Intrepid should really consider making the new alpha keys go into beta.
Sythriox
Member
EDIT: THIS HAS CHANGED. THANK YOU INTREPID FOR LISTENING TO FEEDBACK:
Now I don't actually think there is any plan to use this to get more money down the road, but the optics make this decision APPEAR like a money grab. The rationale behind canceling the old keys seemed to be about limiting the number of players.
Now, they’re arguing that while the alpha can support more players, the future beta cannot? If that’s not the case, it feels like they’re just trying to charge again for beta access. I wanted to support the development process but wasn’t interested in purchasing a bundaroo that included subscription time and cosmetic skins, like the old ones did. The expectation that I would need to purchase access separately for Alpha 2, Beta 1, and then Beta 2 is unreasonable and not in line with industry standards. I don't believe that it is actually just them trying to get more money, but I can guarantee that this is going to get some push back for this reason.
It could be the case that just an ungodly number of people bought just the beta access keys from the old bundaroos, but they should really clarify that if that's the case. Otherwise this is going to continue to be unpopular. I know for me personally, I just cant reasonable buy just a single phase of alpha for $100, not being able to access any future phases. I'm sure there are some people out there that will. I bet there will be a lot of people who buy it thinking it will get them into Betas.
Now I don't actually think there is any plan to use this to get more money down the road, but the optics make this decision APPEAR like a money grab. The rationale behind canceling the old keys seemed to be about limiting the number of players.
Now, they’re arguing that while the alpha can support more players, the future beta cannot? If that’s not the case, it feels like they’re just trying to charge again for beta access. I wanted to support the development process but wasn’t interested in purchasing a bundaroo that included subscription time and cosmetic skins, like the old ones did. The expectation that I would need to purchase access separately for Alpha 2, Beta 1, and then Beta 2 is unreasonable and not in line with industry standards. I don't believe that it is actually just them trying to get more money, but I can guarantee that this is going to get some push back for this reason.
It could be the case that just an ungodly number of people bought just the beta access keys from the old bundaroos, but they should really clarify that if that's the case. Otherwise this is going to continue to be unpopular. I know for me personally, I just cant reasonable buy just a single phase of alpha for $100, not being able to access any future phases. I'm sure there are some people out there that will. I bet there will be a lot of people who buy it thinking it will get them into Betas.
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Only reason to switch to beta is to play with those outside of alpha 2
That sounds weird coming from the old packs where they were marketed to having access to alpha AND beta. with both alpha and beta keys in their description. Now it seems like the implied linear direction is becoming a parallel one. You are probably right, but hot damn they really could have explained that better off the rip.
Not to mention that the "alpha" servers will at some point be on the beta servers? And aren't we already expecting there to be wipes here and there during development? I'm at least glad that they will have a Q&A for this specific subject.
And bundles had those keys exactly because they are bundles, not just keys (as is the case with the new sales).
No they will not be and they never planned to be "on beta servers".
Yes, there might be wipes on A2 Phase 3, but as Steven said, they want to keep those to a minimum.
So the alpha will not get any of the content added in later "beta servers" so this wouldn't be accurate?:
Intrepid wants more testers for the Alpha 2 phase of testing (not Beta).
So, they’re selling more keys for the Alpha 2 phase of testing.
Seems transparent … nothing hidden or secret.
There’s no requirement to participate in Alpha 2.
If you still want to do testing (but your budget doesn’t permit it), there’s still a chance to win a free key in an upcoming Intrepid promotion.
So this Is exactly right. If you wanna play with people that only have access to the betas - you can switch to that version of the game and play there.
BUT, It should go into Beta imo.
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe."
After this this thread, it sounds confusing...
The devs have also been transparent about what an Alpha 2 key purchase actually is.
It means you support the direction the game is heading and would like to help out by being a play tester. No obligation.
Not interested in spending $120 to play test?
Totally fine.
You can still watch the game’s progress through the monthly development updates and via socials … and still participate in future testing.
However, no obligation also means there’s no “cash grab” nor “bad PR”. You aren’t being forced into anything.
I am leaning toward this as well. The only thing to consider is that some of the kickstarter/package holders have lots of beta keys to give out. I might have 10 or so. I have not looked lately. So what I am saying is that there will be a lot of beta keys out there possibly for free. Being there is not supposed to be RMT they should be free.
If they're just trying to maintain value for previous backers, then I do think they should just give the new purchasers beta, I personally don't think that diminishes the value of my purchase.
If there's some other calculus here, that they don't want more beta testers or something like that, then stay the course.
Whatever is best for the game long-term.
If it gets to the beta, and they say "instead of grabbing people from our pool of alpha players who already paid $120, we're going to have them pay another $100+ now to buy beta access" you are actually going to get a higher proportion of players who just want to play the game as an early access. Just leaving out everyone who just bought the alpha key is 100% scummy (if it comes down to that). A lot of people outside of the hyper fans on this form are seeing this alpha key purchase as an L.
I would argue that "no obligation" is a bit of a red herring. That's not really the point. A company nickel and diming people proclaiming "well you don't have to buy it if you don't want to" isn't great optics. With how it's served at the moment, it seems like they are only giving access to the alpha because...
a) They will charge more for the beta when that comes out.
b) There's only enough room for alpha testers, because the beta is going to be smaller or is already full.
