Alpha 2 Keys

I heard a lot of talk about a2 keys being cheaper than normal.

i personally believe this is a horrible idea. 1 you mess up with people who purchased it before.

just release the a2 packs for sale again, for the people who missed them.
no need to punish the people who bough them early. and no need to cater to people who bought them late.

release them full price. and it's the only way to go.

or you could make them cheaper and make a bunch of A2 buyers very upset. Or you could make them same price but without skins and make new players upset.

but if you release them same price as before same pack....no issues.

thoughts?

personally. if we cater to people that are late now.... we'll expect this in the future as well and maybe even hope to take advantage of it.

what do you guys think?

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Comments

Venacier

I read that A2 will be persistent, and that it will stay up, through BETA 1&2, and through going live, as a test Server....so to answer the question...forever

There will NOT be timed keys as noted previously. A1 testers get to go in soon, pre A2..but once A2 is up, it's all on.

This is just Keys, no cosmetics..so price should be less. I would expect sales to start right after next Live Stream.

sanosuke490

Como cadastrar no sorteio de chaves?

StickyRubb

palabana wrote: »

StickyRubb wrote: »

The 100k+ people that already bought A2 access set foot in Verra at the end of September.
The new buyers join the adventure... a month late? Two weeks late?
It doesn't have to be a significant amount of time, but it would definitely give us older backers a feeling that we've gotten our money's worth out of our larger purchase. We can start molding the world to our heart's content while new buyers have to watch from the sideline for a minute. Intrepid could even do a server wipe before the new A2 buyers get access, if that'd make it more fair to them.

Irrelevant. A2 is expected to get wiped frequently. There is no point in having such advantage.

Just because Alpha 2 might get wiped frequently doesn't mean that giving new buyers access a little bit later isn't a solution. I'm pretty sure that anyone who has already bought access and is disappointed by their stand-alone key sale will be happy with the keys going on sale a month after A2 starts. This way the people that funded the development of A2 can function as advertisement for possible new stand-alone key buyers.

StickyRubb

Veeshan wrote: »

tbh they should hold off on opening up new alpha keys till like 1 month after everyone with packs get in

Aszkalon wrote: »

Some People on YouTube Channels are very confident,

if more Alpha Two Keys come out in the sooner or futher Future which are solely for Access -> then those will most likely have the same Price than the Alpha Two Access Keys of the Past which were solely for Access and not for anything cosmetic.

Devs best option imo is to offer the exact same pack/cost tbh however the cosmetics offered this time will be available on the cosmetic shop day 1, so they loose the exclusivity they had before.
Issue is offering A2 keys cheaper than the packs kinda let people who bought into A2 via those packs feel shafted cause they were told this was the only price point, however offering A2 keys at the same price as the packs will be seen as price gouging from people who didnt buy in with the pack.
Its a rough situation the devs got themself in with this decision tbh and it a fine line to please everyone i would say.

if they do offer cheaper keys i think they might have to compensate people who already have packs with either more sub time or embers or they might feel taken advantage of with FOMO. Another option that might work is have the new packs A2 start like a month after the initial launch of A2.

I agree with what you said and I still think giving stand-alone key buyers access a month later is the way to go to please literally everyone.

StickyRubb

TheDarkSorcerer wrote: »

Where is this other thread people are talking about? Can't seem to find it.

I don't mind having more testers in A2, that's awesome! But just as long as the other perks aren't being given like name reservations, cosmetics etc. However, I do think the FOMO they created around packs and A2 keys was a little bit unnecessary.

I just survived Hurricane Beryl without any power for 4 days in 100+ degree weather... I think i can survive more people getting A2 access lol. No big deal.

Yeah, even though they didn't explicitly state that those packs were the only way to get into A2 at its launch, it was heavily implied. I'm not saying it was intentional since the server capability progress was relatively unexpected, but to act like people have no right to feel fooled is a little bit ignorant to me.

I'm glad you're okay after the hurricane!

StickyRubb

Hinotori wrote: »

cupi wrote: »

I wasn't aware of this, when did they made this clear?

I put a nice bit of red around the important part and even an arrow so everyone who missed it the first time can see it again.

So, a vague statement about possibly having the option to get access to 'testing periods' (note that it doesn't say Alpha 2) at some time in the future. Nobody expected stand-alone A2 keys to be sold before A2 launches. At least the fact that this could happen wasn't offered as a realistic option.

