Gaming Early access crap

[aiat_gamer]

Seriously, there has to be a law against this kind of stuff...looking at Steam you rarely see a game being released when it is done, every game is being sold as an early access crap. I understand if they need their game to be tested but how they are actually taking money, for a game that is not not done! And some of the games stay in this state for months after months (Prison Architect from Sep 26, 2012!!).
I think it is highly unethical and just plain wrong, and unfortunately people are gullible that are actually paying for a game that they have no idea how it will turn out.

 

[Kouen Hasuki]

Seriously, there has to be a law against this kind of stuff...looking at Steam you rarely see a game being released when it is done, every game is being sold as an early access crap. I understand if they need their game to be tested but how they are actually taking money, for a game that is not not done! And some of the games stay in this state for months after months (Prison Architect from Sep 26, 2012!!).
I think it is highly unethical and just plain wrong, and unfortunately people are gullible that are actually paying for a game that they have no idea how it will turn out.

Don't like? Don't buy. Problem solved.

To be honest its not that far off Kickstarter / IndieGoGo but at least you get something instantly to show for it, also this isn't like a new thing Desura has had that going on for ages now.

To add on top its not like Steam / Dev's are lying about it, You are buying into an Alpha aka a Work In Progress. you know like technically people have been doing for years with Minecraft.

 

[Satangel]

Don't like? Don't buy. Problem solved.

To be honest its not that far off Kickstarter / IndieGoGo but at least you get something instantly to show for it, also this isn't like a new thing Desura has had that going on for ages now.

To add on top its not like Steam / Dev's are lying about it, You are buying into an Alpha aka a Work In Progress. you know like technically people have been doing for years with Minecraft.

QFT.
It's the first thing you see when on an Early Access title on Steam. You can't ignore the big letters and warning that this is an unfinished product.
If you still wanna buy it, go ahead, don't say you weren't warned.

I like the idea, IF the devs listen to their customers sufficiently, the ones who are playing this Alpha. That way the end result can be a much better result than without Early Access. Pretty good idea that way, but of course, only if the game stays in development and the devs listen to their customers.

 

[Pedeadstrian]

QFT.
It's the first thing you see when on an Early Access title on Steam. You can't ignore the big letters and warning that this is an unfinished product.
If you still wanna buy it, go ahead, don't say you weren't warned.

I like the idea, IF the devs listen to their customers sufficiently, the ones who are playing this Alpha. That way the end result can be a much better result than without Early Access. Pretty good idea that way, but of course, only if the game stays in development and the devs listen to their customers.

I actually find it to be quite annoying too, not because of me being possibly screwed over, but because I keep finding games that sound/look interesting and then I see "Early Access Game" in big bold letters.

Then again, I don't pay for Steam games anyway.

 

[Satangel]

I actually find it to be quite annoying too, not because of me being possibly screwed over, but because I keep finding games that sound/look interesting and then I see "Early Access Game" in big bold letters.

Then again, I don't pay for Steam games anyway.

Then just wait until it's actually released to buy it. Sure there are titles that stay extremely long in Alpha (maybe those games are dead, dunno), but others are just like normal and do eventually come out. Buy them then, easy

 

[FAST6191]

Personally I am a fan of the concept for slightly different reasons. Granted it arguably happens like it behind the scenes but the idea of a rolling release/continuous updates for games similar to how people might enjoy open source software works for me.

 

[Veho]

I think it is highly unethical and just plain wrong, and unfortunately people are gullible that are actually paying for a game that they have no idea how it will turn out.

It's much more ethical than selling an unfinished bug-riddled game as a finished product and then patching it for months after the official release. At least this way they tell you outright the game isn't finished yet.

 

[Hells Malice]

Early access is great when devs use it properly. Some do use it just to grab cash early, like Planetary Annihilation...what a joke that game is.
But a lot of devs actively follow the Steam forums, and listen to the community. Early access buyers do actually shape the way some games turn out, which is pretty cool.

Either way, Early Access isn't hurting you so I don't see the point in bitching. It's like a pre-order where you can actually play the game and see it evolve to the final product. There's really NO harm in that. If you don't want to play an alpha or a beta, then check back later. You're not forced to buy early access, they don't close down all sales of the game on release.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

>Paying for alpha versions of games
>Crying about how they're "crap"

 

[pwsincd]

WarZ says Hi! ..

