Difference between revisions of "Template:Alpha-1 testing"

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Revision as of 04:40, 17 October 2020

I am happy to announce the dates for Alpha One testing. This schedule will include Alpha One testers for a 4-day stress test starting on December 18, 2020. Now this first test will remain under NDA, as there will still likely be some considerable polish and bug fixing necessary. I will of course provide some recorded footage of the event so the community at large can see the testing. The gap between the December test and the February test will provide our team with the time necessary to iterate and fix bugs, then in March we will aim to have a 1-week test stood up in preparation for the final month-long test in April.[1]Steven Sharif

Prior to these testing dates, users who have Alpha One access will receive emails with their testing instructions and a known issues list, along with the testing focuses and objectives. As I said, the Alpha One for Ashes of Creation is intended to test the base mechanics of many systems. We leave much room to iterate depending on how the testing data goes.[1]Steven Sharif

Phase Release Estimated/Actual date
Alpha-1 Alpha-1 early preview livestream.[2] March 27, 2020.[3]
Alpha-1 limited QA testing (NDA).[4][5] May 28, 2020.[6][7]
Alpha-1 preview pre-test 1 (NDA).[1] Dec 18 - Dec 21 2020.[1]
Alpha-1 preview pre-test 2 (NDA).[1] Feb 19 - Feb 22 2021.[8][9]
Alpha-1 preview intermittent spot testing (NDA).[10][11] Mar 19 - Jul 9 2021.[10][11]
Alpha-1 preview weekend (no NDA).[10] July 9 - July 11 2021.[12][13][10]
Alpha-1 (no NDA).[10] July 14 - August 15 2021.[14][15]

Read more...

The term "alpha" is a tricky one, and it typically has 2 meanings in gaming. The development meaning for alpha is a point in the process where we are ready to test the fundamental systems in their core form, without polish and without much of the content. Then, there is the external or "marketing" term for alpha. This is typically applied to Eastern-ported MMORPGs, when in fact that is a completed game being localized for a region, and not really indicative of a true development alpha. As you may know by now, game development has many stages - from the initial tech demos to the pre-production and pre-alpha states, then on to the alphas and betas and eventually launch.[1]Steven Sharif

I want to make emphatically clear, our alphas and betas are true development alphas and betas, and some have said I am crazy to allow these phases to be seen without an NDA…maybe I am crazy? lol… But I am trusting the community of gamers out there to get a glimpse into the process, and understand the long road ahead for what will eventually be worth the wait. Given time and talent, amazing things can happen, so make sure you help us in communicating that we are in open development which means people get to see the bare bones before the meat. And look, I know people see our 4K footage and say, "This looks better than most released games!", but trust me when I say, you ain't seen nothin’ yet.[1]Steven Sharif