This mentality of selling beta access like this has so many fundamental problems already. So far the only way to get into the beta, has been to spend money on skins, mounts, and months of playtime. It's for the unrealistically faithful followers. Those who are probably much less likely to do anything other than sing their praises — just a bunch of yes men. I might end up buying it anyway, since I do want to actually have input in how the game feels. Intrepid should want to actually get testers that are more evenhanded. I see these content creators involved in these tests, and it's 99% positive all the time.
Just like with this choice. Take all these previous package buyers compared to everyone else, and compare how people are reacting. These two groups are not in agreement. There is an excusatory minority that is giving "input" on the game. That just doesn't seem like a healthy dynamic for the game imo. Now who's to say that there wont be other systems in the game that this minority just accepts because of their faith in steven, and completely flops when normal gamers come into contact with it. At the end of the day, I love the game and still wish it the best.
If they extend those players into Beta, I wouldn't mind as long as they need that many additional testers. If not, put a system in place that will extend possible beta codes to players who reached a certain amount of in game time during A2. Something to encourage being online and testing.
I specifically think that Beta key time and post release game time should not be included in the Alpha sale. Keep this round for people who want to test.
Beta+full game time sounds like a better combo.
When do the alpha actually get designated at public ptr realms? Because I would think that the Alpha PTRs would actually be in the list of servers to be selected during beta login. You just may not be authorized to select the PTR or Beta server based on you key credentials.
Besides, there still needs to be a community on the PTR Alphas because that is how development code should be advanced. Bug found in beta, fixed in development, patches to Alpha PTR and play tested, promoted to beta.
Either I am just confused and uninformed, but I don't really care that these alpha keys don't provide beta access. Because the Alpha will still be there through the entire beta period, and even through game release when betas are shut down and replaced/restored to Production release client servers.
Well, first I will say I have access, so I won't be purchasing the alpha test for that reason. That being said, if I didn't have it, I certainly wouldn't spend $100+ for it. I have never heard of a game, in over a couple decades of computer gaming, that charged almost twice a normal release price for the privilege to alpha test (no beta; no release product). It is just a bad look, and it doesn't matter what Intrepid says about it, nor does it matter what fans and apologists say. Many people, especially those outside of this supporter base (which sometimes acts a bit like an echo chamber), probably are going to have a negative opinion of Intrepid based on that alpha sale.
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe."
No clue why you're so hyper-focused on Beta.
Nobody (including Intrepid) knows today what the Beta requirements will be for testing: number of servers, registered users, concurrent players, or characters per player ... whatever provides the optimal subset of testing data. In other words, the scope of Beta is complete conjecture right now. Definitely not enough info to buy into the doom and gloom scenarios you're presenting.
Given that, it's best to re-iterate Intrepid's philosophy on Alpha 2.
That philosophy isn't about "nickel and diming" people. It is about transparent communication that the game is a "work in progress". Any Alpha access that a player decides to purchase means you simply support the game's direction and want to help as a play tester. No obligation. You don't have to be a play tester to still be able to follow the game's development and give feedback.
Similarly, the $120 key does not give players the right to hold Intrepid hostage on other tangible items besides Alpha 2 ... including concurrent Beta access, a release date, number of servers, or anything else. Like the rest of us, you are simply supporting the game.
That or give people that have the 120$ key 1 month game time for launch.
I can defend the price point but its still pretty high up there. Regardless of the cost for servers, its cheaper to get someone paying to do it, than you paying someone for it. So i see no issue giving people a small bone for helping you.
I said it last month.
Best value stuff was in the kickstarter you got access to lifetime sub, get to create events and model castles in game. Along with emotes, dye sets and so on.
Then packages came and you got less value but still a nice chunk of ingame goodies in the form of cosmetics and currency, along with plenty of game time.
Now it's time for all the people who've been faffing around umming and ahhhing about whether or not to buy access to find out.
You get to pay the lowest price for access. But for that trade off you get no ongoing value.
You snooze, you lose.
There is no proportional trade off, like you and Steven tried to rationalize, it's a severely overpriced version of the A2 keys they just quit selling, without Beta access which will almost assuredly be sold like the other A2 packs were sold.
These are the moves of someone dipping as many times as they can and gives off real FOMO vaporware scam vibes.
"you snooze, you lose"
Wait a second, I thought this was suppose to be about testing for the game(which includes being a part of the beta, which every A2 buyer was being given access to), now it's some "you snooze, you lose" artificial scarcity FOMO marketing tactic that goes against a supporters ability to test the game? Despite the fact they're supposedly reselling A2 access because the network can now support more people? Hmmm
Sounds like a reason to do some more dipping and sell Beta access separately, which they already wanted to probably do from the beginning but felt like they couldn't get away with it. It's just now they got people really tensed up on that FOMO, so they're making their move.
If im to take a guess im guessing the NDA testing is running into a hurdle with server stability or something that it caused the original A2 to be pushed back to phase 2 while they try and fix server issues and to not delay further they basicly opened up the server test to Alpha 2 people in oct to not force a further delay while they work on it. Thats my guess atm.
which is one reason why they were so adamant on people not buying into wave one if ur expecting some kinda game
You are welcome.
Link:
https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Alpha-2
Yes it is a great filter.
"Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining..."
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe."
People have the freakin guts to ask in an almost whiny fashion every few Days to Weeks since the Beginning of June for more and new Alpha 2 Access Keys.
You got them now.
You want them cheaper ? Why ?
Everyone else before paid about the same Prices.
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