I think it's safe to say that the only reason we don't know when the beta's coming out is because the devs themselves don't know exactly when the beta's coming out (beyond sometime this year). They have absolutely nothing to gain by deliberately holding the date back if it already exists. Once they have a date where they know without a single doubt that they can deliver the beta experience they promised, they will tell us. But until they have that date, they're not going to just take a shot in the dark with it. No one wants a repeat of the December 2012 estimation.
Fair enough, but for good measure too. Personally though, I just think that we, the community in general need to respect Tiy's working ethics here. If he is a completionist, it is only fair that he be allowed to work on the game as he sees fit before beta, and also after its official release. Not many can actually question Tiy's revered determination to make Starbound a quality Sandbox contender right? Now, isn't is a little unreasonable that we expect him to be all half-baked and release the beta now, but yet at the same time expect him to be the 'Tiy' he always was, churning out new features and quality content on a constant rate after we get our grubby hands on the beta? Just saying, gotta respect his working ethics, is all! Your opinion might differ and that is perfectly fine! It's just that, by seeing it this way, it at least makes me a happy camper here at Chucklefish camp!
Actually quite the opposite. Let me first preface this by saying it feels like people here have lost track of that respect means. Being overly polite, apologetic, and complementary with each and every post is not being respectful. It's not being disrespectful, they just have nothing to do with one another. I have respect for Tiy and Chucklefish. If i didn't, i wouldn't have bought a copy of the game for all my friends, as well as another four pack that i gave out to some of the people on this forum who could not get the game themselves. All the while with the intent that knowing that money goes toward helping this group of people thrive. Not once have i said anything nasty about a single person on the dev team. I voice my opinions and views, and i do so my way. I don't feel the need to be "OMG THANK YOU" with every post. I have thanked Tiy for starting development on this game in the very beginning when i first discovered it was being created and not once have i gone back on that. It's a huge shame that i feel like i need to put disclaimers like this now and then what with the odd mentality of some of the community. Criticism is not disrespect. All that said, i don't feel like Tiy's work ethics have been fully shown. All we have to go on is what is stated on the forums. So far he's kept to the daily updates which is awesome, but at the same time the roadmap has been very sub par in it's goal, and the ask us anything thread was ambitious but seemingly forgotten. Until the game is released, Beta is opened up, or something else is done that shows us what Tiy has been up to, we really cannot talk about his work ethic. Another disclaimer: I'm not calling him lazy or anything like that. Just stating what's been done and shown. I am sure he is working hard (Not being sarcastic, seriously) but this is what we have actually seen. I trust Tiy wants this game to be a quality sandbox game. His description of what this game will be is exactly what every developer should use as a guide for the kind of things they should reach for in their game. Do not limit yourselves. Make the game to have it exist, not to milk as much cash as you can from your customers. Show that you care and are planning to put forth pure quality and that money will come in, making both you and your community happy. I have no beef with what Tiy is making, only with the way things have been going as of late. As for being unreasonable to push forth a half-baked Beta? I don't think a beta at this stage would be half baked at all. Again, i can only go off of what i have seen, but it seems like many of the days are tackling bugs, streamlining things, making things run smooth, etc.. This is fantastic, but i think (with many things) they have things a bit out of order. Core shit first. Debugging core stuff next. Add on/flavor stuff next. Debug all the rest. Release. Beta should be somewhere during the addon/flavor stuff. Doesn't have to be after it's all done. Why is Beta so important to me? If you've read even one of my posts in another thread i think i've made it pretty clear: Something is better than nothing. We all want this game, some want it more than any other game before it. The whole shebang would be phenominal, but since that's obviously not a possibility i am sure people would prefer a taste rather than absolutely nothing until it's all completely done. If this was just a run of the mill sandbox, or a clone of another game, no one would care. We'd all sit here politely waiting or just go play something else. This is a bit more than just that, and i think that one fact is something even the super polite, ultra patient people can agree with me on. So what is it i'm trying to say here? Simple. While i respect Tiy and the rest of the team at CF, i feel some decisions were poor. A lot of things could have possibly been done or approached better in my opinion and i voice them. Since money talks the loudest in today's world i'll let my actions speak for me. I so far bought two 4-packs, and am 100% happy that i did so. I hope that each and every person who gets a copy thanks to me enjoys this game as much as i think i am going to. I wanted to buy more but until i see something that i personally feel is a good move i don't think i will. But in no way do i feel they have not earned each and every pre-order they have.
Given the limited amount of exposure of development insight we garner through the forums etc, your guess is as good as mine and there is no right nor wrong in this matter entirely. I applaud you for being so thorough in your explanation and it is indeed a welcome read. In regards to Tiy's working ethics, you are right, there is no way we can entirely gauge whats brewing up at the Chucklefish hut. I would like to think of all these as mere speculations on my part, which I choose to believe in. Likewise, in all of my post, I have never singled out anyone, and is mainly speaking my mind on the general trend that I have witnessed. See, I just did a disclaimer right there, so I totally understand where you are getting at. While I advocate for the golden mean, I will never denounce constructive criticism as well. Lastly, I tip my hat to you for how well you so eloquently put it!
I'm not a fan of durability systems in games like these, I hate minecraft because of it, though I guess I could mod it out.
Durability & permanent breakage is the single biggest reason I haven't wanted to get Minecraft... if nothing in the game is gonna be trustworthy or reliable, might as well never use anything but one's Fists in that game... not to mention after a hell of a lotta Items break in the end, will one eventually run outta Resources to craft stuff with & never again be able to HAVE High Tier Stuff? Screw that. Thank goodness Starbound's not doin permanent item breakage, but still... I worry about if Mining Toll Durability is gonna be an unfun part of the game, especially for us Glitches... but when the Beta comes out, i'm fully willing to work with the System & give it a chance to squash my fears if it can.
