Paid Alpha | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Fri, 21 Nov 2014 09:00:54 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png Paid Alpha | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Valve updates Early Access rules for developers https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/valve-updates-early-access-rules-for-developers/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/valve-updates-early-access-rules-for-developers/#comments Fri, 21 Nov 2014 08:52:52 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=222747 Valve has sent out an updated copy of its terms and conditions to developers looking to use the Steam Early Access program. The new rules and guidelines are aimed to help consumers out a bit more with more transparency from developers on projects. The updated rules recognizes that unforeseen circumstances may put a stop to …

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Valve has sent out an updated copy of its terms and conditions to developers looking to use the Steam Early Access program. The new rules and guidelines are aimed to help consumers out a bit more with more transparency from developers on projects.

The updated rules recognizes that unforeseen circumstances may put a stop to certain plans but says that all developers looking to go in to Early Access should be fully prepared to finish their game whether it sells many or just a few copies. Giant Bomb was the first to get a look at the new rules, which require developers to label games as Early Access not only on Steam but on other stores as well.

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Developers are also encouraged to explain exactly what stage the current project is in so that potential buyers are as informed as possible before purchasing. Developers should avoid making “specific promises about future events”, such as updates, new features or the final release date.

From now on, paid alpha titles must launch on Steam at the same time as other stores and prices can not be higher than they are elsewhere. Valve has two final suggestions, set proper expectations and ensure that your game is suitable for the program. If a game is almost finished then it isn't suitable for Early Access while on the other end of the spectrum, if a game is just a tech demo and nothing more, then it is too early to put on to Steam and charge money for.

This follows on from news that only three of the first nine Early Access games have actually made it to release.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: It's good to see Valve getting a little stricter on how Early Access operates. What do you guys think of the new Early Access terms and conditions? Could Valve be doing more to protect consumers? Do you think the company should be more hands on when it comes to content duration and evaluating individual developers? 

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Steam FAQ now says Early Access titles don’t need to be finished https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/steam-faq-now-says-early-access-titles-dont-need-to-be-finished/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/steam-faq-now-says-early-access-titles-dont-need-to-be-finished/#comments Thu, 05 Jun 2014 10:00:02 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=196732 Valve has now updated the Steam FAQ to clarify that Early Access games don't necessarily have to be finished as some development teams may run in to problems that hinder them from finishing the game. Valve's new advice to Early Access buyers is to only buy if you are excited about playing the game in …

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Valve has now updated the Steam FAQ to clarify that Early Access games don't necessarily have to be finished as some development teams may run in to problems that hinder them from finishing the game. Valve's new advice to Early Access buyers is to only buy if you are excited about playing the game in its current state.

The Steam FAQ now answers the question: When will these (Early Access) games release?, with the following answer: “It's up to the developer to determine when they are ready to ‘release'. Some developers have a concrete deadline in mind, while others will get a better sense as the development of the game progresses. You should be aware that some teams will be unable to ‘finish' their game. So you should only buy an Early Access game if you are excited about playing it in its current state.”

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Early Access titles are starting to generate a negative stigma as some of the more popular titles sell hundreds of thousands of copies before even getting half way through development and sometimes before even adding basic features that gamers want or need.

However, not all early access developers are trying to con you, many of them are trustworthy, hard working and absolutely intend to finish their games but Valve's lack of quality control allows some bad apples to spoil the bunch, which brings down the paid alpha scheme as a whole.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Steam's current implementation of Early Access isn't great and it's causing a lot of negativity but some Early Access titles are already pretty good. I've personally played a lot of Prison Architect which has improved greatly over time. Maybe Valve just needs to do more to ensure that the developers behind some titles are actually up to  the task. What do you guys think? Should Valve implement better quality control? Have you played any Early Access titles? 

