question to pa-team

[KoeN]

atm i'm wondering if i should play R10 or not. have been playing since R2, but since then the game became less fun to play every round.
i'm hearing a lot of positive news from the beta-front (most comes from pa-team itself, but still) but haven't been able to see anything of the game myself.
no offence, but in all honesty i don't believe screenshots will give people thát much information, especially now the whole game is being changed so much.
the preview that has been promised to us, seems to become nothing more than a free 2-weeks period in R10 itself.
now, dear pa-team: how should we (the people that weren't invited to play the private beta) make up our minds about paying for the rest of R10 or not?
let's say the whole p2p procedure takes a week, then we have just 1 week left to actually test the game itself. and as far as i know, the first week means nothing more than doing constructions & researches. still doesn't give the oppurtiny to see how to play the battles itself. and that's what the game is all about isn't it?

why not give us a public preview before R10 starts, with faster ticks? if PaX is really that good as you people say it is, then you can only win players with it as far as i can see.
and apart from the (positive) financial consequences this may have, it's also something you owe the community imho.

[Queen DAX]

Personally, I think a lot of people are jumping the gun on what the game will be like. I have already paid for my account and i will give it a chance, Hell if no one gave round 1 a chance we would never had so many players over time or such big alliances let alone made so many friends. What is the worst you can try the game and hate it or try the game and like it but listening to people about the game is like listening to people who try to tell you what car to buy till you do it your self no way to know for sure.

[dabult]

According to Spinner there will be both a public beta, and a 2 week trial. Two different things.

Patience is a virtue padawan :P

[Spinner]

Check the latest anouncement, hopefully it makes enough sense to clear up any such misunderstandings.

[Maddix]

I do believe most people were waiting for this opportunity:

Public Beta

The public beta will take place during the sign-up period, and will give everyone a little extra chance to try the game out, with somewhat faster ticks than normal. Details on this will not be public until after August 25th. But be advised, this will be a "beta" with all that implies, sudden changes with no warning, server downtime and other surprises, it is not meant to give a representation of the service after September 10th.

As the 'trial period' - not many people will want to be testing the game out for two weeks with limited 'aspects' while others are already fully paid and making headway in the paid universe.

The above should however allow everyone to sign up, then play the public beta, make up their mind and pay in time for tick start, if they so choose to.

Perhaps to make things clearer Spinner your "public beta" should now be refered to as the "two week trial period" - as that is what the majority of players will use it for - to trial the game and make up their mind whether or not to hand over the cash.

[CrashTester]

Originally posted by KoeN
stuff..

Which I why I suggested a little while back to have a short havoc' period at the start so people can get stuck in straight away on some big attacks.

[Leshy]

Originally posted by Maddix
As the 'trial period' - not many people will want to be testing the game out for two weeks with limited 'aspects' while others are already fully paid and making headway in the paid universe.

Perhaps you misunderstood the whole procedure. Everyone starts out in the free universe, where they can remain for two weeks max. After those two weeks, the planet will be locked pending payment and upon receiving it, it will be moved into the paid universe.

The issue isn't going to be with people in the free universe being limited in some way while all the people in the paid universe are not, it's rather when people will start moving to the paid universe in order not to end up in there alone.

as that is what the majority of players will use it for - to trial the game and make up their mind whether or not to hand over the cash.

That wouldn't be the smartest thing, as it's still at that point in a 'beta' stage where tweaks and adjustments can be made, depending on how it proceeds.

[SilverSmoke]

I think for most people (conscious or not) the real question is, what kind of influence and effects have well organised alliances/battlegroups on the 'new' Planetarion.

Which is something that can't be tested in a beta, havoc or trial (whatever) period.

[dabult]

Originally posted by Leshy

That wouldn't be the smartest thing, as it's still at that point in a 'beta' stage where tweaks and adjustments can be made, depending on how it proceeds.

Which would you prefer.
To start a round of a game you have never tried out before, or to have participated in a beta first?

[Leshy]

Originally posted by dabult
To start a round of a game you have never tried out before, or to have participated in a beta first?

Any previous experience is obviously beneficial - although people shouldn't lose sight that certain features may still be altered between the beta and the final round.

[Maddix]

Originally posted by Leshy
Perhaps you misunderstood the whole procedure. Everyone starts out in the free universe, where they can remain for two weeks max. After those two weeks, the planet will be locked pending payment and upon receiving it, it will be moved into the paid universe.

The issue isn't going to be with people in the free universe being limited in some way while all the people in the paid universe are not, it's rather when people will start moving to the paid universe in order not to end up in there alone.

So are you saying the 'limitations' that Spinner said would be in place on the Free Universe to prevent too much cheating etc before transfering across will not be in place for the first 2 weeks of the round? I find that hard to believe.

In which case anyone who immediately transfers across to the paid universe will get a 2 week advantage over anyone who 'trials' the game for 2 weeks then decides to switch over, in some form or another.

I am wondering whether it is you that misunderstands the points being raised, or if you don't know how it will actually work yourself.

[cepe]

Originally posted by Maddix
So are you saying the 'limitations' that Spinner said would be in place on the Free Universe to prevent too much cheating etc before transfering across will not be in place for the first 2 weeks of the round? I find that hard to believe.

In which case anyone who immediately transfers across to the paid universe will get a 2 week advantage over anyone who 'trials' the game for 2 weeks then decides to switch over, in some form or another.

This is my main beef with the current form of the "preview".
Maybe i have misunderstood something or/and am overly cynical, but doesnt that more or less force the competitive minded players to pay for r10 without truly having tried it beforehand ?

[Leshy]

Originally posted by Maddix
So are you saying the 'limitations' that Spinner said would be in place on the Free Universe to prevent too much cheating etc before transfering across will not be in place for the first 2 weeks of the round? I find that hard to believe.

There will be certain limitations in place to prevent people from registering 30 multi accounts in order to boost their score in the first two weeks before transferring to the paid part.

That does not mean that a free planet will be completely undeveloped or have a two week disadvantage on planets which might transfer to the paid part of the universe. In fact, if only a very limited amount of planets transfers to the paid part of the universe, it might very well be wiser to remain in the free part for the two weeks.

I played round 2,3,4. HAve not played since then, too much work. But people have been singing the demise of PA since I first joined the game. I pop in occasionally to see old mates, many are still here playing. I guess I will beleive the rumors of PA death when I come here and get a 404 error repeatedly. Till then play on.

Lo to all the friends I have known.

Later
Conal