Negativity about paying £50 for Alpha

[Sclurp]

Hello all,

I want to vent, I guess, about the overwhelming and rather sudden negativity that floods each new Planet Coaster update. With each new video Frontier has published, lots of people have decided to complain about the price of the Early Bird edition - this is also true on Twitter.

I want to grab you negative peeps by your shoulders and shake you, for goodness sake the game costs £20 if you pre-order it right now for when it is actually released. That option is open to you. Your logic comes down to: "Why would I pay THAT much to beta test your game for you, you lazy greedy so and so."

No. This isn't a game published by EA, Nintendo or Ubisoft etc. Frontier does not have a history of publishing their own games. Elite Dangerous and Planet Coaster are recent exceptions and the start of a trend, I hope, so that one day they can take on their own projects without the funding provided by big publishers or in this case, our money. The reality is, right now they do need a bit of extra money to get this marvellous project up to a level of quality we're hoping this game achieves. So you can think of it in the way you're thinking about it - that its a greedy move on their part. Or...you can think of it like the rest of us are, that we are happy to shed out extra funds right now to help this game get to the stage it needs to be. Supporting the developers...like some of us may have in the past on Kickstarter with other games/devs.

One day, Frontier may grow into the next big developer/publisher and if and when that happens, I won't expect to see the purchasing options we have with Planet Coaster today. Quit your whining, you're spoiling the hype - buy the £20 version and wait. The rest of us meanwhile will be enjoying ourselves and will be thankful that this genre has been revived.

[tongue]

 

[Younge]

Welcome to generation take take take for very little.
As annoying as it might be, we should educate those who are complaining and explain to them what a beta is and why it costs more then the pre order.

I'm looking forward to being a part of the game and look forward to sharing ideas/experiences.

 

[Neph1]

Welcome to generation take take take for very little.
As annoying as it might be, we should educate those who are complaining and explain to them what a beta is and why it costs more then the pre order.

I'm looking forward to being a part of the game and look forward to sharing ideas/experiences.

But no one has quite explained why its £30 for the alpha but £20 for the game. If the costs were the other way around I would guess there would be NO complaints £30 for a true successor to RCT3 and one that will blow RCTW out of the water? Sure. But £30 for the alpha? Seems odd personally. Its not a take take take atmosphere its just odd to charge more for an alpha thant he full game. The full game should really be £30 so it allows for easier discounting later on £20 feels to low and to some consumers if it starts at £20 they question why its so low.

 

[Sclurp]

But no one has quite explained why its £30 for the alpha but £20 for the game. If the costs were the other way around I would guess there would be NO complaints £30 for a true successor to RCT3 and one that will blow RCTW out of the water? Sure. But £30 for the alpha? Seems odd personally. Its not a take take take atmosphere its just odd to charge more for an alpha thant he full game. The full game should really be £30 so it allows for easier discounting later on £20 feels to low and to some consumers if it starts at £20 they question why its so low.

£20 is not the price Planet Coaster will stay at, from what I've gathered - it's the pre-order price. Pre-order now and get it cheaper than if you wait. That option makes the £50 alpha release seem fair to me. You have the cheap option and the more expensive option that is for people who want to be a part of the development process now by playing the game in an unfinished state, offer feedback and support a game that they're becoming more and more passionate about each day. Frontier doesn't owe anything to anyone. This is a game they've already spent considerable resources on and they don't have a big publisher to give them that cash - it's come out of their own pocket.

This situation is exactly the same as asking people to donate on Kickstarter and if you meet a certain threshold you get access to the game early - only it's basically that situation without Frontier articulating that. So I get why people might be frustrated, it looks awesome and everyone wants to play the game now. But the fact is, the game isn't finished. It hasn't been released so unless you want to be a supporter of this project, you need to wait. That's just how it is.

 

[Fisher1]

But no one has quite explained why its £30 for the alpha but £20 for the game. If the costs were the other way around I would guess there would be NO complaints £30 for a true successor to RCT3 and one that will blow RCTW out of the water? Sure. But £30 for the alpha? Seems odd personally. Its not a take take take atmosphere its just odd to charge more for an alpha thant he full game. The full game should really be £30 so it allows for easier discounting later on £20 feels to low and to some consumers if it starts at £20 they question why its so low.

