to get apha or not
- Thread starter mmppolton
- Start date
The longer you wait the less it's worth it.
if you just care about building parks i would get it now, if after management then wait until next release. I enjoy building so I am really enjoying it.
I'm looking forward to water rides and transport rides which we don't have yet, but I am hugely enjoying what we have so far and very happy I purchased the early bird. I think there was talk about stopping the early bird at some point nearer release, and the price will drop also nearer the time, but it's all speculation at the moment. Maybe wait and see what the next alpha brings and decide after that [happy]
I have seen a few threads question whether the early bird is worth it. There are a few reasons i decided to buy the early bird pack and I'll jot them down here, they might just convince you.
1) Early access. Kind of in the name, but i was super excited for this game the second i found out it existed (alpha 2 release pretty much). I wanted my hands on the game now so that i could get building and enjoying the game. PC alpha is quite the building tool, it's not a game as such yet, but it's still super fun to play if you enjoy building parks. You can be as creative as you like, and with a little time you will get the basics of the building tools and built something that looks great.
2) Support development. The more money frontier get now the more they can spend on development, the more encouragement and feedback they get. Hopefully buying in will help to improve the game for when it is released. The PC community continues to grow and the stronger the community the better, really.
3) See it first, get some experience, get to know the game and build some really cool games. By the time it's released you're ready and rearing for more content!
Like someone above me said, every day you wait is a day less that you get for your money!
1) Early access. Kind of in the name, but i was super excited for this game the second i found out it existed (alpha 2 release pretty much). I wanted my hands on the game now so that i could get building and enjoying the game. PC alpha is quite the building tool, it's not a game as such yet, but it's still super fun to play if you enjoy building parks. You can be as creative as you like, and with a little time you will get the basics of the building tools and built something that looks great.
2) Support development. The more money frontier get now the more they can spend on development, the more encouragement and feedback they get. Hopefully buying in will help to improve the game for when it is released. The PC community continues to grow and the stronger the community the better, really.
3) See it first, get some experience, get to know the game and build some really cool games. By the time it's released you're ready and rearing for more content!
Like someone above me said, every day you wait is a day less that you get for your money!
Im enjoying being part of the development.
Having my input and interacting with the devs.
The hype before each update and getting excited to see all the new items ect is why i got it before the Alpha even came out.
Having my input and interacting with the devs.
The hype before each update and getting excited to see all the new items ect is why i got it before the Alpha even came out.
The alpha comes with a few things you have to understand
1) There are bugs, there are grievances, it's unfinished. However i find this is all part of the fun, watching the development process and getting excited about updates. Planet coaster is the most polished alpha i've seen i think, the game is great fun as it is set to only get better.
2) You aren't buying a finished game at all. There is a limited number of objects, rides and coasters. You aren't going to be able to built everything you want right away. You must be patient, finished game is still quite a way off. If you only want to play a nicely polished, finished and full game, it's perhaps worth considering waiting as PC is not that. It is however possible to have many hours fun on PC building and riding the rides.
3) The game is expensive, it appeals to enthusiasts and the theme park community is a strong one who are seemingly willing to pay the expensive rates. I know i am, just could no resist. You will save money by waiting, so ask yourself if you want to pay or you want to wait.
i would strongly strongly recommend anyone buy the game, i love it. You do have to understand what you are buying, though.
Well put [big grin] If you have concerns it's a little pricey then honestly I'd say wait until final release. Your family may be right on this one [cool]
What other alphas are free? And, if they are how many people really give good feedback? Frontier, I believe wants dedicated people to give quality feedback with possible suggestions to help them. I imagine in a free alpha the developers get responses like "I don't like it (no reason)", "it's bad (again no reason)", " Game crashed (no hint of how or why)". I think you catch my drift.
I think by free we are referring to paying for the game up front but not extra on top of the game price to be part of the Alpha like we have here, which in fairness is pretty much the norm for previous Alpha's I have been part of.
The difference actually in the price of this Alpha is only maximum £10 more than what I pay for a game normally anyways if I want it on release as most games are around £40-£50 when they first hit steam for instance.
The reason the value seems so high is because at the reduced price that Frontier have put a pre-order up for at £20 and that they are releasing the game at a reasonable value of £30 anyways instead of the £40-£50 that most triple A games are pushed at.
