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A Beta is a Complete Game
ScrimMaltese
Member Posts: 469
Enough with this "oh it's in beta!" nonsense.
A Beta, is the last stage of testing. A Beta is when all the major features of a game have been implemented and the company is asking people to make sure they all work they way they were planned to have worked.
If a game completely lacks content, then it's not a Beta, it's an Alpha. (I'm not talking about consumable content, like raids/dungeons/etc, core gameplay content) Such as the current case with Xyson and the fairly recent release of MO. These games claim to be in Beta, when in reality they are still in Alpha. When you play these games, they are really nothing more than a client test, to make sure the client itself actually works and some of the very extremely basic things actually work. These games actually weren't even very far into Alpha testing, when they were/are claiming to be Beta.
DCUO Beta was actually a Beta. Pretty much everything was there and they were just ironing out the kinks. Granted, their planning for endgame doesn't seem to have been all that great, but all the content of the game was already there. You didn't have 1 class with 1 skill that you just did over and over again, you had everything there that made the entire game.
Rift Beta was actually a Beta. I didn't play it, but I watched videos and read the forums here. It was actually a Beta.
Minecraft Beta is a Beta. Everything is there, they are testing the features that are there and adding in a few more minor things to make the game better as it goes along. All the very basic elements that make the game a game, were implemented during Alpha.
Hell, even Fallen Earth was a Beta. I lost faith in them after launch, due to not really progressing the game they way they should have post-launch, but their Beta was actually a Beta.
Stop reading into this developer "give me money now" nonsense. A game being in Beta is no excuse for there not to be any game to the game at all. A Beta is an excuse for:
Bugged Mobs
Bugged Dungeons
Bugged Items/Drops
Slight Server Instability
Etc. etc. etc.
A Beta is not an excuse for:
There are no weapons in the game yet.
There is no crafting in the game yet. (if the game plans on crafting)
There is nothing to do in the game yet.
There are no skills/XP in the game yet.
Skills don't actually do anything in the game yet.
etc. etc. etc.
Comments
Alpha = still adding game systems.
Beta = still adding game content.
Those are general definitions however, as in general the companies can define their Alpha and Beta stages however they want, it just boils down to milestones in the development process.
Yeah, that's kinda what I meant, just different words.
Got a Game Idea? Look Here!
I disagree. Changes are common in beta phase even in non gaming software world. Also having some functionality off is common.
What you are talking is pre-release or UAT testing. But this does not exist in gaming.
No fate but what we make, so make me a ham sandwich please.
Then you agree, for there to be changes, there must be something there to change. What I'm talking about, is the games that claim the tag "Beta" when they don't even have anything there yet to change.
Got a Game Idea? Look Here!
I knew this was coming so I added one more sentence to my post.
Beta >< UAT
You are talking about UAT. Beta = software NOT complete, and some functions could be off. Possibly on a non productive server even.
After 10 years in software testing I know what I'm talking about.
One more edit: But I do get your point. Companies should not be charging us for incomplete products, this is what you are trying to say. Beta or blahblaheta it does not matter. I only partially agree here as we live in (some of us at least) free market. I'm free to chose where I spend my money. Take Xsyon for example. I'm ready to dish out 40$ in advance and hope this helps dev team build a better game. I take the risk hoping to reap the reward later. If for example SOE tried to do that to me I would not give them a dime until I would see something solid as I have no trust in them.
Generalizing usualy fails as each event and release should be observed and judged separately. Companies will keep asking for money no matter what but in the end it is you who controls your credit card.
No fate but what we make, so make me a ham sandwich please.
So, what you're saying is that you create a DB access program and all it does is load a GUI, but not actually access or modify a DB or even have the functionality to connect to a DB, then that's a Beta?
Got a Game Idea? Look Here!
I think the word you are searching for is feature complete.
However in the last decade the terms alpha and beta got very mushy, especially in MMO-Gaming because the wow beta was a glorified commercial (Which I think was pretty successful) so every beta after it will be compared to that.
You are too fast:) Read up again what I really mean in full.
No fate but what we make, so make me a ham sandwich please.
It is a shame how some people abuse the terms "alpha testing" and "beta testing" thinking they directly describe how complete the product is when infact they are simply two testing stages in software development process. Nothing really says a product in beta testing stage should have all its major features in (although it is no doubt recommended). Infact as long as the game is still in beta, it should be perfectly acceptable to not have everything in or working properly. It is an unfinished product! What were you expecting?
I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been -Wayne Gretzky
IMHO a beta should have all the required features for the production enviroment. How this can be applied to MMOs is another matter.
I'm comfortable with that.
In low-budget beta tends to be less complete than in full-budget. Usually this is because of lack of testing in the alpha state so engine issues and incompletions are still showing up in beta.
I agree with the alpha part but disagree with the beta part. Maybe thats how it used to be but nowadays they are usually nothing more than marketing tools (Rift). Closed beta may be actually used for testing and finding bugs but open betas are usually just a preview of the game.
In an industry where we know sometimes the product is not only changed but sometimes completely scrapped during beta, it's hard to see how one could say it's a finished product.
With MMOs, the amount that gets changed during a beta can sometimes be massive. Whole features can be in beta and then get removed during release.
Auto Assault saw a complete world map change during beta.
Warhammer had four classes that weren't just changed but were completely removed during beta specifically due to data garnered during beta.
The size of one of the main cities (Britain) had doubled, the resource system was changed and animal/mob AI was redone during the later stages fo beta for UO.
Earth and Beyond Online saw several changes to gates/zoning, vendors and station design during beta
Auction House and other major features were added and changed during Forsaken World's beta.
PotBS introduced drastic Ship of the Line changes during beta.
There are also a ton of changes that aren't so obvious to the players but greatly alter how the game is played.
For example, pathing and usability is monitored. NPCs, landmarks and even terrain gets moved around to improve how easily things can be spotted and how traffic is moved through the game world. In LOTRO, the map and minimap gained an entire new zoom layer based on player behaviour and town navigation. There are many changes that greatly impact how you, the player, play and enjoy the game during beta that are often rather transparent or, on the surface, unnoticed by many beta testers.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre