A little two part question for the devs. When alpha and beta opens up do they plan on having alpha/beta sections to the forum that only people in alpha/beta post on and can view ? Will people that take part in alpha and beta have to agree to be hush hush about it as it was in other games I have played in beta, or with Pantheon be more open and just keep everything posted out in the open for all to see ?
Thanks ;)
I have seen a few games remove the NDA right away recently and to be honest this was not a good thing, during a Alpha/Beta stage I strongly advise keeping the forum private and keeping the NDA in place, way to much negative press gets out there if you remove the NDA before its ready to be removed.
I would also like to see the testing forums closed to posting from outsiders. I am not sure how I feel about it being open to being viewed - I have to really think about that. Right now i am leaning towards it. When I am part of testing forums that are closed it is more of a community that is working hard to produce the best game they can. Posters tend to more honest because they do not have to fear trolls posting against them. Even if posters have differing opinions, they are more courteous and respectful of each others opinions. Testing communities tend to be a lot more positive in their interrelations with each other. They are also more knowledgeable about the game than the public who is not testing. One of my biggest peeves is when people post about something they know nothing about :)
I think if the game is released in a true "alpha/beta" test state - some testers will profess the game a horrid failure - why? Because these days, developers often release their game to "Testers" when it is mostly polished and ready to go... with many "testers" using the "test" as a means to determine if they like the game before they buy the game.
Devs need to be very up front over the state of the game they are releasing - along with some guidance for testing.
Then, if it TRULY is a "Test" (which, if they are really going to start releasing the game for such activities in 6-9 months it will be) - I think private forums and an NDA are definitely appropriate.
Jason said:
A little two part question for the devs. When alpha and beta opens up do they plan on having alpha/beta sections to the forum that only people in alpha/beta post on and can view ? Will people that take part in alpha and beta have to agree to be hush hush about it as it was in other games I have played in beta, or with Pantheon be more open and just keep everything posted out in the open for all to see ?
Thanks ;)
These things haven't been fully decided on yet, we still have 6-9 months approximately before a rough alpha will be released, so we will address this as the time draws closer but I would imagine (my personal opinion) that we will abide by the NDA and keep it closed for teser/alpha pledges.
Nydan said:
I hope they keep the testing groups small and silenced with a longer testing period with fewer testers. Grow the testers slowly as needed. I also hope the people that paid to get in early (yes including me) get more than a token few days in early. We will see.
I know at least 20 people in waiting for sure. They have no reason to offer any support, due to Brad's past deeds. To me, he has proven himself over and over, but others cling to resentment, etc. This game doesn't need them for development, just when the gates are open and they can't stop playing is all that matters. This will be a small community until after release, when word of mouth sets this on fire. Just like EVE.
NDA is a must.
I plan on being in alpha & beta... don't need 2k testers for that. Only during open beta do you need aimless opinions..
I'm all for general/class etc. forums being open to all (see Kilsin's thread), but I do think alpha/beta testing forums should be closed. When someone has to put in a monetary investment to participate in alpha/beta then that should translate to a restricted forum.
If the general forums were open to all, it still would allow an avenue for people asking general questions about the game, alpha/beta that wouldn't break an NDA to be answered.