Are We Losing Sight Of What Beta Means?
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People want to play the game early and get a headstart. Play the game a week before release or similar has been a pre-order bonus pretty often.
And as has been said countless times before, you get that 10$ for use in the cash shop, when it's out. The beta is a bonus. A lot of gamers are passionate about their favourite games and want to support the developers in any way they can, if it nets them extras, that's perfectly fine. And as some guy above me said, if you think this is the decline of actual proper beta testing and game development, you are quite late to the party indeed. If it's the fact that they're paying for something that is effectively free, welcome to videogames 2012. I can give you a hundred worse money grubbing schemes by companies with millions to blow on marketing campaigns and tens of millions on actual game development. Last edited by ShadowyMOON#0839 on Apr 2, 2012, 8:37:10 PM
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We all know beta is a stress test. But in today's world all a beta means is a demo. Im pretty sure a small percentage of people who plays beta for games only play it to try it, not to actually look for bugs and submit feedback. It sucks for the game developers but that's what it's turned into.
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" Exactly. This is a company and guess what people? COMPANIES MAKE MONEY TO PAY EMPLOYEES WHO IN TURN CREATE AND IMPROVE PRODUCTS. THAT IS HOW THE WORLD WORKS. |
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the thing you're misunderstanding is the use of the word donation. They're just giving those who wish to help support the game before it comes out a perk for being early investors.
I'm sorry but you can't get so butthurt, they're not forcing YOU to to do anything. Those of us that would like to donate are being given a way to do so. This game is going to take early support to see that it ends up the way we're all hoping. Getting to play a little early and provide feedback/information to the devs is merely a kind gesture. It is also an extension of their wish to allow more people to try the game without starting open beta early. A VERY, relatively, small amount of people will pay this ten bucks. Generally speaking, the average player that donates before a game comes out tends to have a high level of interest in playing the game (and it's success post release) and especially one that's running MOSTLY on word of mouth. This is an enthusiasts game and it'll probably stay that way, It's gonna do well but it probably won't see HUGE main stream success. The average Joe gamer probably won't ever see this game. Giving us a way to help without buying anything and getting access to the closed beta are seriously just bonuses for the end user AND the company. why bitch about a perfectly good win/win? |
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Thank you all for the discussion. I really didn't think it would add up to much. I wanted to get a sense of the beta testers views toward this style of 'early access'. I particularly liked EDamodred's response. It made me think of alternatives views such as: the end players don't mind an unfinished game thus opting to pay for beta access. So many variables, so little time. Again, the thread was meant to pose a few questions about 'current' gaming trends and I think most of you really made some valid points. I find it interesting that some of you posted from a business side perspective and others from a consumer/player/tester side. I am not a developer nor am I from the press, the question just arose when I first heard about paying for 'beta' access, hence the thread. Hope it helps. Thanks again.
*EDIT: Typo's, it's late. Last edited by Shinjin#4869 on Apr 2, 2012, 11:09:58 PM
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i totaly agree that the "buy a key" dosent rly apply to a real beta but dose a totaly random timer do? i meen the current way to get invited is simply to que and they dont even check if you got the computer for it or in any way inform ppl about its about testing. So yea if this woud be a regular beta i woud be agenst this but becuse the beta inv dont have any restrictions i dont see this far as "crazy".
Tho in general rule im agenst it but it seems also that they will offer you something ingame(havent seen what yet but nothing gamebreaking) and the beta key simply be a + on the purches and im totaly cool with that. |
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"Yes, and the grocery store just gave me a bag of apples as a perk for generously supporting their business. It's a purchase, not a donation. Having said that, I don't agree with the OP that there's a problem here. Beta is a testing period before release; how you select beta participants is up to you and really, an entirely unrelated matter to whether or not you're actually conducting a beta. If GGG or anyone else want to sell beta access...so what? It's not at all obvious that people with a few dollars to spare to throw at a new game are bad beta testers. Even if it was true that for whatever reason, selling access provided substandard testers than other methods, it's even less obvious that the entrance of some substandard testers would have a significant effect on the game. I mean at the moment, with the randomly allocated closed beta, there are bound to be thousands of people who are here to play the game and that's all. But what's the harm in that? The weekend showed that the servers can handle a few extra "freeloaders". |
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I am kinda laughing at how pitiful this is...
I just see a few beta testers that want prestige of some sort because they were ~RANDOMLY~ selected over others...the ability to support the devs and get beta access with cash will of course muddy up this make believe prestige built upon an elitist attitude... Why does it matter? Why not complain to GGG...this thread borders troll work...especially since the OP hasn't posted anything else before. Oh and the title is "Are We Losing Sight Of What Beta Means?" lets look at what beta stage is in software...
Spoiler
Beta
Beta (named after the second letter of the Greek alphabet) is the software development phase following alpha. It generally begins when the software is feature complete. Software in the beta phase will generally have many more bugs in it than completed software, as well as speed/performance issues. The focus of beta testing is reducing impacts to users, often incorporating usability testing. The process of delivering a beta version to the users is called beta release and this is typically the first time that the software is available outside of the organization that developed it. The users of a beta version are called beta testers. They are usually customers or prospective customers of the organization that develops the software, willing to test the software without charge, often receiving the final software free of charge or for a reduced price. Beta version software is often useful for demonstrations and previews within an organization and to prospective customers. Some developers refer to this stage as a preview, prototype, technical preview (TP), or early access. Some software is kept in perpetual beta—where new features and functionality is continually added to the software without establishing a firm "final" release. [edit] Open and closed beta Developers release either a closed beta or an open beta; closed beta versions are released to a restricted group of individuals for a user test by invitation, while open beta testers are from a larger group, or anyone interested. The testers report any bugs that they find, and sometimes suggest additional features they think should be available in the final version. Examples of a major public beta test are: In September 2000 a boxed version of Apple's Mac OS X Public Beta operating system was released.[2] Microsoft's release of community technology previews (CTPs) for "Longhorn" in January 2005.[3] Open betas serve the dual purpose of demonstrating a product to potential consumers, and testing among an extremely wide user base likely to bring to light obscure errors that a much smaller testing team may not find. Most importantly... The focus of beta testing is reducing impacts to users, often incorporating usability testing. That translates into often incorporating people playing the game (in the game industry at least) No where does it mention that allowing people to enter beta with a pre purchase is against what a beta is! nor does it mention anywhere that a beta is a highly specialized secret club of awesome testers...in fact it consists of "customers or prospective customers"...how mundane... more laughable is that under the alpha stage description it says Alpha software can be unstable and could cause crashes or data loss. The exception to this is when the alpha is available publicly (such as a pre-order bonus), in which developers normally push for stability so that their testers can test properly. Maybe we are indeed losing sight...and should be calling this an alpha? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_release_life_cycle#Beta Last edited by Masochist#2700 on Apr 3, 2012, 12:05:08 AM
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agree...
Actually i only wanted to lodge this post so i could see which user name i used for this game |
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" Yes. The main reason this is troll work is becuase the OP is new. About that elitist attitude you were talking about? /snip Its a free ARPG that, if played well, can compete overall with the Diablo series. If they want to offer 10$ for "Early Access", whats the major problem? Sure they won't contribute, but overall it may be better for the community to have a larger base of players with a grasp for the basics when the game launches. It makes it easier to pick up. Also, theyre already giving it out for free, there are few bugs to speak of, they really just need to iron out the super-man builds and get the acts written. Honestly, the relatively hard part is over and with Diablo releasing in a month, giving a feature for reliable access to a game before hand is a good way to get some of the "On the fence" players to jump in |
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