When Does The " ALPHA!" Excuse End?

[hells high 676]

Should the game have been released? Was it the responsible and right think to do to give this incomplete game to the DayZ fanbase?

 

The game wasn't released. Its not done yet. The $30 product you bought does not exist yet. What we are playing is the prototype, in development build of that product that the developers have given us access to.

 

"Alpha" is merely a development designation given to a piece of software by the developers of said software, it really does not dictate anything. They could just as easily call it "Mamalikaboobooday" and it wouldn't make a damned difference. What does dictate things is the fact that the software you are playing IS NOT FINISHED, nor is it the DayZ you paid for. The point of this early access thing is to help make that DayZ you did pay for (which we won't get for many many many months) the best $30 you've ever spent on a game.

 

There were clear warnings, and even a message from Dean that this is not a finished product and that you should not buy it. If you can't be a smart consumer and weigh what you are buying then you really shouldn't be buying things until they are all wrapped up pretty in a bow.

 

"Alpha" is a stupid excuse, but sometimes stupid complaints require stupid excuses.

[boneboys 7988]

Alpha is not an Excuse, it is a state or condition prior to beta.

The OP is not valid.

The question is : When will the beta begin ?

The answer is : When the alpha ends.

 

I'm waiting for RC1

[Pazzmon 64]

Should the game have been released as it was? YES

 

Why? Because it would have taken even longer to get all the data they need to start optimizing the game and we get to play an already amazing game. Have a problem? Deal with it, glitches happen, bugs happen, shit happens, but whilst everyone is playing the game as it should be, it helps the developers more than you think.

 

If you haven't tested a game before, be it at alpha stage or beta stage, then you have a lot to learn in being patient with testing.

 

/thread.

Edited April 30, 2014 by Pazzmon

[elLoCo 154]

The game wasn't released. Its not done yet. The $30 product you bought does not exist yet. What we are playing is the prototype, in development build of that product that the developers have given us access to.

What we play is an early version of a $/€ 50 game which you got for nearly the half, even before its release.

 

So just be pleased with the possibility the devs gave us. :thumbsup:

Edited April 30, 2014 by elLoCo

[Geckofrog7 1168]

You're right, EA should be in charge of this game, then it would be released sooner, and nobody could cry alpha.

[kichilron 8550]

You're right, EA should be in charge of this game, then it would be released sooner, and nobody could cry alpha.

 

 

It wouldn't have the name Alpha, but it would be in an alpha-like state faaar longer than DayZ.

[lipemr 160]

What we play is an early version of a $/€ 50 game which you got for nearly the half, even before its release.

 

So just be pleased with the possibility the devs gave us. :thumbsup:

 

very convenient for them to say that, then get the game in the stage it is right now, right?

 

People must be really naive if they're thinking this game will really cost more as the time passes.

[Geckofrog7 1168]

It wouldn't have the name Alpha, but it would be in an alpha-like state faaar longer than DayZ.

Edited April 30, 2014 by Geckofrog7

[elLoCo 154]

very convenient for them to say that, then get the game in the stage it is right now, right?

 

People must be really naive if they're thinking this game will really cost more as the time passes.

I don't see an increase over time either but it will cost (at least for some time) at gold release the usual price like 50€

[Dontstealmycheese 118]

Not an excuse when its the actual thing that is going on, the game is in Alpha stage development. Get the fuck over it. It ends when they are ready to move into Beta Stage development. Fucking school kiddies.

[DBC (DayZ) 9]

Excuse? :-|

[BonnyBrown 28]

Probably won't ever end, the game will be in alpha another 2+ years at least while they attempt to figure out how to make the game engine run with any efficiency with thousands of items/zombies/storages/player buildings on top of vehicles, random events, and 100+ players on a server.  Even the mod creator sees what's coming on the horizon and is jumping ship.  This level of optimization is going to be near impossible to execute, but the fanbois refuse to look at reality and will continue to blow smoke to screen out the facts.

