Seriously, go Early Access please

[Augustini]

Just stumbled upon the reveal of X4.

I've been away from the X games for some years now, but this title definately looks like a sure purchase.

Sign me up for the closed Alpha / Beta tests

[desius]

I would actually argue against Early Access, at least with regards to Steam.

Steam gamers treat Early Access just as the name originally implied; with it being an opportunity to play the game sooner than release.

For the most part, Steam gamers will not react well to very buggy betas and tend to drop negative reviews for the most insignificant reasons, which then stick around for the life of the game, driving down the review score long after those bugs are fixed.

An early negative reputation is a big hurdle to overcome later.

At most, I would only recommend EA for the last couple months of polish and public beta.

[cherbert1701]

I would love them to release EA but not on Steam. My concerns on Steam are the fact people can leave negative feedback on EA games and we all know what the Steam crowd are like for not comprehending what EA actually means.

Egosoft were already hurt badly by X-Rebirth reviews.

I have been a fan since XBTF and I'd gladly pay £100 to buy in and help test. I bought X-Rebirth VR just so I could support Egosoft in my own small way. They aren't a huge developer and I am glad they are continuing to keep X alive. I would love to somehow be actively involved in the development period.

[Phlt]

At most, I would only recommend EA for the last couple months of polish and public beta.

DevNet is a smarter solution to test properly and give undisclosed feedback to Egosoft.

This has been done for X games before. I hope the same process will be used.

[Ketraar]

Both have faults and are not perfect solutions. Personally I agree with using both. DevNet for "hardcore" testing and feature polish, then go EA for a few weeks just to iron out all the bugs that you only catch with massive amount of hours and play styles.

MFG

Ketraar

[RegisterMe]

What matters is not dev level, or Steam early access, or open betas etc. What matters is how the dev and QA process is managed, and if the development team / management are actually receptive to feedback.

It can be done well, it should be cheap and effective vs alternatives. Unfortunately my experience is poor .

[ishmaeltheforsaken]

Early Access is a double-edged sword.

On the one hand, Egosoft are a small studio who don't have a lot of resources to devote to a bespoke QA team, so the kind of feedback that could be gathered from players would be great.

On the other hand, an Early Access release with a lot of issues will be looked upon poorly by a lot of people, even though that's the whole point of Early Access. You only get one launch day, and if it's an Early Access launch, then that's it. The final release doesn't wipe that slate clean.

That said, historically the X games have been prone to rocky launches. Rebirth wasn't an anomaly, and I remember a lot of people saying it was basically an Early Access thing anyway. It's possible people would be more charitable if they just called it that.

Personally I want the game as soon as possible, and I'd happily play an Early Access version with a critical eye to help iron out issues, but I'm not qualified to predict whether it would be a mistake financially.

[BigBANGtheory]

EA is fundamentally a commercial decision.....

[Loltak]

I think Early access is a good thing to polish the game : more PC config, more player so more situation of bug&co.
It's probably much important for small structure.

And I could play sooner
However players have to keep in mind and, be honest with themselves, early access means unfinished/unpolished game. I think some players forgot that aspect. (in general, not specifically for X games )

[Vandragorax]

I would actually argue against Early Access, at least with regards to Steam.

Steam gamers treat Early Access just as the name originally implied; with it being an opportunity to play the game sooner than release.

For the most part, Steam gamers will not react well to very buggy betas and tend to drop negative reviews for the most insignificant reasons, which then stick around for the life of the game, driving down the review score long after those bugs are fixed.

An early negative reputation is a big hurdle to overcome later.

At most, I would only recommend EA for the last couple months of polish and public beta.

Agreed 100%.

[StoneLegionYT]

We are in a time that releasing a Egosoft style game now would hurt the title too much sadly. I'm not asking for a reduced price on the title or anything like that but releasing the full game and not calling it EA by Egosoft is going to be a blow back no matter what.

You guys are sort of the Hello Games of PC gaming but instead of making up stories your games tend to be just not as polished and lacking features. This is 100% fine with me but I know it does not stand well with most others out there and outside this community.

So please consider this time around going for some sort of Beta / Early Access Release system where we don't call it release and have 2 years before reviews start going positive.

Thank you!

Long Term follower!

[Eleutherios]

I think everyone of us who prepurchased rebirth and then got stuck with it cause Steam didn't do returns back then should get the X4 beta testing sent to us.

I mean, we can pay for the game, but we should at least get to test it out before theres another stillbirth. Or maybe kick in a season pass...

The bottom line is X rebirth was robbery. And if they plan to make something back from the community of followers from the good ole days then they will need to make a jesture to do so. Not just make the next iteration they should have last time... We're what like 6 years on at this point from x3AP. thats a lot of down time.

[SteveMill]

Just about every x game has been de facto Early Access.

Might as well make it official.

With Early Access people know what to expect but paying premium prices for unfinished ganes garners bad publicity.

I would happily invest in Early Access.

