Petition: Leave story out of Beta builds

[Sergio Smegolia]

Remove all the story content. It can't be tested anyway because the players don't know the story!

CMDR A: I've got it! The UA scans your underpants and transmits all sense of movement!

CMDR B: Yes! The thargoids are testing our reproductive capability! They want to make us all sterile therefore killing off the human race!

CMDR C through Y: (much tin foil hattery)

CMDR Z: Alternatively, it could just be a bug.

Not actually testable as we don't know what it's meant to do.

 

[andrak]

Story... Are we playing the same game here?

 

[PanPiper.]

So what happens when there's any story related bugs we don't find????
Repatch and repair for all?
We could go further and make everyone wait for story content until everyone has caught up.. Just being silly now
Everything will wipe after a few days beta and we all start horizons at the same point anyway

 

[Brimstone]

Story elements, especially with the UA, should definitely be left out of the beta process. You guys discovered something very significant during the 1.4 beta, which is amazing and I commend you guys for being so smart, but people without beta access(despite the fact that we had an open beta period) are left at a disadvantage.

 

[Agony_Aunt]

I checked the linked thread, read the post, but i'm still confused.

Where has it been stated that stories will progress in beta builds. Usually what happens in beta stays in beta, and as far as i've seen there has been no story progression in beta.

Can you clarify what has prompted this thread?

 

[Derthek]

I checked the linked thread, read the post, but i'm still confused.

Where has it been stated that stories will progress in beta builds. Usually what happens in beta stays in beta, and as far as i've seen there has been no story progression in beta.

Can you clarify what has prompted this thread?

Sure, I'll do my best.

The UA is a unique story. The events play out here on the Forum rather than in game. I'm sure you've seen the (now fourth) threadnought floating around dangerous discussion.
During the 1.4 beta, one of our members discovered a new trait in the UA. Turns out, in 1.4, the UA would rotate in normal space and point it's head toward the Merope system. Now this discovery didn't exactly spoil anything. Rather, it opened more questions. However there were some members who felt a tad salty that new things were being discovered behind the locked door of "Beta Access Only"

That brings us to the Planetary Landings beta. There are 14 airless Moons in Merope that we plan to survey when PL drops. We've checked everything else in the system for countless hours and we have arrived at the somewhat obvious answer that the Devs are using PL to advance the UA plot. Following the example of 1.4, we've learned that they do leave UA things in Beta. Many of our members and indeed the rest of the Forum believe that it is unfair to allow Beta players to uncover mysteries before the rest of the player base. One very unique thing about the UA is that what happens in beta, does not stay in beta.

extreme example:
We find a strange, semi-destroyed octagonal craft on the surface of one of Merope's Moons. Now lets say that object emits a sound. We record that sound in beta and post the videos online. Players without beta access are left out from any possible discovery opportunities. They can still analyze that sound and perhaps find a trace of morse code or something, but other than that they are left out of the mystery.

In that example we have effectively progressed the meta-story of the UA from the Beta. Does that make sense?

With only a fraction of the community in beta, the Forum-wide story that the UA has become will only be progressed by a few lucky commanders who could afford beta access.
This creates a massive divide.

On the one hand, you have Beta players like myself who know that if we dont go, some one else will.
On the other hand, you have non-beta players lamenting that they will miss out on something.
I sympathize, so I've made this thread in order to let their voices be heard.

Hope that helps.

 

[Legacy_LuckyLuke]

Plus you'll have to go and 'rediscover' everything once the public release lands.

 

[Derthek]

Plus you'll have to go and 'rediscover' everything once the public release lands.

Not exactly. We didn't need to rediscover anything we learned in the 1.4 beta. Once we knew what happened in 1.4 beta we just continued on from that point uring live release. It's a very unique circumstance and many players are passionate about this subject. Just look at how many threads we've filled so far. AFAIK only the Solo vs Open thread can boast those numbers.

 

[Rubbernuke]

Those of us in the alpha Horizons test have already seen what's there.

It's just a black rectangle and a floating baby

 

[Derthek]

Those of us in the alpha Horizons test have already seen what's there.

It's just a black rectangle and a floating baby

Have you tried shooting the baby? Sorry, it's standard UA testing procedure. Mining lasers are always one of the first things tested on new discoveries. Just protocol, you understand.