Again, I'm happy with the pack I bought, but I don't fully agree with the ethics at play here. Offering half transparency (while people here claiming it's full transparency) is what it is. Once again, very excited to participate and I love Intrepid's journey, but this one thing is a bitter point.

cupi

RocketFarmer wrote: »

No one has forced anyone to buy anything. Why all the fuss? If you thought you were buying a full game, you weren’t. If you thought you’d be the only customer, you aren’t. If you thought you were special, you aren’t.

The only thing I wholly disagree here is that I'm not special because my mom

Now was I forced to buy this 400$ bucks package of virtual good years ago? I mean, some users say they had the clarity not to and have less involvement in the monetary side of it all. All the better for them, they can contribute otherwise and in so many ways.

Me? I could afford it and have no regrets about it whatsoever. What did I value in this package? I'm not even going to mention, cause no one but my mom would give two shits about it.

I wasn't forced to spend my money on it but who can dismiss the fact that from my POV if I wanted to be part of the testing, and it will be my first for a MMO, I had very few options.

What's my point here? Clearly I seem to be able to answer my own questions, publicly and without shame

But to your question, what's the fuss?

People feel insecure about this and need to yap about it. I literally couldn't care less if it comes across badly that's what I think, and if you're butthurt about it it's on you also

Furthermore, I see a lot of people speaking numbers. And it's alright, I secretly think we're all special. But is this truly relevant? Are you the economic advisor? Are you privy to special information on this? Are you an influential member of this community? Do you really expect an impact?

As OP alluded and many other users have, there are two groups of people that have reasons, and quite valid ones IMO, to be upset about the now so much sought after A2 access key pricing, and these people are real. They need to be accounted for but it is IS's job to balance it out it in order to mitigate the potential backlash from either side.

my two cents thank you

if you ask me what are the people's reasons to be upset I'm throwing the gloves

Aszkalon

TheDarkSorcerer wrote: »

I just survived Hurricane Beryl without any power for 4 days in 100+ degree weather... I think i can survive more people getting A2 access lol. No big deal.

" The Essence is strong within this One ... ... "

Holy Shxt. That sounded like a hella scary Experience. May you be safe Dark and let's walk through the World of Verra together someday.

Jindoshi

Thanks for the comments, hopefully we will get some news soon.

Noaani

cupi wrote: »

I was told by a previous user that it was clearly stated but so far it seems that It was only after the bulk of the sales. Which in my opinion is not a small detail.

Why would this matter?

Noaani

StickyRubb wrote: »

So, a vague statement about possibly having the option to get access to 'testing periods' (note that it doesn't say Alpha 2) at some time in the future. Nobody expected stand-alone A2 keys to be sold before A2 launches. At least the fact that this could happen wasn't offered as a realistic option.

Again, I'm happy with the pack I bought, but I don't fully agree with the ethics at play here. Offering half transparency (while people here claiming it's full transparency) is what it is. Once again, very excited to participate and I love Intrepid's journey, but this one thing is a bitter point.

Or you could look at the other statements from Intrepid, such as this one

Our pre-order packs were intended to be a way for players to support the project by providing an opportunity to collect exclusive cosmetic appearances that are used in creating the world of Verra, while respecting our commitment to zero-tolerance pay-to-win whatsoever. As we draw closer to our Alpha Two and Beta testing periods, we want to ensure a glorious experience for our players who have signed up to help make Ashes of Creation the MMORPG it deserves to be. To that end, we have decided to discontinue the packs until such time as our internal and/or external testing supports the admission of additional testers. We will continue to update our community when more ways become available to access Alpha Two or Beta testing through our communication channels.

If you want to find where it is posted, look at the answer given to the first question in the screenshot you quoted.

They made it blatantly clear that they are discontinuing alpha access sales unless/until they feel they have the ability to support more.

Noaani

cupi wrote: »

Hinotori wrote: »

cupi wrote: »

So August 8 2023? That's after the bulk of the packages were sold no?

Yes.

Am I going out on a limb here stating that this could be relevant to the reason behind the complaining?

From what I can see, the only people complaing are people that either cant read, or didn't read.

