Divinity: Original Sin Alpha Begins, But You Probably Shouldn't Bother

[Andy Chalk]

Divinity: Original Sin Alpha Begins, But You Probably Shouldn't Bother

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The first alpha build of Divinity: Original Sin is now available, but Larian Entertainment thinks you should probably stay away from it (even though you won't).

Alpha access to Larian's Divinity: Original Sin was opened to Kickstarter backers today, but the email announcing the launch began with a rather unusual message. "Before you rush in and get your alpha code, please watch/read the following messages. We know, you most likely won't, but still, there's some important stuff in here," it says. "The most important thing is: If you want a smooth, balanced & stable experience without performance problems, wait for release! Seriously!"

As Larian chief Swen Vincke explained in an accompanying video, the team wants people to try it out but doesn't want to disappoint anyone who isn't prepared for an alpha-state game. "It is fun to play, but it will most likely crash on you," he said. "It's unbalanced, there are several features that are missing, your saved games are not 100 percent reliable so from time to time you might actually encounter situations that your saved game corrupts your game... You are going to encounter things that are pink, which would then definitely be an indication that something is a placeholder."

It's a perfectly normal state of affairs because Larian is still working on the game, but one Vincke is clearly concerned that not everyone fully grasps. "If you say, 'No, I can't handle it if I'm playing for ten hours and I have to redo everything because my saved game is corrupt,' then please stay as far away as possible from it until we say the game is finished enough that you can starting enjoying it," he said.

If you think you can handle the heat (and you're a backer), instructions for accessing the Divinity: Original Sin alpha are available at Kickstarter; but if what you're after is a stable, solid RPG experience, then you'd probably be well advised to hold off for awhile.

Source: Kickstarter [http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/larianstudios/divinity-original-sin/posts/697369]


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[Johnson McGee]

I totally understand where they are coming from. I'm not really a fan of these early access games at all. I've got enough to play right now and I find that playing a game before it's done just lessens the enjoyment I get from the finished product. After playing games like Kerbal Space Program in early release I've learned just to wait until it's done and avoid ruining the better final experience. Besides, beta testing used to be a thankless grinding job; why pay for the privilege?

 

[Morti]

It saddens me that developers feel the need to do this... so many morons who think "Alpha/Beta Release" is code for "get the game early" and not "incomplete".

 

[Agayek]

It's a perfectly normal state of affairs because Larian is still working on the game, but one Vincke is clearly concerned that not everyone fully grasps.

That would be because he's an intelligent man who has seen some of the shit people throw out there during alpha access of other games. It's sad, but disclaimers like this are kinda needed. People are apparently too dumb to put together that 'alpha' means 'probably broken in many ways'.

 

[Ickorus]

I backed the game and am waiting myself, I really want to play it but I also really want the full experience.

 

[piinyouri]

It's a perfectly normal state of affairs because Larian is still working on the game, but one Vincke is clearly concerned that not everyone fully grasps.

That would be because he's an intelligent man who has seen some of the shit people throw out there during alpha access of other games. It's sad, but disclaimers like this are kinda needed. People are apparently too dumb to put together that 'alpha' means 'probably broken in many ways'.

Very much agree.
Just look at the Starbound forums right now. (Actually, it's a bit better than it was a week or so ago)

 

[Andy Chalk]

I backed it too, and I'm not going anywhere near it until release. But you guys are right, this kind of thing is necessitated by developers who use "beta tests" (and, to a lesser degree, alphas) as a promotional tool, which has very predictably raised gamer expectations of such things to completely unreasonable levels. And with Steam Early Access now such a big fixture on the landscape, it's a situation we can expect to get worse, not better.

 

[Caiphus]

That would be because he's an intelligent man who has seen some of the shit people throw out there during alpha access of other games. It's sad, but disclaimers like this are kinda needed. People are apparently too dumb to put together that 'alpha' means 'probably broken in many ways'.

Maybe the feedback will be more reasonable since the alpha seems to only be available to kickstarter backers?* If it was on Steam, or some other store available to 14 year old Joey and the rest of the public, yeah, you absolutely would need a disclaimer.

I mean, the Steam forums for Might and Magic X legacy are still pretty bad, and that game is much, much more finished than Divinity.

*Edit: That could just be blind optimism on my part.

 

[RandV80]

That would be because he's an intelligent man who has seen some of the shit people throw out there during alpha access of other games. It's sad, but disclaimers like this are kinda needed. People are apparently too dumb to put together that 'alpha' means 'probably broken in many ways'.

Maybe the feedback will be more reasonable since the alpha seems to only be available to kickstarter backers?* If it was on Steam, or some other store available to 14 year old Joey and the rest of the public, yeah, you absolutely would need a disclaimer.

I mean, the Steam forums for Might and Magic X legacy are still pretty bad, and that game is much, much more finished than Divinity.

*Edit: That could just be blind optimism on my part.

