Rog started this thread with a question.....
Essentially, how long will this verification take?
Its a 'how long is a piece of string' type question of course. But we're all hoping it will be measured in hours rather than weeks.
How long is the Alpha phase of the Beta phase?
- Thread starter Rog
- Start date
Rog started this thread with a question.....
Essentially, how long will this verification take?
Its a 'how long is a piece of string' type question of course. But we're all hoping it will be measured in hours rather than weeks.
Michael Brookes
Game Director
As I've previously posted, assuming that there are no showstoppers then it would be a matter of hours, if there's a problem then it will take as long as it takes to fix.
Michael
I'm a premium beta backer in ED. This system seems very similar to the way Shroud of the Avatar early releases are handled, and it really doesn't bother me at all that alpha backers are getting the Beta versions few hours early. If anything, it's nice to know there are no any show stopping bugs in the builds.
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That is pretty much what I was saying would be the case.
When premium backers are let in, the number of players accessing the game is going to jump from hundreds to thousands. To expect any game, even with a polished live build, to simply open the flood gates to that is just plain stupid.
Even after 10 years a game like WoW will still have in-house testers jump into the game for 30 minutes after the servers have been down for an update to make sure it's working ok. This is no different.
Simply put, FD would always have needed someone to go in and check it's stable enough to switch on. How else could they have decided who that "someone" was?
When premium backers are let in, the number of players accessing the game is going to jump from hundreds to thousands. To expect any game, even with a polished live build, to simply open the flood gates to that is just plain stupid.
Even after 10 years a game like WoW will still have in-house testers jump into the game for 30 minutes after the servers have been down for an update to make sure it's working ok. This is no different.
Simply put, FD would always have needed someone to go in and check it's stable enough to switch on. How else could they have decided who that "someone" was?
well tahts the question of the day really. All that date is saying is that there are no more orders for Alpha been taken. Read into that what you will. FD are making an announcement though this coming week for the beta people so id imagine more will be clear then.
No. Alpha sales end on April 25th. Beta will start when:
a). Any show-stoppers from Alpha 4 are sufficiently resolved to move on.
b). The beta release is confirmed stable.
c). FD decide that anyone who purchased/upgraded to Alpha on April 24th got their money's worth.
FD learned this week that if c takes longer than a+b, there will be a riot
Short answer No. The 25th April is the cut off date for people to upgrade to alpha. With that in mind it would be fair to assume that beta does not start the very next day. It's also worth noting that Michael has said that there will 4 main stages of the alpha and currently we are still in the 3rd stage. Hopefully we won't have to wait too long for some further information.
My guess, is that if alpha 4 is released significantly before the 25th and FD are satisfied that things are going well, premium beta could be released as soon as early to mid May. On a positive note, giving a cut off date suggests that they believe the end of the alpha is in sight, though there is still the risk of the unexpected.
Ive expressed reservations about the beta being delayed for alpha players to get to try it first, mainly at the possibility that we would be waiting for excessively long periods of time for the alphas to get their money's worth out of it...
But I have to say, with this clarification, I can't see what all the fuss is about. A few hours is hardly going to destroy Morgue's Mortuary, is it?
But I have to say, with this clarification, I can't see what all the fuss is about. A few hours is hardly going to destroy Morgue's Mortuary, is it?
FD are clearly crediting backers with too much intelligence.
I dont doubt it at all personally but thats ok i guess.
Main point to take away from all of this is on FD's part - communication and careful consideration of wording is the lesson here. I dont disagree with anything FD have done in the matters of "perks" so far or when they choose to release whatever builds to whatever section of the community.
The art to it is how its delivered in terms of letting people know about things. FD have not been good in this respect and we all have examples of that. Alphas included.
I just kinda keep giggling about all this when i think of what the developers over at Star Citizen are putting on their people (proper P2W in the real sense) and because of great communication they are largely "getting away" with it.
Perhaps even that the alpha V4.0 will not yet released before the April 25. For the beta, I have difficulty to imagine that few hours will suffice to verify its stability. I think that the alpha players will test it for several days (at least one week)
I largely agree (don't fall off your chair).
(If I was nit-picking, the 50% thing was probably too much though, whatever happened to balance?)
It has to be said though, it's not just often poor communication on FD's part, it's their actions. A little more forward thinking and consideration of *all* backer levels might be wise, and certainly appreciated.
I suspect the original intended period for the all new 'Ultra-beta-for-alphas-only' was more likely to have been a week or so, which in my opinion is not on. 'Raking the mist' or something like it.
IF* it's going to be 'a couple of hours', then it's far less aggravating, and something I can put up with. Doesn't make it right though.
We will have to see.
*That's a big 'if'.
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So you don't believe FD on this either?
Just about any game, bust most especially an MMO, requires a Quality Assurance team in order to test new updates, test bugs on in-house servers, and also test live servers behind closed doors.
The QA team would also normally be the ones doing alpha testing - that isn't typically something the general public will have any kind of involvement with.
Whether or not FD have any actual hired QA staff, what they have effectively done with ED is replace a paid QA team with a paying Alpha player base.
All the jobs a QA team would need to be doing, including spending a couple of hours on the server to test a big build, still needs to be done.
It doesn't matter that if it's a beta build, the QA team would still be used to ensure it's stable enough to release. It obviously doesn't benefit anyone if the beta process is effectively switched off due to a critical bug that could otherwise have been prevented by an hour or 2 of testing.
I really don't see why you guys are failing to understand this.
Alpha backers are ED's un-paid QA team.
The irony is that it's the Alphas who probably have a valid reason to complain.
The QA team would also normally be the ones doing alpha testing - that isn't typically something the general public will have any kind of involvement with.
Whether or not FD have any actual hired QA staff, what they have effectively done with ED is replace a paid QA team with a paying Alpha player base.
All the jobs a QA team would need to be doing, including spending a couple of hours on the server to test a big build, still needs to be done.
It doesn't matter that if it's a beta build, the QA team would still be used to ensure it's stable enough to release. It obviously doesn't benefit anyone if the beta process is effectively switched off due to a critical bug that could otherwise have been prevented by an hour or 2 of testing.
I really don't see why you guys are failing to understand this.
Alpha backers are ED's un-paid QA team.
The irony is that it's the Alphas who probably have a valid reason to complain.