Do you think this alpha should be in waves?

Jump back to quoted post29 Apr 2015, 15:06 PMRMMLz

Not really, we had some drastic changes in the previous alpha. What you say makes sense, but that's not the case here. It was like 5-6 days prior to release and they changed the whole mechanics of OKW. Not that it was a mistake, but come on, changes like that at the final moments?

Jump back to quoted post29 Apr 2015, 14:22 PMJackiebrown

See and that's what confuses me, they should have got in, they would have brought so much valuable feedback to the table. And personally would I have preferred to be in it, yea... but at this point I'm past it. I feel for some people though, some people have applied and never been accepted and those who have applied and get accepted everytime. For those who argue that everyone should get a chance for alpha some time or another, remember that there are those who have gotten sidelined everytime. My only issue that I have just based on these forums that majority of its members got into alpha, Relic should do some sort of announcement so those who didn't make it actually feel invested in it and not the minority who's not in on the secret.

Jump back to quoted post29 Apr 2015, 14:59 PMKobunite

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Jump back to quoted post29 Apr 2015, 14:59 PMKobunite

Why should they have got in?

Yes, they are very good at this game.
I don't know if they would have given good feedback or not, but I suspect they would have.

But, simply put, being highly ranked in the game shouldn't just get you access to the alpha.

For this to be a valid test of any kind they need a wide range of players that fully explore the skill curve of the community. Putting in too many of the games top players throws this curve hugely.

That is why some of the best guys didn't get in, it's also why some of the worst will have. Almost regardless of what they want to gain from this Alpha they will have needed to recreate a much smaller version of the player base.

TL;DR: Putting in all the top players just because they are top will not make the test, or end product, better - it'll probably make it worse.

Also, the point of the Alpha isn't to showcase things to the community. It's not to make us feel more included (well, that probably isn't it's primary purpose). It's not a reward to the most excited or most loyal players. It's an Alpha that is designed to test the code they have written for whatever has been tested. Its a test to find problems, be they balance, features, abilities, units...etc.

People haven't been betrayed by the alpha, the people in the dark will have been anyway and the people who can't talk about it knew that was the case when they signed up for a closed alpha (or should have).

Jump back to quoted post29 Apr 2015, 15:06 PMRMMLz

Not really, we had some drastic changes in the previous alpha. What you say makes sense, but that's not the case here. It was like 5-6 days prior to release and they changed the whole mechanics of OKW. Not that it was a mistake, but come on, changes like that at the final moments?

Jump back to quoted post29 Apr 2015, 14:59 PMKobunite

Why should they have got in?

Yes, they are very good at this game.
I don't know if they would have given good feedback or not, but I suspect they would have.

But, simply put, being highly ranked in the game shouldn't just get you access to the alpha.

For this to be a valid test of any kind they need a wide range of players that fully explore the skill curve of the community. Putting in too many of the games top players throws this curve hugely.

That is why some of the best guys didn't get in, it's also why some of the worst will have. Almost regardless of what they want to gain from this Alpha they will have needed to recreate a much smaller version of the player base.

TL;DR: Putting in all the top players just because they are top will not make the test, or end product, better - it'll probably make it worse.

Also, the point of the Alpha isn't to showcase things to the community. It's not to make us feel more included (well, that probably isn't it's primary purpose). It's not a reward to the most excited or most loyal players. It's an Alpha that is designed to test the code they have written for whatever has been tested. Its a test to find problems, be they balance, features, abilities, units...etc.

People haven't been betrayed by the alpha, the people in the dark will have been anyway and the people who can't talk about it knew that was the case when they signed up for a closed alpha (or should have).

Jump back to quoted post29 Apr 2015, 15:20 PMAustralian Magic

I'll put it different. It's not about why they did not get it. It's more about why some players, who constantly show lack of knowledge of the game/play only one side are in.

Jump back to quoted post29 Apr 2015, 15:29 PMJackiebrown

The purpose of this thread is to discuss should the alpha be opened up to more people. Should the majority of top players get their say on the matter, absolutely. I agree you can't put all the top players in the initial alpha, but if they space it out in waves majority of great players will be able to provide feedback. The unintended result of the limited closed alpha is that there will be the people who signed up, and then a couple hours in find out its not for them or the people that play one side and are proven axis/allied fanboys, its a waste of a slot that so many other better people could fill. Call me bitter, but I really don't care. This was more of an awareness thing and based on the alpha for WFA last year, nothing really changed between the alpha and final product except some OKW truck changes.

Jump back to quoted post29 Apr 2015, 15:40 PMMajorBloodnok

You're right, ofc, (though you may be surprised to know there are some very good players who are disenchanted from past experiences, and have not even applied...)

That said, I hate to see the community split.

Jump back to quoted post29 Apr 2015, 15:44 PMJackiebrown

And that is what I was afraid of at the beginning, I knew the community would be split between the haves and the have nots. But in this case such a significant portion of this forums community got in, some are left out in the cold. It's like sitting in a class room where majority of the students are in on a secret and a those few not in sitting there wondering, "What the hell?"

Jump back to quoted post29 Apr 2015, 15:15 PMJackiebrown

Remember truck territory chains?

Jump back to quoted post29 Apr 2015, 16:03 PMkeithsboredom

"Alphas" of products are generally more about ironing out Bugs than Balance in my limited experience.

Also as previously stated here people shouldn't feel entitled to anything, you have no idea what relic's goals are for this alpha and so making assumptions that people should get in based on criteria that are unknown to you is pointless.

Jump back to quoted post29 Apr 2015, 16:35 PMJackiebrown

The fact was the criteria was small, there were very few options to choose from. Therefore its not hard to figure out that many applications probably were identical, how do you choose from potential candidates if there really is little difference in application. I may be wrong, but to be fair the applications should have gone more in depth and had a few more options to allow people to distinguish themselves more.

Jump back to quoted post29 Apr 2015, 16:46 PMkeithsboredom

Clearly relic only cared about a few criteria and were not interested in filtering through more attributes. Once again it is very possible that additional details were not necessary due to the nature of the information they want to gain from the Alpha.

Jump back to quoted post29 Apr 2015, 15:52 PMMajorBloodnok

I think you should pay attention to the decline text sent to Barton - and follow your logic: this is an Alpha. Therefore, there will be a Beta. i would be amazed, frankly, if the doors are not opened again at some point.

Jump back to quoted post29 Apr 2015, 16:57 PMKobunite

This is more of what I was getting at; it's an Alpha. Letting in everyone is against the purpose of an Alpha. It's what an Open Beta is for.

Jump back to quoted post29 Apr 2015, 16:52 PMJackiebrown

A lot of my friends that never played before got in which points to maybe they are trying to get new players (expanding community never hurts ). The one thing they should do for those who didn't make the cut is do an announcement to the community and tell us what is being tested. In that case people that leak don't get penalized for saying what it is, the people that got in feel like special butterflies , and those who didn't get in get to know what is on the horizon and get hyped for it. It's a win-win situation for everyone then.