I really hope people don't..........
- Thread starter terminator4d
- Start date
- Status
I believe this issue can be avoided if the devs provide solid documentation showing exactly:
1. what features are available at early bird launch;
2. what features are not currently available that will be available in future updates;
3. a list of known bugs and issues that are currently being worked on;
4. a list of targeted feedback items that the devs are looking for detailed information and bug reports on.
This will go a long way to helping to put the early bird testers in the right frame of mind to avoid all of the stupid comments that could cause many issues for both the community and the devs.
Last edited:
Im actually looking forward to incremental updates. We will get to know each new addition a lot better and also see our parks grow with the game.
Hope some of you will be Twitch streaming your testing [up]
If the quality is anywhere near the quality of what we've seen so far, and I'm sure it will be, I don't think there'll be too many upset people. As this isn't available on Steam, and you have to purchase directly from Frontier, I'm sure most who buy Early Bird won't be casual players, but will be people who've followed the development. Also, as the game looks SOOO good, (we're not spotting glaring flaws with every screenshot), the eye candy will keep most of us inspired to play and create.
Also, with the updates as the game progresses, it'll give us all something to look forward to, wondering what we'll be able to build.
Also, and most importantly, Frontier is giving us all a fairly good idea of what sort of product we're gonna end up with. I don't think we'll be feeling deceived or abandoned by them so I don't think there'll be so much bile generated in it's customers.
Also, with the updates as the game progresses, it'll give us all something to look forward to, wondering what we'll be able to build.
Also, and most importantly, Frontier is giving us all a fairly good idea of what sort of product we're gonna end up with. I don't think we'll be feeling deceived or abandoned by them so I don't think there'll be so much bile generated in it's customers.
Joël
Volunteer Moderator
No worries, I won't build up hopes. Just waiting for a nice surprise. I am interested in the size of that surprise, but whether it may be small or large or in between, it will certainly be AMAZING! [squeeeeee]
You mean like what RTCW did? Where they stated that they only testing the coaster creator...
...and even if they do all of that- there will still be people on here bemoaning x, y, or z.
People need a constant reminder stating that "This game is still in development; this is not the final build; things are likely to change with feedback and internal testing" -maybe during the loading screen.
Early Bird Pass:
"Your Early Bird Edition will grant you first access to Planet Coaster months before its official public release, and full access to the complete game upon release. The Early Bird Edition of Planet Coaster will be available to play March 2016."
They do not explicitly state that the game will still be in development and that you may encounter bugs, glitches, etc. so unless you follow the forums you won't know what to expect.
Implications are not the same thing.
Keep an eye out on my twitch channel. You'll find it below in the signature area. Definitely streaming it day one of early bird launch. [yesnod][big grin][up]
I agree - obviously as long as we (as Ebird) don't expect it to be perfect on launch of Ebird, then all shall be golden. Unfortunately there will always be some that won't realise exactly what early access should mean (some games have admittedly screwed this ideology entirely!), and this is unfortunatley inevitable.
I think even with RCTW a lot of the commentary was unfair in relation to many in the Beta not understanding what was on offer - which was made clear by Atari. Noting - yes there were many issues we know.
I do believe that unlike many others, I have found this forum community (and in particular the CHC's) to seemingly be more mature and fair in their outlook and commentary, and I expect this should also be evident in the Ebird..
I just want to chime in and say that compared to RCTW beta, this alpha is set up to be very different.
I firmly believe that people had seen the warning signs with RCTW way before the beta. They already had doubts, and the beta just confirmed several of those doubts.
The pre-cursor to PC Alpha is very different. Here we have a team that have already surpassed our expectations repeatedly. Stuff like the voxel landscaping tools - seriously, scroll back through 1 million posts across a hundred RCT related forums, no one asked for that! Frontier are directing and expanding public expectation. Atari, with RCTW are just trying to keep up with minimum expectation.
We may well see missing features and irritating bugs in the Alpha. But we know over half a year is left until release, and we know that a company that takes the time to add new features to the genre, features that weren't even on peoples tick lists, are obviously committed enough to fix bugs and ensure content is respectable by release.
RCTW beta should not be seen as a standard marker for how people react to early access. It wasn't received poorly because people are too stupid to understand what early access means - it was received poorly because Atari are too stupid to understand what people expect in 2015/16.
I firmly believe that people had seen the warning signs with RCTW way before the beta. They already had doubts, and the beta just confirmed several of those doubts.
