EhnalOtaku
New Member
- May 7, 2025
- 13
- 10
- 13
Dude, I say this all the time. People putting their money down for even beta(early access) games and then downvote the game for not being finished is just mind-numbing to me. Buying early access games in itself is upvoting a game because you believe in their vision/concept/product. You are an investor, not a reviewer. Reviews should usually be kept until full release(and not 1.0, as I've learned the past few years) unless you saw the videos/screenshot and it looked like grand theft auto, then you started playing and it was the Sims.. so you're like "Woah! This is NOT what I thought it was!" but that's very rare.Looks interesting. Will give it a playthrough. That said, "pre-alpha"?
People these days don't grasp the difference between alpha, beta and launch versions. I'll use the classic 'old timer' saying here, "back in my day..." Well, back in my day, 'pre-alpha' meant that a program was still ~90% in the conceptual phase. There are mockups, model designs and at most a few 3D renderings or level designs but that's about it. Moving forward, 'alpha' meant that it was still 'in-house' only and, while the game is still very raw and in development, at least the concept has been nailed down and the focus has moved on to implementation rather than design review. Moving along, 'beta' and I guess you could say 'pre-beta' but even that is more like 'alpha', is when you have a fair bit of content designed and implemented. Usually enough for a level or two and bug-free enough to welcome public testing either by 'closed beta' or 'open beta' tests. Beta stage usually is the longest and lasts all the way until launch.
In any case, rant aside, I am wary of any game where the author says that it is 'alpha' let alone 'pre-alpha'.
You are correct though. Pre-alpha would be more of a proof of concept, definitely no implementation of mechanics let alone fluid gameplay. This is an 'open beta' in that we pay to get it opened, but most of the concept is definitely implemented, if not finished and they just have story/scene animations/locations and last minute polish to do... or so it would SEEM...