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Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
The Intrepid pack has been significantly devalued
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Let me preface this by saying that writing a forum thread on a controversial issue was something I'd much rather not be doing, but I consider the issue significant enough that it cannot be helped.
That issue being the opening up of the formerly exclusive alpha one to literally all registered users after only a month of uptime, including those who did not back the game at all. When this was billed as a single month of open testing, I was willing to overlook it without much comment, but if it is to be persistent as the email seems to imply then there are some concerns which I feel should be addressed.
Before I get into those, let me say I do understand the reason for this change in direction for alpha exclusivity, and agree more or less it is probably good for the game as a whole. I do not object to "letting everybody in" so to speak.
The issue, for me, is that the Intrepid pack and Braver of Worlds packs were sold with the full expectation this was the only real way into the alpha. Now, Bravers have a lifetime sub to fall back on as far as value is concerned, but Intrepid pack backers have no such perk.
Alpha 1 was the single biggest motivation to go from a $250 Voyager pre-order pack to the $500 Intrepid per-order pack. And now that perk has gone from exclusive access to early access.
I'm going to be blunt. If this information about registered users all being allowed in pretty early on had been made known when the packs were sold, I think we can all agree the sales would have been much lower. I fully believe this decision was made for the good of the game, but now I don't feel out of line in saying I worry any future big ticket purchases I make might be devalued as well.
And I don't think I will be the only one who feels that way either. I hope Intrepid takes this into consideration. Thank you.
That issue being the opening up of the formerly exclusive alpha one to literally all registered users after only a month of uptime, including those who did not back the game at all. When this was billed as a single month of open testing, I was willing to overlook it without much comment, but if it is to be persistent as the email seems to imply then there are some concerns which I feel should be addressed.
Before I get into those, let me say I do understand the reason for this change in direction for alpha exclusivity, and agree more or less it is probably good for the game as a whole. I do not object to "letting everybody in" so to speak.
The issue, for me, is that the Intrepid pack and Braver of Worlds packs were sold with the full expectation this was the only real way into the alpha. Now, Bravers have a lifetime sub to fall back on as far as value is concerned, but Intrepid pack backers have no such perk.
Alpha 1 was the single biggest motivation to go from a $250 Voyager pre-order pack to the $500 Intrepid per-order pack. And now that perk has gone from exclusive access to early access.
I'm going to be blunt. If this information about registered users all being allowed in pretty early on had been made known when the packs were sold, I think we can all agree the sales would have been much lower. I fully believe this decision was made for the good of the game, but now I don't feel out of line in saying I worry any future big ticket purchases I make might be devalued as well.
And I don't think I will be the only one who feels that way either. I hope Intrepid takes this into consideration. Thank you.
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I bought into Alpha one access with a Leader Of Men package over a year ago during Kickstarter.
They are adding the new cycle as a SHORT Additional stress test to make sure their servers can handle large amounts of people at one time.
The testers will (by and far) still have the Majority of testing time. And keep in mind Alpha 1 is nothing but combat for a small range area and them testing the servers NOW instead of later during launch is FAR more desirable
I cant imagine anyone would want AoC to not stress test their servers to make sure they work with actual numbers of people.
Your pack is not devalued in any way. It still gets the earlierst testing phases with Intrepid allowing registered users to get a small glimpse of it occasionally and also help out in their own small way.
I made it abundantly clear in my OP that I support the decision here to open alpha 1 up to all users and most of this seems a rebuttal to a post I never actual made.
As for my pack not being devalued, it absolutely was. Everyone expected Alpha to be exclusive to backers when they purchased. This was further reinforced when Intrepid sent out emails a short time ago hammering the point that if you didn't get it now, you'd miss your chance.
The first time we got even an inkling of an open alpha was after all sales had been finalized.
How can anyone rationalize that this is a negative thing in any way?!? I'm sorry I just dont agree with this logic.
I paid at the 4th highest tier for the earliest access over a year ago and this makes me HAPPY they are doing it earlier, Bigger, and ultimately BETTER.
I feel my pack has GAINED value because now people are actually involved in a massive way. The early stress test does not include alphas or beta testing. Its just a simple extra few days to test server capacities. Thats not a devaluation
Not even sure how this is relevant? The topic is about alpha one, not the stress test.
I just dont see how it is a devaluation. The game itself only has value if enough people are interested. Being more inclusive with more people will ultimately benifit your account more because if you have A1 Access, then now the following phases are more relevant and desirable. Especially if you have Beta keys to give away.
And the stress test is relevant in that it is part of A1 testing
Exclusivity IS value though. That is the entire premise upon which the whole cosmetic cash shop is based, so Intrepid well understands the principle. People have varying levels of value they place in that exclusivity. Some like me can overlook when it is made less exclusive, others not so much.
The point is that if you're selling exclusive cosmetics, and get into making exclusive things so they are no longer exclusive, then people will put less value in exclusivity if they know it may not stick.