The pre-cursor to PC Alpha is very different. Here we have a team that have already surpassed our expectations repeatedly. Stuff like the voxel landscaping tools - seriously, scroll back through 1 million posts across a hundred RCT related forums, no one asked for that! Frontier are directing and expanding public expectation. Atari, with RCTW are just trying to keep up with minimum expectation.
We may well see missing features and irritating bugs in the Alpha. But we know over half a year is left until release, and we know that a company that takes the time to add new features to the genre, features that weren't even on peoples tick lists, are obviously committed enough to fix bugs and ensure content is respectable by release.
RCTW beta should not be seen as a standard marker for how people react to early access. It wasn't received poorly because people are too stupid to understand what early access means - it was received poorly because Atari are too stupid to understand what people expect in 2015/16.
Harbinger
Volunteer Moderator
I have to agree with Duece, the problem wasn't the people with the RCTW "beta" (yes they're air quotes). What Atari presented as a "beta" was actually a pre-alpha build at best and even with the limited content they offered, anyone with an ounce of sense could tell immediately that it would not be ready for launch a further 6 weeks later. The majority of things weren't locked off because they wanted to focus testing, it was because they weren't even close to being ready.
Ask yourself this. If the coaster editor issues that caused the delay were resolved by the time of the 18th December live stream then why are we still none the wiser about when they will hold a second "beta" or release the game some 10 weeks after this stream? I mean they would only have required an additional 6 weeks had the coaster editor not been so heavily criticised right? Even if you deduct 2 weeks for developer time off over Christmas/New Year that still puts it at Coaster Editor fixed +8 weeks.
Whilst there's always likely to be a tiny minority who expect perfection from an early access build the majority can generally tell if there is a serious imbalance between what they're being shown and the time remaining to release. This imbalance is what caused the criticism in RCTW's case, not a misunderstanding of what a "beta" test is for.
With the Planet Coaster Alpha the timeframe to completion is a further 7-9 months and I for one have faith that the same people will be more understanding with what they're presented with in the next few weeks knowing this.
Ask yourself this. If the coaster editor issues that caused the delay were resolved by the time of the 18th December live stream then why are we still none the wiser about when they will hold a second "beta" or release the game some 10 weeks after this stream? I mean they would only have required an additional 6 weeks had the coaster editor not been so heavily criticised right? Even if you deduct 2 weeks for developer time off over Christmas/New Year that still puts it at Coaster Editor fixed +8 weeks.
Whilst there's always likely to be a tiny minority who expect perfection from an early access build the majority can generally tell if there is a serious imbalance between what they're being shown and the time remaining to release. This imbalance is what caused the criticism in RCTW's case, not a misunderstanding of what a "beta" test is for.
With the Planet Coaster Alpha the timeframe to completion is a further 7-9 months and I for one have faith that the same people will be more understanding with what they're presented with in the next few weeks knowing this.
Last edited:
Pretty much right on the money, the release date and the stuff we were shown was far from complete or a working state.
That's the thing. No one's expecting PC to be released just a few weeks after the Early Bird release. We're all clear on the fact that it'll be months.
Atari were constantly banging on about how amazing RCTW was and it was at the "polish" stage before the Beta. That sets an expectation amongst the people who've paid money, in good faith, that they'll be playing an almost completed game in the Beta which will be closely followed with a full release. Atari were still going for a December release. So when people realised that it was more Trick than Treat that Halloween weekend, the backlash was inevitable.
PC have been clear from the get go, and seem to be conducting themselves professionally and with a truck-load more integrity so I'm sure, it'll be a completely different story over here.
Atari were constantly banging on about how amazing RCTW was and it was at the "polish" stage before the Beta. That sets an expectation amongst the people who've paid money, in good faith, that they'll be playing an almost completed game in the Beta which will be closely followed with a full release. Atari were still going for a December release. So when people realised that it was more Trick than Treat that Halloween weekend, the backlash was inevitable.
PC have been clear from the get go, and seem to be conducting themselves professionally and with a truck-load more integrity so I'm sure, it'll be a completely different story over here.
No they do not ,only the no brains expect a full game that is in alpha and released end 2016 .
WingardiumLevicoaster
Volunteer Moderator
I have just bought my early bird copy. I really hope people do not get upset about the early bird as I think together we can help make the game wonderful. I am looking forward to being a part of the process. [yesnod]
Not me. I know what I'm getting into, and look forward to the chance to help the developers make the best game they can.
- Status