When?

They're both lazy catchphrases that are used by people who are more concerned with being clever by utilizing general and handy labels that completely ignore specific context.

I don't give a crap if it's called a Beta or an Alpha. It is what it is, and what it is, is what it is right now*, which is SB in it's current state. At this point saying "It's Beta" is just trying to excuse the unfinished state and making the the argument "It's actually an Alpha" is trying to convince people the game is shit with a technicality in a definition.

Using sloppy rhetoric, simple thinking and an inherent prejudice to bulldoze things (or people, for that matter) into a convenient category is always a bad idea. Just ask a good Asian driver, an impolite Canadian, a sober Scotsman or a thin American.


* I think those are lyrics to an Edie Brickell tune.

 

Scrooge McDuck swims in a vault full of coins.

Don't expect to be taken seriously if you don't get your cartoon Scottish water-fowl billionaire facts straight.


EDIT: And, apropos of some other silly shit, I was almost, but not quite, right:

 

Ahh sorry, I figured there was more to towns then I could find, All i ever managed to read on it was the whining about development. Really just hearing a game called _____ forever tends to annoy me. I only said towns since it's reputation seems to match more what people think is happening with starbound (lots of promise, development "stopped" and devs took cash, which is not true IMHO), Though it both cases it is more then meets the eye. Actually I am really glad to learn more about towns then the "RAWR Xavi screwed us over, hope SMP never sale again" stuff i kept reading.

Again sorry for jumping to a conclusion. And I really do mean thanks for the info on Towns.

Edit: previous post was corrected to reflect the new information.

 

Pardon me my good sir, while I fetch the dictionary to translate your most peculiar response.

 

Ahh yes, I think I just skimmed that one for some reason. Gave it a full reread, Thanks.

 

Even if DNF reference is faulty and i won't not touch the finance aspect of the game, other things in post are quite right. Best reference, IMHO, is a little gem called "Castle Story". It's a pretty simplistic castle building simulator from kickstarter. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/902505202/castle-story It was supposed to be released almost 2 years ago. It's not out yet. Why it's similar to SB?
1) As they promoted game on KS they write a lot about the game, they showed us video of actual game process. It's all looks as "almost ready".
2) As soon as KS campaign ended, they started to rewrite the game code, they spend a year (already overlapping the release date) to remake things that were already in game. The things they showed us in videos.
3) They ignored their forums, KS page and community as a whole a lot, giving no info on the updates. They common answer was:"Can't you see we're working!". It's better now, but nobody care about this game anymore.
4) But still, i'm 100% sure their intentions weren't malicious in any way at all. They just completely overestimated their resources and abilities.

 

I was actually just talking about that today, that most the time I see claims of devs being malicious it tends to seem to me more like the devs are just inexperienced and optimistic. Most the time the issue seems to be that since the game is basically the head devs baby and not just a cash grab they tend to have biased visions of how thing will work out, Overestimated what they can do in what amount of time and not factoring in things like rewrites or RL factors. (Not to say it is impossible for a developer to be evil, trick people and do a cash grab with no redeeming reason, just that it is not as common.)

Also starbound and other games then to look finished in videos since they tend to focus those on what is done not what is placeholder art. Look in the games files at the intros, all of them are there, but I think only human, avain, and floran are done. Floran still has the recolored human settlers frame, and the rest are just a copy paste of the avian intro with some panels in an rough coloring phase that seems to have been used to test intro audio and frame sync seeing as all the intro audio is in there. I think twitch streaming is also in there but broken and some other things shown seem to have been turned or #dummied out for stability. The big issue is that the mock-up screenshots and showcase videos can give the impression something is done by either showing something not quite implemented (screenshots showing off fossils for that goal) or videos that don't show what happens if you click the second option.

Castle story does fit better, I might have to remember that one.

Not saying that the dev should be treated as gods and not be prodded to do more or do better, just that I really doubt they are trying to be scummy evil business masterminds like people tend to think.

