general stage of development. A beta update doesn't go through alpha testing... You might do some internal QA to make sure there are no serious gamebreaking bugs in a beta update and you can argue that's why the alpha players will get access to beta builds first but a lot of people clearly dislike that idea and think it's unnecessary. I've said it before and I can say it again, if they want to test new builds externally before having everyone get their hands on it then let people opt-in, see Minecraft's snapshots and Starbounds unstable beta channel.
As for new features having to go through alpha testing. You could do that and have development in two branches but that'd be pretty unusual. While a beta might be "feature complete" it is also very usual for features to be added throughout beta and it has become a lot more common recently.
I think you may need to be a little firmer than that
So when has early ever been the same as first? in any sense of the word?
It does say "once Alpha is completed" ,or am I misreading?
Oh Shadow, you and I both know, as do all members of this forum, (hopefully
), that what you are suggesting is what moderators and community manager types deal with and takes nothing away from the game development.