It's because you get full access to the game months before, simultaneously funding the production of the game and providing feedback to make the sure the game is polished and its actual release is a successful one. Yes, the game is incomplete, but you're still getting it way before everyone else, and the exclusivity of early access warrants the increased cost. If you don't want to pay $75 (I'm American, so I'll use my currency), then don't. Watch YouTube videos, come onto the forums and provide feedback. Express your concerns if you have any on the forums or social media outlets. Spread the word. Tell the early access members how you feel and ask them to forward your feedback to Frontier.

"Early access, alphafunding, or paid-alpha is a funding model in the video game industry by which consumers can pay for a game in the early stages of development and obtain access to playable but unfinished versions of the game, while the developer is able to use those funds to continue work on the game." This isn't new. In the hands of a publisher than actually cares about the game it's publishing and its fans, it's a great model.

Hope this helps you understand the cost.

 

[Miso Soup]

Personally, I have to constantly convince myself that I am supporting an idea, supporting a concept, supporting a company. This purchase is not just solely for the game. That how I look at it, as if it a kickstarter project, makes the high price much easier to swallow

 

[Younge]

It's because you get full access to the game months before, simultaneously funding the production of the game and providing feedback to make the sure the game is polished and its actual release is a successful one. Yes, the game is incomplete, but you're still getting it way before everyone else, and the exclusivity of early access warrants the increased cost. If you don't want to pay $75 (I'm American, so I'll use my currency), then don't. Watch YouTube videos, come onto the forums and provide feedback. Express your concerns if you have any on the forums or social media outlets. Spread the word. Tell the early access members how you feel and ask them to forward your feedback to Frontier.

"Early access, alphafunding, or paid-alpha is a funding model in the video game industry by which consumers can pay for a game in the early stages of development and obtain access to playable but unfinished versions of the game, while the developer is able to use those funds to continue work on the game." This isn't new. In the hands of a publisher than actually cares about the game it's publishing and its fans, it's a great model.

Hope this helps you understand the cost.

*high five*
Could not have said it better myself.

putting money aside, how cool is it to be a part of a developing game and have an impact on how it turns out? Surely that alone is worth paying for.

 

[Mut77ey]

It's because you get full access to the game months before, simultaneously funding the production of the game and providing feedback to make the sure the game is polished and its actual release is a successful one. Yes, the game is incomplete, but you're still getting it way before everyone else, and the exclusivity of early access warrants the increased cost. If you don't want to pay $75 (I'm American, so I'll use my currency), then don't. Watch YouTube videos, come onto the forums and provide feedback. Express your concerns if you have any on the forums or social media outlets. Spread the word. Tell the early access members how you feel and ask them to forward your feedback to Frontier.

"Early access, alphafunding, or paid-alpha is a funding model in the video game industry by which consumers can pay for a game in the early stages of development and obtain access to playable but unfinished versions of the game, while the developer is able to use those funds to continue work on the game." This isn't new. In the hands of a publisher than actually cares about the game it's publishing and its fans, it's a great model.

Hope this helps you understand the cost.

It's also a way of limiting the amount of people involved in the alpha to only those who are going to be a little more dedicated to trying things out properly and raising appropriate bug/feature requests. In effect it's a way of improving the signal:noise ratio so the support/development team don't get flooded with useless tickets.

To OP, you'll just have to get used to ignoring the whining that goes on about the price; it happened every time Elite: Dangerous was mentioned on the Internet throughout its own alpha, and it will continue to happen for Planet Coaster.

 

[zuhcvffq]

I first am gonna wait a little bit how the alpha turns out. I guess I know tomorrow if i'm gonna buy it. If I had enough money I would already but its just a little too much for me at this moment so I have to wait a little just to be sure

 

[chris0matic]

I made a post addressing the lack of coaster builder for the alpha release. Yes, I was negative and upset about it, but in reality there is a fair point. In the Early Bird Special page, it doesn't list anything about "getting a alpha copy of the game". It says "Get the game before others". At first when I saw how coasters wouldn't be added until a further phase, really upsetted me. And again, it's reasonable. You're paying 75 dollars for what's advertised to "get the game before others". You would expect that the core gameplay would be there, but if they were really going to make you pay 75 bucks to build paths and buildings, well then that's a huge waste of money and practically a scam.

