You hit the fucking nail on the head. I hate the fact that every fucking game now comes out two years before it's ready to be released. Just because it made Notch rich to do it doesn't mean every goddamn game needs to be released that early.
Scott Christiansen Its stupid that a company would dish out an incomplete game. Yes no one is "forcing him to buy it" but a lot of people get pissed when a game that wanted to play comes out and its a piece of shit because they haven't added all the features they promised. That whole, "then don't buy it" mentality is fucking stupid.
Scott Christiansen You're the problem. It's not the consumer's fault the game developers offer a shitty product. It's just a new greedy business model the developers use to keep the game on the market for longer.
Scott Christiansen you don't understand the point do you? developers don't finish their games anymore because they can get just as much money from an incomplete project as they can with a complete one. the promises they make never come because they've already been paid, they have no incentive to finish developing the game.
Soullessnut I didn't say I support early access, I simply pointed out that you can totally ignore it and it won't affect you. If no one buys early access games then they would stop making them.
I´m glad they didn´t go where I thought they would go with the Early Access Child joke...for a moment there I thought foetuses were going to be involved..
To put it bluntly, if you want to pay and support the developer during early access alpha/beta then go ahead, however be wary and don't do so unless you plan on putting up with the bugs, problems, major game changes, etc. I bought early access for Starbound way back in its early stages and the game has changed immensely since then. The difference? The Devs have been listening to the community, working with modders, and letting the players help shape the game. I don't regret a single cent that I put towards that game.
Holy shit, just noticed at 2:06 the background image is from an Estonian IT class (slide in the back says mobile-device software development lab in Estonian).
The thing that gets me is that you have independent devs who have poured their heart and soul into games with their own financial support and early access almost de-legitimizes their hard work. For years, most devs depended on themselves to create a good product, putting their blood, sweat and tears to create their vision and ensure it's good; early access turns that dedication and makes it a day job to fix bugs. A lot of people nitpick at the smaller details without getting the whole picture and that's what most really want to say.
The only early access games I ever got were Minecraft and I think Primal Carnage. I say think because I don't remember if they actually had an open beta for it or if they ended up releasing it completed and I happened to get an access code for the closed one. Anyway, I paid for it by donating to the developer and if you donated a certain amount they would send you a code and you could get it from like 3 different websites including steam. I donated about a year before the game came out and Lukewarm media made good on their promise and continue to release updates to this day. I recall that the game was going to be on Linux as well but then they changed engines and they reimbursed all the donaters who had linux. I guess I really just depends on the developer. You have to go to the websites and forums and see how frequently they show how much progress they make, if they take the time to go to expos, how they communicate with potential customers/fans and so on and so forth. If you really aren't sure, just wait for the release. If you do buy it, know they you're making a gamble. Simple as that.
beta man: i heard what you gone said you thought you was getting one thing and you bought it and when you got it home, and turned out not to be what you thought it was gon be and now you want you want your money back.. i heard ya! and today, all i have to say is........ NOOOOO, nooo