 

[Legacy_LuckyLuke]

Not exactly. We didn't need to rediscover anything we learned in the 1.4 beta. Once we knew what happened in 1.4 beta we just continued on from that point uring live release. It's a very unique circumstance and many players are passionate about this subject. Just look at how many threads we've filled so far. AFAIK only the Solo vs Open thread can boast those numbers.

I see. Yes, I started reading some of the threads but got a bit lost in the detail

I've got the gist of what's been going on though, and equally keen to find out what happens next

 

[Sevenperry]

Not being a programmer type, I don't know how realistic keeping UA or other "story" elements out of beta actually is. The OP I feel has made their case quite admirably and I'm impressed with the lack of counter we paid for beta so give us more type replies.

It would seem rough though if new gamers are drawn into elite due to recent UA articles in various places (eg wireframe diagram transmissions) only to be told there's no way they can have access to the cutting edge of experimentation (even if beta maybe misleading).

So I'd still hope UA advances will be made in proper live play. No I've never used beta access but I could.

 

[rizal72]

Story... Are we playing the same game here?

Yes we are. Are you just missing it perhaps?

There is a mystery in ED, involving a device of unknown origin, whose secrets have not fully been unveiled yet.
Yes, it's a "story" written in part by FD and in part by us players, I'm almost sure that how it will evolve depends on what player do with it.
I think it's a kind of meta-game FD is playing with us, and it must be funny for them as well IMO.

So yes, we can call it a story, even if it's not the usual kind...

About the beta debate:
I'm one of the top contributors of the UA thread, and I have beta access, but I voted Yes, for the reasons already explained by Derthek.

 

[Bran Tse Mallory]

Typical MMO version update's come with new content such as a quest line and a raid at the end. ED in this case has the UA's and their mystery.

What is being proposed here is that we leave out the quest line and raid in the beta so it's fresh for everyone. Version gets released and the quest line fails, the raid cannot even be reached. Now you have to close the new content and fix the bugs which should have been found in beta. Another Turbine sin

Players go nuts, throw their toys, kittens and banana's at the dev's and mod's. Huge debates on how QA missed the obvious.

Change the objective's in beta? Great, lets test content that is not part of the final build and wonder why there are so many bugs on full release.

Someone has to be the first to discover new things, best to find out as early as possible if what they encounter is gold or bronze.

 

[Druid]

Sure, I'll do my best.

The UA is a unique story. The events play out here on the Forum rather than in game. I'm sure you've seen the (now fourth) threadnought floating around dangerous discussion.
During the 1.4 beta, one of our members discovered a new trait in the UA. Turns out, in 1.4, the UA would rotate in normal space and point it's head toward the Merope system. Now this discovery didn't exactly spoil anything. Rather, it opened more questions. However there were some members who felt a tad salty that new things were being discovered behind the locked door of "Beta Access Only"

That brings us to the Planetary Landings beta. There are 14 airless Moons in Merope that we plan to survey when PL drops. We've checked everything else in the system for countless hours and we have arrived at the somewhat obvious answer that the Devs are using PL to advance the UA plot. Following the example of 1.4, we've learned that they do leave UA things in Beta. Many of our members and indeed the rest of the Forum believe that it is unfair to allow Beta players to uncover mysteries before the rest of the player base. One very unique thing about the UA is that what happens in beta, does not stay in beta.

extreme example:
We find a strange, semi-destroyed octagonal craft on the surface of one of Merope's Moons. Now lets say that object emits a sound. We record that sound in beta and post the videos online. Players without beta access are left out from any possible discovery opportunities. They can still analyze that sound and perhaps find a trace of morse code or something, but other than that they are left out of the mystery.

In that example we have effectively progressed the meta-story of the UA from the Beta. Does that make sense?

With only a fraction of the community in beta, the Forum-wide story that the UA has become will only be progressed by a few lucky commanders who could afford beta access.
This creates a massive divide.

On the one hand, you have Beta players like myself who know that if we dont go, some one else will.
On the other hand, you have non-beta players lamenting that they will miss out on something.
I sympathize, so I've made this thread in order to let their voices be heard.

Hope that helps.

What he says. Pretty obvious really . Dosnt need a brain surgeon to work out that if the object has a new action in beta that it will spoil the current work being done by people in game .

 

[Ratking15]

please do redact the story stuff from beta :S

 

[nosscar]

Closed at OP's request, as beta is almost upon us.