Will the upcoming crowd forging include a way into Alpha?

[Nevy]

Just curious as I'm very interested.

[Tyncale]

Yes!

Ryan just mentioned it in todays blog:

Quote:

We will continue to offer our Alpha Access package. Purchasing that package will be the only way to get the Daily Deal items from the Kickstarter campaign, and it includes free game time throughout all of Early Enrollment no matter how long that phase of development lasts.

[First0f0ne]

Alpha is not the same as EE though, correct?

I am assuming progress will likely be wiped, or we will jump around in power to test various features?

[Tyncale]

Alpha is planned to start somewhere in April I believe, and there will be a wipe most definately at the end, right before EE starts which is still planned for 3rd quarter. So somewhere in july-sept.

[Nihimon]

First0f0ne wrote:

Alpha is not the same as EE though, correct?

Correct, but Alpha does give you a free pass to the entire Early Enrollment period at no extra charge.

[Nihimon]

Tyncale wrote:

Alpha is planned to start somewhere in April I believe...

The latest official statement is:

Beyond this Hill It Floods Rays of Hope wrote:

The question that everyone is asking is "when will Alpha testing begin?" Our answer is early in the 2nd quarter of 2014!

So, April is probably a good estimate.

[Nevy]

What is the "alpha package?" Is it the one I see for 1,000 dollars ?

[Nihimon]

Nevy wrote:

What is the "alpha package?" Is it the one I see for 1,000 dollars ?

Yes. It includes Alpha access, all of the Daily Deals, and Free Access to the entire Early Enrollment period.

[Tyncale]

Here is a nice overview:

Alpha Crowdforger

The free access to the entire Early Enrollment period is a pretty nice perk. I think EE is expected to last 1-1.5 years, am I correct in this? This means that instead of having to pay 15 dollars a month for your sub (which will buy you a month of xp for 1 of your characters) you get that for free as long as EE lasts.

The lower pledge tiers give 2-4 months of free game time during EE, and I think you could also buy game-time packages during the Fullfillment phase of the KS, back in May 2013.

Maybe they will offer those again too.

I hope I have all this correct.

[Nevy]

Nihimon wrote:

Nevy wrote:

What is the "alpha package?" Is it the one I see for 1,000 dollars ?

Yes. It includes Alpha access, all of the Daily Deals, and Free Access to the entire Early Enrollment period.

Wowzer! I should have rephrased the question to "will there be alpha access offered at a decent price?" 1,000 is pretty crazy!

[Nihimon]

Tyncale wrote:

I think EE is expected to last 1-1.5 years, am I correct in this?

I believe the latest estimate was 18 months, so yes :)

Tyncale wrote:

The lower pledge tiers give 2-4 months of free game time during EE...

It was actually usable at any time, not just EE. You can even use a month or two in EE and then save the other months for after OE.

[DeciusBrutus]

Nevy wrote:

Nihimon wrote:

Nevy wrote:

What is the "alpha package?" Is it the one I see for 1,000 dollars ?

Yes. It includes Alpha access, all of the Daily Deals, and Free Access to the entire Early Enrollment period.

Wowzer! I should have rephrased the question to "will there be alpha access offered at a decent price?" 1,000 is pretty crazy!

There has been speculation that there might be a number of invites into the α based on community involvement or recommendation from existing testers.

It has been confirmed that the price point of purchased α tests will not be reduced below the price already paid by existing backers.