Glorious Alpha Two Testers!
Alpha Two Realms are now unlocked for Phase II testing!
For our initial launch, testing will begin on Friday, December 20, 2024, at 10 AM Pacific and continue uninterrupted until Monday, January 6, 2025, at 10 AM Pacific. After January 6th, we’ll transition to a schedule of five-day-per-week access for the remainder of Phase II.
You can download the game launcher here and we encourage you to join us on our for the most up to date testing news.
Alpha Two Realms are now unlocked for Phase II testing!
For our initial launch, testing will begin on Friday, December 20, 2024, at 10 AM Pacific and continue uninterrupted until Monday, January 6, 2025, at 10 AM Pacific. After January 6th, we’ll transition to a schedule of five-day-per-week access for the remainder of Phase II.
You can download the game launcher here and we encourage you to join us on our for the most up to date testing news.
Is no one else disappointed that "Persistent Alpha" AKA 24/7 Alpha 2 access isn't until May 2025?
KingRajesh
Member, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
I appreciate some good grey-area wordsmithing, but the definition of "Persistent Alpha" they gave today is not the same as they've given previously when a lot of people bought access.
Kickstarter FAQ: "Alpha phase 2 is planned as a persistent testing phase of the game, this means access to the testing server will remain open and available till launch."
From a 2018 Livestream:
Feels like a bait and switch.
Kickstarter FAQ: "Alpha phase 2 is planned as a persistent testing phase of the game, this means access to the testing server will remain open and available till launch."
From a 2018 Livestream:
- Steven: "Persistent for us means that we're going to keep those servers up all day and night until launch."
Feels like a bait and switch.
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Comments
It kinda sucks that they're slowly ramping it up, with limited uptime in the first two phases of it. But I wouldn't call it a bait and switch. It's going to continue being available every week until launch (even after Beta starts and the Alpha realms transition into PTR realms), and the majority of that time will be in Phase 3, which is 24/7. I think that counts as persistent.
Kinda wished that phase 2 was atleast 6 days at a time with 1 day break but 5/2 isnt that bad tbh i can see them needing to bring servers down to mess with them alot more earlier on in design and they seem to have given them atleast 2 days for this seeing as it says 5+ days whcih means we might get 6 or 7 days access in one week then 5 in another it possible.
Seems they have it that way so they can atleast guarantee them 2 days to mess with servers kinda like a realy long maintenance period, sucks for people wanting to play but chances are the days there down will be middle of the week so typical working days since i would guess that be optimal time for them to do there stuff to the servers.
I've already said this awhile back that it doesn't mean they will be up 24/7 which is the case at the start clearly. Yall realize they need to test things and fix issues.
This is why i felt it was a brain dead take for people saying they need to take time off work for an alpha launch...People are going to over hype themselves expecting a game and then try to say its a scam. LEgit they had to repeat it as simple as possible for people and break it down its a alpha.
People still don't get it.....
In Steven's own words, he said "persistence" meant something else - it meant servers up forever, every day, until launch. Other general meanings are irrelevant.
Steven promised Alpha 2 would be up all day and night back when I bought access to Alpha 2, and that's no longer the case until Phase 3 in May 2025.
That's a bait and switch.
What was presented was pretty much what I expected a slow and deliberate build up to 24/7 A2.
Alpha 2 represents a block of development time. Things will get developed and deployed gradually. Testing will start off in spurts. At the beginning there will be a crap load of fixes that require more significant down time. So 3 days then 5 days then 24/7 is very reasonable. The 3 weeks for minor fixes and 6 weeks for major fixes/new stuff is reasonable. This also allows for more focus on testing, which is the entire point.
I think for anyone with just a little understanding of software development and what alpha means, it's super obvious there is going to be downtime and that servers aren't up 24/7 from the start, or even near the end. I don't think there is any sort of deliberate intent to mislead by Intrepid, but again, you can argue they should have hammered home in more detail what a real alpha means for things like server up-time, instead of thinking people would look it up themselves and not just assume things.
