Server Wipe Confusion - J.C. Smith - Please Clarify

LazyDazed

So, I was reading the steam forums and noticed J.C. stated this in one of the discussions "No additional wipes are planned. We do reserve the right to wipe if a situation requires ones though, which is why it says that is subject to change if necessary. The plan is for no wipes until launch. If some major bug throws the economy out of whack or some other unforseen event though, it may be required. That's not a high likelihood, and not something we would do lightly, but it has to be noted that it could possibly happen."

No additional wipes are planned is stated first, then he goes on with The plan is for no wipes until launch. 

So does that mean no wipes at all or a wipe at launch, seems like a contradictory statement. Can we please get some clarity on this. Many people are purchasing the steam early access under the impression that there will be no wipes considering you have this as info on the steam store page:

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The game is currently in Alpha 4, which is the final stage of alpha testing. We do not currently have any additional wipes planned prior to launch, but that is subject to change if necessary. The majority of the games features are currently functional, though many features are still being refined and polished." 

waynejr2

Seems very clear to me he is talking about wipes during beta testing.  It also seems clear that there will be a wipe for the commercial release of the game (Don't over think that).

LazyDazed

ummm, "No additional wipes are planned." and "We do not currently have any additional wipes planned prior to launch" not really hard to understand the words.

Read much?

xpiher

They want to test the economy during beta, but they'll wipe the server prior to launch to put everyone on an equal footing. 

LazyDazed

Is there a link to that information somewhere, I am not seeing anything on their website forums anywhere. I have some friends that want to play but don't want to buy it yet if there is going to be a wipe, the statements made say there won't be and I don't think it's too much to ask for clarification, I should have probably just made a thread on the official forums, guess that was erroneous on my part. I just see J.C. posting on here a lot.

Sicc1

Took me all of 30 seconds to find an answer on the official forums...https://www.therepopulation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=7337

LazyDazed

Thanks, I searched "server wipe" on the official forums and it didn't bring that up. They should probably make that more clear on the steam store page. 

JC-Smith

In the Early Access section on the steam store it does state something similar: “The game is currently in Alpha 4, which is the final stage of alpha testing. We do not currently have any additional wipes planned prior to launch, but that is subject to change if necessary."

But to clarify: No additional wipes are planned for testing, but there will absolutely be a wipe before the start of launch. If we found some catastrophic issue that really needed a wipe at some point from now until launch it is possible that there could be a wipe. There is no plans for one though, and we don't anticipate this happening.

Asheram

The game is in alpha state and its obvious and I would hope there would be more wipes to improve on it not none.

Kyleran

Need to sticky JC-Smith's response here, as it will continue to come up due to the wording in Steam and elsewhere.

grimgryphon

Originally posted by xpiher
They want to test the economy during beta, but they'll wipe the server prior to launch to put everyone on an equal footing. 

That whole "equal footing" bullshit just really annoys me.

If you have purchased early access and are testing the game and providing feedback, you absolutely should be ahead of people who chose not to participate in early access.

Should we then wipe the game every 6 months because some people chose to wait until later to start the game? We wouldn't want those late starters to be at a disadvantage.

If this was an invite-only phase I would say absolutely wipe at launch. It would be unfair if an exclusive group of people could start early and retain their progress, but that is not the case. Everyone can choose to participate in early access or wait until later, just like everyone can choose to start the game at launch or wait until later.

Kyleran

Originally posted by fiftyplusgeek

Originally posted by xpiher
They want to test the economy during beta, but they'll wipe the server prior to launch to put everyone on an equal footing. 

That whole "equal footing" bullshit just really annoys me.

If you have purchased early access and are testing the game and providing feedback, you absolutely should be ahead of people who chose not to participate in early access.

Should we then wipe the game every 6 months because some people chose to wait until later to start the game? We wouldn't want those late starters to be at a disadvantage.

If this was an invite-only phase I would say absolutely wipe at launch. It would be unfair if an exclusive group of people could start early and retain their progress, but that is not the case. Everyone can choose to participate in early access or wait until later, just like everyone can choose to start the game at launch or wait until later.

I actually would support this, or perhaps open a new fresh start server for those who join late, but a title such as this won't likely have enough of a player base to go that route.

We see it all the time in EVE, many folks won't even try it because they feel the people who've been playing for over 10 years have too much of an advantage to ever catch up.  It's not true for a number of reasons, but I have no idea of Repop is designed to mitigate this issue in any manner.