I thought it was Divinity on steam, but that's actually Wastland, with early access going for $60. That's one way to keep people away, just jack up the early access price and it will keep a lot of those people who don't understand the concept of alpha/beta away!

Yes it's an increasing practice, but I don't really mind it. I mean it's really one of those things where if you don't like it then just don't buy it, wait for the final release. And considering that this is mostly done by indy developers, it's a great way to get your beta testing done and an earlier revenue source. If you just wait for the final release you will likely be getting a product that's better tested and more polished, both by the excessive testing and the developers not needing to rush because they got some revenue, than if there was no early access. What's there to hate about that?

...Well aside from the fact that you just know that the big publishers are going to jump on this in some way and abuse it, but still you can't really blame the small timers for that.

 

[Caiphus]

I thought it was Divinity on steam, but that's actually Wastland, with early access going for $60. That's one way to keep people away, just jack up the early access price and it will keep a lot of those people who don't understand the concept of alpha/beta away!

Yes it's an increasing practice, but I don't really mind it. I mean it's really one of those things where if you don't like it then just don't buy it, wait for the final release. And considering that this is mostly done by indy developers, it's a great way to get your beta testing done and an earlier revenue source. If you just wait for the final release you will likely be getting a product that's better tested and more polished, both by the excessive testing and the developers not needing to rush because they got some revenue, than if there was no early access. What's there to hate about that?

...Well aside from the fact that you just know that the big publishers are going to jump on this in some way and abuse it, but still you can't really blame the small timers for that.

I've never actually heard of Wasteland 2. I've just looked it up. Selling Early Access for $60 does seem a bit rich... Although there do seem to be bonuses. But these are the kind of bonuses one would expect from a pre-order. A copy of the original Wasteland, and some digital booklets.

I'm slightly of two minds about the Early Access thing.
On one hand, there is the possibility for it to be abused in the same way that Kickstarter or pre-orders might. You're putting down money for an unknown entity, and it could turn out that the final product is much worse than anticipated, possibly due to ineptitude or poor financial planning on the part of the devs.
On the other hand, it lets fans of a series give feedback and beta test that you wouldn't get with a pre-order. And the developers have to have at least something to show (even if it's almost a shell of the final product), unlike Kickstarter where the developers can sell an "idea" or concept.

And also yes, like you said, the revenue up front probably allows the developers to relax and avoid rushing their product, and one would imagine that having a large pool of testers will improve the game. I suppose we'll see once these larger Early Access games start going gold.

 

[Kahani]

I've never actually heard of Wasteland 2. I've just looked it up. Selling Early Access for $60 does seem a bit rich... Although there do seem to be bonuses. But these are the kind of bonuses one would expect from a pre-order. A copy of the original Wasteland, and some digital booklets.

That's because, as with several other games that have done the same, it's essentially just an extension of their Kickstarter campaign. With Kickstarter, generally if you pay a low price you just get the thing once it's finished. If you pay more, you can get access to beta or alpha releases, and so on. So when the beta is actually out, it goes up on Steam for the same price, or more, that you would have had to pay if you had backed via Kickstarter. It's essentially just saying "We don't want to block people who missed the Kickstarter from being involved, but we aren't going to screw over early backers by giving access to the general public for less".

Also, what exactly do you think is the difference between early access and a pre-order? In both cases you pay for the game, or at least commit to buying it, before it is actually released, usually in exchange for getting some sort of extra that those who don't pre-order won't get. With early access, it just happens that one of the bonuses is playing a beta version of the game before the final thing is released. So yes, the bonuses with early access are the kind of bonuses one would expect from a pre-order, because that's exactly what they are.

 

[Caiphus]

That's because, as with several other games that have done the same, it's essentially just an extension of their Kickstarter campaign. With Kickstarter, generally if you pay a low price you just get the thing once it's finished. If you pay more, you can get access to beta or alpha releases, and so on. So when the beta is actually out, it goes up on Steam for the same price, or more, that you would have had to pay if you had backed via Kickstarter. It's essentially just saying "We don't want to block people who missed the Kickstarter from being involved, but we aren't going to screw over early backers by giving access to the general public for less".

That's fine. It wouldn't be fair to the backers if the Early Access went up on Steam for less than the amount the backers paid. But I doubt the Kickstarter would have required $60 for beta access. And if it did, that's also rather steep. But whatever. If people pay it, that's up to them. I wouldn't.

Also, what exactly do you think is the difference between early access and a pre-order?

With early access, it just happens that one of the bonuses is playing a beta version of the game before the final thing is released.

That would be it.

I also laid that out in the rest of my previous post.

On the other hand, [Early Access] lets fans of a series give feedback and beta test that you wouldn't get with a pre-order. And the developers have to have at least something to show (even if it's almost a shell of the final product), unlike Kickstarter where the developers can sell an "idea" or concept.

The particular bonus of being allowed to play the game before release is both the definition of Early Access and how it's different from a pre-order. I'm afraid I don't understand if I've confused you.