Intrepid were very clear in stating that they may sell alpha 2 access again, and also gave the reasoning behind why they stopped and what would need to happen to start again.

Halae

Jindoshi wrote: »

Thanks for the comments, hopefully we will get some news soon.

I suspect we will. Alpha-2 is set to open in Quarter 3, per the announcement, and that means July, August, and September.

Now, of course, I would very much lean towards expecting it in September, which maybe the announcements of what's going on at the end of July or mid-August.

Blath

Toothpaste wrote: »

Yea and no one has said how long Alpha 2 is even going to last?

I hope they have alpha 2 keys at different tier levels.

Like Tier 1: Alpha 2 access for 6 months - $30

Tier 2: A2 access for 1 year - $50

Tier 2: A2 access 2 years - $80

Terrible idea

syldon

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1791529601/ashes-of-creation-new-mmorpg-by-intrepid-studios/

This is the original kick starter that I signed into 7 years ago. There was no promise of an exclusive game. Why you think that the game should have exclusivity baffles me.

This is a social game. I am happy for the Devs to give people who think that they should have exclusivity an individual server. I will opt for the populated version myself.

Aszkalon

Don't expect a Date to be announced before in some Days at earliest until the End of the Month. I bet Sir Steven and the others are still deciding when to hand out new Alpha Two Keys.

Xeph

StickyRubb wrote: »

My suggestion (besides refunds), which I think is reasonable to all parties, is the following:
Let new A2 buyers in at a later date.

The 100k+ people that already bought A2 access set foot in Verra at the end of September.
The new buyers join the adventure... a month late? Two weeks late?
It doesn't have to be a significant amount of time, but it would definitely give us older backers a feeling that we've gotten our money's worth out of our larger purchase.

For context, I do not currently have a A2 Key and I'm planning to get one if the price makes sense.
AND
I agree 100% with this. We do not want to anger the people that paid the most and have waited the longest by selling A2 access at a lower price, when it was the only thing that people were really into in their pre-order pack. It doesn't feel fair otherwise, and I want to most of us to be happy with Intrepid's decision.

Ayeveegaming1

Pretty sure its going to be staggered already. They said they would be taking the 1000 first alpha 1 keys. I have alpha 1 access but I was in the hospital at the time of the testing period for it. However, I did not buy the kickstarter for the alpha/beta access. I bought it for other reasons. I will if asked do the testing for them, as I have done alpha/beta's before, but I am not going to be butthurt if other people get access before me. Its not a game yet, it is a testing period. The more testers we have the better.

StickyRubb

Xeph wrote: »

StickyRubb wrote: »

My suggestion (besides refunds), which I think is reasonable to all parties, is the following:
Let new A2 buyers in at a later date.

The 100k+ people that already bought A2 access set foot in Verra at the end of September.
The new buyers join the adventure... a month late? Two weeks late?
It doesn't have to be a significant amount of time, but it would definitely give us older backers a feeling that we've gotten our money's worth out of our larger purchase.

For context, I do not currently have a A2 Key and I'm planning to get one if the price makes sense.
AND
I agree 100% with this. We do not want to anger the people that paid the most and have waited the longest by selling A2 access at a lower price, when it was the only thing that people were really into in their pre-order pack. It doesn't feel fair otherwise, and I want to most of us to be happy with Intrepid's decision.

Thank you! It's good to see that even when you're not an early backer, you can still sympathize with the feeling. I think delaying the sale of A2 keys for just a little bit after it has launched is the perfect solution. Of course, most people will say there is no problem to solve, but I think being ethical and fair to the people that funded your project is doing the right thing.

StickyRubb

Noaani wrote: »

cupi wrote: »

Hinotori wrote: »

cupi wrote: »

So August 8 2023? That's after the bulk of the packages were sold no?

Yes.

Am I going out on a limb here stating that this could be relevant to the reason behind the complaining?

From what I can see, the only people complaing are people that either cant read, or didn't read.

Intrepid were very clear in stating that they may sell alpha 2 access again, and also gave the reasoning behind why they stopped and what would need to happen to start again.

It has nothing to do with reading, and you know that. Intrepid vaguely stated that perhaps in the future there might be ways to obtain acces to future testing periods, through giveaways for example. Nobody relies on that to join a project you want to join. You'll buy the only access that's available. Let's be honest.

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