But that's not the case anymore. This was before I actually saw anything regarding the special inclusion of 1-2 coaster types. And I actually applaud the developers for being considerate with keeping the core gameplay elements at alpha launch. Now, lets think about this here. If they were to not include the coaster editor at alpha launch. Then they would be advertising a game that's missing it's main feature, and having you pay much more for it. Now that's not fair at all, is it? It's not like they're openly admitting to not having all the features at all, either.

Now I have this all cleared up, with the coaster editor included, as well as flatrides and scenery, I'm getting a proper experience I payed for while also paying a bit extra to further support the developers with such a well made game. I hope this didn't come off bad in any way, I'm only trying to give an explanation for why people may be upset, as well as sharing my side for being the same (until I looked through for details). I was happy to pay 75 bucks anyhow since I supported them and wanted to give the extra money for that extra 'boost'. But some things they said seemed to come off confusing, like at first when they said how the coaster builder wouldn't be included until the second phase. But later including that they'll have a secret code.

Anyhow, that's just my small rant, please be aware that I'm on the same side you guys are, and only trying to clear things up.

 

[MrNoLife]

I made a post addressing the lack of coaster builder for the alpha release. Yes, I was negative and upset about it, but in reality there is a fair point. In the Early Bird Special page, it doesn't list anything about "getting a alpha copy of the game". It says "Get the game before others". At first when I saw how coasters wouldn't be added until a further phase, really upsetted me. And again, it's reasonable. You're paying 75 dollars for what's advertised to "get the game before others". You would expect that the core gameplay would be there, but if they were really going to make you pay 75 bucks to build paths and buildings, well then that's a huge waste of money and practically a scam.

But that's not the case anymore. This was before I actually saw anything regarding the special inclusion of 1-2 coaster types. And I actually applaud the developers for being considerate with keeping the core gameplay elements at alpha launch. Now, lets think about this here. If they were to not include the coaster editor at alpha launch. Then they would be advertising a game that's missing it's main feature, and having you pay much more for it. Now that's not fair at all, is it? It's not like they're openly admitting to not having all the features at all, either.

Now I have this all cleared up, with the coaster editor included, as well as flatrides and scenery, I'm getting a proper experience I payed for while also paying a bit extra to further support the developers with such a well made game. I hope this didn't come off bad in any way, I'm only trying to give an explanation for why people may be upset, as well as sharing my side for being the same (until I looked through for details). I was happy to pay 75 bucks anyhow since I supported them and wanted to give the extra money for that extra 'boost'. But some things they said seemed to come off confusing, like at first when they said how the coaster builder wouldn't be included until the second phase. But later including that they'll have a secret code.

Anyhow, that's just my small rant, please be aware that I'm on the same side you guys are, and only trying to clear things up.

Understandable, could you also see the point of Frontier that they try to get real people that care about the game to test it. So the people that waiting longer gets what they expected?
It's not really just a p2p Alpha, we are there to help them to make the game even better and finding everything that could help them. This idea made me very happy. So we get really a decent game with the efforts of ourselves. Not to attack you but general to your post!
If there were no Coasters it's still because they are in development. This build you can only acces coasters by a cheat. That can be happen that it will be very buggy. Also I like this idea so they can primarily focus on getting feedback to modular buildings/ Scenery/ bugs. One step at the time is more then enough!

Note:

This is really no attack but general to all the commotion between all those comments.

 

[chris0matic]

Oh no don't need to worry, I understand we're all having a good discussion here, in no means am I taking anything as an attack, or intending what I say to be that way as well.

But yeah, I totally agree with your point too. I only payed as much as I did because I solely cared about the developers as a whole and supporting them with the game. Although I was referring to the description in the EBS compared to what we're actually getting, and even at that It's quite a bit for just an alpha. 1-2 Coaster types, like 9 flatrides and tons of scenery to play with, that'll surely keep busy until the next phase and I'm glad that we're actually getting plenty of content to play with until the next phase.

