Beta testing doesn’t bother me. Alpha-testing as a public thing doesn’t bother me too much either. But pre-alpha? You’re calling what you’re doing a pre-alpha, Crowfall? I love you guys, but this is just stretching definitions to the point of absurdity. What the heck is up with Star Citizen‘s “let’s release a tiny little part of the game isolated from surrounding environments” test scheduling? If you’re going to charge me money, H1Z1, you had better be ready to treat yourself as a launched title – because you’ve launched.
Don’t think I’ve forgotten your “soft launch” nonsense, Neverwinter. You’re still on thin ice.
This isn’t really indicative of quality in any way, but it’s an ongoing irritation that I have vis-a-vis testing phases. Part of this, I’m sure, is the fact that I write our weekly Betawatch column and thus have to sort out the mess on a regular basis. But is it just me? What part of the soup of MMO testing terminology bothers you? External alphas? Early access? Special hyper deluxe exclusive backer beta? (I might have made that last one up.)
Every morning, the Massively Overpowered writers team up with mascot Mo to ask MMORPG players pointed questions about the massively multiplayer online roleplaying genre. Grab a mug of your preferred beverage and take a stab at answering the question posed in today’s Daily Grind!