This will cut into the cash shop profits we need to develop and maintain the game. The value of exclusivity must be preserved, or at least recognized. I feel some compensation is in order for Alpha 1 backers, even if it's just some small cosmetic or something minor. Not because I want "free stuff" but because I want to know the value of the exclusivity we lost is properly respected.
It was probably never explicitly stated, but it was VERY heavily implied. I draw little distinction between the two.
Further, I don't consider getting access to all 3 modes of A1P1 testing just one out of 10 rides. It's the entire pie, just a bit later.
Further testing phases may or may not be exclusive. Those have not been clarified. Nobody as yet thought to ask, being as though until PAX it was understood generally ALL testing would be exclusive.
But not Aplha testing as it and everything about it is limited in function and utility. This was a bonus move by Intrepid to even allow this testing cycle.
I'm just going to have to agree to disagee because I am in the A1 Testing this week and I, in no way shape or form feel anything has devalued. Testing cycles are not what you should seek exclusivity for nor feel important for. That is what actual cosmetics are designed around
- Progression to level 20
- Nodes will be fully functional and progress to level 3.
- Includes shops, government, freeholds!
- four out of nine races available
- All eight base classes available
- Character creation suite
- 25% of the total world space implemented
- Concurrent server population 10,000
- 2-3 Servers
All of that, to me, sure sounds like something you would expect with an exclusive Alpha.What is Intrepid giving to everyone for free AFTER Alpha testers are done with it? A Battle Royale.
Again, a Battle Royale.
All that other stuff I mentioned earlier? That is still exclusive. I feel your concern is entirely misplaced.
Here's the text from the KS page itself: "Invite to Closed Alpha - Phase 1 (Earliest Access to Ashes!)"
But it's not a closed alpha. It's an open alpha. And again, I can get behind this change, but it has to be said they definitely gave every indication the alphas were closed. They literally said this.
For the record, I FULLY intend to ACTUALLY test the game, and not treat it as some kind of demo. I didn't buy into the test just to get to play early. I don't mind that other people who paid nothing will be along side me.
What is bothering me is how this will look to other potential backers who are not as committed to the vision as I am. I showed up late to the party, but I know all about the LTS/summer backer/ exclusivity drama. But, Steven somewhat made good on that in the end.
There is also no guarantee on the exclusivity of any of the further testing phases. What was said, and I note we are getting conflicting information, is all 3 A1P1 modes would be opening to registered users, not just battle royale.
Getting a confirmation that alpha 1 phase 2 will be backer only would go a long way towards reinforcing the value of exclusivity(which I totally should have made the topic title)
EDIT: After writing this I was linked some citations in discord which addresses many of my concerns. Name that only arena is going to everyone, and only backers get into the "true" alpha. So, those are both good things.
Given that information, I still see no basis for anyone being upset about the "exclusivity" of Alpha Access, as those three modes are not what anyone would even consider an Alpha to an MMORPG.
If Intrepid comes out and says "Everyone will have access to Alpha 1 Phase 2 for free" then we have a right to be angry. Allowing the public to test those toys after we're done with them? Not a problem at all.
Your concerns are/were still valid but hopefully phase 2 stays closed to only the testers who purchased it. I am happy to share some of phase 1 for it to help the game progress.
Hopefully this doesn't make game media.
Devs: "Congrats on buying into Alpha 1! This will be a quarter of the world and the first 25 levels of the game!"
Crowd: *Cheers*
*Time Passes*
Devs: "We're adding a bonus round of testing, and Alpha 1 people are getting it for free!"
Crowd: *Insane cheering*
Devs: "After a month of testing of this bonus round, we're going to open this thing up to the public for even more robust testing."
Crowd: *Clapping*
Devs: "Also we're going to call this extra round of testing an 'Alpha'."
Crowd: *Angry booing and throwing stuff*
If the devs just called these 3 specific things (Battle Royale, Siege, Hord) anything other than an Alpha, there would be zero issues here.
Would I be terribly bent over that? No. But I still hope it doesn't pan out like I speculated there.
My reasons for backing are several. Yes, testing the game to ensure a high level of quality is prominent. Gaining access to exclusive cosmetics was also important to me. And playing ASAP factored in as well.
I'm definitely behind whatever is best for the game. But going beyond the immediate interests of testing, what is best for the game can become subjective and rooted in opinion.
My opinion us that consumer confidence is important to any enterprise, and this situation has damaged it.
Now I am reading this topic and wonder why I see that Alpha1 and consistent is mentioned in the same sentence. Did they change that from Alpha2 to Alpha1?
Personally i have no qualms in the matter. I understand the need to shove as many people in to test capacity and such. It can feel like your buy has no value but lets hope that is not the case and the open test actually helps devs gain good knowledge and such
Not that I care, but if that's really the case that Alpha1 will be up and running as a test server until release, then they sort of also devalued the packs that include Alpha2 access.
I bought that pack specifically so I can test when I want and how long I want, not to be given a time slot somewhen in the middle of the night and have it canceled 15 minutes past it was supposed to start, like it was the case with Alpha0.