Should Intrepid have segmented the game to only include specific areas of testing to prevent contamination of results yes. So the initial idea of a live test server that changed its remit to suit what was being tested was fine.
However, now they are merging PvE monsters/swarm, mass PvP castles and small combat test; The whole point of highly focused uncontaminated testing has gone out of the window. Now they just as well be using the game itself for testing.
Any excuse of focused uncontaminated testing has gone out the window at this point....so....why do it? Why have Apocalypse ? Perhaps we shoudl simply call it 'Fragments of Ashes of Creation'
I was invited to test this part of the game, but the launcher failed to let me in. 3 invites, 3 fails. I paid hundreds of pounds to test this game, its truly a disgrace.
I was invited to test this part of the game, but the launcher failed to let me in. 3 invites, 3 fails. I paid hundreds of pounds to test this game, its truly a disgrace.
I was invited to test this part of the game, but the launcher failed to let me in. 3 invites, 3 fails. I paid hundreds of pounds to test this game, its truly a disgrace.
Your failure is part of the testing! Welcome to Alphas.
I was invited to test this part of the game, but the launcher failed to let me in. 3 invites, 3 fails. I paid hundreds of pounds to test this game, its truly a disgrace.
ITS A ALPHA!!!!!!
this is the whole point
Every alpha I've done prior to this actually allowed me to play the game. The whole point is for the experience to be shit and poorly done?
Nah that's an excuse, don't suck dev dick, push for perfection.
I was invited to test this part of the game, but the launcher failed to let me in. 3 invites, 3 fails. I paid hundreds of pounds to test this game, its truly a disgrace.
Your failure is part of the testing! Welcome to Alphas.
Been alpha testing games since before many of you knew what MMOS were. Until now alphas usually allow players in the game.
I was invited to test this part of the game, but the launcher failed to let me in. 3 invites, 3 fails. I paid hundreds of pounds to test this game, its truly a disgrace.
ITS A ALPHA!!!!!!
this is the whole point
Every alpha I've done prior to this actually allowed me to play the game. The whole point is for the experience to be shit and poorly done?
Nah that's an excuse, don't suck dev dick, push for perfection.
I have been alpha testing games for over 15 years much like you. you should know a alpha is basically a blank game and yet you are here complaining. if you want to complain then make a bug report and help the devs instead of complaining
I hope they remove it eventually. I know it has its purpose, and I'm not too worried that itll take from the main game, but honestly it waters down the mmo by just even existing. It's a lesser experience and does diverts resources. Make the mmo godlike,if you want to be #1, dont rely on side games.
I was invited to test this part of the game, but the launcher failed to let me in. 3 invites, 3 fails. I paid hundreds of pounds to test this game, its truly a disgrace.
Your failure is part of the testing! Welcome to Alphas.
Been alpha testing games since before many of you knew what MMOS were. Until now alphas usually allow players in the game.
I was invited to test this part of the game, but the launcher failed to let me in. 3 invites, 3 fails. I paid hundreds of pounds to test this game, its truly a disgrace.
Your failure is part of the testing! Welcome to Alphas.
Been alpha testing games since before many of you knew what MMOS were. Until now alphas usually allow players in the game.
I was invited to test this part of the game, but the launcher failed to let me in. 3 invites, 3 fails. I paid hundreds of pounds to test this game, its truly a disgrace.
Your failure is part of the testing! Welcome to Alphas.
Been alpha testing games since before many of you knew what MMOS were. Until now alphas usually allow players in the game.
Testing steam early access games you mean...
glad I was not the only one thinking that
Someone had to say it, it was just a matter of time 'w'
I'm really torn between the latter two. On one hand this seems to be a very simple system to test combat. However, I don't think it has any direct relation to AoC... What I mean is they could have had an escort gametype or a ffa or even a team deathmatch or capture the keep style of gameplay to implement while testing the combat.
I don't understand the addition of battle royale elements when they seem to have no place outside of this apocalypse lore bit. I can't really see where in the open world or any dungeons where we'd have to kill each other while staying within a shrinking zone. It just seems like they went out of their way to latch onto some fad and it feels suspicious. I think testing it with a caravan or just a small sandbox with artillery would have been more appropriate for this game.
