Why I could play the Alpha, but won't

Gameplay
#1

Ahoi.

I wonder, if I am alone with my Sentiments.

I could get and play the Alpha of KC:D, but I will not do so. I have noticed recently, that open Betas are more and common, and now open Alphas are increasingly common as well.

There are of course certain Benefits to these, but also Drawbacks.

I have noticed, from observing other People’s let’s-Plays etc., as well as limited personal experiece, that the “Wow”-Effect of Games definately suffers from early Access.

When you play the Game, after Months of Alpha and Beta access, the whole World is “old” and not so much a new Place to explore. You already know the Nooks and Crannies, the People and the World. As the Features and Content slowly keept trickling down into the Gameplay, there is not a grand opening Feeling about the final Game, where you are hit with all the Grandeur and novelty, are suddenly in a new World that is yours to coquer and explore.

I don’t want to ruin this very special Game for me, so I won’t go with the Alpha, and will try to keep off the Beta as well.

Regards,

Lutz

3 Likes
#2

I know it gets less interesting when I see the things already in the alpha version. Though in my opinion this project deserves to be successful. And therefore it needs our feedback.
When I look at the whole game industry it makes me sick. Because I see only a few games that are made for self-fulfilment but the rest are objects to make quick money, bugs everywhere, no support and so on. And I believe that this game can show that there are other ways. And I hope that it will show that these ways work much better.
So I will enjoy the game but also enjoy it being successful and show companies like EA or Blizzard that they are wrong. And well there was a time when I considered buying games from them but it seems to be over.

1 Like
#3

For most games I would agree with this argument but not for an open world game. I have spent countless hours scouring the landscape of Cyrodiil (TES - Oblivion) on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC; Over the 9 years since its release you can bet that I have gotten to know every nook and cranny in that game and I still love going back to it.

A well made open world experience will keep you coming back even after you think you have found everything there is to discover.

I spent over twenty minutes looking at waste pile mesmerized by its beauty, it looked so damn real I swear I could almost smell it. The alpha barely scratches the scale of the map, with so much micro detail in one area alone your gonna spend 10 hours gameplay just taking in the magnitude of the environment.

no matter how much we see before the general public even us backers are gonna have our minds blown upon release.

For me personally being apart of the process keeps my expectations within the realms of reality; instead of sitting around daydreaming and torturing myself thinking of the possibilities only to be presented with a final product that wont come anywhere close to what I expected or wanted ( i.e. TES - Skyrim).

For any other game type I would completely agree I have a few games in my steam library i will never play when they are released from Early Access Purgatory.

1 Like
#4

Same thing here!

I stated the 0.1 Alpha, played for about 1 hour and closed it forever. Don’t want to spoil any fun of the game once it is released. Yet to play 0.2 version - maybe I’ll try it to see what updates had been done to the initial game. But it will be a short glipmse at most. Don’t get me wrong, I adore what @warhorse does, but I don’t want to ruin my experience. After several good (modesty isn’t my strong side) suggestions I made and was assured they’ll be considered, I feel there is nothing more I can contribute to this wonderful game Deliverance. The devs obviously know what they are doing and there are many more people to help with bug reports and such - there is no need to repeat the same posts all over.

#5

I won’t either.
I had that sad experience with Wasteland 2. I played several times all the betas and when they finally released the game, I knew that the first hours would be (almost) the same as before, so I had some time till really get to enjoy the final game.
I know the feedback the devs get from alpha and beta testers is a very important part of the development, but as @lutzderlurch said, there is something that its lost when you play the final game.
Maybe I’ll try some alphas and/or betas, but not all. I tried (and loved) 0.1, but I don’t want to spoil the game this time playing all of them (although that alchemy quest is REALLY tempting!).

#6

That are true words for the current Game industry time!
Good examples for this situation are The Forest, The Long Dark, Miscreated, The Deadlinger, Survarium, DayZ, Destiny, etc.

And @McWonderBeast
You’re right! Modifications will bring you back to many games.
Sometimes after days, sometimes after weeks or after several years.
But that is another shoe… mostly of released DevTools.
How many things you can modify with them, which sections, parts of the engine.

Personally, I want to play the beta until I fall asleep in front of the PC from exhaustion.
I will start a Release Party for it in my home with a very awesome Beamer and 1x or maybe 2x crates of beer. Some invitations for some high skilled players from my hometown.
They liked my Black Mesa Source Release Party

#7

I feel the same way, which is why I haven’t tried the alpha either. I enjoy reading articles and interviews, seeing screenshots etc., but when it comes to actually playing the game, I’d rather come to it as ‘unspoiled’ as possible.

#8

I actually never mentioned mods.

This is my sentiments exactly.

#9

Oh kk… read it again :-/
Now i understand… but for me it is a 50/50 chance to go back.
Okay KCD will not the same as TES for me.
because they are from different genre. :blush:

#10

As you all know, the current state of the game is a Tech Alpha with a little village. Nothing has been unveiled yet regarding the story and I guess that might happen in the later stage of the beta, but for Alpha it’s all about technical features, not overall content.

I’ve played the Beta of Don’t Starve, which had a way different experience than the current version. They added features in the later stage which heavily needed some balancing, which is the reason why I stopped playing that game for a while. Later on I gave it a try again and it was not that unbalanced anymore.

Starbound has a similar evolution. The first versions had barely any story and now (at least in the unstable build) you have lots of quests and progressions, new items, limitations and balancing. And this game is still not a stable full release. Therefore I can’t wait to see more of it. The quests are not spectacular but the missions are demanding for single player.

Both games are more or less open world games, both relying on the core mechanics of survival, but those mechanics need proper balancing. For KC:D the focus relies on the story and that’s something, that can’t be made possible in the Alpha. Who knows how (and when) we’re going to experience the Beta. I’d rather test it now to help provide a successful release, so we can experience Act II and Act III.

2 Likes
#11

i hope they keep it as only small parts of the game and no story parts at all , so that the game does still feel like a new game as said above .

they can test all the mechanic’s without showing to much im sure

#12

No! I want the Jerry Quest in the game!!! :smiley:

Please!!!
(Blood out of his a…) :wink:

#13

I’m waiting for them to introduce the combat. As soon as that happens I`m in.

#14

Hey guys,
I bought into the Tech Alpha so i could be part of the testing process, to see how the game develops over time and lend support to the company making the game.
I totally understand people not wanting to buy in early, as it may ruin the game for them.
For me, the joy is in seeing the game develop into a full product, that i don’t think i will get tired of any time soon.
Just my two cents.
Cheers,
C.

1 Like
#15

Im not playing it because there is no save and I dont have enough time to calmly finish that quest in one take.

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