Why I think that the beta should be nearly completely closed...

I think the people who are arguing against an open beta due to dislike of spoilers are sick of trying to bring us around to their views

 

It's not just the argument against the spoilers of the individual; it's about the worry that the whole community will be spoiled if any information gets leaked.

The proposal is that people in the beta actually test for the beta, not loosely play the game early. Everyone on the release date (bar the few testers) would feel the sense of discovery when it is fully released and ready at the proper date.

 

Not sure if anyone is aware of this fact or not, but spoilers are already right in front of us.

All the information we've gathered from the staff so far are spoilers. As the release gets closer we have more of an understanding of how a lot of the mechanics in the game will work, what type of content we should expect, etc. Apparently people seem to want to believe that the only way to ''spoil'' the game is by seeing actual video of the game, when in actuality reading information is ''just as bad''. I'm guessing everyone against spoilers is also avoiding Blue's Collection of Info? Lots of spoilers in that post, and more to come.

Once Chucklefish releases official trailers doesn't that also ''spoil'' the game? Of course, by a lot of the logic being shared in this thread. Apparently being shown basic gameplay spoils the entire thing for some people. Since a lot of people here want to use Terraria as an example: How much of current Terraria is the same as when it was being ''spoiled'' during its beta phase? Only basics, and the same will be for Starbound.

The only way to avoid spoilers is to completely avoid any Starbound information until the day you see that it's been fully released and ready to buy, otherwise you're going to have spoilers in your face.

 

I totally agree, making a beta/alpha will ruin the suprise factor. I hope they don't ruin it like Notch did to Minecraft with pre-releases.

 

I think we're all missing the point of a beta. It's not to get information on the game out, it's recruiting the whole community to find bugs the devs might have missed to make the game as good as possible. That's why small teams such as Mojangd or Terraria are prone to betas.

 

Yes, but the more people that work on the beta, the more leaks there will be. I'm OK with the spoilers, they're just images that bring endless speculation. If they keep a good amount clouded up, it would be pretty exciting to have a community gathering talking about the game and the unknown things somebody has found.

 

I argue against the notion of the whole community being spoiled with info. One person doesn't speak for the whole community therefore it's easier for the individual to control their own consumption of media.

As for beta testers actually testing the game, well lets hope they do their duty. Ultimately though it's not something we can control.

 

Even though I would give my little toe to play this game.. I think you are right. The mystery is a massive factor when playing a game, and with masses of information being widely available if it goes into open beta. I do think it will take away from the experience a little.

 

Although it is possible, it is very hard to resist the urge to see some info or gameplay, especially when it is always in your face because of sites like YouTube.

 

The argument might continue then to determining the definition of "Spoiler", because, as said above, those pictures, and later, trailer videos, are all technically "Spoilers". So what does spoiler mean to you? Something that shows gameplay? Anything related to the game at all? Something that walks you through quests? Something that shows you a bunch of different items to look at? What exactly is a spoiler to the community?

For me the line-drawn exists at where I might learn hints to solving/completing missions/quests. At that point, I stop listening/reading, and utilize the conscious thought to do so. What about you guys?

 

I don't think that it should be completetly closed. How about just restricing the content in the beta so that there's still lots to discover and learn about? Seeing and hearing about the mechanics and gamplay would help get people more interested in the game.

 

Personally I don't mind watching trailers and teasers. I avoid lets plays of games that aren't released yet but I don't mind watching extended demos (GW2 for example). So keeping that in mind, I'm definitely not one that's worried about a game being spoiled for me because I have the self-control to know when stop watching/reading/searching.

 

Some others don't, including me. I have the urge to look up all of the damn information about a game even though I'm telling myself that I don't want to be spoiled. It's just an urge, unless I completely dedicate myself completely towards an information black out.

 

But... don't you get enjoyment out of it then?

 

A different type of joy to discovering things myself.

 

i dont mind either way, the game is only spoiled if one seeks spoilers

 

I would prefere to play the complete game, but I would only play the beta if it was the sandbox mode alone. I would much prefere to play the story when the game is 'finished'.

 

Then why should we be punished for your lack of selfcontrol.

 

Advertise this game all you want once you have actually released it to all of us, but don't play in to the hands of youtubers just so they can boost their view count and YouTube income.

 

I think just have no beta at all it will ruin the surprise.