Otherwise it's wait 18 months until it's finished and by then it's a Steam Sale purchase.

[Skeeter]

If they go early access id say block the plot till real release date if possible then we wont be spoiled by it till its the full release. Releasing it early like a release candidate stage where its pretty feature complete would bring in extra funds to beef up the weaker elements "if there are any" and maybe fund maybe pile of request/features to be made towards the full true release. Of course it needs a decent discount if gooing EA as id not pay full price for EA but thats like also saying fans of the games that do buy it EA are given a chance to try it early and provide feedback etc. Let new customers pay full price when its finished proper as they hopefully buy it in a good release status with minimal bugs etc so wont moan and hopefully enjoy it and give good reviews to encourage futher sales.

Price wise then if ur charging 39.99 again it better be good as rebirth was that and me personally would have said 19.99 was more fair tbh when released. So if it is good then ok charge 40 notes, but EA price id say 20-28 range, depending how early is early. If mid to late alpha then 20 max, if mid beta stage or higher then charge more like 25+. If its high beta stage then why bother tbh with EA.

About pricing above, this is what id say about any ea game so dont say its bad to say the lower prices as this is personally what id do if a game i wanted when EA.

Tbh i cant see egosoft doing EA i dont think they want to risk people put off if its in a bad state and worried they cant get it fixed in time for full release date they aim for which would extend EA time and lose money due to the lower price its stuck at.

Tho look at ark game, its been in EA years, performance issues aplenty but people buy and enjoyed it and its done well for that iirc small company who made it. Tho some people are annoyed about the price hike when they said full version coming soon.

[vadiolive]

I dont mind pay full price for EA


But point i like see progress i leave several EA instal (not play) just to see if update often(most case is dead and no but well its risk)

And about income cash from EA i guess not help much as guys think
after all , egosoft use custom engine and find employee with decent skills today very hard probably need spend 1 yr just trainning new guys to start see effect

But can hire community modders to make awesome work since know XML structure

And yes i like X3 and like XR
and ready to trow my money if show up on steam

[StoneLegionYT]

I totally Agree with Progress on EA. I assume devs do internal builds so I could see that being experiment then every maybe 30 days or so release a decent patch if they can possible. Nothing in stone of course but try to show progression via patches overtime.

But I for sure think EA is a must and I don't even mean release it early from their internal predictions but just do EA from that date they have even.

I also agree disabling the plots not a bad idea and they can also give NDA testers special branch.

[Morkonan]

I don't want to see an Early Access for X4.

Early Access schemes for complex games do not usually work out well. They just don't. Simple games have a much better time with Early Access as most of that stage is polishing and adding "new" features and such.

X games are complex and there's far too much for nitpickers to nitpick in an Early Access stage. That will reflect on the game's ultimate sales figures, IMO, and it's reputation over the long-haul.

I wouldn't mind, if the devs are ready, to see it as an Early Access title a few months before official publication, just so they can get a quick paid Beta test/review so they can iron out any final issues.

A Closed Beta would be a good idea when they're ready for that, I think. They've got the fanbase to support a goodly number of legitimate Beta testers without having to stress about the quality of their Beta test, IMO.

[26072013]

I wouldn't mind, if the devs are ready, to see it as an Early Access title a few months before official publication, just so they can get a quick paid Beta test/review so they can iron out any final issues.

That would make sense. Egosoft could finish developing the game, declare it feature complete and ready for release, and then go into early access for a few months with quick bugfix releases until it's actually running well with a playable campaign.

[dfm5000]

I don't want to see an Early Access for X4.

Early Access schemes for complex games do not usually work out well. They just don't. Simple games have a much better time with Early Access as most of that stage is polishing and adding "new" features and such.

X games are complex and there's far too much for nitpickers to nitpick in an Early Access stage. That will reflect on the game's ultimate sales figures, IMO, and it's reputation over the long-haul.

I wouldn't mind, if the devs are ready, to see it as an Early Access title a few months before official publication, just so they can get a quick paid Beta test/review so they can iron out any final issues.

A Closed Beta would be a good idea when they're ready for that, I think. They've got the fanbase to support a goodly number of legitimate Beta testers without having to stress about the quality of their Beta test, IMO.

Early access games help a lot, for one it funds their project. It allows users to provide feedback, it stops surprises on release date X-Rebirth<<<====. The one Mariah Carey song Egosoft loved to sing over the years is we are to small to do things this big, could always bust my ears with that high note.

Well with an army of beta testers, you wont have the problem of saying we had no one to test the game, because your community is here an eager to help.

[birdtable]

Have to agree with Morkonan,,, Early access with regard to content is not in my opinion a good thing,, just looking at the discussions here with all the alternative view points some strongly advocated.... Far better to give excellent mod tools to develop individual preferences.
Ego has to deliver what it considers is a good game.
X Rebirth could have benefited from early access but believe it was already to developed/structured for any change of significance to be implemented....

Do I want Early Access ...Hell yes ....