I just hope this wasn't some poor attempt to make another game while ignoring the main game like Fortnite did (remember that game was a survival fortress building game before it was a BR game). Can't wait to test these other, more relevant, game elements and get past this BR game-of-the-month. Hopefully they won't test a mobile or AR alpha too.
EDIT: Lmao.. I must have missed the update where they were keeping this test as a game.... wow. Well, I hope you guys enjoy it, I won't touch it. I'll test all the other pvp game types and will dump a ton of time into crafting. However I'm not interested in this fad and I hope it doesn't detract from the live game's playerbase.
EDIT 2: Why not make this an in-game event? You could have these as a temporary gate opening up. Come up with some b.s. lore reason why you are going back in time to kill other people. Or you could have a god (a mad god like sheogorath from the elder scrolls) still remaining that wants people to kill each other for his amusement.. I'd be okay with that. But ultimately anything phased will take away from what you guys are trying to do... a god toying with mortals would at least be amusing.
To test how well servers will run when there will be huge amount of players in the same time is good... they then can see better what to improve so when they will release this game there wouldnt be D'c, lags, freezes or something like that.
I think the idea to go f2p test system is GREAT! it should allow Intrepid to see the worst of the worst players have to offer and correct those issues before launch.
I was invited to test this part of the game, but the launcher failed to let me in. 3 invites, 3 fails. I paid hundreds of pounds to test this game, its truly a disgrace.
Your failure is part of the testing! Welcome to Alphas.
Been alpha testing games since before many of you knew what MMOS were. Until now alphas usually allow players in the game.
If this were true then you'd probably be more understanding and patient of the process.
What you're probably used to is "early access", which this is not. This is actual Alpha testing. We literally are testing the viability of aspects of the game, server stability and whether skills work as intended. We literally want to break as much as we can.
You seem to think this is early access.or you're just super entitled. I'd hope someone with 20yrs of Alpha testing (longer than I've k own what an MMO was) would be able to understand what the purpose of an Alpha is.
You seem like a generally unhappy person based on your posts. I hope that changes for you.
I was invited to test this part of the game, but the launcher failed to let me in. 3 invites, 3 fails. I paid hundreds of pounds to test this game, its truly a disgrace.
Your failure is part of the testing! Welcome to Alphas.
Been alpha testing games since before many of you knew what MMOS were. Until now alphas usually allow players in the game.
If this were true then you'd probably be more understanding and patient of the process.
What you're probably used to is "early access", which this is not. This is actual Alpha testing. We literally are testing the viability of aspects of the game, server stability and whether skills work as intended. We literally want to break as much as we can.
You seem to think this is early access.or you're just super entitled. I'd hope someone with 20yrs of Alpha testing (longer than I've k own what an MMO was) would be able to understand what the purpose of an Alpha is.
You seem like a generally unhappy person based on your posts. I hope that changes for you.
Yes, even early betas I’ve been involved with from AAA publishers were like this. Claiming an alpha should be able to allow people in flawlessly is ignorant and insisting that other MMO alpha experiences were all different is a bald-faced lie. But Grimseethe has openly expressed antagonism toward this community so they will say anything to rile people up at this point.
I agree that this is a good way to test mechanics, also to build a bigger player base, Although I am sceptical about what is going to happen when AoC is finally released, personally I would want to delete this whole "Apocalypse" franchise but, it will probably have it's own loyal player base so Intrepids loyalties will be torn, because the question I ask myself is what will happen to Apocalypse after the AoC launch?
To be more specific, Apocalypse's rewards system after Aoc's launch, it's a nice insentive to earn ingame cosmetics through this spin off but the truth is, I don't want to play Apocalypse after AoC launches, so will I miss out on the "new rewards" of this spin off? will people be able to earn more cosmetics from Apocalypse after AoC is live?
So, to sum up, I'm more than happy to help make AoC the best possible version it can be by testing mechanics and such and will support this move, but I came here for AoC and once it launches, my wish is that if Intrepid plan to keep Apocalypse live for it's own fan base then Apocalypse and it's reward system should be cut completely from influencing AoC once it's live.
