Jenner, thanks for that.
Do you know if anyone from FD is ever looking at these forums?
We know for a fact that they are. Welcome to the forums, I guess.
Well I think it matters very much, especially since ED has put such an emphasis on those terms through associated monetary segregation between the two. Alpha much more expensive than premium beta. Premium beta more expensive than general beta.
I for one am interested in understanding what semantic meaning the studio gives to those terms, especially considering the funding model used. Else I wouldn't have asked the question.
If you have no light to shed on the subject, please refrain from posting in this thread.
Are you a backer or are you in in the current Beta testing phase? I am asking this because the meaning FDEV assigns to each phase would be fully transparent to you from the point of view of the game content you see or have seen for each of the alpha or beta phases. You do not really need a definition given that you get to experience the real thing. What you saw in Alpha is what Alpha meant for FDEV. And what you see now in Beta is what Beta means for FDEV. If you nevertheless want to have a definition though I suggest you refer to each individual package description that was published in the game store and in the forums in each alpha or beta phase.
What was actually delivered is to all effects FDEV's definition as each release was named Alpha or Beta as the case may have been. Other games like SC have not even released an Alpha (CIG is calling the current version of AC a pre alpha) so CR needs to use semantics due to the lack of any official meaningful release in this regard.
If you need to obtain a comparison between ED Alpha and Beta release states so far and the final game you can either await a bit longer for actual release or simply look at the DDA forum which should give you a detailed picture of what will most likely be in the gold version.
Now, having said all that I suspect that what you are really trying to do is to establish the gap between any eventual theoretical definition of Alpha and Beta and what FDEV has actually delivered in order for you to be able to claim that FDEV may have not fulfilled their "contract" if you decide there is a gap.
If that is the case then you ll be probably sorely disappointed:
Firstly, I d hope FDEV is smart enough to avoid putting themselves into a completely arbitrary semantics discussion that adds no value whatsoever to them. Much less if said discussion is proposed so to be able to open up a certain degree of liability towards FDEV in any way or form.
Second, the only thing you are paying for when you pledged for alpha and beta is for the opportunity to test. If you look at the terms and conditions or EULA of any of the alpha or beta packages you ll probably realize there is no guarantee wether implicit or explicit of the content and features for each phase. Are you in Beta? Did you read the Terms & Conditions / EULA?