 

[MrNoLife]

Oh no don't need to worry, I understand we're all having a good discussion here, in no means am I taking anything as an attack, or intending what I say to be that way as well.

But yeah, I totally agree with your point too. I only payed as much as I did because I solely cared about the developers as a whole and supporting them with the game. Although I was referring to the description in the EBS compared to what we're actually getting, and even at that It's quite a bit for just an alpha. 1-2 Coaster types, like 9 flatrides and tons of scenery to play with, that'll surely keep busy until the next phase and I'm glad that we're actually getting plenty of content to play with until the next phase.

I would gladly skip phases! but yeah enough content to your hearts desire! Making your park beautifull and rich with vegatation is step one to a realistic park

 

[Dante80]

This is natural guys, I don't really understand why you are upset. I can understand what Frontier is trying to do (the game is already funded, and they do want to lower/control the signal to noise ratio). But at the same time, they are actively hyping an alpha release for a game AND selling said alpha for a ridiculous price.

Thus, you have people getting excited from what the devs show about the game, and then finding out that the game is at least half a year away from launch, and early access right now (not bug-testing, the hype the company makes targets early access) has a very steep paywall attached.

This is a bait and switch, one that has become a staple in the industry the last years, especially with more sinister actions like day one DLC, different pre-order versions etc etc. Gamers are consumers too, and it is only natural that some may complain about the fact.

Remember the time when folks were getting paid to test and bugfix a closed alpha?

 

[iRo]

Did you ever hear of crowdfunding? I mean seriously, if it is to expensive in your humble opinion, than don't buy it. I have payed several times more than 60€ for a AAA Game which was anounced to be finished, but it wasn't. There are so many games which are thrown on the market with bugs, no optimization and so on and you have to accept it. I rather pay for an alpha to help financing the development of a wonderful game, if it's worth it. In my opinion it is.

Look at the price of the finished game itself, it's penuts compared to any other Title. I mean the most Playstation Title's here in Germany cost's 59 - 69 €, so there's not a big difference.

Remember the time when folks were getting paid to test and bugfix a closed alpha?

I do, but time is changing. Remember the time where living in a city was'nt that expensive? I mean I pay 500€ for a room in Cologne. A few years ago you could rent a whole flat for that price.
I think it's because of the Internet. Back in the days, there wasn't a big platform for hiring people to test unfinished games. But now there is. They would find people who are testing without getting payed, so tell me in that case, why should they ?


excuse my English, it's not perfect.

 

[idosha]

After playing the first weekend beta of RCTW I am happy to throw as much money as I can afford at PC. I honestly think they are the only ones that can advance this genre of games. We have all been waiting so many years since RCT3 and every theme park sim has failed to impress anyone as much as RCT 1-3. I also think them having hands on experience of building RCT2-3 and being "shown the secrets" puts them in the best position to succeed.

I also hypothesize that they will reduce the "early bird price" after each phase launches, and I bet you the game will most likely cost more then the pre-order price after phase 2 or 3 of the beta, they will increase it by $10-20 most likely.

 

[chris0matic]

I love how rude some people are being over others own opinion, if you don't like the opinion then either share your own side nicely or don't respond at all. It's annoying how triggered some people get over others criticizing something about the game or giving an opinion about something they don't like, I mean come on is it really that bad where you have to act as if the opposing person is a complete imbecile?

 

[Dante80]

Did you ever hear of crowdfunding? I mean seriously, if it is to expensive in your humble opinion, than don't buy it and stop complaining about it. I have payed several times more than 60€ for a AAA Game which was anounced to be finished, but it wasn't. There are so many games which are thrown on the market with bugs, no optimization and so on and you have to accept it. I rather pay for an alpha to help financing the development of a wonderful game, if it's worth it. In my opinion it is.

Look at the price of the finished game itself, it's penuts compared to any other Title. I mean the most Playstation Title's here in Germany cost's 59 - 69 €, so there's not a big difference.

This is not a crowdfunded game though. Which is also one of the reasons some people may be upset about the price. Moreover, I am trying to explain why some people are complaining about the price. I am not, I simply choose to not pre-order non-crowdfunded games (with some exceptions of course like Minecraft and KSP where I got my moneys' worth years before the game launched).