Source: Steam

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GOG is interested in launching an Early Access program https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/gog-is-interested-in-launching-an-early-access-program/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/gog-is-interested-in-launching-an-early-access-program/#respond Mon, 19 May 2014 09:06:17 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=193649 Early Access has been a hot topic recently thanks to the abandonment of Towns along with the rip off title Earth: Year 2066 being pulled from Steam. However, recent negativity isn't deterring GOG, the DRM free online game store. GOG's interest in an Early Access style program was revealed during an interview with Eurogamer where …

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Early Access has been a hot topic recently thanks to the abandonment of Towns along with the rip off title Earth: Year 2066 being pulled from Steam. However, recent negativity isn't deterring GOG, the DRM free online game store.

GOG's interest in an Early Access style program was revealed during an interview with Eurogamer where founder, Marcin Iwinski, said that while the company is “looking in to it”, it'll bring along some changes for the better:

“As you know our concept is different; first of all it's DRM-free and second it's curated. I'm often very lost in a lot of stores – apps being my example today. Or even Steam. I don't know what's happening; there's hundreds of releases a month,”

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It was recently revealed that Steam has added more games to its store so far this year, than in the entirety of 2013. This has raised concerns over the lack of quality control and the sheer amount of no good titles appearing on Steam, some have even gone as far as to say that it's starting to look like the Google Play store, which can be a bit of a mess.

Fortunately, GOG has stricter policies and would curate its selection of titles available, even on Early Access:

“We would definitely consider it but again it would be the GOG way. It would have to be curated and, we believe – we are always saying this very openly – we are responsible in front of the gamer for what they're buying on GOG.”

The best thing that came out of the interview however, was probably the idea that users could “opt out” of Early Access if they are unhappy with the product over time, Iwinski didn't go in to detail on how such a system would work but it sounds like it would be good for consumers.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Steam has shot itself in the foot a bit with Early Access, the program has been filled with dud games as well as clones but despite constant suggestions, Valve isn't doing anything to improve the scheme. While nothing is concrete, GOG seems to have some good ideas on how to make a paid alpha program more consumer friendly, which would be a refreshing change of pace. What do you guys think of Early Access? What would you do to improve Steam's program and what do you think of GOG's ideas?

Source: Eurogamer

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Devs abandon Steam Early Access title Towns https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/devs-abandon-steam-early-access-title-towns/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/devs-abandon-steam-early-access-title-towns/#comments Wed, 07 May 2014 13:10:04 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=191706 Yesterday a Steam Early Access title had to be booted off of steam, which raised some valid worries about how Greenlight and Early Access are run. Today we have more cause to not trust the Greenlight or Early Access programmes as the developers behind Towns have abandoned the project completely. Towns was Greenlit on Steam …

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Yesterday a Steam Early Access title had to be booted off of steam, which raised some valid worries about how Greenlight and Early Access are run. Today we have more cause to not trust the Greenlight or Early Access programmes as the developers behind Towns have abandoned the project completely.

Towns was Greenlit on Steam over a year ago but trouble started brewing this year when the main developer left in February claiming that he was “burned out”, after that, Florian Frankenberger took over the project but it seems that the game isn't selling well enough to justify the amount of work he is putting in to it.

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It's not entirely Frankenberger's fault, he was told that the game would sell a certain amount of copies per month, which would keep him going but it seems the actual sales figures amounted to a lot less:

“When I signed up for working on Towns I was told that we sell a minimum of about x copies/month of the game. I agreed to work on Towns for 15 per cent of what would remain after removing all the taxes and the Steam fee. Sales are going down rapidly. So we are now selling less than a third of the x copies a month, losing about 33 per cent of sales per month. I can't work for that little amount. I have to pay for the rent and food and this doesn't really suffice  for any of it.”

“I hope you are not too disappointed. And if you are: I'm really sorry. I'm quite new to indie game dev and I couldn't really see that the game sales were declining that rapidly. I guess if I had more experience I would have seen it coming …”

The game is no longer in Early Access but the unfinished game will continue to be sold on the Steam store for £9.99. Although, I don't see why someone would want to buy a game that both of its developers abandoned.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Early Access isn't a good programme, it's far too easy for developers to release sub-par games only to get lazy or stop working on them shortly after. Lets open this up for discussion again, what do you guys think of the Early Access programme? Do you think Steam should continue to become an open store where anyone can publish or should Valve be implementing some quality control?

Source: MCV

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