Alpha 1 for standard Beta

[Bobbydylan]

What do you guys think, should FD make the Alpha 1 SP combat scenarios open to Standard Beta Backers?

I think they should. It would
a) be a possible revenue boost as backers in the £30 tier bump up to play now.
b) Allow players to whet their appetite, possibly incentivising them to bump up to Premium Beta.
c) allow folks to see how awesome the game is and how cool it is to fly with proper controls.

Whaddya think?

 

[Tinman]

Yes, but I think they should wait until we are "closing in" on standard Beta and give access then as a sort of teaser. Just like they did with Premium Beta. If you give the finger they'll take the whole hand. If you give this out to early people will first be happy, but pretty soon they'll just turn impatient instead and want the rest now now NOW!

 

[Dante80]

Also, the first alpha had a lot of control, support and flight model issues that have been addressed in the subsequent development processes. Getting new people writing about horrible HOTAS, OR etc support again, while the game has moved that much further would be a bad blow imo.

 

[Knightshark]

Hmm. I don't like two class systems. Either they get everything or nothing. Star Citizen uses this model where you only get the ship you pledged for and teases you to upgrade your pledge.

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

out of curiosity, how many people who voted no were premium backers who played alpha 1.1?

if there are any... is that not some sort of double standards?.

I am a premium beta, however I didnt play alpha 1.1 due to it being too bare bones and not wanting to spoil the game, however I appreciate that premium beta backers were given the choice.

Truth is, to me it would make more sense to give them the current build but with multiplayer blocked off.... surely that would be easy enough to gate off??

but if that is not an option then the combat scenarios make for an ok training if that is what people want.

I have played beta 1 for maybe 10 hrs now - enough to get an eagle - but I am trying to leave it alone now

Hmm. I don't like two class systems. Either they get everything or nothing. .

Is that not a little naive ? in effect the entire season pass is a 2 tier system, or are you suggesting that should be scrapped too?

having some people play in the beta imo is not really a 2 class system imo, the final full game will be the same for all of us and that for me is what counts.......

(I am not a fan of cash for game progress however, which is kind of what the SC ship model smells of to me).

 

[X2Eliah]

I think that it's way too early yet. For the current ("premium") beta state, Frontier has to add a lot more stuff (e.g. exploring, mining, missions..). That's gonna take some time.

Also, for the normal beta, they really really really should make a proper tutorial/training area, to get players more accustomed to how the game works. Throwing 20'000 people in normal beta - who mostly haven't followed the progress of the game that much - without any accommodation might create a lot of negative backlash ("too hard!!!"), followed by even more neg. backlash when the further game states aren't released to their tier fast enough (and they can't be released, because servers/networking are the same, and scaling for normal beta levels might be costly and influence testing a lot).

 

[Dante80]

Truth is, to me it would make more sense to give them the current build but with multiplayer blocked off.... surely that would be easy enough to gate off??

This would be the correct way to do it. My main problem with using the alpha1 for that is because of the issues it had that made players come for feedback here and get answers like "its fixed, wait for premium beta".

I would suggest rolling out the single player part about a month before pb ends or so. Its good marketing, and should help get more players in the game I think..

 

[Crimson1973]

Combat missions with joystick support. But I don't think it will happen because they want to regulate how many people play and they are probably not ready for the influx. Maybe disabling multiplayer would work. Who knows. Whatever they decide in the end will be okay since I don't believe standard beta is too far down the road anyway

 

[Mace71]

I voted yes and am a Premium Beta owner. I understood the Alpha 1.1 we had was trailing the current Alpha build and I don't remember seeing the forums full of complaints.

If you voted no, why? Doesn't hurt you in anyway, you are just being petty really.

 

[Commandr Sam]

A very good idea, I think around a month before the standard beta is released tho.

 

[Targas]

Yes, but I think they should wait until we are "closing in" on standard Beta and give access then as a sort of teaser. Just like they did with Premium Beta. If you give the finger they'll take the whole hand. If you give this out to early people will first be happy, but pretty soon they'll just turn impatient instead and want the rest now now NOW!

Absolutely agree.

 

[EidLeWeise]

I'm with Tinman on this too... I think that giving Standard Beta players the Alpha 1 build makes sense. However it's too soon now. Imagine if they had it for 6 months or so... It's easier to have nothing than just a teaser...

Eid

 

[Crimson1973]

If you give this out to early people will first be happy, but pretty soon they'll just turn impatient instead and want the rest now now NOW!

So if they want the rest now, then they pay the extra for premium, what's the problem?

 

[Dirtmuncher]

So if they want the rest now, then they pay the extra for premium, what's the problem?

Indeed, the decision is frontier's to make. Give the people a taste.

Also a pb here BTW.
I don't know how far the normal beta is away. We don't have mining and missions in yet.

 

[usernametaken]

I'm a premium beta backer.

As others have said I think it's a good idea to give the alpha 1.1 to standard beta backers but do so when the standard beta date is both known and close.

 

[Commandr Sam]

One thing I did never understand was why the 1.1 build was chosen as by the 1.4 build a lot of other controller types were supported etc.

 

[Bobbydylan]

Wow, I have to say, I'm surprised that there are so many good natured folks here. Makes me feel warm a fuzzy.

The idea of allowing them to download the current Beta, but block off MP is a great one, IMHO. That way they're be up to date on the current fixes (and bugs) and more likely to be drawn into the community.

I think that putting out the SP scenarios now may be a bit soon, as the PBeta only launched 2 weeks ago, but come the end of the month, I think it's a great opportunity.

Besides, most peoples DK2's will be arriving in July, so they may be looking for an experience that makes it worth while.

 

[M.E.A.T]

I vote yes, but I agree to the idea of releasing A1.1 when Beta release date is set to reduce the complaints. Its good for new players to be able to try out and get themselves familiarized with the controls prior jumping into online mode.

 

[yclept]

I voted no, not because I think Standard Beta backers shouldn't get the combat scenarios ahead of time, as that's a good idea, but because being Alpha 1 they were a bit old and not best reflective of the current flight system, AI and bugfixes, when we had them for Premium Beta, and they'll be even more out of date once we get near Standard Beta.

Instead they should ideally get whatever is the current Premium Beta build a week or two ahead, but with all play modes but the combat scenarios locked out.

 

[Ayo]

Wait until a date is set for standard beta and give them an up to date version of the single player scenarios.

Then once a date for Gamma is set, release the single player scenarios as a free demo to everyone. Perhaps with a few more scenarios included and/or a station to practice docking at

Perhaps spend some time making a "single system single player demo" that accurately reflects the final game just without multiplayer or hyperspace.