For a title to survive over the long term it has to appear as if it's possible for late starters to catch up, otherwise it will be perceived as unfair and drive off potential new customers which are need to replace those who drop off as time progresses.

I see your point though, if they are going to take money from early joiners, and make it so that anyone could join if they paid the price, then there really should be some sort of advantage for them. 

AA had a 3 day early access, though it didn't work out very well for most folks who couldn't actually log in, but I can't see letting people keep what might literally be a year's worth of progression at launch, just too much of an edge that might never be overcome.

 

Wizardry

Originally posted by fiftyplusgeek

Originally posted by xpiher
They want to test the economy during beta, but they'll wipe the server prior to launch to put everyone on an equal footing. 

That whole "equal footing" bullshit just really annoys me.

If you have purchased early access and are testing the game and providing feedback, you absolutely should be ahead of people who chose not to participate in early access.

Should we then wipe the game every 6 months because some people chose to wait until later to start the game? We wouldn't want those late starters to be at a disadvantage.

If this was an invite-only phase I would say absolutely wipe at launch. It would be unfair if an exclusive group of people could start early and retain their progress, but that is not the case. Everyone can choose to participate in early access or wait until later, just like everyone can choose to start the game at launch or wait until later.

No you should not because you are NOT playing the true iteration of the game,so why should you receive credit for playing something else?Testing is just that,you chose to pay to help test the game,that is YOUR option,nobody forced you.However when a game goes live that is the TRUE form of the game and that is the ONLY game players should have credit for.

Also paying ahead of time to get a SPECIAL pat on the back sends a VERY bad premise to the industry and is something that should NOT be supported.The developers have gotten away with it because of greedy selfish players so now it has become common place is morally wrong,players should NOT receive special perks based on monetary gains it ruins the integrity of the game and the developer.

That is why i do not support cash shop or any form of RMT.Geesh i remember 10+ years ago EVERYONE scoffed at any form of rmt now it has become a sad reality in gaming.

 

grimgryphon

Originally posted by Wizardry

Originally posted by fiftyplusgeek

Originally posted by xpiher
They want to test the economy during beta, but they'll wipe the server prior to launch to put everyone on an equal footing. 

That whole "equal footing" bullshit just really annoys me.

If you have purchased early access and are testing the game and providing feedback, you absolutely should be ahead of people who chose not to participate in early access.

Should we then wipe the game every 6 months because some people chose to wait until later to start the game? We wouldn't want those late starters to be at a disadvantage.

If this was an invite-only phase I would say absolutely wipe at launch. It would be unfair if an exclusive group of people could start early and retain their progress, but that is not the case. Everyone can choose to participate in early access or wait until later, just like everyone can choose to start the game at launch or wait until later.

No you should not because you are NOT playing the true iteration of the game,so why should you receive credit for playing something else?Testing is just that,you chose to pay to help test the game,that is YOUR option,nobody forced you.However when a game goes live that is the TRUE form of the game and that is the ONLY game players should have credit for.

Also paying ahead of time to get a SPECIAL pat on the back sends a VERY bad premise to the industry and is something that should NOT be supported.The developers have gotten away with it because of greedy selfish players so now it has become common place is morally wrong,players should NOT receive special perks based on monetary gains it ruins the integrity of the game and the developer.

That is why i do not support cash shop or any form of RMT.Geesh i remember 10+ years ago EVERYONE scoffed at any form of rmt now it has become a sad reality in gaming.

I think you take games WAY TOO seriously. TRUE form of a game? Seriously? 

Adjuvant1

Originally posted by fiftyplusgeek

Originally posted by xpiher
They want to test the economy during beta, but they'll wipe the server prior to launch to put everyone on an equal footing. 

That whole "equal footing" bullshit just really annoys me.

If you have purchased early access and are testing the game and providing feedback, you absolutely should be ahead of people who chose not to participate in early access.

Should we then wipe the game every 6 months because some people chose to wait until later to start the game? We wouldn't want those late starters to be at a disadvantage.

If this was an invite-only phase I would say absolutely wipe at launch. It would be unfair if an exclusive group of people could start early and retain their progress, but that is not the case. Everyone can choose to participate in early access or wait until later, just like everyone can choose to start the game at launch or wait until later.

