Yes. It's a little odd. I assumed that if you pledged at any level you would be able to play 24/7. This doesn't seem to be the case. Like for the $50 pledge you get to play one week? It's a strange way to do it. You would think they would want as many people playing together and testing the game. I get that different pledge levels should get extra stuff. I don't think it should be game playing time. These types of games need lots of players at once.
I think their definition of EA is different that other companies. They said as much in the Q&A stream. I do think once it gets to EA any pledge level can play all the time with no monthly cost? Not 100% sure about that. Can someone verify that this is true. Thanks.
Pantheon has not magically progressed from Pre-Alpha state to 'almost ready for release'.
Early Access does NOT mean "Early Release with continued development" in this case. One could wish VR had created a different label for it, but that's what we've got. VR's early access will help with testing while generating some increased income, which has been an ongoing challenge.
VR's stated plan is that when Early Access starts in December ALL pledges, from Supporter to VIP, will have full time access to the Test Servers with no further charge. Public access to the game will be available with a one-time purchase of the game client. There will be no subscription for anyone.
Things took a wrong turn when game development studios started using testing access as a crowd funding perk.
When studios needed testers in the past, they looked for experienced, mature players with specific hardware specs. It was an application process, not a shopping experience. Testers had to be willing to sign a strict NDA with the understanding they were not coming to play early, but to really test and provide feedback. Testing was purely a function of the development team and had nothing to do with marketing nor sales. Bringing in testers had nothing to do with how fat their wallets were. I'm not saying the current Pantheon VIP members haven't done all that. I'm just disappointed that my access to help test was based on how much cash I was able to put on the table. It felt like the rules changed after many of us had already contributed. The announcement of VIPs and pre-alpha was a bit of a slap on the face.
Some of us pledged to Pantheon under the assumption that the alpha/beta testing was still going to be something similar to what we experienced with Vanguard, EQ2 or EQ Landmark. I know, not the same companies, but certainly they shared a legacy. For me that was nine years ago. For others it was even farther back.
Just my opinion, but testing never should have been part of the perks for tiered pledges. It should have been "Get these great things at this level, and if you'd like to help us test the game, here's the link to apply."
It's all water under the bridge at this point. We're getting closer to launch and we're able to kick the tires at least. Champions aren't really able to contribute much on the actual testing front though. If the VIPs have been in there for weeks doing their job, most of the bugs should be in the tracker. We're really there just to give the server a modest stress test and get a peek at what to expect in EA. I guess during EA (alpha?) the testing playing field levels, but we're pretty far in and years down the road in the process at this point.
Seeing archai and gnomes as they come into the game will be a thrill. I've kind of lost my will to really test. It's more about just poking around to have a look. Not being negative, just trying to embrace the ever-changing landscape of Pantheon's development.
~Cel~
Interesting. I just assumed they all worked together in an office. I wonder if development is harder or slower when everyone is not together in one place. Do they have an actual physical office in Carlsbad? Everyone just works out of their homes? I had no idea this was the case. Thanks for sharing this information.
The published address in Carlsbad is just a postal outlet.
With modern tools and the bandwidth available to people now in their homes, distributed teams are arguably better. There's not much that you can't efficiently accomplish with on-line tools. It's a lot easier to get in the zone and stay there without typical office interruptions. Media files can be shared quickly, code can be checked in and out with tools like git, kanban/trello boards can show the whole company what everyone has in progress.
The pandemic pushed a lot of team tools to mature quickly. I can't think of much that works better in-person in 2024.