Game Playability

ultimateduck

Can anyone currently playing CU tell me of the games current playability?  I know Beta is getting released July 4th and was considering purchasing an early access pack.  I do understand there is going to be bugs and issues.  I am more interested in the scale of bugs and issues.

Thanks

Sovrath

ultimateduck said:

Can anyone currently playing CU tell me of the games current playability?  I know Beta is getting released July 4th and was considering purchasing an early access pack.  I do understand there is going to be bugs and issues.  I am more interested in the scale of bugs and issues.

Thanks

I would say, if you are more interested in the scale of bugs and issues affecting game play then wait until release.

People who buy Alpha/Beta access for games that are doing real alphas/betas should be more interested in the testing and process of making a game because otherwise they are going to feel like they wasted money.

Believe me, I get it, wanting to play a game that's "almost ready" seems like a good idea but in this case I strongly suspect it's going to be you logging in, seeing things not done, buildings with no textures, systems not in place, and then being disappointed.

Kyleran

They did say while NDA won't be taken down at the start of beta, but said it should happen sometime soon after. 

RumblerB

Keep in mind that Beta 1 will only be running on the weekends, during limited windows of time. Based on that alone, the playability will be fairly low

"For Beta 1, we should have a test open every weekend, but not the way we currently handle them. In order to minimize the financial burn, as well as the impact on the team, most weekend tests will be open for one window on Saturday/Sunday, instead of staying open for 24 hours. We may also do some focused weekday tests, as needed/warranted, when we move closer to Beta 2."
From their public beta 1 doc: http://camelotunchained.com/v3/beta-1/

Tamanous

CU's current state of the game is that it really isn't a game yet. They are still slapping together systems and working on the core combat and siege components leading into Beta 1.

A recent meeting to evaluate their Beta 1 schedule confirmed they are on track but it should be stressed that Beta 1 will be rough and a collection of a list of things coming together for the first time.

The state most players likely envision the game to be at for game play and released promotional material is likely going to be from later Beta stages. That said, the core systems working together in there most recent version is impressive alone if familiar with what they are trying to accomplish from a technical standpoint. 

Even when the NDA is reduced to produce some selective stream coverage I suspect it still won't be the pretty state required to satisfy many here who apparently can review a game based entirely on screen shots and very early beta content under heavy development.

To add: The second last weekly stream update mentioned that their Beta push is heavy on developing game systems but light on testing (prior to the cash infusion and beta push they were heavy on testing and fixing bugs and light on development). The likely reality of this is that Beta 1 will require some serious bug fixing and optimization. I'm not making a judgement call but just relaying what they openly admit.

ultimateduck

Sovrath said:

I would say, if you are more interested in the scale of bugs and issues affecting game play then wait until release.

People who buy Alpha/Beta access for games that are doing real alphas/betas should be more interested in the testing and process of making a game because otherwise they are going to feel like they wasted money.

Believe me, I get it, wanting to play a game that's "almost ready" seems like a good idea but in this case I strongly suspect it's going to be you logging in, seeing things not done, buildings with no textures, systems not in place, and then being disappointed.

I wasn't interested in the scale of bugs affecting game play as much as I am worried about it affecting the overall feel of the game.  I've played plenty of betas.  Some are glitchy, limited versions of the game with scheduled play times, others are simply unplayable and couldn't possibly represent the actual game upon release in any way.

Thanks