I don't agree with the way you put this. You get great benefit participating in testing, in that when the game releases you will know exactly how to advance yourself the method appropriate to the style in which you'd like to play. That's why most people (not saying you, please don't get mad) "beta" games, for the information edge. Also, you get to participate in the game development, and if you really like the game this is to your benefit, making the game better so more people will come play it with you.

Games were like this until maybe 3? years ago, and the reasoning for doing otherwise were nefarious, including profiting from cash shop content actually in the testing phase. If it's not testing, just call it release, but then devs need to deal with content issues without the "testing" disclaimer (well it's something we're testing and might change before launch). When it's ready for release, sign your name on it and say "we're no longer in the testing phase, all mistakes or problems are now on us". That acceptance of responsibility is a big step, what we're all looking for in our game developers whether we think about it or not.

Kilrain

Originally posted by LazyDazed

So, I was reading the steam forums and noticed J.C. stated this in one of the discussions "No additional wipes are planned. We do reserve the right to wipe if a situation requires ones though, which is why it says that is subject to change if necessary. The plan is for no wipes until launch. If some major bug throws the economy out of whack or some other unforseen event though, it may be required. That's not a high likelihood, and not something we would do lightly, but it has to be noted that it could possibly happen."

No additional wipes are planned is stated first, then he goes on with The plan is for no wipes until launch. 

So does that mean no wipes at all or a wipe at launch, seems like a contradictory statement. Can we please get some clarity on this. Many people are purchasing the steam early access under the impression that there will be no wipes considering you have this as info on the steam store page:

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The game is currently in Alpha 4, which is the final stage of alpha testing. We do not currently have any additional wipes planned "prior" to launch, but that is subject to change if necessary. The majority of the games features are currently functional, though many features are still being refined and polished." 

Seems very clear to me. The question you should be asking is, "Will the early access buyers get to launch before everyone else or not?".

Most games have a testing phase and then they wipe prior to official release dates. Even if they still have head start dates for early adopters.

Kost

Originally posted by LazyDazed

ummm, "No additional wipes are planned." and "We do not currently have any additional wipes planned prior to launch" not really hard to understand the words.

Read much?

PRIOR TO LAUNCH

Not really hard to understand the words.

Read much?

 

Tokken

---

Originally posted by JC-Smith
In the Early Access section on the steam store it does state something similar: “The game is currently in Alpha 4, which is the final stage of alpha testing. We do not currently have any additional wipes planned prior to launch, but that is subject to change if necessary."

But to clarify: No additional wipes are planned for testing, but there will absolutely be a wipe before the start of launch. If we found some catastrophic issue that really needed a wipe at some point from now until launch it is possible that there could be a wipe. There is no plans for one though, and we don't anticipate this happening.

---

Thanks JC. Recent (Rd 3) backer, Loving the game!

Agent_Joseph

should not to be any wipe if it is early access or it is only marketing greedy trick for real Pay to Test ?!

I miss old times when early access was real early access

waynejr2

Originally posted by LazyDazed

ummm, "No additional wipes are planned." and "We do not currently have any additional wipes planned prior to launch" not really hard to understand the words.

Read much?

No additional wiped planned is different from no more wipes guaranteed.

As to post test, yes there is a wipe. It is clear. You are seeing what you want to see.

LazyDazed

This thread was created just to clarify whether there would be a wipe or not, the Steam store page does not give a clear indication of this imo, J.C. has informed us there would be a wipe at launch. I personally think that it is a good idea to have a wipe before launch due to the fact there will always be bugs found by people and exploit that manipulate to generate gains that is not intended by them to keep a stable economy, well as much as can be in an MMO. 

Testing a game before hand gives you an advantage, you will know and understand the game that much better than the next person when the game is launched. I don't think it's greedy of them to have early access, the company needs funds to develop and maintain the game. Steam early access is a great way to let people know the game is out there that would otherwise not know if they do not frequent gaming sites like mmorpg.com or others. 

IMHO Above & Beyond has asked for very little in regards to crowdfunding and have a game that is filled with features that are implemented that just need to be fleshed out. In the time this game has been in development they have done an outstanding job at releasing updates and an extremely great job at listening to community feedback.