 

[YayMii]

How is it unethical? Steam gives you plenty of warning before you buy, so anyone who is "gullible" is simply too ignorant to read the big letters. Anyone who buys an Early Access game should be completely aware of the state that the game is currently in and the progress (or lack thereof, in some cases) made by the developer. It's the consumer's own fault if they bought the game very early in its development and expected it to be perfect. It's not like they're scamming people by labelling them as "complete" like WarZ did.

 

[aiat_gamer]

Is it just me or any sort of criticism here is met with fierce blow back?!
Here are some of my points:
-Why hey are selling games before they are finished? Did they ran out of budget? Maybe in the past some did and tried to get more money in to finish their game but lately everyone seems to be doing so...even some pseudo-AAA games (Pay Day 2). I assumed that people actually think about budget and stuff before actually making the game.
-If they did not have budget, why they did even start to make the game? That is what kickstarter and indiegogo are there for. Let them try these services and clearly state their budget requirement, put the time to advertise their game and spread the word, put updates and such. You know, put some effort in! Then we can see if their work is even interesting to generate some money.
-They are just plain taking advantage of the free publicity by steam. Every game that is published gets a slot on the steam`s first page. Have you seen the amount of crap coming on steam and sell while being completely trash and sometimes even unfinished in their final release? Also I feel like some developers just get plain lazy and not finish their games even after being in early access mode for months and months.

 

[tatripp]

The free market is the law. If people keep buying games even though they are unfinished, the companies will keep making them that way.

 

[nryn99]

I also dislike having to anticipate if there is a game i think i like but then it's on alpha. Then I would think it's got nothing or almost unplayable because it's still in alpha.

 

[FAST6191]

Is it just me or any sort of criticism here is met with fierce blow back?!
Here are some of my points:
-Why hey are selling games before they are finished? Did they ran out of budget? Maybe in the past some did and tried to get more money in to finish their game but lately everyone seems to be doing so...even some pseudo-AAA games (Pay Day 2). I assumed that people actually think about budget and stuff before actually making the game.
-If they did not have budget, why they did even start to make the game? That is what kickstarter and indiegogo are there for. Let them try these services and clearly state their budget requirement, put the time to advertise their game and spread the word, put updates and such. You know, put some effort in! Then we can see if their work is even interesting to generate some money.
-They are just plain taking advantage of the free publicity by steam. Every game that is published gets a slot on the steam`s first page. Have you seen the amount of crap coming on steam and sell while being completely trash and sometimes even unfinished in their final release? Also I feel like some developers just get plain lazy and not finish their games even after being in early access mode for months and months.

Any points you bring up from any direction can be expected to be torn apart and analysed..... it is kind of how this public debate thing works.

-What is so sacred about shipping a "finished" game. If a game gets expansion packs, sequels or DLC that continue the story, or are otherwise held as canon, do I get to say the story was unfinished? Now I could agree this model could be hard to make work for games and may influence the way a game turns out, though every decision will influence how a game turns out really.

-This kind of relies on people accepting the first point which I have not yet got to and do not really expect to. Equally they might have had the budget but unforeseen circumstances and all that. Likewise I have purchased games with the sole intention of using them for mods, could there not be something similar here? Likewise it might cost more in the long run to go via one of the crowdfunding type things.

-If it is a problem for Steam then Steam should up their game.

 

[aiat_gamer]

Any points you bring up from any direction can be expected to be torn apart and analysed..... it is kind of how this public debate thing works.

-What is so sacred about shipping a "finished" game. If a game gets expansion packs, sequels or DLC that continue the story, or are otherwise held as canon, do I get to say the story was unfinished? Now I could agree this model could be hard to make work for games and may influence the way a game turns out, though every decision will influence how a game turns out really.

-This kind of relies on people accepting the first point which I have not yet got to and do not really expect to. Equally they might have had the budget but unforeseen circumstances and all that. Likewise I have purchased games with the sole intention of using them for mods, could there not be something similar here? Likewise it might cost more in the long run to go via one of the crowdfunding type things.

-If it is a problem for Steam then Steam should up their game.

