What is an alpha?

[almanzo 144]

I am noticing that alot of people seems to be complaining about stuff that doesn't work, or are actually being angry for flaws in the game. It is quite obvious to me that people do not realize what an alpha is, so here is my contribution in trying to explain what it is, and what it is used for.

It's easy too missunderstand something, so I am not blaming anyone for complaining. We are used to getting a product when we pay, but an alpha is not a finished product. The only reason we are able to play the alpha right now, is because they want and need our help to make ARMA III a great game. Some people might view an alpha as simply early access, but that is not the case. It's evident from reading the forums, that alot of people have chosen not to buy A3 at this point, because they realize what an alpha is, and that they rather pay full price for a finished product. If you are not interested in contributing, then don't post. If the issues you are encountering are still persistent at launch, then you can complain in your full right. But my point is, I understand people are confused, here is my way of trying to help.

An alpha is a very early build of a game. It's given to alpha testers to have them help out with finding flaws, testing features and finding bugs. It's a way for developers to have more people look for flaws, so they can focus on fixing them rather than spending time looking for them themselves. At the alpha stage, features are still being added and what is there is far from finished. To give a great example, when you swim in ARMA III alpha, sometimes your character just moves forward with his arm in a very awkward position pointed forward. It's a place holder, the animations haven't been made or implemented yet. It's not going to be like that in the finished product, and the developers are aware of it... They simply haven't gotten that far yet.

When you bought ARMA III, you did simply place a pre-order. The only difference from a regular preorder, is that you paid about 1/3 of the full price it will have on launch. It's a way of saying thank you for testing and helping us out from Bohemia, and it is expected that you do just that. Test the game for them to help them make it better at launch.

I am actually quite stunned by how well this alpha functions. I think it's fair to say that it has less issues at this stage, than ARMA II had months after launch. Back then, people had the right to complain, as the game was released and they payed full price. This is not the case right now. You have payed less, in exchange for your help in finding issues so that the developers can fix them. Stop complaining.

If you find issues, report them. Try to explain in detail what the issue is about, and how you encountered it. Also include how serious it is... A strange animation is not as severe as a crash to desktop when entering a vehicle for instance. Obviously, they need to iron out the most severe issues first. The build you currently have, will become smoother and smoother in time. In the meantime, contribute!

For any issues you find and want to report, this is the place to report them:

http://feedback.arma3.com/my_view_page.php

Thank you for your attention.

Edited March 9, 2013 by aLmAnZo

[Gunter Severloh 4067]

Hi,

Nice post, glad you have taken the time to explain what an Alpha is for those who may not know.

But as you said if and when you find a bug, or have some feedback then you will want to report it here:

http://feedback.arma3.com/my_view_page.php

Edited March 9, 2013 by Gnter Severloh

[almanzo 144]

Hi,

Nice post, glad you have taken the time to explain what an Alpha is for those who may not know.

But as you said if and when yo find a bug, or have some feedback then you will want to report it here:

http://feedback.arma3.com/my_view_page.php

Good point. I updated the post with the correct link =)

[Winfernal 2]

This needs to be sticky.

It's very obvious that many people needs to learn this. You post your feedback on the feedback site, not on the official forum. Seeing the same threads over and over again...

[SkyeFyre 10]

Thank you! This has been bothering me for a while now. People don't seem to understand what Alpha and Beta are. As someone who's done some game development (indie) I forget that not everyone has the same perspective on how games come to be.

Basically once the core mechanics of a game are implemented and ready for ironing out, you're in alpha. Even if the animations are not in the game, art assets are missing, sounds...etc, it's in alpha. The core mechanics in the case of this game would be the movement and shooting..etc. Now keep in mind when I said "implemented" I meant put in the game. I didn't mean perfected, or even working properly. As long as it's in the game and ready for testing and fixing, it's fine.

As far as an alpha goes... this one is actually rather polished. Which is to be expected for a publicly available alpha. Now, once every feature that is going to be in the game is implemented (once again, not perfected), then we enter Beta.