I'm not a fan of them only adding about 20 skins to gain, if you don't spend money on the game. We are still testing the game for them. You have to spend money to unlock, 50 more. But you still have to play the game to gain them. And then there are those that will only be in the shop. Isn't this what activevision did, or was it EA? Thought they did that after the review on the game. You could buy skins from the shop, but those where still hidden behind progression. So i won't vote, as i'm not happy with what they did with the skins. But okay with them opening up the game. I bet the nicest skins will be the one offs, or the onces for the epic path
Intrepid studios is about to release a game (and yes, that's what this is, we should stop calling it a "test"; this is its own game) that will divide their fanbase between people who want arena PvP/BR and don't care a lick about the MMO, and people who want the MMO and don't care a lick about the arena PvP/BR.
That is not good for development of the MMO, which is what we all originally pledged for. Split fans means split priorities and loyalties within the development team.
Can't say I'm happy about any of this, though I could see this coming from the moment they announced their BR "test mode." (They clearly intended for this to be its own game from very early on.) Whether they realize it or not, they are undermining their own ability to deliver the MMO by forcing their dev team to split their time between two separate products.
And yes, these are separate products, now. Just wait and see how development continues, and I think we'll find that Apocalypse will continue to distance itself from the main MMO. Apocalypse will increasingly become its own standalone product that requires its own labor and effort from the dev team; effort and labor that does not contribute in any way to making the MMO better or more complete.
I just hope Intrepid has not bit off more than they can chew, here, like SOE did when they decided Landmark should be its own game separate from Everquest Next. I'm definitely getting the SOE vibe, here.
"We made this tech demo that was supposed to be just for testing purposes, but we love it so much we're turning it into its own game!"
That just... makes me nervous is all. I feel like I've been here before, and it did not end well last time around.
Somehow, my original (lengthy) post was deleted, so I'm going to try to briefly sum up my thoughts.
With the release of this new game, Intrepid is about to create a rift in their fanbase. Some will like the arena PvP and not give a lick about the MMO, while others will want the MMO and not give a lick about the arena PvP.
This separation in the fanbase will likewise create a separation of the development team. Increasingly, more and more development time and energy will have to go into improving, polishing, and balancing the arena PvP; development time that will have to be taken away from work on completing the MMO.
We've already been burned by what was essentially an identical situation over at Sony Online Entertainment, while waiting for the completion of Everquest Next.
"Hey everyone, we've created a tech demo that was only ever supposed to be for testing purposes, but we love it so much we've decided to turn it into its own game!"
Literally what was told to us by the SOE team. That did not turn out well for anyone, with both Everquest Next and Landmark both shutting down before Everquest Next had been completed.
I can only hope that Intrepid has not bitten off more than they can chew, like SOE did. I cannot say that I'm happy with this decision, nor that it inspires confidence in Intrepid Studios. Whether they realize it or not, this announcement of a second "sort-of-game" makes it harder to develop their MMO, which is the one and only product we all originally pledged for.
Comments
So the initial idea of a live test server that changed its remit to suit what was being tested was fine.
However, now they are merging PvE monsters/swarm, mass PvP castles and small combat test; The whole point of highly focused uncontaminated testing has gone out of the window. Now they just as well be using the game itself for testing.
Any excuse of focused uncontaminated testing has gone out the window at this point....so....why do it? Why have Apocalypse ? Perhaps we shoudl simply call it 'Fragments of Ashes of Creation'
3 invites, 3 fails.
I paid hundreds of pounds to test this game, its truly a disgrace.
this is the whole point
Every alpha I've done prior to this actually allowed me to play the game.
The whole point is for the experience to be shit and poorly done?
Nah that's an excuse, don't suck dev dick, push for perfection.
Been alpha testing games since before many of you knew what MMOS were.
Until now alphas usually allow players in the game.
Keep it up grim, I have the popcorn ready just for you.
I don't understand the addition of battle royale elements when they seem to have no place outside of this apocalypse lore bit. I can't really see where in the open world or any dungeons where we'd have to kill each other while staying within a shrinking zone. It just seems like they went out of their way to latch onto some fad and it feels suspicious. I think testing it with a caravan or just a small sandbox with artillery would have been more appropriate for this game.
