Feels Like a Cash Grab!

Honestly, it feels like you guys are trying to cash in early on the hype AoC has generated over the years. If you wanted more players to test your game, there were plenty of ways to do that without charging $100+ just to playtest. I get that you're not a big-budget AAA studio, but these Alpha 2 keys feel pretty scummy, especially coming from a company that was started because MMORPGs were full of these exact kinds of scummy moves.

For those who want to defend this $100+ alpha access, go ahead—give me a solid reason. Right now, it feels like, "Hey, let's make some quick cash off of these desperate MMO players. Hahaha!" (cue Steven laughing maniacally).

And to the inevitable "yOu dOnT hAvE to support this, plenty of good games out there" crowd, let me just say: I've watched every single livestream since the Unreal 5 reveal, spent way too much time on the wiki, and haunted the Discord like a ghost. Also, let's be real most games out there suck.

Finally, I think only Phase 3 keys should've been sold, and they should've been cheaper, or at least bundled with something that gives access to the betas too.

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Veeshan

WHIT3ROS3 wrote: »

The money is helping towards the game development. It's not about buying "game time", It's about supporting a project you think is cool.

also just to cover server costs a2 will probaly go for atleast 2 years and u pay max concorrent player connection each month (apparently it like 65 cents per connection) so when servers are hitting 100k players it quite considerable over say 12-24 month period

and since no sub fee coming in there upfront cost gotta cover their connection too for the period of time.

$120 kinda a bargain for like 1-2 years of entertainment tbh i reckon atleast but everyone different

Noaani

NiTr08 wrote: »

If you wanted more players to test your game, there were plenty of ways to do that without charging $100+ just to playtest.

This is perhaps the part where you went wrong.

Why do you think they need more testers, when the real tests are only involving a few dozen people?

daveywavey

I mean, they shut down the shop explicitly because they didn't need any more testers. People have been begging them to re-open the Key sales, and so they have done.

I honestly don't see what the problem is, here.

AidanKD

arkileo wrote: »

The keys do give access to beta, Steven clarified that yesterday. Seems like there was some confusion on their end. https://www.reddit.com/r/AshesofCreation/comments/1euy7q1/clarifying_a2_keys_announcement/

When Beta starts, the Alpha 2 servers will live concurrently alongside the Beta servers. Players who own Alpha 2 keys (including the new phase keys) will also have access to the Beta servers.

I just want to pick up on one point as someone who tends to defend Intrepid - It looked very much like Intrepid responded to the mass feedback and as a compromise converted the key purchases into packages that included beta, game time and embers.

I was unlikely to buy it as someone who will likely wait until release - but lets not outright say that they mis-spoke. This is the decision that has caused the most reaction from the community and Intrepid can see that it's caused an unnecessary split.

The keys now effectively being 90 dollars I think is more palatable. Although I do wonder if they might look into those 150~ dollar packs people bought which didn't come with Alpha access? I suspect they won't and it's no hair off my back but I think if they've already shown they can make a change, then this is one which could go down well.

ModestVanity

I understand people who spent $150 for beta only being upset at the price of the new “bundles,” but to be fair, they had plenty of time to purchase alpha access if they really wanted it.

Otr

ModestVanity wrote: »

I understand people who spent $150 for beta only being upset at the price of the new “bundles,” but to be fair, they had plenty of time to purchase alpha access if they really wanted it.

Same can be said about those who got not keys at all sooner. They had enough time to buy alpha access.
Truth is Intrepid Studios shouldn't open access.
They don't really need testers right now as they say there will be queues.
Later if the Alpha 2 owners have no wish to "test" they can always let beta key owners upgrade.

No matter how we look at it, this has a business side in it too, not only "testing".
Basically the intent was to make people who can afford, to pay more. And those who hesitate, to get a lower price.

Boy

Business costs money. Servers ain't cheap. Very reasonable price if you consider it your sub fee for whole testing period (1-2 YEARS).