These forums are always filled with negative people and doom/gloomers but it also a major hub of information for a lot of people. I am by no means a fanboy of this title but I do respect the development team and I think they have done an excellent job so far. This is definitely going to be a brilliant and fun game for a lot of people. For anyone that is interested in a Sci-Fi sandbox mmorpg, this is definitely a title worth watching and purchasing upon release. If you like what you see on their forums and videos and I am sure now the NDA is lifted you will see a lot of positive feedback coming from testers, help the team out and become a backer, 39.99 price tag is well worth it.

I have backed it and I don't regret it one bit, even with the information given that there will be a wipe. Do some research and look into the history and you will be enlightened.

Jorendo

Originally posted by fiftyplusgeek

Originally posted by xpiher
They want to test the economy during beta, but they'll wipe the server prior to launch to put everyone on an equal footing. 

That whole "equal footing" bullshit just really annoys me.

If you have purchased early access and are testing the game and providing feedback, you absolutely should be ahead of people who chose not to participate in early access.

Should we then wipe the game every 6 months because some people chose to wait until later to start the game? We wouldn't want those late starters to be at a disadvantage.

If this was an invite-only phase I would say absolutely wipe at launch. It would be unfair if an exclusive group of people could start early and retain their progress, but that is not the case. Everyone can choose to participate in early access or wait until later, just like everyone can choose to start the game at launch or wait until later.

You do know that wipes also happen cause of different game versions not working together. Often when they did some big changes during the beta the need to wipe cause mechanics no longer work as they did before.

 

Also not everyone might have the money for it months ahead of the release. Just so you can play every other weekend or once in the so many months till the release. Its a bit elitair to say its bs you have to start all over. You aren't more to the contribution of the game then others. Cause hardly anyone who plays the early access ever reports a thing, they just see it as a early play time and thats it. So why should they having max lvl and the great items already while they didn't even bother to report things so players who join at launch still find many bugs.

joshuahalls

Based on this thread it probably is just a good idea if we update the wording a bit on our Steam page.

Eladi

Dont know how hard it can be,..

 

"The plan is for no wipes until launch."  "we may wipe if its needed"     if people have trouble understanding this then I would advice them to not even buy the game pre-lauch and perhaps not post-launch.. it might be to complicated for them

Alumicard

Originally posted by Jorendo

Originally posted by fiftyplusgeek

Originally posted by xpiher
They want to test the economy during beta, but they'll wipe the server prior to launch to put everyone on an equal footing. 

That whole "equal footing" bullshit just really annoys me.

If you have purchased early access and are testing the game and providing feedback, you absolutely should be ahead of people who chose not to participate in early access.

Should we then wipe the game every 6 months because some people chose to wait until later to start the game? We wouldn't want those late starters to be at a disadvantage.

If this was an invite-only phase I would say absolutely wipe at launch. It would be unfair if an exclusive group of people could start early and retain their progress, but that is not the case. Everyone can choose to participate in early access or wait until later, just like everyone can choose to start the game at launch or wait until later.

You do know that wipes also happen cause of different game versions not working together. Often when they did some big changes during the beta the need to wipe cause mechanics no longer work as they did before.

 

Also not everyone might have the money for it months ahead of the release. Just so you can play every other weekend or once in the so many months till the release. Its a bit elitair to say its bs you have to start all over. You aren't more to the contribution of the game then others. Cause hardly anyone who plays the early access ever reports a thing, they just see it as a early play time and thats it. So why should they having max lvl and the great items already while they didn't even bother to report things so players who join at launch still find many bugs.

Keep one skill line for each reported bug?

 

The people playing at the moment will have an advantage if there is a wipe or not. Repop is imho a game that isnt as easy as your cookie cutter themepark and the time you spent learning the game during pre release will give you a good advantage. While others try to figure out what the hell they are doing, you are farming materials for your new weapon, armor and focus on whatever it is you want to do. The top players if there is something like that (stoob here (steam noob)) then they will come from pre launch.

 

One question I'd have at the Repop devs, someone said in chat yesterday that backers would keep their stuff even after launch. Personally I call bs but since I just joined and coudnt find anything on the website Im curious if that is true.

JC-Smith

Originally posted by Alumicard

One question I'd have at the Repop devs, someone said in chat yesterday that backers would keep their stuff even after launch. Personally I call bs but since I just joined and coudnt find anything on the website Im curious if that is true.

Whoever wrote that in chat was incorrect. There will be a wipe just before launch. Backers will keep their membership perks etc, but their characters will be wiped.