Concerning the closed/open Beta..

You could also wait for its release, it has alot more bug fixes then a beta would have and ofcourse it will have more content.

 

Well, you have a very good point, and if I may add my own-
These are the Starbound forums. Starbound hasn't even come out yet. And yes, speculation is fun. But when the game isn't really even close to releasing yet, there isn't much to talk about on the forums. So that makes it kind of obvious that some people are simply obsessing over the forums, just to be a beta tester or moderator.
Honestly, Being a Beta tester might ruin the game for some people, and It's not about just getting to play the game early- It's about finding bugs, and playing the same parts over and over again to find bugs and fixes. Beta testers need to know what they are doing. They can't just be a few handpicked people that post here on the forums a lot.

 

Gooood.... Goood..

First if you don't want to be in Beta I don't think ya need to explain why. Out of all the things, requirement to do the beta is one of those things I have not heard yet

This is true, but it "Shouldn't" matter.. There is plenty to do, things to check if they work, bugs to try to drag out, reports to file when you do find something.. Heck maybe some tutorials to write so when the game does become public, that information can be there.. Sure you get to play first, and when the game comes out you will prob already have a few hours into the game, but do you have any idea how many hours people put into these games (Heh). A few hours.. Nothing compared to how much I played Terraria, I mean the hours, heck the days, I played that game (And I am sure there are others that put in lots more time in then me)

One thing I agree with ya on here, there will be bugs, and if you can't deal with bugs (If they ruin your "Experience") then the beta is not for you that is for sure. Though I do doubt the extreme that you list things, but I could be wrong I don't know what kind of things will still be "Actively Worked on" when the beta comes out. Still if everything you listed was not working, that's just what Beta means I mean that's why your there to point out things like Missing Animations, or Sounds, etc..

I kinda disagree with ya on this one. But if a beta is enough to "Wear ya out" then when the real game comes out the chances of you playing it for any extended period of time is small. And hey that's cool I mean, that is the thing you can play for as long or as short when the game comes out, but one hopes that the game is cool enough to keep one interested for a long... long time.

 

Well that may be true for you and other players but some people might really enjoy beta testing. Sure playing a polished game might be a much smoother and more immersive experience but someone has to help test the game before release. There are a ton of different ways to have fun playing a game and beta testing isn't really as lonely as you make it sound. It's rewarding in its own way.

 

I like how Klokinator would not only be "an amazing beta tester", but also that he considers his viewpoint "right". That isn't how enjoyment works, dude - different strokes. I love beta testing.

 

All those reasons you listed would actually make me like the game more, not less. So no, I still think you're dead wrong.

 

Have you ever actually beta tested anything? Not only have I beta tested numerous projects, I've had my own projects beta tested so I've seen both sides of the coin.

You missed the point. When I play the game, it will be complete, and immersive. Wen you beta a game, and a frustrating bug crashes the game, it breaks immersion. I played Terraria for over a hundred hours, and my first three days of playing it were at least 30 or 40 of those in themselves. Why? Because I was immersed in the "feel" of the game, nothing happened that made me go "Wtf" like enemies glitching into blocks, or sprites shifting around uncontrollable due to alignment errors, the game was complete, playable, and the theme was set. That feeling of "This boss is alive!" and not just "This is a scripted boss with predictable attacks and pre-sprited movements", that's the special part about being a regular player.

I've beta'd multiple games, most recent being Heroes and Generals. It's very fun, at first. Then comes the part where you have to report the glitches. Easy enough, if there aren't a thousand of them, but once you've typed up your 5th wall of text, it loses the fun factor. Then, it becomes like an unpaid job of sorts (Unless you're actually paid, then it's a job and not just a fun thing on the side). By the time the game is released, it's not really a game to you anymore, it's a simulated AI construct with movable images and authentic-sounding SFX.

But hey, I'm just a lone guy. Don't mind me, I'm sure you guys WOULD have a lot of fun, I'm just sharing my thoughts.

 

"Not only am I good at this, but I am also good at this and this..." "I am like totally the best to beta test this game...." "O no you're not, because my opinion is right...."

As far as I'm concern, beta testing for any game is an oppurtunity to help out the development of a game and to assist the company in its early stages, so that when the game is released, as many bugs and changes needed for the game's improvement can be added and changed for the ultimate purpose of the consumer's enjoyment when the official release comes.
Not to mention that a lot of people tend to forget the word "testing" as well as "beta", I just hope that those who are selected for this job/oppurtunity realize that beta is beta and not a demo, but I have confidence that there won't be very much of this because of the way that they said they are approaching this.

As for the whole "minecraft" thing, in all honesty, the minecraft alpha/beta wasn't a real alpha/beta, sort of like the American Revolution and the French Revolution, both "technically" are revolutions, but the French one was a much better example.