BlackBrony

The problem is Intrepid followed what gamers wanted: to re open Alpha 2 sales. They should never listen to gamers, they're morons.
If they would've just closed the alpha2 sales, and be done with it, none of this crap would've happened.

Jhoren

It's not a cash grab, but I think it might be a little premature. I think waiting until next year before phase III with the new A2 sales would have been better. With over 100k people who bought the old A2 packs, surely they have enough testers until May 2025. Either way, it's too late to change it now.

SmileGurney

NiTr08 wrote: »

For those who want to defend this $100+ alpha access, go ahead—give me a solid reason.

Sure, your motivation to join alpha seems to lean towards "I'm so hyped, I want to play the game early", instead of "I like what I'm seeing so far, I wouldn't mind to help with testing". The game is in early stages of development. Alpha access seems to be confused by people who think its Early Access.

Upsides?
You get access to both alpha and beta, alpha alone is supposed to run for at least a year, so if you have to justify it, its your annual sub cost. You have a chance to find some interesting bugs, contribute more precise feedback and help with providing data which will hopefully optimise the game client in the longer run.

Downsides?
Whatever you like it or not, you are there to help with testing, your enjoyment of the limited gameplay at that point is not a priority. You are just another data point and source of feedback, bug reports.

Don't expect 24/7 access, even in May. Servers will go down, devs will collect data and work on fixes before deploying them again for testing. The game will run as expected for this early in development so expect: game client and server instability issues, client and server crashes, bugs, missing features, network and fps lag. You should also consider the potential risk of the game client being so badly optimised it might push your hardware to breaking point, mainly through the risk of constant overheating.

Have I convinced you yet not to pay for Alpha access?

TheDarkSorcerer

OP, I think you're missing the point of the prize.

It's $100+ to not offend the people (like myself) who have already bought into the cosmetic packs years ago.
It's $100+ to keep people out. There will already be a cap on players during A2. By lowering the cost there will just be too many people trying to play = creating a negative experience who those who have already bought into the cosmetic packs and been supporting Intrepid for years.
$100+ is quite reasonable considering you will get all the three stages of A2 + Beta. Compare what the rest of us have spent on pre-order packs.
It's not a complete/finished game. So wether you are joining now during an Alpha stage or when the game is completed is completely up to you. You are not missing out on anything because it's not a finished game.

daveywavey

NiTr08 wrote: »

For those who want to defend this $100+ alpha access, go ahead—give me a solid reason.

It's their product, they can charge whatever they want for it.

The fact that people are paying it shows that they've set it right.

Murdach

NiTr08 wrote: »

Honestly, it feels like you guys are trying to cash in early on the hype AoC has generated over the years. If you wanted more players to test your game, there were plenty of ways to do that without charging $100+ just to playtest. I get that you're not a big-budget AAA studio, but these Alpha 2 keys feel pretty scummy, especially coming from a company that was started because MMORPGs were full of these exact kinds of scummy moves.

For those who want to defend this $100+ alpha access, go ahead—give me a solid reason. Right now, it feels like, "Hey, let's make some quick cash off of these desperate MMO players. Hahaha!" (cue Steven laughing maniacally).

And to the inevitable "yOu dOnT hAvE to support this, plenty of good games out there" crowd, let me just say: I've watched every single livestream since the Unreal 5 reveal, spent way too much time on the wiki, and haunted the Discord like a ghost. Also, let's be real most games out there suck.

Finally, I think only Phase 3 keys should've been sold, and they should've been cheaper, or at least bundled with something that gives access to the betas too.

It does feel like a cash grab, and that's ok. We use Capitalism here in the US. They have a commodity (server access) that they decided to sell. You already know that you do not need to buy this. There is also a good chance that at least 1 popular streamer will display the Alpha. You are not going to miss out on anything, unless you feel you NEED to test or at least control the character you are watching.

If you do not feel comfortable spending cash on an Alpha key. Do not spend cash on an Alpha key.

