Difference between beta1 and beta2?

[-o-]

Beta 1 £100 Jan 2014
Beta 2 £50 Feb 2014

Apart from the cost and time, does anyone know any other differences between both betas? I mean the beta product itself, not other KS adds.

As the Alpha may delay the start of Beta1, will the same apply for Beta2? That is, will delays within Beta1 also have the potential to push back Beta2 even further, or will Beta2 be fixed to be released 1 month after Beta1.

 

[Rog]

Beta 1 £100 Jan 2014
Beta 2 £50 Feb 2014

Apart from the cost and time, does anyone know any other differences between both betas? I mean the beta product itself, not other KS adds.

As the Alpha may delay the start of Beta1, will the same apply for Beta2? That is, will delays within Beta1 also have the potential to push back Beta2 even further, or will Beta2 be fixed to be released 1 month after Beta1.

FD will have a full test plan in effect, and rather than a FFE situation, flaws will be hammered out and fixed rather than glossed over or ignored prior to release. (I really liked FFE btw).

So yes, any raw Alpha probs fixed in Beta1 as well as adding/removing anything glaringly obvious, Beta2 will fix anything wrong in B1. They will be ready when everything's tested according to plan, rather than stick to a rigid timescale. Alpha & Beta testing is a job btw, they want you to find potential problems.

Gamma should be essentially release candidate ready.

Possibly.

 

[StarTux]

Beta2 will be further along development wise, more content will have been added and more quashed/added as a result of the content additions. By the time of gamma it should be pretty much complete for retail release as this period will be for polishing.

Remember with the first beta round you're paying 10 GBP extra over the 90 GBP level as you'll also be getting access to the goodies from the previous tiers.

How long is almost a "How long is a piece of string" argument, no-one exactly knows. There will be periods where things go really well for the developers, everything they touch is gold and this may push the process faster and then they have those other days...No-one can give a precise date.

What we don't know if Alpha will be limited to certain days, as Il2:Bos is.

 

[-o-]

I know in Alpha, your progress cannot be saved and everything is reset for Beta1.

Will your progress be saved in Beta1, then continued into Beta2, then into that Gamma?

Or will Beta2 reset everything, which will again be reset when Gamma starts.

 

[Geraldine]

Resets in Beta would be very likely I would guess, but Michael did say he hoped there would be none in Gamma.

 

[Greeboski]

the only sure 'reset' is at the start of gama so after beta2 everything will be reset.
alpha isnt a game , its bits N peices.
beta 1 will be those bits N peices bolted together , which should be kind of like a demo in that not everything will be present (but we dont know the extent of this)
beta 2 should be almost everything
gama is everything for final testing , if it works with no criticle flaws then no reset

least thats how i have understood it

 

[-o-]

thanks

 

[Patrick_68000]

The game is on the long term. We are not in a few months near between alpha, beta1 and beta2. Even gamma can last several months, it does not disturb me. It is better to have a perfect game

 

[Telstar2001]

Just got this in news letter 14, I think it say's it all, and is the way to go.

As David explained in the last Dev Diary video, new alpha test builds will be released periodically adding new features and content until the alpha process is complete and we’re ready to move into Beta. Our goal is to make this right and we will take what time is needed in each phase to get it right.

 

[JohnStabler]

Just got this in news letter 14, I think it say's it all, and is the way to go.

I still don't understand how this proposed multiple alpha builds is going to work, given that alpha is set for December and Beta 1 is set for January. How much do they intend to get done in that short period of time?

 

[izzy]

I know in Alpha, your progress cannot be saved and everything is reset for Beta1.

Will your progress be saved in Beta1, then continued into Beta2, then into that Gamma?

Or will Beta2 reset everything, which will again be reset when Gamma starts.

I don't know if there will have reset for beta 1 and 2.
But there will have a reset for the start of the gamma test.
If gamma phase is Ok, there won't have a reset

 

[Sparticus]

I still don't understand how this proposed multiple alpha builds is going to work, given that alpha is set for December and Beta 1 is set for January. How much do they intend to get done in that short period of time?

Santa's Little Elves will be re-tasked straight after Christmas

 

[ianw]

I still don't understand how this proposed multiple alpha builds is going to work, given that alpha is set for December and Beta 1 is set for January. How much do they intend to get done in that short period of time?

Looking at this post from Michael I guess it's a fair bet that beta might slide a bit..

Alpha is due to start in December, that's our focus right now and we'll take whatever time is needed to get that right before moving onto beta.

Michael

http://forums.frontier.co.uk/showpost.php?p=195007&postcount=8

 

[jabokai]

I still don't understand how this proposed multiple alpha builds is going to work, given that alpha is set for December and Beta 1 is set for January. How much do they intend to get done in that short period of time?

It does seem incredibly ambitious, I would agree.

 

[Zieman]

JohnStabler & Jabokai:

Looking at this post from Michael I guess it's a fair bet that beta might slide a bit..

Alpha is due to start in December, that's our focus right now and we'll take whatever time is needed to get that right before moving onto beta.

Michael

http://forums.frontier.co.uk/showpost.php?p=195007&postcount=8

Ambitious yes. FD is trying to get all testing phases done in the estimated timeframes, but those estimates aren't constraining, each phase will last as long as it takes to be ready for the next phase.

 

[Cmdr Eagleboy]

Looking at this post from Michael I guess it's a fair bet that beta might slide a bit..

Michael also said that battleship video is "a little bit of both - in-game engine and touchups". We all know how it turned out in the end

I am in 2nd beta, and I really don't care beta will slip. Take as much time as you need, FD.

 

[Crash_Happy]

the only sure 'reset' is at the start of gama so after beta2 everything will be reset.
alpha isnt a game , its bits N peices.
beta 1 will be those bits N peices bolted together , which should be kind of like a demo in that not everything will be present (but we dont know the extent of this)
beta 2 should be almost everything
gama is everything for final testing , if it works with no criticle flaws then no reset

least thats how i have understood it

This follows along the lines of my own surmises. You're not going to get official info on this of course, so it's mere opinion or nothing.
I wouldn't be shocked if there was a reset after gamma, but it seems needless.

 

[tluamiani]

If Gamma isn't the general release of the game then I'd be very surprised if there *isn't* a reset after it!

 

[Cmdr Eagleboy]

If Gamma isn't the general release of the game then I'd be very surprised if there *isn't* a reset after it!

Well, technically it is general release for backers, but not retail release. They hope it will be short, so it could easily a month and done. If there are no serious game play bugs (like balance problems, etc) there's no need to reset PU. Just do a full retail release

 

[KING5TON]

I'd be very very surprised if there was a reset after the Gamma launches. Resets prior to Gamma release should be expected as you signed up for testing. Anyone like me that only has Gamma access was expecting the full game, not to be a tester.

Gamma was sprung on us recently and I've absolutely no problem with it in theory but I have a massive problem if this now means that there is little point in accumulating any type of wealth or ships or upgrades if they're going to be taken away in x weeks/months.

Again, I want to play the game not test it and that is what I signed up for