I realise that still things are not set in stone, but I know there will be many others interested in any info there is, so I thought I'd share this.
I'm sure the VR folks wouldn't have put the info public if it wasn't intended to be shared...
For those desperate, like me, to help with development and pledged at the Alpha level (having made an Alpha level pledge), the following info about Pre-Alpha dates was released as part of the PAX East 2018 Pledge Package ( https://pantheonmmo.com/pax ) yesterday: -
"Join hundreds of other pledgers during pre-alpha testing sessions...
...The next testing sessions are planned to take place before summer, 2018... Game keys, directions, and access to the pre-alpha forums and schedules will be delivered after May 1st, 2018."
In other words, Pre-Alpha is still set to be active after May 1st with testing sessions planned "before Summer".
So, it seems Alpha won't be available until at least some time (probably weeks) after the Pre-Alpha sessions in May; maybe not until into the Summertime (which starts 21st June in the Northern Hemisphere. Ends 22nd September). And that's if the Pre-Alpha doesn't go on further.
Speaking as an Alpha pledge... DOH! Hehe.
Sounds to me like Alpha is still months away *sniffle* *sigh* *sob*.
Crazzie said:That makes sense even though we want it now, but lots of things to fine tune i am sure. Little bugs, big bugs..
Plus
We need boots of arts and crafts in!!!
I would LOVE a pair of Boots of Arts and Crafts..mentioned by Jim Lee in that last stream, I wonder if the Devs are considering that. :) Maybe as a reward for achieving a particular milestone in crafting?
Cana
That seems like a pretty solid read of the tea leaves. I need to stop hovering over these forums hoping for alpha announcements or every drop of news. You can tell it's a slow news cycle when community members with streams are interviewing each other to generate content. I'll jump back on board when there's some real news.
vjek said:I...am not expecting Alpha before the end of 2018, personally.
Ditto. By my estimation I have always been hopeful that we might see Alpha in Q4 of this year...but 2019 is very possible. It seems like people who are expecting it sooner are being overly optimistic...or maybe haven't been following the speed that things have been progressing as closely.
As someone who is saving up to make an Alpha pledge, this has me slightly relieved. I keep worrying that I'm going to find out that time's up for that, and I cannot do it until I know I've put the money aside and it's not going to effect my day-to-day expenses. With that said, those of you who have already pledged and who are still waiting do have my sympathy. Waiting for something you really, really want is hard. But I think most of us can agree that it's the things we've had to wait for that we end up appreciating most.
vjek said:I recognize this language, and am not expecting Alpha before the end of 2018, personally.
I believe I'll have to concur with my esteemed collegue here (Esteemed collegue. HA!) But yeah, given the lengthy pre-alpha testing phases they seem to be having and the fact that that message said next "sessions", which would seem to indicate multiple more pre-alpha sessions to begin before the summer, it's a fair assessment that alpha might not arrive until late this year at the earliest or maybe even into 2019. Which means I will now probably have to eat a big plate of crow from a guildee or three on that bet.
But who knows right? Development is a fickle thing.
birdman said:Sad indeed! However, i'll be pretty pumped if we get Alpha this year!
I am not expecting it to be to Alpha this year myself. They still have all the cities to build from previous video's.
I am expecting more than 1 city in the world... so I would think there is lots of work ahead yet.
Perhaps they are going to do things the right way, rather than the way most companies do testing these days. Meaning, long pre-alpha. Followed by much better performing, medium length alpha. Followed by a short-ish, mostly complete beta to work out the final bugs. Instead of non-existent pre-alpha, quickie alpha and open "beta" for 3 years. I have faith in them.
Mathir said:People paid a thousand bucks to get into pre-alpha early. That's going to get them at least a year before Alpha starts. Anyone thinking Alpha is going to happen in 2018 is nuts. Maybe in 2019.
It's only recently that the donation has risen to 1000$.
It wasn't long ago that the estimate was given that testing would start in Q1 or Q2 of 2017. That obviously didn't happen. Things have been progressing a little slower than hoped.
Imo it is unlikely that Alpha will start prior to the end of the year but it has nothing to do with the donation amount.
There is no guarentee on how long Pre Alpha is,could be a quarter or two.
Let's face it, there will be a *lot* more people whose pledge includes Alpha than includes Pre-Alpha.
They *can't* really start Alpha until they have the capacity and need for relatively large numbers of testers.