I just hope this wasn't some poor attempt to make another game while ignoring the main game like Fortnite did (remember that game was a survival fortress building game before it was a BR game). Can't wait to test these other, more relevant, game elements and get past this BR game-of-the-month. Hopefully they won't test a mobile or AR alpha too.
EDIT: Lmao.. I must have missed the update where they were keeping this test as a game.... wow. Well, I hope you guys enjoy it, I won't touch it. I'll test all the other pvp game types and will dump a ton of time into crafting. However I'm not interested in this fad and I hope it doesn't detract from the live game's playerbase.
EDIT 2: Why not make this an in-game event? You could have these as a temporary gate opening up. Come up with some b.s. lore reason why you are going back in time to kill other people. Or you could have a god (a mad god like sheogorath from the elder scrolls) still remaining that wants people to kill each other for his amusement.. I'd be okay with that. But ultimately anything phased will take away from what you guys are trying to do... a god toying with mortals would at least be amusing.
What you're probably used to is "early access", which this is not. This is actual Alpha testing. We literally are testing the viability of aspects of the game, server stability and whether skills work as intended. We literally want to break as much as we can.
You seem to think this is early access.or you're just super entitled. I'd hope someone with 20yrs of Alpha testing (longer than I've k own what an MMO was) would be able to understand what the purpose of an Alpha is.
You seem like a generally unhappy person based on your posts. I hope that changes for you.
1. EU testing times
2. A new forum/website
3. most important undead as a playable race
we are getting two of these and im just hoping for them all ^^
No issues here.
To be more specific, Apocalypse's rewards system after Aoc's launch, it's a nice insentive to earn ingame cosmetics through this spin off but the truth is, I don't want to play Apocalypse after AoC launches, so will I miss out on the "new rewards" of this spin off? will people be able to earn more cosmetics from Apocalypse after AoC is live?
So, to sum up, I'm more than happy to help make AoC the best possible version it can be by testing mechanics and such and will support this move, but I came here for AoC and once it launches, my wish is that if Intrepid plan to keep Apocalypse live for it's own fan base then Apocalypse and it's reward system should be cut completely from influencing AoC once it's live.
I bet the nicest skins will be the one offs, or the onces for the epic path
That is not good for development of the MMO, which is what we all originally pledged for. Split fans means split priorities and loyalties within the development team.
Can't say I'm happy about any of this, though I could see this coming from the moment they announced their BR "test mode." (They clearly intended for this to be its own game from very early on.) Whether they realize it or not, they are undermining their own ability to deliver the MMO by forcing their dev team to split their time between two separate products.
And yes, these are separate products, now. Just wait and see how development continues, and I think we'll find that Apocalypse will continue to distance itself from the main MMO. Apocalypse will increasingly become its own standalone product that requires its own labor and effort from the dev team; effort and labor that does not contribute in any way to making the MMO better or more complete.
I just hope Intrepid has not bit off more than they can chew, here, like SOE did when they decided Landmark should be its own game separate from Everquest Next. I'm definitely getting the SOE vibe, here.
"We made this tech demo that was supposed to be just for testing purposes, but we love it so much we're turning it into its own game!"
That just... makes me nervous is all. I feel like I've been here before, and it did not end well last time around.
With the release of this new game, Intrepid is about to create a rift in their fanbase. Some will like the arena PvP and not give a lick about the MMO, while others will want the MMO and not give a lick about the arena PvP.
This separation in the fanbase will likewise create a separation of the development team. Increasingly, more and more development time and energy will have to go into improving, polishing, and balancing the arena PvP; development time that will have to be taken away from work on completing the MMO.
We've already been burned by what was essentially an identical situation over at Sony Online Entertainment, while waiting for the completion of Everquest Next.
"Hey everyone, we've created a tech demo that was only ever supposed to be for testing purposes, but we love it so much we've decided to turn it into its own game!"
Literally what was told to us by the SOE team. That did not turn out well for anyone, with both Everquest Next and Landmark both shutting down before Everquest Next had been completed.
I can only hope that Intrepid has not bitten off more than they can chew, like SOE did. I cannot say that I'm happy with this decision, nor that it inspires confidence in Intrepid Studios. Whether they realize it or not, this announcement of a second "sort-of-game" makes it harder to develop their MMO, which is the one and only product we all originally pledged for.