 

We've been working towards a more substantial update for some time! I've probably said as much elsewhere (and it's been mentioned on the front page), but we're focusing on early-tier progression. Ship repairs, ship tiers and the new ship AI, then we'll be working on expanding building/farming/adventuring to become sources of income, quests, environmental hazards you'll need to overcome in early tiers. We're also working on reassigning monsters and stuff based on biomes.

Not that all of this is going to come out at once, but that's what's happening right now. And we'll continue to update people on our progress the way we did last week.
We're likely to make small updates to unstable while focusing on the bigger stuff.

 

Thanks for clarifying your plans.

I want to ask some questions: in SB tier (or game) progression = character progression? Or you could somehow progress your character in some way regardless what tier he is in? Right now, character progress tied only to tier (in form of ore and weapons tied directly to tier lvl) and as i understand other activities going to work in the same way. So, are where going to be any other way to improve your character without changing tiers? Are you planning to, maybe, add some more stats to character to allow it? Any plan to allow characters achievements in previous tiers be somehow relevant in next tiers?

 

We don't plan to add character stats. Progression is going to be a bit more based on crafting and earning pixels, which may sound tedious in the game's current state, but that's where building/farming/adventuring will come in. Earning money from crops, from completing and looting dungeons/slaying bosses, and from building houses and towns.

You'll start out needing to repair your ship to the point where you're able to travel. Once you can travel, your options will be fairly limited and you'll need to craft something that will allow you to travel to, say...a planet without a breathable atmosphere. I'm not sure what you mean by achievements, but that's certainly something that will come in handy throughout the rest of the game.

 

Thanks! I try to rephrase my question. You basically have 3 ways to progress (simplified): warrior, farmer, adventurer. So after progressing to end of the current tier each warrior\farmer\adventurer will have almost same equipment (limited by current tier) and capabilities (aside from pixels, ofc) or, if you invest some time in current tier, you can become stronger, like having a better armor, which is still relevant in next tier, or have other means to ease your life in next tier?

If i simplify my question even more: will Starbound provide any gameplay reasons to stay in current tier, after condition to move to next tier are met and your character is ready to challenge between-tier obstacle?

I mean, something what affects gameplay, but isn't mandatory to progress further. I think a device which allow you to visit different kind of worlds feel pretty mandatory in term of progress.

 

so about 2015 then?

 

I continue to remain baffled by dev studio's who are so dismisive about this simple and easy way to create content and keep their player base engaged. Especially during a beta stage when content is consumed so rapidly! No matter how big your next update will be, it will be over in a few days and we'll once again be answering these 'When' forum threads. Cmon, give us something to do.

If you made 100 achievments now, me and probably thousands of others would instantly jump straight back in.

 

It's not really as simple as just deciding which achievements to add and magicking them into existence. It'd be time-consuming, and it's time that's better spent...finishing the game. And then adding achievements to the finished game.

 

Thanks for the reply, but do you also understand that alot of people are getting tired of the wait? Alot of people on steam focus on that. I know you people hate the forums there, but be honest. Most of your money was made there! People wait and get no answers. Then all people get is...we are moving, we are this, we have that. People have heard alot of that along the line with greenlit games, etc. People need proof. Why not show more screenshots? I mean, all I really read is implementing alot of mods. Ive seen modders do a way better job than what I have seen you devs do lately. And now all I read is more talk. Sorry, I love this game, I have 3 accounts. But I do get worried on the lack of proof of progress. Just for the information. The devs of WarZ said they where doing this and doing that and even showed screens of it, but never did it. Never delivered. Get my point? Have a nice day and I hope none take offense. I am just worried.

 

It will take a while for the current flood of Early Access to settle people into new patterns. I hope eventually it will be accepted that if you want the game updated/complete NOW, Early Access is not the time to buy. (I almost long for the old days when everyone had to wait for a game to hit retail shelves before playing it. Almost. )

 

Haha, I still remember the great beta wait.

Might be nice to Keep steam forum users more informed but from my experience with them they tend to be full of venom. But maybe some for of progress update announcement would be helpful to some (copy or tl:dr the dev status updates). Maybe, I dunno.