Minecraft Beta announced!

[Slyakin]

Guys, get ready. This Christmas is going to be a doozy, as Minecraft Beta has been announced for December 20th!

The next epoch is upon us! The skies are trembling, pigs are growing wings, and the nether is turning awfully cold, as Minecraft slowly crawls out of Alpha..

Minecraft will reach Beta status on December 20th, 2010.

With Beta comes a larger focus on polish and content, and we’ll start early on with adding proper modding support with a stable API, and we’d love all input we can get on this from the modders out there. We’ll also add some kind of non-intrusive narrative to the game to help drive the game experience early on, and to provide some kind of late game goal. There will be a bigger focus on testing and stability as well, with more time between updates.

When the game enters beta, the price will rise to 14.95 Euro.

We will also change the license to remove the line that promises all future versions of the game for free. Please note that this change only affects people who buy the game after December 20, so if you got the game for during alpha, you will still get all future updates for free, despite this change. A promise is a promise.
Buying the game during beta will include all updates up until release, of course, and bug patches will be free.

Soon, you will be able to buy gift codes for Minecraft, perfectly timed for the holidays! Even better, if you buy those before December 20, accounts created from these codes will count as alpha accounts, and will receive all future updates for free.

And the next game update (with server-side inventory) is coming next week, before Beta

Merry holidays happy!

[/p]

Source

 

[Joe88]

this should be added in

http://twitter.com/notch/status/13684409446174722

If you buy the game, regardless of when, you never have to pay again to get the full version.

 

[Deleted_171835]

We will also change the license to remove the line that promises all future versions of the game for free. Please note that this change only affects people who buy the game after December 20, so if you got the game for during alpha, you will still get all future updates for free, despite this change. A promise is a promise.
Buying the game during beta will include all updates up until release, of course, and bug patches will be free.

well this is a douchebag move

No, it isn't.
How else is he going to make profit after someone purchases the game? He can't release expansion packs for free. You'll still get bug fixes. He's rewarding Alpha users for purchasing Minecraft while it was still in development. He could have pulled a douche move and took the money without completing the game but they trusted him. They gave him the money he needed to start his company, Mojang and that's why they get free updates. Even if you're buying it in Beta, you'll still get bug-fixes.
---

I'm glad I got the game during Alpha!

 

[Deleted-247497]

We will also change the license to remove the line that promises all future versions of the game for free. Please note that this change only affects people who buy the game after December 20, so if you got the game for during alpha, you will still get all future updates for free, despite this change. A promise is a promise.
Buying the game during beta will include all updates up until release, of course, and bug patches will be free.

well this is a douchebag move

Not really. People who already paid still get all future versions which is anyone who feels like buying it, anyone can still get an alpha account.

edit: SoulSnatcher beat me to it

 

[Joe88]

check the edited post
he posted a comment saying whenever you buy the game, the final version / updates will still be free

the way it was, is people who are paying to test a beta version get screwed out of the final ver which was just ridiculous
im guessing there was a huge community backlash against that and quickly changed his mind

 

[Law]

check the edited post
he posted a comment saying whenever you buy the game, the final version / updates will still be free

the way it was, is people who are paying to test a beta version get screwed out of the final ver which was just ridiculous
im guessing there was a huge community backlash against that and quickly changed his mind

By "future versions" he probably meant the expansions he has planned out.

 

[Deleted-247497]

check the edited post
he posted a comment saying whenever you buy the game, the final version / updates will still be free

the way it was, is people who are paying to test a beta version get screwed out of the final ver which was just ridiculous
im guessing there was a huge community backlash against that and quickly changed his mind

thats actually a good point, on second thought it is pretty bad to charge someone and then eventually once the games out of beta they wouldn't be able to play any longer.

 

[Deleted_171835]

check the edited post
he posted a comment saying whenever you buy the game, the final version / updates will still be free

the way it was, is people who are paying to test a beta version get screwed out of the final ver which was just ridiculous
im guessing there was a huge community backlash against that and quickly changed his mind

No.
Final version = Finished Game
You still won't get expansion packs or anything of that sort. Just bug-fixes after the final version is released. Once the finished game is released, only Alpha purchasers will get Minecraft expansion packs for free. Beta users will have to pay.

Edit 1:
It's kind of like buying MW2 and then purchasing extra maps. When you buy MW2 you don't expect to get extra maps for free. Alpha purchasers don't have to pay for those expansion packs, though. Everybody else has to pay for the expansion packs, though.
MW2 = Minecraft
Extra Maps = Expansion Packs

 

[Jolan]

So if I have Minecraft bought atm, all future updates are free? Awesome.

 

[mameks]

If you buy the Alpha, any and all expansions for the final game are free. If you buy it in Beta onwards, they'll cost you.
EDIT: But the upgrade from Beta => Final version is still free, as far as I'm aware.

 

[_Chaz_]

Really?!

I just pirated legally obtained the Alpha...

 

[DeadLocked]

Phew, I'm glad I don't have to buy expansions. Good that they are bringing out beta this month, I expected as much.
Hopefully some nice additions too but not too holiday oriented, we want it to be long term while the game is in early stages and then focus on holiday short term updates when the game is stable as anything.
Would be nice for the game to run a little better but I guess it's just the engine..
I don't know much if anything about the engine so I don't know if it is possible but making it run smoothly on iow/average speed machines should be a high priority

 

[mameks]

Really?!

I just pirated legally obtained the Alpha...

Bad boy.

Same, as my parents won't let me have PayPal, as they know that I'd spend too much >.>

 

[Deleted_171835]

Really?!

I just pirated legally obtained the Alpha...

Bad boy.

Same, as my parents won't let me have PayPal, as they know that I'd spend too much >.>

I pirated Minecraft before I bought it. I ended up buying it because I felt Notch deserved the money.
You could buy a pre-paid credit card. That would work.

 

[Joe88]

well I guess I cant put off buying it any longer, will have to get it within the next week

 

[mameks]

Really?!

I just pirated legally obtained the Alpha...

Bad boy.

Same, as my parents won't let me have PayPal, as they know that I'd spend too much >.>

I pirated Minecraft before I bought it. I ended up buying it because I felt Notch deserved the money.
You could buy a pre-paid credit card. That would work.

I keep intending to buy it...but keep failing to persuade them...
I have a Visa Electron, so they control my money, but they know I'd burn through so much with PayPal, and I need some for travel >.>
EDIT: Also, I don't play it for the SMP, I just play it to build shit, so I see no point in paying for a bunch of stuff I don't use. :/

 

[Diablo1123]

I bought this
yesterday
So like right before this was announced.

 

[megawalk]

ooh great

if tempcraft didn't get enough.
we also get beta

hopefully our tempcraft service will be worked around sooner or later
because we definetely want beta

 

[Slyakin]

The cool part is that anyone who buys now gets some kind of Alpha tester status. That's like a million alpha testers.

 

[basher11]

cool! it's on my birthday too!