Goblin Squad Member
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Read some other discussions and look at the store, there are a few conversations that include the release along with the new premium items.
Clear answers for game release dates don't exist, and you shouldn't want them to.
GW announced September 15th, believe it if you will.
Expect September/October for Early Enrollment
Q1/2016 was the projection for Open Enrollment.
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Goblin Squad Member
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The idea of Month 1/Month 2 EE access has been folded into "Everyone who has paid for EE starts on the same day." Right now the target date is September 15.
Goblinworks has also stated their intention to give everyone in Early Enrollment a chance to play with the Alpha client before EE goes live. IF the September 15 date remains accurate (As Valkenr says, that's still a big 'if'), then EE account holders might enter Alpha in the first or second week of September.
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Goblin Squad Member
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Wait, if your still in alpha and the game is scheduled for September, when is Beta Testing?
There was a rather lot of discussion during the kickstarter about early enrolement NOT being a beta because too many people balked at the idea of paying to beta test the game.
That's why you changed the name from beta to early enrolement.
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Goblin Squad Member
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Normally one would hear about alpha, closed beta and open beta; it would be easy to make the obvious correlations.
I will point out that the downtime and instability one would generally associate with a typical beta test are not likely to be as present. There will almost definitely be some, but the expectation I have gotten is that this is going to be a stripped down product with a bare minimum of features, but a consistently playable product nonetheless.
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Goblin Squad Member
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Wait, if your still in alpha and the game is scheduled for September, when is Beta Testing?
There was a rather lot of discussion during the kickstarter about early enrolement NOT being a beta because too many people balked at the idea of paying to beta test the game.
That's why you changed the name from beta to early enrolement.
Early Enrollment is and isn't a beta. For the development process, it can be considered a beta, but functionally, it isn't.
Instead of being given a full game with all the planned features, EE is the minimum viable product that can be played. Starting small, and building up, not piling everything on at once and trying to sort through all the mechanics.
Too many people didn't balk at the idea of having a paid beta, it is basically mandatory in game development now. A bunch of uninformed people who didn't understand what is necessary to bring a game to market nowadays made a lot of noise, and GW shut them all down.
Most people aren't used to seeing a game like this, a game in this state is usually behind closed doors.
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Goblin Squad Member
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You don't need to beta test features that aren't implemented. Rather than trying to beta test a finished game, features will be added and iterated over time to bridge the gap between the post-Alpha Minimum Viable Product and Open Access (release).
As stated above, it isn't a beta unless you use a rather peculiar definition of the term. The game isn't done, thus, Early Access isn't a beta.
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Goblin Squad Member
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If you backed the project on Kickstarter with a pledge costing more than $100, you will be able to start playing on September 15th (assuming all goes well between now and then in Alpha testing).
Awesome, thank you! I guess I didn't expect such a long period (16 months +) between the time I started and the time open enrollment begins. I take it other players will somehow be filtered in during that time. Not sure how that will work, but I have the answer I was hoping for!
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Goblin Squad Member
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If you backed the project on Kickstarter with a pledge costing more than $100, you will be able to start playing on September 15th (assuming all goes well between now and then in Alpha testing).Awesome, thank you! I guess I didn't expect such a long period (16 months +) between the time I started and the time open enrollment begins. I take it other players will somehow be filtered in during that time. Not sure how that will work, but I have the answer I was hoping for!
Early Enrollment passes are available for purchase (without all the kickstarter extras) at $100 w/ 3 months time for 1st month access or $50 w/ 1 month time for 2nd month access. If you know anyone who wanted in, be sure to let them know about the lower cost option!