I do, but time is changing. Remember the time where living in a city was'nt that expensive? I mean I pay 500€ for a room in Cologne. A few years ago you could rent a whole flat for that price.

excuse my English, it's not perfect.

Your English is perfect (mine is worse). Yes, times are changing, and for the worse. But if consumers don't call out what is happening and what is changing for the worse...well...even worse things are going to happen (and I'm not talking about Frontier here). That is why I always say that voting with your wallet counts.

I also hypothesize that they will reduce the "early bird price" after each phase launches, and I bet you the game will most likely cost more then the pre-order price after phase 2 or 3 of the beta, they will increase it by $10-20 most likely.

I don't know about changing the early access price, but the game on launch will probably cost more indeed. It is one of the ways that companies market pre-orders as enticing to consumers, since you get the game you like at a below market price.

The important part for the consumer is to try and understand why companies wish to sell pre-orders in the first place (and at a lower price than that of launch, which at first glance makes it look like a bad deal for them).

 

[Fisher1]

Did you ever hear of crowdfunding? I mean seriously, if it is to expensive in your humble opinion, than don't buy it and stop complaining about it. I have payed several times more than 60€ for a AAA Game which was anounced to be finished, but it wasn't. There are so many games which are thrown on the market with bugs, no optimization and so on and you have to accept it. I rather pay for an alpha to help financing the development of a wonderful game, if it's worth it. In my opinion it is.

Look at the price of the finished game itself, it's penuts compared to any other Title. I mean the most Playstation Title's here in Germany cost's 59 - 69 €, so there's not a big difference.

excuse my English, it's not perfect.

There's no need to be hostile. Honestly, players are sick of companies employing cheap practices like pre-ordering, early access, and day one DLC packs, especially when those companies turn around and screw the players by delivering a terrible product and refusing to provide a refund. It's only natural that people would be wary of a $75 price tag attached to alpha.

Also, (some) people are spoiled and feel entitled to be able to play the game early and get paid to do it, often using the excuse "back in the day, beta testers used to get paid." They are thinking of the QA team, who do get paid to test the game. They then associate the QA team with open beta tests, or early access, and come to the conclusion that any sort of alpha/beta test is one in which the people involve should get paid. The problem is, the people who do get paid to test the game are usually part of a relatively small team, and no company could realistically expect to pay the number of people who want access.

On top of all of that, not everyone is really qualified to give feedback. Some people just want the game early, and have no intention of providing feedback, or any feedback they provide is vague and generally unhelpful, like "this game sucks," or "I love this game." Neither of those statements really help the developers improve the game. The hefty pricetag serves as a deterrent for these kinds of people, and also acts as a safety for those who get in anyway. As long as they got the $75, it's not a big deal if they don't get a lot of useful feedback from the user, because they are at least making money off the person.

Ultimately, early access, if used properly, is a win-win for everyone. If the game is worth it to you, you pay extra money to get it early. If you're willing to provide meaningful feedback, good on you, otherwise, that's fine, you at least helped fund the production of the game. They get to pay their employees to make a great game, and the players get to access it early and provide feedback to help shape the game into something great!

 

[iRo]

This is not a crowdfunded game though. Which is also one of the reasons some people may be upset about the price. Moreover, I am trying to explain why some people are complaining about the price. I am not, I simply choose to not pre-order non-crowdfunded games (with some exceptions of course like Minecraft and KSP where I got my moneys' worth years before the game launched).

There's no need to be hostile. Honestly, players are sick of companies employing cheap practices like pre-ordering, early access, and day one DLC packs, especially when those companies turn around and screw the players by delivering a terrible product and refusing to provide a refund. It's only natural that people would be wary of a $75 price tag attached to alpha.

Hmm I didn't wanted to be rude or anything. I was actually responding and if there are some points that I didn't say in the right way, than I am sorry. I am not the person who isn't accepting other's opinions.

Your English is perfect (mine is worse). Yes, times are changing, and for the worse. But if consumers don't call out what is happening and what is changing for the worse...well...even worse things are going to happen (and I'm not talking about Frontier here). That is why I always say that voting with your wallet counts.

If I think about it again, you are absolutely right.