It's easy to forget to explain important details about something that is blindingly obvious to yourself and the people around you, to someone who doesn't have any sort of frame of reference, or in this case might have been mislead by all the "early access" and other bad nomenclature from many game companies.
The Alpha 2 roadmap that was presented was completely in line with what I was expecting, but I have also worked as tech support for both very IT illiterate people (even if smart and wise in other areas), and for more IT literate people, and the required communication to both groups can be very, very different.
Intrepid have been fairly clear since 2017 when I started following this game that the supporter packs were exactly that - for supporting Intrepid.
If you bought a pack in order to get access, rather than buying said pack to support Intrepid, you did it wrong.
Intrepid have also been very clear that development is not predictable, that things will change. They have said that testers (especially alpha testers) are there to test the game as that testing is needed - not to play the game.
You gotta admit ... ...
I never - NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVER - saw People this hyped - for any Expansion Release of Worst of Warcraft. Or any other MMO out there. Not even Final Fantasy came close. And not ESO either.
I think ... ... ... People are aware - that this will not be an "Early Access" Game. At least most of them. They know what for (funny
And yet they are " STILL " this much hyped ... ...
It bring a smile to my boney Avatars Face knowing that Ashes is already so loved.
✓ Occasional Roleplayer
✓ Currently no guild !! (o_o)
If you are talking about those games releases - nope. Each of those games had a lot more hype than Ashes currently does.
A lot of information is behind the NDA, which is also normal because they have competitors who’d like that information if only to capitalize on the hype train to time the release of their own crappy, rushed game. Steven even leaked the fact they were testing this weekend. So spelling everything out too early or too far away from Alpha 2 launch can cause harm, hence the NDA.
Plus, I don’t think the Alphas are marketed to the IT illiterate and is also why they’ve repeatedly and consistently told folks not to buy it. Only a fool invests in something they haven’t spent the time researching, and being IT literate about a game you are investing in is pretty much in line with that. But then the retail brokerages make a killing on folks who know little to nothing about investing or trading. 90% or so accounts fail because people like to think they know what they are buying into, or worse play make believe that something is something that it is not.
We each control our own expectations. You can’t really blame others unless you’re mindlessly following others, and if that’s the case you deserve what you get. My expectations are that there will be testing during alpha 2 that could range from absolute crap to something reasonable good. Showcases are fine to demonstrate something, but nothing beats hands on testing. Seen far too many developers sell the development of a game rather than develop a game. So until we’re in there testing it I will keep expectations in check.
There’s also the folks outside of Intrepid who are hyping up the game, many making a buck off of it (not that there’s necessarily anything wrong with monetizing what is essentially free advertising), who could also educate the IT illiterate. But I guess there’s more clicks and money to be had from stirring up controversy or even spreading misinformation about the game or using it as a platform to project what they wish it was rather than what it is.
I think lifting the NDA at the launch of Alpha 2 will do more to spread real information about the development of this game. What I see Intrepid doing with their showcases is more for entertainment purposes with a little show and tell. The only real information is that the game is a work in progress and everything is subject to change. They repeat that line about as much as “don’t buy if you are expecting a game”.
Been waiting for years for a wonderful game. Obviously, a lot of us have no problems with waiting.
Not even a little tiny bit.
Again far to many people making the same thread over and over again.
You perception is off is why you feel this way.
How many times must they say this is a testing period and NOT a time to get in and play the game?
I am happy we finally see the start of Alpha 2. And is done well.
Wave 1 and 2 will kill the hype of those who want to start playing on day 1.
It is a good way to throw players into the cold water, mitigating that initial spike in numbers and decline afterwards.
Gives me time to enjoy my life outside of a video game rather than being subjected to 24/7 FOMO. People should have a life outside of a video game and remember to put on deodorant.
The clarity of the most recent stream was nice to see. Even if they can't stick to the exact dates, at least we know where their head is at regarding A2. The biggest issue with last stream was that it didn't happen sooner, IMO. From what I've seen, it appears only people very closely following the project even noticed that "persistency" was a stretch for the early implementation. Let's hope they will continue to use precise language in the future. This project is about to have a lot more eyes on it.