My only defense of this is, they are basically guaranteeing the Alpha testers will take the tests seriously. It would be more traditional to create testing jobs, but this method should be able to reach more serious testers than the previous method.

bloodstainedcrown

NiTr08 wrote: »

Honestly, it feels like you guys are trying to cash in early on the hype AoC has generated over the years. If you wanted more players to test your game, there were plenty of ways to do that without charging $100+ just to playtest. I get that you're not a big-budget AAA studio, but these Alpha 2 keys feel pretty scummy, especially coming from a company that was started because MMORPGs were full of these exact kinds of scummy moves.

For those who want to defend this $100+ alpha access, go ahead—give me a solid reason. Right now, it feels like, "Hey, let's make some quick cash off of these desperate MMO players. Hahaha!" (cue Steven laughing maniacally).

And to the inevitable "yOu dOnT hAvE to support this, plenty of good games out there" crowd, let me just say: I've watched every single livestream since the Unreal 5 reveal, spent way too much time on the wiki, and haunted the Discord like a ghost. Also, let's be real most games out there suck.

Finally, I think only Phase 3 keys should've been sold, and they should've been cheaper, or at least bundled with something that gives access to the betas too.

If my $100+ goes into the development of this game, then TAKE MY MONEY.
Why can't you see it as 'YOU supporting AoC' instead of 'AoC trying to take your money'?
I dunno but it sure seems to me that your perspective on this is way off the mark.

Caeryl

Intrepid closed Alpha2 sales after multiple years, late arrivals complained they couldn’t buy alpha access

Intrepid opens Alpha2 sales again, the same late arrivals complain they aren’t getting a better deal on the keys than the original packs

Someone said earlier they should’ve just left it closed, and I agree. It was not a good idea to open up key sales to some of the late arrivals with warped expectations of the development process.

Barzel

It does feel like a cash grab, and that's ok. We use Capitalism here in the US. They have a commodity (server access) that they decided to sell. You already know that you do not need to buy this. There is also a good chance that at least 1 popular streamer will display the Alpha. You are not going to miss out on anything, unless you feel you NEED to test or at least control the character you are watching.

If you do not feel comfortable spending cash on an Alpha key. Do not spend cash on an Alpha key.

My only defense of this is, they are basically guaranteeing the Alpha testers will take the tests seriously. It would be more traditional to create testing jobs, but this method should be able to reach more serious testers than the previous method.

Sure, don't buy it. I certainly wouldn't. However, we can make a distinction between what is legal and what is reasonable to consumers--what is allowable under our particular brand of capitalism, and what some see as exploitative.

When all is said and done, however, it is really about the way things look... not so much how they are or how we wished they would be, at least insofar as PR is concerned. This situation is illustrative of the old idiom: Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining (I think I put that here somewhere already, sorry for the repeat). Again, make every excuse you want, but that is the impression that many consumers have of this particular business move. Then again, the whole monetization of the development of this game has been somewhat questionable since early on (as others have pointed out), just not to this extent.

Finally, I don't buy the old "guaranteeing serious testing" idea, although I'd admit you may get more people with a higher discretionary income, eg, older adults who can sometimes be seen as having more experience with serious responsibility. Of course, that demo has less time to test.... so yeah, the ol' "brings in more serious beta testers" is spurious at best.

Xzanobia

NiTr08 wrote: »

Honestly, it feels like you guys are trying to cash in early on the hype AoC has generated over the years. If you wanted more players to test your game, there were plenty of ways to do that without charging $100+ just to playtest. I get that you're not a big-budget AAA studio, but these Alpha 2 keys feel pretty scummy, especially coming from a company that was started because MMORPGs were full of these exact kinds of scummy moves.

For those who want to defend this $100+ alpha access, go ahead—give me a solid reason. Right now, it feels like, "Hey, let's make some quick cash off of these desperate MMO players. Hahaha!" (cue Steven laughing maniacally).

