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The difference between Open Beta & Launch
dmz1969
Member Posts: 1 Arc User
A great many people complain about downtime and patches and are answered by the ubiquitous "It's beta."
It's early in the game's run, so fixes will be common and downtime regular, but not because "It's beta."
In the era of Free-to-Play, the distinction between Open Beta and Launch has become very blurry. At least from the player's perspective.
In the "Old Days", open betas were a chance for the player base to try out the game before shelling out their hard earned cash, but that no longer applies. The money we spend in the cash shop is just as real now as it will be after "Launch".
Thus, from the players' perspective, there is zero difference between the two.
In this day and age, "Open Beta" IS launch.
It's early in the game's run, so fixes will be common and downtime regular, but not because "It's beta."
In the era of Free-to-Play, the distinction between Open Beta and Launch has become very blurry. At least from the player's perspective.
In the "Old Days", open betas were a chance for the player base to try out the game before shelling out their hard earned cash, but that no longer applies. The money we spend in the cash shop is just as real now as it will be after "Launch".
Thus, from the players' perspective, there is zero difference between the two.
In this day and age, "Open Beta" IS launch.
Post edited by dmz1969 on
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If you choose to pay for a game in beta (or rather, virtual goods inside the game), that's your choice and you get what you pay for. I have not chosen to pay anything.
Yes, the line between "launch" and "open beta" is thin; but for a purely F2P game like this one, it doesn't actually matter.
+1
So, what exactly is the difference between trying it out now and after "Launch"? None. Zero. Zilch.
Open Beta is launch.
Yes it's a beta. Learn what beta/open beta means in software development before you try to talk.
Let's see... go to the home page: "Now in Open Beta!" Fancy that.
If they say it's beta, it's beta. The option to pay for stuff in it doesn't change that.
Software vs game is way different when it comes to versions and betas, do YOUR research before you decide to be a ******
"Open Beta" is a disclaimer. That's all. That's all it should be.
It means, when developers do things that are completely normal and to be expected during betas (like push out patches, tweak balance, and do maintenance) people should shut up about it and get over it. If you didn't want to pay for a game in beta, nobody forced you to. It is entirely possible to play this game like an open beta of the "Old Days", as you described it.
Whether it's a "launch" or not is a bunch of meaningless semantics. They launched an open beta. So what?
They've said there won't be a wipe. Was there some point you were trying to make, or did you honestly not know that?
i work in game development. go home.
oh look, someone who believes everything they read, you're such a free thinker.
I7 4770k OC////Asus formula VI extreme////seasonic platinum 1000w PSU////GTx 780TI SC////32 ghz ram kingston hyperX predators////NXZT phantom 820
The transition from beta to launch will be nothing but a statement from the company. There will be no change from the players' point of view. There will still be patches and downtown after launch. The hours that we put into our toons will still be there. No wipes will happen.
As far as the player base is concerned, "Launch" occurred the moment "Open Beta" commenced.
Launch is only really an important thing in classic, fixed release software. Your Calls of Duty and your Final Fantasies, games that don't change after release. MMOs do not fit in the same neat definition as more static games; an MMO can dramatically change from patch to patch, expansion to expansion, while a typical single-player game cannot.
So, why does the term matter? Why make such a big deal about it? If they want to call it open beta, it literally doesn't affect you at all. They could call it Purple Parallel and it would still be exactly the same.
By the literal definition of what "Open Beta" means, Neverwinter still falls within it. They could have called it launch, as well, but they chose not to for whatever reason. And it makes no difference at all.
If this is an open testing of the game, then why can't I respec freely and test?
::snicker:: really so a game isn't software?
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This is for you, and any other idiot who thinks this is beta. First off, NO BETA takes money from players. EVER. Also, this game is LIVE, LAUNCHED, and RELEASED. Says so on PWE's Homepage! Don't believe me?
Smoke@stonedbill - Mindflayer - 60 Rogue
Excellent so your not going to complain when the devs completely rip out some cherished system and rebuild it. Right?
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is that related to anything or you havent had your pills today?
I7 4770k OC////Asus formula VI extreme////seasonic platinum 1000w PSU////GTx 780TI SC////32 ghz ram kingston hyperX predators////NXZT phantom 820
The constant refrain of "It's Beta" was just getting on my nerves.
I completely accept that there will be downtime and patches. In fact, I applaud the devs for staying on top of the issues.
I simply don't accept that the company's label of "Open Beta" changes the fact that the game is now live.
The designation "beta" only makes sense if there is an actual difference to release, doesn't it? There is a common understanding about what beta should be though, they just intentionally mislabeled it to sell more. I wouldn't entirely blame that on cryptic though, the cashmongers in the games industry have eroded the term for long enough before them..
In a nutshell:
unfinished product, chances to test stuff, wipe at the end => beta
finished product, working cash shop, no wipe => release
Them selling apples as oranges doesn't change that at all, but obviously some people like falling for that.
http://nw-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?18401-Neverwinter-Extended-FAQ
But, I did not realize that this was for the early access to the Beta which strikes me as odd and that's my mistake.
If the Beta discovers a crazy exploit (like, say, some foundry XP exploit) then one would think that they would do a wipe before going "live" with the game. But, I guess they are just using the term "beta" to mean, "the game is totally open and released but there may be bugs so we'll call it a beta and hope people don't get upset that we've fully released the game with lots of bugs."
Whether it is a beta or not is solely at the discretion of the developers. It's a term for a stage of development. There is no other basis for calling it a beta or not other than how the developers decide to classify their software.
What you call "free thought" on this point is simple denial of reality.
Yes, this is true. I thought you were saying that complaints about downtime and patches were warranted because it's "Launch" not a real "Open Beta". Perhaps you weren't, but it looks like others in this thread have that point of view.
Your claim is that the game isn't in open beta. Mind you a launched game can do all that as well but it is expected for changes to happen in open beta. I'm simply stating that since your claim is that the game isn't in open beta you must not be going to make any complaints when beta type changes do happen. Right?
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Because the developers didn't decide to permit us that testing option?
Basically this, once you can and have paid for it, it is launched and production. Beta isn't just a label they decide to apply, it is a distinction between a finished product and an unfinished one. This is a launch in everything but name only. If you can't discern that for yourself, then I have some prime beach front property in the swamp to sell you. Gullible people...sheesh.
We need a new term.
So you mean I haven't seen major software companies selling copies of their beta software? Wow.
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