I'm not here to "back-lash" at anyone, but just to state my personal opinion about beta testing and what it should, in my perspective (its just my opinion, please don't hurt me) . Also note this, it isn't really most of you're choices on who should be involved with the beta testing, but if you go out of your way to say that "I am right to beta test because etc etc etc", I can't speak on behalf of the developers, but I think that saying things like that make you look almost solely here so that you may get into beta.

...Remember, they're watching us.... (I'm talking about you Tiy, I know you've got something hidden under that hat )

(I need to lay off the caffeine and get more sleep, X_x)

 

Minecraft is actually a poor example of an alpha/beta test. They released the game for cheap to drive themselves to finish it, but by the time
it was all said and done, the hype was gone. Prior to the official 1.0 (and days later the 1.1) release, Minecraft was everywhere, driven by the
desire to see new ideas implemented and polished. Afterward the buzz died off, the game was out, and the majority of the gaming community
was bored with it. Yes, there's still the die-hard Minecraft fans, and they still clamor over this or that bit of news about the game... but it's just
not the same.

Ultimately, the devs are going to pick who the devs are going to pick, and getting up in arms about who is and isn't going to be on the list of
desired beta testers is like fighting about who gets to try out the first elevator. Yeah, it might seem fun, but gods help you if that cable snaps.

 

I'm calling BS on that one. There was no "immersion" in Terraria, because there was no story. Is there even a story for this game?

 

I'm calling BS on that statement, because you don't have to have a story to have immersion. And, I made up my own story, as I'm sure other people did too. My idea goes along the lines of "I'm a man, possibly a man among a few, who is on a quest to build shit and kill shit and eventually kill the evil demons in this world, and I'll meet characters that know each other, and uhhh..."

...

Okay there's no story, you win.

 

There is a story in Starbound.
Of course, you will not be forced to embark on it; you can play for 2 years and never even start the main quest.

 

Really interesting point. Totally agree.

 

@Klokinator I see your point but I personally disagree. I believe it's an honer to serve people and to help fix bugs and problems in someone's system. To me, it's not about being the first to play a game, but rather to be the one to help allow those people to be the first to play it. Even if it ruins my perceptions of the game initially. I dunno, I may be wrong but that's just how I see it. ^_^

 

Look, maaan... I'll be honest wit'chaz... I wanna be the VERY FIRST (non-staff) in that Beta Test, EVER.

Like, rush all up in there and prop a chair all up on that door and hog everything to myself, man. Just listen to the joyous sounds of everyone tryin' to bash it down behind me.

Meh-heh-heh-heeeh...

... Nawww, I'm kidding. ... maybe...
Honestly, I think there may also be a misconception going around between some of the over-thinkers that if you express TOO much desire to get into the Beta, you'll be discounted for... greediness? Sure, you don't want to sound like a beggar goin' all "PLEASE LEMME PLAY THE BETA PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEOHPLEEEEEAAAAASE!?!?!?", but don't act like talking about the Beta is taboo or anything. It's gonna happen, and they're gonna have-to/want-to grab some people to play it. And you might as well let 'em know ahead of time it's cool to pick DJFlare84. No sweat. Really.

 

Maybe, but if you have played int Beta's then you have prob played games right after Beta. You have got to know how games like this can be when they first come out. I am just saying being too picky on a starting game then you can miss a good game because you can't immerse into it.

The other point I disagree with ya is that doing Beta Testing "Ruins" the game, but this is just (IMO). I am really expecting it to be bad, lots of bugs, but that is just how it is. This doesn't ruin the game for me, because playing by yourself, finding bugs, is way different from what I am going to be doing after release. This we can prob "discuss" all day so I will just leave it at too each their own.

But hey if your into development, then I hope to see ya in the "Mod" group when they finally start moddng, I am sure with all the decent ideas out there it might keep ya busy

LOL... I got 99 problems, but this beta aint one.

I just hope they start it, and get it done with so we can get to the game. This takes time though, so just got to wait. heh

 

I think what they just want us to do is talk about the game, what we'd like in it etc, the beta is just a sorta a random prize for people who participate in the forums. They could simply grab a random number gen and start picking people in the member pool that way

I find it fun to put my ideas in this forum, people put in their side of it and then the staff looks all over the forums and picks out the ones they like and think that'd work and implement it.
~Jake

 

Personally i think those that will get a Beta will be the ones that suggest the best ideas, are nicest, and with no infractions.
IE, one forum member came up with the idea of making randomly generated attributes with minerals, so that you could find copper on one planet, and another COMPLETELY different variation on another. He's also polite (Atleast from whati saw), he doesn't have an infraction (From what i saw again), and i think that since he actually HAND DREW pictures of someone examining a mineral to find out its properties he'll just be a great beta tester.

 

Personally, I think the developers will pick whoever they wanna pick.

 

I think the devs will pick the people they think will actually look for bugs instead of just playing the game.

That's why they won't pick me.