Alpha Release date speculation thread

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Do we have any idea yet when the private alpha test will commence (i.e. for those who pledged at a high enough level to take part?)
 
December this year wasn't it? That's what the KS page currently says anyway. Who can say whether this will slip, or be brought forward? <fingers crossed>
 
Anyone (higher pledgers) considering waiting until actual release or maybe 2nd beta before playing?

I'm very much torn. I've pledged high enough so I can participate in the alpha, but - it wasn't the reward I wanted. It just came "free". Thinking about what Styggron said about savouring the moment, and knowing how alpha some alpha can be (if that makes sense) I wonder if it will be better to wait a bit... experience the game in all it's (hopeful) glory nearer or at release.

Or am I just talking nonsense & of course everyone will be on it like a car bonnet as soon as the alpha lids are taken off? :p
 
I received this benefit with my pledge level, and will definitely be participating in the alpha test!

I doubt anyone who gets this opportunity will be able to resist! ;)
 
Anyone (higher pledgers) considering waiting until actual release or maybe 2nd beta before playing?..

I've only ever participated in one other Alpha, Hawken, and it didn't ruin that game for me, but I get what you mean, there is the risk it could be too buggy or CTD a lot, possibly resulting in a night at A&E with a monitor round your neck.

Probably why the Alpha pledge level was given the backer limit that it has.

To avoid overwhelming the A&E departments I mean ;)

But I'm sure FD are uber-devs and experienced enough to make sure it works for us.
 
I've only ever participated in one other Alpha, Hawken, and it didn't ruin that game for me, but I get what you mean, there is the risk it could be too buggy or CTD a lot, possibly resulting in a night at A&E with a monitor round your neck.

Probably why the Alpha pledge level was given the backer limit that it has.

To avoid overwhelming the A&E departments I mean ;)

But I'm sure FD are uber-devs and experienced enough to make sure it works for us.

Sure, but there's always people with problems, and it's usually me. :(

I guess a comfort is that "everything in alpha stays in alpha" - meaning any progress you make will (very likely) be reset before the game starts proper, so there's nothing to get too het up about with CTDs etc. You just send the logs to Frontier and hopefully they fix it before release.

There is only one chance to make a first impression. I just want it to be good, hopefully good enough to make everyone think we haven't squandered our money. :)
 
Anyone (higher pledgers) considering waiting until actual release or maybe 2nd beta before playing?

You should play with the Alpha. Based on the timing, the point of the Alpha is to be able to tune gameplay and balance more than to find bugs (though I'm sure there will be some of that).
 
I will do the alpha, if only to send feedback, report bugs etc, it will be a good opportunity to find out how well my current system handles it!
 
In some ways I'd like to wait for the release - the anticipation would be exquisite. However, compatibility permitting, I'll be playing the alpha and trying to find bugs for the devs to squish.
 

Slopey

Volunteer Moderator
The point of Alpha/Beta is to test, and provide feedback to FD. Not play as such.

There will likely be multiple character wipes during the process, and a final wipe before launch. If you're not prepared to accept that - don't play!

However, so many people ignore that fact then cry on the forums that something doesn't work or isn't implemented yet, but then don't raise a concise and useful bug report.

If you're not going to play the alpha/beta, that's your decision. If you are, you should be testing gameplay and mechanics and finding and reporting on bugs (imho).

If you're not prepared to launch in Beta and die repeatedly testing/identifying a bug then you likely shouldn't play till release.

So many people treat Beta as release these days, I feel for the developers - they get hardly any useful bug reports and lots of QQ on the forums.

Some developers don't help themselves though it must be said (PGI's MWO is still Beta, but they're taking money off you, and consuming purchased bonus time - how is that not retail??).

But I doubt FD will have that issue. But we should all be useful testers for FD in Alpha or Beta if we're actually going to play.
 
I've never done an Alpha test before so I hope I'm up to the job.

I also hope we're each allocated tasks so that all possible bugs are found, rather than just letting us do as we please & risking something being missed. Because of this I don't imagine there will be much 'play', but I pledged especially to have this opportunity & if you'd told me 28 years ago that one day I'd be Alpha testing a new Elite I'd have said you were mad ! ;)
 
Watching sausage get made and tasting the results are 2 very different experiences.

That being said, it would have been nice if someone had noticed that annoying 'scan jump entry cloud' bug.
 
Anyone (higher pledgers) considering waiting until actual release or maybe 2nd beta before playing?
I have been, but on the other hand I want input into how the game turns out. It's a tough call, as my past experience has been playing beta tends to ruin playing the game on release as you've seen it all before in effect.
 
If you're not going to play the alpha/beta, that's your decision. If you are, you should be testing gameplay and mechanics and finding and reporting on bugs (imho).

If you're not prepared to launch in Beta and die repeatedly testing/identifying a bug then you likely shouldn't play till release.

So many people treat Beta as release these days, I feel for the developers - they get hardly any useful bug reports and lots of QQ on the forums.

This. I have only done one beta before, and that was a serious affair (non-disclosure agreements, bug-hunting, and the like).

I really enjoyed contributing (and for a period, my contribution was quite a serious one: I can see little bits of the finished game that reflected my contribution). However, I hardly played the game at all after release - I was a bit tired of it already, and had used all my enthusiasm on the beta releases with their inevitable bugs and imbalances instead of the polished, finished product.
 
Like others here, I have concerns about the testing phases. People have been waiting a very long time for this game to see the light of day; and judging from the level of debate and speculation in these forums it's almost inevitable that there'll be an orgy of activity during testing, and that we'll have periods of intense impatience and frustration in between.

The real trick here is to understand the nature of testing. By all means get to know the game, but don't lose sight of why it's being done. Easier said than done for many I suspect (myself included:eek: )

I'm sure it'll all be fine though............
 
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