Important BETA RELEASE DISCUSSION - DECEMBER 4TH (*ALL* beta discussion goes here. Other threads deleted)

I honestly try to avoid all beta discussion. I believe the devs can take all the time they need. That said, I really think and have thought for awhile that we will have a date by the end of the week. I will honestly be surprised if Novembers chronicle doesn't contain the date. Reasons:

1. Tiy said a long time ago they are trying to get the whole team to london to celebrate thanksgiving together (even though he isn't american) Seems like perfect time to celebrate beta release to me.
2. Molly said in last months chronicle that she hopes to have something more exciting this month.
3. Lore has been added to 3 dungeons and they are focusing on bugs more and more.
4. i swear I had more reasons but I can't remember them...
5. Oh yeah, Tiy told someone on IRC that he was hoping for next month release.

So it's all just speculation but you have to admit signs are pointing that way.

 

That's pretty accurate since the game probably won't be out until Christmas anyway.

 

ba-zing

 

Don't be silly... Everyone knows Tiy is going to release it on new years eve.

 

Chinese or normal?

 

Aztec...

 

Wording from the pre-order page:

"Thank you for supporting us! Your purchase will go directly towards the development of the game and help us to get it into everyone's hands sooner. We'll have a beta available this year and we'll email you when a download link is available. You'll also be sent a steam key"

Hmmm, sounds like your funding development doesn't it? If you missed this part, it is only on you for failing to understand how your money is being used.

Paco

 

Anyway - anyone think of anything else that needs to be on that list? Looking good to me. Thoughts suggestions.. anything?
We seem to be getting sidetracked from that..

 

Did you even read that yourself?
"Your purchase will go directly towards the development of the game"
"Your purchase"
You are supporting the development by purchasing the game before it is released, this is what is stated. Funding is providing money for a particular purpose, purchasing is acquiring something by paying for it. You are paying money to acquire Starbound, not to fund the development, what the money is used for after the purchase is made has nothing to do with the purchase itself.

 

I just hate when people say they know answers, but they obviously don't.

 

Ok I have finished tweaking the questions list. I adjusted wording, tried to find all the typos and more obvious grammar errors, and changed the order of the questions so that they are sort of grouped by the general areas they touch on at large.
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1.When doing work on the game what is the thought process that goes into deciding what feature to work on next? Is there a guide or plan in the place that is directing the development, is it on an as needed basis, is it random as in hey this is great lets put this content in, or is it something else like combination those things?

2.Now that the dev team has more progress as a team and made more progress in the games development, what goals if any has the team set for themselves and what is the general plan to reach those goals?

3.What are the minor or smaller features vs the Key or Vital features ? How have the Key or vital progressed development wise ?

4.Why is adding monsters, bosses, mini-biomes, and dungeons important for beta? Some of the community feel they are not necessary for a sandbox beta but are key to a more final release or future post beta updates. Couldn't this material be added after a beta release as either updates or part of a complete game release?

5.Why is it important that the Story Line must progress to a certain point before Beta? Certain content like how to play the game and basic quests is notably important but the story would not be necessary for a beta. So why stress over getting the Storyline out, when you can hold it off until Full Release?

6.Now that the game is near beta are any sort of system specs information available to the public?

7.What can players possibly expect as far as in game progression in the beta?

8.We have not heard much on party or multiplayer mechanics and many in the community feel this is something important to have for beta. Some also believe the devs are still disabling certain things to make multiplayer work. Is this accurate? If so are there plans, if any, to get functioning party/multiplayer in before beta? If it is not accurate what is the current status of the party/multiplayer part of the game?

9.For the multiplayer sessions how will players connect to said session? Will this be from a centralized server(s) like in an MMO or will it be handled by individuals and other private hosting options like player hosted games or someone setting up their own dedicated server?

10.Considering the size of the game will there be an easy way to find player populated planets on a multiplayer server?

11.While the game will be available on steam and benefit from it's patching service, will there be any non-steam alternatives? If so how will patching be handled for those alternatives?

12.Some of the community are worried that the dev team will miss another deadline by the end of the year and just further delay beta and/or full release. While we understand the teams view behind taking their time to work on the game, the community would be more comfortable with either a earlier release or an actual "set will be met" date for at least beta. We know the absolute latest date beta is intended for 12/31/13 for a date something more specific then just end of the year statement. Can either of these conditions possibly be met?

13.Do the devs believe there is a possibility of the beta being delayed to 2014? If yes, why do they believe that may happen?

14.The community and the dev team are well aware of the delays in the past. With that in mind has anything been done to try and arrive at announced goals in a more timely manner?