And to the inevitable "yOu dOnT hAvE to support this, plenty of good games out there" crowd, let me just say: I've watched every single livestream since the Unreal 5 reveal, spent way too much time on the wiki, and haunted the Discord like a ghost. Also, let's be real most games out there suck.

Finally, I think only Phase 3 keys should've been sold, and they should've been cheaper, or at least bundled with something that gives access to the betas too.

nobody is making you pay anything . if you dont like it or agree keep your wallet in your pocket its as simple as that. ive invested a hell of alot more than $100 into this and am more than happy with my investment which btw was over 4 years ago and only now from alpha 2 do i get to access and test but im not complaining about it or the amount ive invested. put in what you can if you want to but if yo cant or dont want to then thats fine but really dont understand why ppl complain about something just because they cant afford it or dont want to pay whatever amount

Githal

NiTr08 wrote: »

Honestly, it feels like you guys are trying to cash in early on the hype AoC has generated over the years. If you wanted more players to test your game, there were plenty of ways to do that without charging $100+ just to playtest. I get that you're not a big-budget AAA studio, but these Alpha 2 keys feel pretty scummy, especially coming from a company that was started because MMORPGs were full of these exact kinds of scummy moves.

For those who want to defend this $100+ alpha access, go ahead—give me a solid reason. Right now, it feels like, "Hey, let's make some quick cash off of these desperate MMO players. Hahaha!" (cue Steven laughing maniacally).

And to the inevitable "yOu dOnT hAvE to support this, plenty of good games out there" crowd, let me just say: I've watched every single livestream since the Unreal 5 reveal, spent way too much time on the wiki, and haunted the Discord like a ghost. Also, let's be real most games out there suck.

Finally, I think only Phase 3 keys should've been sold, and they should've been cheaper, or at least bundled with something that gives access to the betas too.

IDK why you talking about budged, when AOC is fully funded (or so they said).
They mentioned that they have over 100k alpha 2 testers already before some months. I doubt they need many more testers. The primary reason for those key sells is that after the initial hype of launch of alpha 2, there will be some drop in playerbase. So they just compensating with it with this Key sells. And yes, if they put small price for the keys they will end up with 500k players for testing, And this is beyond what they aiming for, since this will require a lot more servers. and those servers will require a lot more Personal to monitor and to collect data.

In the end of the day: Yes other MMO games suck, thats why we are here, waiting with years for a game that we have no idea when will release. And even more so - you shouldnt complain about pricing. If we want the game to be as great as we all hope for - then the 100$ is not that high a price.

Aszkalon

NiTr08 wrote: »

Feels Like a Cash Grab!

Will dear Sir Steven grab us by the cash ? (lol)

Please be aware that nobody is forcing us at Gunpoint to open our Wallets and support dear Intrepid.

and also Please be also aware that such a long Development time eats up Money with more Hunger than many Americans have for a Burger.

Once again i feel like a certain Company called Blizzard is mockingly laughing at me while growing fat yet again with another Expansion - but i am confident in the Years to come a much more friendly and better Community will take at least a Million Players away from it.

Permanently.

I can't wait to see Verra and it being filled with People who thirst for this Feeling of a gigantic, PvX Open World Adventure full of Wonders and an interactive World.

All which a certain Company named Blizzard delivered instead in the last handful of Years and more, were a hate-filled blackwash of Stormwind City and many other Cities in Azeroth because they were butthurt over a Man named Donald Trump,

and they ruined a legendary Character named Sylvanas Windrunner - who accompanied us through Warcraft III and most of World of Warcraft as this cool, mysterious and shady Character that we knew we would always need to be wary of.

Oof. Imagine being old enough to see all of my favourite Franchises go up and down in Flames. All only because a Sickness and Bullshit called "Woke".

I can't wait for Verra to give me the Feeling of true Fantasy back. You know ? Without all that over-the-top Cringe garbage-Storywriting and woke'fied Characters.

Make it happen, Intrepid.

unknown

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