I mean, they could shuffle us in and out in herds, but the organisation of it would probably be an undesirable headache.
I was really hoping it would be soon - the game looks at a stage where testing would actually be useful (if it were going to totally change, there wouldn't be much point in mass testing) - but there's not much actual content, I guess. We'd be falling over each other.
8.1 What is the ETA for external testing?
The goal is that soon this year (2017) the very first group of players (pre-alpha pledgers only-- not alpha pledgers) will begin to be invited to help test. The game must be ready and have enough content. Then in Alpha we plan on having the entire continent of Kingsreach ready for testing. We don’t like to be evasive, but the timing must be right so our players can give us meaningful feedback, bug reports, etc. These earlier phases are traditional tests, rather than something along the lines of ‘early access’.
If the hold up for alpha is the entire continent of Kingsreach, 2019 sounds about right for alpha.
bryanleo9 said:8.1 What is the ETA for external testing?
The goal is that soon this year (2017) the very first group of players (pre-alpha pledgers only-- not alpha pledgers) will begin to be invited to help test. The game must be ready and have enough content. Then in Alpha we plan on having the entire continent of Kingsreach ready for testing. We don’t like to be evasive, but the timing must be right so our players can give us meaningful feedback, bug reports, etc. These earlier phases are traditional tests, rather than something along the lines of ‘early access’.
If the hold up for alpha is the entire continent of Kingsreach, 2019 sounds about right for alpha.
IF that is the basis for determining Alpha it would seem like 2019 is probably the expected date. Considering the most recent post from the team says they are looking for a world builder that may imply that the world is far from completion
I agree that Alpha will be in 2019, maybe they plan to do Pre Alpha, then Alpha on KingsReach. Then, Pre-alpha / Alpha Again (separately) for Reinfall....
Alpha fo KingsReach could be Spring/Summer 2019. Reinfall Alpha maybe Fall/Winter 2020. Realistic release date, late 2021, early 2022. i honestly wouldn't be surprized at a 2023 release. this isn't Blizzard, Brad doesn't have a 200 man team working on this game. hell, i don't even think they have funding enough to get To release unless they get new money from somewhere... (if i win the lottery, that will change. lol )
Very Long ways off. I'm jus doing $5 a month sometimes until I believe there will BE a release. I've probrably given about $80-$100 so far. I will likely cancel the sub and ignore the game for 6-12 months starting later this month.
I don't want Alpha. it's just a broken version of the game. it's not fun. I got an Alpha invite to another game a few days ago. i logged in, did a few quests, looked around a bit and deleted the game afterwords.
Naim said:I agree that Alpha will be in 2019, maybe they plan to do Pre Alpha, then Alpha on KingsReach. Then, Pre-alpha / Alpha Again (separately) for Reinfall....
Alpha fo KingsReach could be Spring/Summer 2019. Reinfall Alpha maybe Fall/Winter 2020. Realistic release date, late 2021, early 2022. i honestly wouldn't be surprized at a 2023 release. this isn't Blizzard, Brad doesn't have a 200 man team working on this game. hell, i don't even think they have funding enough to get To release unless they get new money from somewhere... (if i win the lottery, that will change. lol )
Very Long ways off. I'm jus doing $5 a month sometimes until I believe there will BE a release. I've probrably given about $80-$100 so far. I will likely cancel the sub and ignore the game for 6-12 months starting later this month.
I don't want Alpha. it's just a broken version of the game. it's not fun. I got an Alpha invite to another game a few days ago. i logged in, did a few quests, looked around a bit and deleted the game afterwords.
Depends on the Alpha and company. EQ2 and Wildstar were awful at listening to Alpha players. Awful. And their games paid a price for it. Rift and Vanguard were very good, though in Rift's case they listened too much to the wrong alpha people. Vanguard was my best experience, I was the primary Blood Mage throughout the entire beta process, especially once the class lead went MIA, so I got a lot of face time with the dev in charge of the BM and feel like I helped build and flesh out that class. Gortek is not on this project, but I feel these guys will listen. The game might not be immensely fun in Alpha, but helping to shape it and build it into something great is immensely satsifying. My approach is always pick something from crafting to playing a specific class and just become an expert at the curret iteration and give feedback on how to make it better. As you go through the beta process, you become a pretty important voice, especially if you prove to be a populist in terms of what the majority enjoys or wants with what you decided to specilize and focus on. I find that fun.