The only part I feel is a bit of push is the extra it would be to upgrade to say the CHC which I feel if you have paid £50 already then you should only have to pay the £20 difference rather than an additional £5 and that is purely the reason I haven't upgraded. I didn't have funds to cover it all in one go and don't feel I should be penalised now because of it as I have clearly already committed to the game.
The difference actually in the price of this Alpha is only maximum £10 more than what I pay for a game normally anyways if I want it on release as most games are around £40-£50 when they first hit steam for instance.
The reason the value seems so high is because at the reduced price that Frontier have put a pre-order up for at £20 and that they are releasing the game at a reasonable value of £30 anyways instead of the £40-£50 that most triple A games are pushed at.
The only part I feel is a bit of push is the extra it would be to upgrade to say the CHC which I feel if you have paid £50 already then you should only have to pay the £20 difference rather than an additional £5 and that is purely the reason I haven't upgraded. I didn't have funds to cover it all in one go and don't feel I should be penalised now because of it as I have clearly already committed to the game.
Don't worry about ever upgrading to CHC, and this goes for the OP too in case you had it in mind: It's just not worth an extra £25 from what I've seen so far. The only "exclusive" content we get is one additional picture or video per week to coincide with the ones that go out on social media. The Cosmic Cow one from last week was just more of the same. Also the USB wristband they send you contains malware. I'm considering refunding and will do so by the end of the week if nobody from Frontier has got back to the post I made in the CHC section. (The "developer interaction" isn't what they make it out to be)
I will say, however, that if you are just dying to play the game and have the money to spare, the Early Bird is definitely worth it.
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This bit isn't quite true. The USB Drive contains a code that should automatically open a browser window to the Coaster Head Club Site. Anti Virus Programs don't like that and report it as malware.
This site i think: https://www.planetcoaster.com/en/coasterheadclub
As for the Developer interaction, i rather have them work on the Game instead of lurking in the Forums and answering Questions. They would never get any work done. If you want interaction with the Team, wait for the Streams. I can definitely see why you seem tricked with the Coaster Head Club. I will withhold my judgement about it for a while. Maybe stuff will be coming soon that will justify it for you.
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True, but from an experienced game company like Frontier I wouldn't have expected my antivirus to have to do some work.
Joël
Volunteer Moderator
In this case, false positive indeed. I anticipated the removal of the start.exe file on the wristband USB drive (because I've read about it on the forums) and turned off my anti-virus before plugging in the USB drive. Then, I started start.exe and it opened my standard web browser and loaded google.co.uk. That's it.
I got planet coaster with alpha for NZ $108 after my bank ANZ charged currency conversion fee on my visa credit card. Its well woth it though! Even Xbox One and PS4 games can be much more expensive in NZ. I have AVG Internet Security 2016 on my PC and it gave me no problems when trying to download and run this game which I got off Frontiers site. You definetly are missing out on the fun if you dont currently have the alpha game. Theres a lot of hype about it on youtube. The full game is expected to come out completed Q4 2016. Thats like hundreds even thousands of hours left to wait if you want to wait for the completed game.
NZ $ is very weak compared to the UK£. £1 = ROUGHLY NZ $2. Always has been like that. When I got it £49.99 = NZ $104 and my bank charged like $4 currency conversion fee.
NZ $ is very weak compared to the UK£. £1 = ROUGHLY NZ $2. Always has been like that. When I got it £49.99 = NZ $104 and my bank charged like $4 currency conversion fee.
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I never buy into Early Access games, crowd-funded projects, or other non-traditional game platforms. The risk for failure, not getting what was promised, or a Duke Nukem Forever situation is not worth it to me. So many of my friends have been burned getting into these things. There are so many games out there today that missing out on a few risky ones is no big deal to me.
However, I made an exception for Planet Coaster. It basically boils down to respect for David Braben and the way Frontier handled the RCT3 launch. Frontier is one of the better companies for how they engage their fans. They listen and try to do the right thing. I have thrown criticism and suggestions at Frontier in the past, and they have fixed criticisms and implemented a suggestion. Good people work at Frontier. This is why I bought into the Early Bird Alpha.
I have liked what I've seen in Alpha 2. If you're big into simulation games then you'll probably want to buy in and try it. The terrain tools are the best in the business right now, coasters are deep in capability but shallow in information, and dynamic lighting has an unexpectedly strong impact. Doooo it! [up]