[iongaming33@aim.com 137]

it was a minor title which only a handful of fanatics knew about, it could be allowed to fail without major reputational consequences for the developers and publishers. But it isn't: DayZ is massive now. It'll be a massive embarrassment if it flops now, or fails to realise what's been promised. 

 

The thing is, the mod WAS massive. I think the only reason that the Alpha got released was because Rocket/Dev team finally succumbed to our begging for the release (Myself included). There were no competitors that you speak of, the development could've gone on for a lot longer without a release, and, if it meant that maybe the core mechanics like zombies worked, I don't think that would've been such a bad thing. DayZ has been massive for a very long time, especially with all the spinoff mods like Epoch. The alpha release wasn't some last-ditch attempt to retain a tiny fan-base. 

[iongaming33@aim.com 137]

Alpha is not an Excuse, it is a state or condition prior to beta.

The OP is not valid.

The question is : When will the beta begin ?

The answer is : When the alpha ends.

 

I'm waiting for RC1

 

Please don't confuse the context here. I willingly bought the unfinished ALPHA, I play and enjoy it. What I'm talking about in the post is people replying to CONSTRUCTIVE criticism here on the forums with "Alpher deal with it", mentality. 

[Smokey420 (DayZ) 74]

Back in my day, you had to torrent a leaked copy of an alpha to play it, which is to say, steal it. Are you going to complain about the thing you stole? And when you pre-ordered a game, if it was available, you still didn't get alpha access. You're a bunch of ungrateful little shits.

 

 

u wot m8

 

 

we all paid 30 bucks

[bastins 14]

 

So, what I'm here to discuss is, when does that excuse stop being valid. Now, some people will undoubtedly throw out the "Beta" answer, but I'm looking for a bit more then that.

 

There is nothing more than than.  It will stop being "alpha" when the game is feature-complete and can move on to "beta."  It will stop being beta when the game is stable, polished, and ready for final release.

 

These aren't excuses from "fanboys", or cop-outs from the developers.  They're simple facts of software development; like any other line of work, there's a logical structure and workflow involved in getting the job done.

 

As for whether it was the right choice to make the alpha available now... of course it was.  Why not?  Plenty of DayZ fans know they're absolutely going to buy the game, so why not let them pre-order it now?  Better yet, why not let them play with development builds while they wait?

 

Don't want to play the development builds?...  Then don't play the development builds; just pre-order and wait for release.

 

People must be really naive if they're thinking this game will really cost more as the time passes.

 

On the contrary, you must be really naive to think there's no way the game will increase in price.  Bohemia themselves just used this model with Arma III.

 

Arma 3 alpha, $32.99

Arma 3 beta, $44.99

Arma 3 final, $59.99

 

This is not an uncommon practice with early access; don't be surprised if/when it happens to DayZ.

[qww 287]

i cant believe the amount of people who are making pointless topics like this, i think we need a new sub forum called "i cant accept that i bought an alpha game" for these types of posts, so i dont have to keep seeing them,

[weedmasta 784]

The thing is, the mod WAS massive. I think the only reason that the Alpha got released was because Rocket/Dev team finally succumbed to our begging for the release (Myself included). There were no competitors that you speak of, the development could've gone on for a lot longer without a release, and, if it meant that maybe the core mechanics like zombies worked, I don't think that would've been such a bad thing. DayZ has been massive for a very long time, especially with all the spinoff mods like Epoch. The alpha release wasn't some last-ditch attempt to retain a tiny fan-base. 

 

Almost 2 million players is indeed a tiny fan-base.../sarcasm

[tenshu 43]

 

 

 

There is nothing more than than.  It will stop being "alpha" when the game is feature-complete and can move on to "beta."  It will stop being beta when the game is stable, polished, and ready for final release.

 

These aren't excuses from "fanboys", or cop-outs from the developers.  They're simple facts of software development; like any other line of work, there's a logical structure and workflow involved in getting the job done.

 

As for whether it was the right choice to make the alpha available now... of course it was.  Why not?  Plenty of DayZ fans know they're absolutely going to buy the game, so why not let them pre-order it now?  Better yet, why not let them play with development builds while they wait?

