It doesn't end there, this is only the Alpha version of the game. While it may be playable, somewhat stable, and has spawned a bunch of love for it already, IT IS NOT FEATURE COMPLETE. How many people here have ever compared the list of features Dwarf Fortress had when it was first released to the public to what we play with now in the current version (which Toad calls v0.31.16, guess what that means ... ALPHA!)? I suppose people playing the Natural Selection 2 Alpha for Unknown Worlds also think they have a bum deal because they don't have all the weapons or kharaa aliens the final version is planned to have?matrix3509 said:Jesus, *sigh*
This thread just makes it so goddammed obvious how many people have to have their hands held in video games these days, as if 30 seconds without a clear objective will make them piss their pants in terror, then call the game boring because they lack the imagination to think of anything.
People's purchases and donations towards these Alphas insure we get the best game possible, the one the Dev(s) dreamt about when they first started on it all those years ago, we are patrons to their services. So, you don't see what the fuss is all about? Come back in a few, we'll see on the latest youtube videos if DF gets better official graphics and user interface, how well the NS2 hot action between the TSA & Kharaa is evolving, and how well the Halloween update for MC goes:
And that's all before any of this stuff goes Beta, let alone Gold version 1.0 ... and I wouldn't be surprised if I missed other Indy Devs who also allow access to their Alpha builds by donation or purchase, for that I apologize because there are a lot of other good ones out there.
Still not convinced? Just like Toad, Notch is pretty open about his feature list and other things he hopes to implement on his blog and twitter account - so hand holding is a feature that is coming sometime in the future, probably in the form of a tech tree and achievements of sorts according to Notch's musings, to a Minecraft update near you. In the meantime, there are a bunch of wonderful helpful people posting youtube videos and this Wiki:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VWnQHS-ffs
http://www.minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Main_Page
So, if you want to wait till it is more feature complete, perhaps when it goes Beta and Notch focuses on optimization or something, I am sure the Beta price for entry will welcome you with open arms. I guess I am just too much of a cheap bastard to pay more later and in the mean time fool around with what is in currently ... which is strange, I've played $50+ for supposed Triple A games in the past that were more bug ridden experiences than this *shrug*.