 

Most of those questions have already been asked, in one form or another. I understand trying to promote forum harmony through this list, but I don't think the devs will (or should) feel any obligation to answer any of those questions any further than they already have. Most of the questions are born of desire for the beta, but getting answers to them isn't going to make the beta come any faster. The last time a list like this was compiled, and the questions answered, the answers only served to frustrate people and prompt even more questions.

Many of those questions are redundant and could be combined (1, 2, 12, 13, 14), or show a lack of understanding of how team development works and where SB is at in the development process (3, 4, 5). There are some good questions on there that may have been passed over in the past, but if you lump them in with the beta questions you'll be less likely to get a response.

 

Why is beta some taboo subject we must not approach the developers about? Why should we not expect the developers to answer reasonable questions? Considering it is what all the buzz is about right now it only makes sense that questions would revolve around it. More so after Tiy's airing of views on delays and other mistakes that have made people concerned.

My only problem is? The way this asks on some questions is a bit to diplomatic and open to interpretation - broad strokes that yes they can chose to say we answered that already as an out for.

That only hurts them in the long run though. So people involved can only hope they wont. After all - how does it look if the community keeps approaching them reasonably and they keep responding with unclear answers, unsatisfactory ones, or are dismissive? It is fairly clear there are problems.. I think we can say that safely.

Just not on this side of the equation. This is all about Chucklefish in the end in every way, not the community.

 

You must know you are playing a semantical word game at this point? Yes a "purchase" (an entire point Zody obliterated you with) supports the development of their game the same way buying Call of Duty Ghosts helps activision develop their next annual installation of Call of Duty.

 

It's not that it's taboo, but that the devs have already answered all of the questions that they see as reasonable. The problem is that when they give an answer that you don't like, you claim they have not answered and then ask the question over and over, usually with some mild rephrasing. At that point it becomes a misuse of their time to even read such questions.

The problem is that the community is not always approaching them reasonably, and they don't always agree on what counts as a satisfactory answer. In fact, we can't even agree (as a whole) on whether or not there are problems. None of this looks out of the ordinary to me for a normal design process. Game delays happen, especially with new teams. I don't see a problem here. You do. But just because you see a problem does not mean the devs need to answer invasive questions about their work.

 

For pinning down a release date for a release of a game, delays do happen but that doesnt always been they are acceptable as they should be able to get a general idea of a date (Year/Month) before narrowing it down, but the problem is that they can't even narrow a date for the beta within a two month period, a beta, that is being marketed as a product itself, only leads me to believe that we probably wont get a full release until 2015 at the earliest (Not that it matters once we get our hands on the beta)

 

The thing is that they haven't even given an answer. If they just came out and said Beta delayed to 2014 (something I would consider not satisfactory), then lots of people wouldn't have a problem with how they are communicating. I for one would think: "fine, as long you stop beating around the bush". The problem is that the backers are going off of information half a year old. It's basically November now and still they haven't given any sort of window for a 2013 Beta release officially. The closest thing is that Tiy said in a chat "November maybe" which I'm sure most people take as seriously as "Summer 2012" however many delays ago. I'm not sure how you interpreted "why aren't you saying anything informative regarding Beta" as an "invasive question", but even so they don't HAVE to answer but there should be some semblance of responsibility to those who purchased a pre-order for a 2013 Beta release, especially when January is drawing nearer and nearer and it's only looking grim.

 

Maybe we can't as one unified whole, true enough. We don't even agree on what the problems are exactly between all of us. Still, other then leaving our thoughts here and discussing things.. this is about it as far as options go. May as well try.

There are others, but most people are holding off and waiting to see what Chucklefish does before that.

 

I agree that there's been a lot of beta ranting, and I'm on the "let's wait till the end of the year" side (opinions )
But there's nothing wrong with asking questions
Yeah, some of those have been answered before, but tbh, some of those are really good questions!
I'd like to know how good is the game optimized and what are the recommended specs as of now, since that estimative of "running at 60 fps with a macbook air" was way before some of the graphical improvements (npc villages, dungeons and particle stuff, like rain)

 

Here's how Chucklefish can put a lot of minds at ease: With every update post, slip in a line at the end that says "Beta release: December 31, 2013, Full release: Q2 2014." As they get more up-to-date information they can update that line.
I think a lot of people's problem is they think the team is holding information back. I know they aren't, but I've been checking back into these forums every couple of weeks hoping there would be news on the release and slightly disappointed when there isn't. At this point I think people would feel less anxious to know that it would be released ON December 31st than to be left wondering if it may be released BEFORE December 31st. I know I would.

Or they can go with my "Release date to announce the date where they'll announce the date to let us know when the release date is" idea I posted on here earlier.