 

Don't want to play the development builds?...  Then don't play the development builds; just pre-order and wait for release.

 

 

On the contrary, you must be really naive to think there's no way the game will increase in price.  Bohemia themselves just used this model with Arma III.

 

Arma 3 alpha, $32.99

Arma 3 beta, $44.99

Arma 3 final, $59.99

 

This is not an uncommon practice with early access; don't be surprised if/when it happens to DayZ.

 

You must be even more naive if you think you won't see it for $15 in a steam sale.

[zeroy 240]

So long story short: My concern is not that development is slow, or that I paid for this game, my concern is that the patching actually makes the game worse. Because I love this game!...still. It's good that they released it, now they have the money to make more out of dayz.

 

Fair enough. I think part of the problem is the pressure the devs are under and in particular Dean to deliver roadmaps and such... they/he will announce fireplace for end of April but a show stopping bug comes in and delays all... Im not bothered so far. The game, while far from complete, is already well playable and im having fun just as it is now :D anything else is gravy from there on.

[Jumbaliah 113]

Didn't read your post, or anyone elses posts, but i think the answer is when the game is in beta. Then it's "ITS BETA DUDE, OF COURSE ZOMBIES ARENT DONE" then when the game is "fully released" it's "DUDE, THE GAME JUST CAME OUT. DON'T EXPECT ZOMBIES TO BE PERFECT" 

[Jumbaliah 113]

or when H1Z1 comes out because no one will be playing this game to play the beta card. :)

[nanookrubbedit 1]

Please don't confuse the context here. I willingly bought the unfinished ALPHA, I play and enjoy it. What I'm talking about in the post is people replying to CONSTRUCTIVE criticism here on the forums with "Alpher deal with it", mentality. 

 

 

What I gather from your posts in this thread is that you bought the game knowing it would be broken, but you don't think that the excuse given at the time you bought the game is valid anymore? It seems like you bought it understanding that it would not function properly, but now you've come to regret that decision because of how slow the development is going. I've only played for a week and I feel like I'll be in the same boat soon enough, once the novelty of the game has worn off and I'm running into glitches on top of bugs on top of errors.

 

You seem to be angry that random people are still living by the "this is an alpha, and won't work properly" credo, but what else is the average user supposed to say? Is everyone supposed to admit "oh, you're right, this game was released early and the glitches/bugs make it an inferior gaming experience at the moment"? Yes, these people are hindering your constructive criticism, but your criticism just opens up the can of worms that this game isn't very far in its development. Most people would rather not focus on how long it will take to get a working product, since it's depressing to think of the beta not even starting until next year, so they just let "this is alpha, it's not supposed to work properly" be the motto they live by. You're reminding people that they paid $30 for a broken game, and they naturally get defensive and fall back on the only excuse anyone has given them.

[NagsterTheGangster 388]

It ends HERE!!!

 

If its common knowledge then why must it be repeated so often!?

[Sistinas1973 50]

5 pages and I still don't get it. You keep making the same rebuttal about the release of the game to the public (paying 30 dollars is irrelevant). "This is alpha" is an excuse drummed up by the public. When has Dean Hall posted on these forums saying "alpha is alpha?" When has a developer tweeted that "alpha is alpha?" Not once, ever, that I can recall. The admins that run these forums have nothing to do with the development of Dayz. Alpha doesn't have a time limit. The developers covered their collective asses quite well with that disclaimer you see every time you load the game. That's all there is too it. There is no debate, there is no opinion. When the developers have added the content they feel is pertinent for release, they will do so. Nothing you or anyone else can say can change that. 

 

This game is very much playable in the state that it is in. In fact, I would say it's much more playable than the last couple of builds. You got stuck in a wall? You had to press the number key 3 times instead of 1 to draw your weapon?, you rubber banded 5 ft after exiting that house? Cry me a river man. It's not that bad. 

Edited April 30, 2014 by Sistinas1973