- Huh, I am not talking about DLC or episodic games. I had no problem buying games like The Walking Dead each episode at a time. What I am talking about games being ins Alpha and even, pre-alpha state and asking for money from people. If testing the game is the reason for it, developers can juts send out some alpha and beta codes to some people and get feed back.

-I am not sure I get your point here...

-Steam has been doing some pretty shady stuff for as long time now, they are losing credibility more and more everyday.

 

[FAST6191]

As far as I am concerned though if done right then buying an alpha and buying an episodic game are effectively no different. Either way I get to possibly play levels as they are made, I might lack some voice acting but if they have subs who cares.... Sure they could try selling me a very much incomplete game that lacks the required functionality but I would have thought the devs would have made sure to have most of it sorted beforehand (alpha and beta have no special meaning in software development after all).
Likewise in the android/ios world there are several games doing very well off this model -- ship a minimally functional game and provide updates for a long time to come, said updates acting as advertising and bringing in more customers. In other areas of software development this is the model.
"just send out some alpha and beta codes".... Why do something for free when someone will pay you for it?

Your second point kind of depended upon people accepting the first one, which I had not. You said kickstarter and co were the option if they ran out of funding, to me that seemed like one of many options and one of those options included putting a paid alpha up on steam.

Personally I never liked steam though that was more through inability to sell my copies of games.

 

[Kouen Hasuki]

-Why hey are selling games before they are finished? Did they ran out of budget? Maybe in the past some did and tried to get more money in to finish their game but lately everyone seems to be doing so...even some pseudo-AAA games (Pay Day 2). I assumed that people actually think about budget and stuff before actually making the game.

Right lets see again its clearly stated what it is and maybe... just maybe they WANT feedback from regular people and yes there paying into an alpha, but they also get the final product and if the devs listen get to shape the game to be better

-If they did not have budget, why they did even start to make the game? That is what kickstarter and indiegogo are there for. Let them try these services and clearly state their budget requirement, put the time to advertise their game and spread the word, put updates and such. You know, put some effort in! Then we can see if their work is even interesting to generate some money.

Alpha funding / Early Access is kinda a Indiegogo / kickstarter if you try to think about it a little, its just you get instant reward so in a way you already with that 1 point disproved your closed minded argument

-They are just plain taking advantage of the free publicity by steam. Every game that is published gets a slot on the steam`s first page. Have you seen the amount of crap coming on steam and sell while being completely trash and sometimes even unfinished in their final release? Also I feel like some developers just get plain lazy and not finish their games even after being in early access mode for months and months.

Not all games get more than just on the listing of latest release list at the bottom, not that many get a large banner or big page spread, or are you stating that they while get on the service some should slip on and be un-noticed and only deserving games should have any indication of getting on the service? and who would be in charge of saying whats allowed to be on that small "latest releases" list?

Seriously dude your being rather stupid here :|

Oh as a side note: Steam has rules laid out to the devs using early access to protect the people buying in. Don't know if I can say more than that Given im under NDA's from more than 1 studio

 

[Veho]

-Why they are selling games before they are finished?

Because a lot of people are willing to buy them before they are finished.

Did they ran out of budget?

No, but the budget is an investment someone made, and from their perspective, the sooner they can start getting a return on that investment the better.

 

[aiat_gamer]

Alpha funding / Early Access is kinda a Indiegogo / kickstarter if you try to think about it a little, its just you get instant reward so in a way you already with that 1 point disproved your closed minded argument

KS and indiegogo are different, if you just think for one minute with your open mind, you would see it. Projects looking for crowd funds will not be made without the support of people. They come in, say their budget requirement, mention their plans for the game and "pitch" their projects to the masses. When the game is already being made, and they do not indicate that they are running out of money, which is the case in many of these early access stuff, why the hell do they need to sell their product earlier?!

Not all games get more than just on the listing of latest release list at the bottom, not that many get a large banner or big page spread, or are you stating that they while get on the service some should slip on and be un-noticed and only deserving games should have any indication of getting on the service? and who would be in charge of saying whats allowed to be on that small "latest releases" list?

Every single game gets a big banner at least for a few hours on the first days of its release. They can by all means, use this to get more publicity but not for something that has not been finished. That is what Greenlight is for.