Alpha, Beta, and whatever releases
#935639
01/17/14 03:49 PM
01/17/14 03:49 PM
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,779 Lost in the Arizona Desert
oldman
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OP
Addicted Boomer
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,779
Lost in the Arizona Desert
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Since the advent of Kickstarter and me becoming an investor, of sorts, in various games that I'm interested in. I've been bombarded with various news about alpha releases and beta releases etc.
Now I'm pretty sure that I know what a beta release is and that is a release that allows qualified individuals to test the game and provide feedback.
But what is an alpha release and what is the final version release of a game called? When they tell me that a game is released my question is when will I be able to play the thing.
My life is complicated enough and I need uncomplicated things.
You laugh because I'm different I laugh because you're all the same
Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most.
John
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Re: Alpha, Beta, and whatever releases
[Re: oldman]
#935657
01/17/14 05:48 PM
01/17/14 05:48 PM
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Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 1,693 Isle of Man
gremlin
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Posts: 1,693
Isle of Man
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In the 'good old days' (the 1990s, as far as I was concerned), an alpha release would never even have been seen in the wild - it would be a 'work in progress' to show the publisher how you were getting on with development. A beta would be given to the play testers, and perhaps a few favoured, trustworthy journalists, and shown at trade shows (not given to players to play, just shown!). The first that the public would see of a game would be the final release, which would have been pressed from the gold master sent by the developer to the publisher/distributor. (They were called gold masters because the early burnable CDs were always golden in colour; in these days of digital distribution, there's no need for such things anymore)
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Re: Alpha, Beta, and whatever releases
[Re: oldman]
#935666
01/17/14 07:13 PM
01/17/14 07:13 PM
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,779 Lost in the Arizona Desert
oldman
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OP
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Lost in the Arizona Desert
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Thank you for the information. That does clear things up. So, after the beta release, maybe the game will be available to me in the not too distant future unless they find too many bugs that requires a lot of time to fix.
You laugh because I'm different I laugh because you're all the same
Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most.
John
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Re: Alpha, Beta, and whatever releases
[Re: gremlin]
#935764
01/18/14 03:51 PM
01/18/14 03:51 PM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 34,363 United Kingdom
Mad
Sonic Boomer
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Sonic Boomer
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 34,363
United Kingdom
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" by that time I had a wife and two small children to support, so I had to get out of the business and into the Real World (TM). :(" Awwwwww !! Heck !! What have we been missing then all these years ????
Time : The Most Precious Commodity
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