Currently this game is nowhere near finished! Our job as alpha testers is to provide feedback as they mold the game into its completed form. Making a game is like making a sculpture, or a painting. First you start with the broad strokes, and then slowly, bit by bit, the full picture begins to form.

Saying that you regret your purchase or you hate the game and you need a refund is ridiculous.

[Gunter Severloh 4067]

Seeing the same threads over and over again...

Yes this should be stickied so folks understand what is about if their are not sure or really dont know, or see the word Alpha being used in

posts and as forum titles and have no idea what it means.

But even a sticky wont help to a point when it comes to thread with the same subject, I think if and when you have people posting about something already being discussed, instead

of ignoring the post, or replying to it with the same info you would give to a thread with the same subject, you should point out to the

poster that there are already threads that are discussing this, or that subject and then supply the threads relevant to their inquiry, and then

point to them that they should search the forums before the post in the future.

Another option too is to which should be done anyways.

§17) Report rule violations

If you see a violation of these rules on the forum, do not reply in the thread but send a PM to a moderator or use the "Report Post" report.gif button instead.

Replying in the thread will be considered as spam. Reporting posts contributes to a well structured, well disciplined forum which benefits everyone.

When threads start getting locked more often and people start seeing this more, they will maybe wake up and heed the forums rules

as the moderators don't bullshit here. The report button is there for a reason, but people also need to do their part and search.

[Nocureheles 10]

This is a great thread to the unwary people who don't know what that word means. Thanks for the thread man. Also, I do agree that this thread should be sticky.

[down8 30]

Great post.

[Aru 10]

This should be a sticky.

[Harzach 2517]

Agreed, sticky this.

Of course, one of the main problems is that people don't check the stickies (or search) in the first place. They find something that does not meet their expectations of a finished product and it's full-steam ahead to the forums.

[gossamersolid 155]

I blame it on big companies with their AAA titles that have ruined what Alpha and Beta actually stands for in software development. BF3 Alpha was basically BF3 final product that was a bit more unstable and didn't have all the maps. That's not a real Alpha and unfortunately people think that's what all alphas are like now.

An alpha is supposed to be a truely unfinished product (missing content/features/not optimized yet).

[almanzo 144]

I feel the need to bump this. Maybe an admin could either make it a sticky or make their own thread with the same message. It's rather important people understand this.

[Gunter Severloh 4067]

Dont bump your own threads, contact a moderator through pm, you can find a moderator listed at the bottom of a forum they moderate.

[tortuosit 486]

I blame it on big companies with their AAA titles that have ruined what Alpha and Beta actually stands for in software development. BF3 Alpha was basically BF3 final product that was a bit more unstable and didn't have all the maps. That's not a real Alpha and unfortunately people think that's what all alphas are like now.

This is only part of the truth. There's the opposite side: often happening in the open source department. Software which is decades old, mature, and working, but with version names like "0.9999999989", developers with no balls but hordes of zealots who say "this is not yet stable version/it's free" at any criticism.

Here in this forum we also see too many postings (of posters who just appeared here!) saying "this is alpha" even if there was necessary and constructive criticism. This is just plain wrong. You could also write "A horse is a horse".

Edited March 10, 2013 by tortuosit

[max power 21]

We all moderate every forum, more or less.

To expand a little on the first post, an alpha is a build of a program that is not feature complete. So, it lacks certain planned features. A beta is an unfinished program that is feature complete, but lacks optimization, refinements, or big fixes that would make the program final.

[almanzo 144]

Here in this forum we also see too many postings (of posters who just appeared here!) saying "this is alpha" even if there was necessary and constructive criticism. This is just plain wrong. You could also write "A horse is a horse".

I like to reply to this properly. I do agree with you that critisism is necessary. If you take a look at the threads I've started, you can see that I contribute in pointing out flaws and giving critical feedback to the developers. I have also seen replies such as "this is an alpha" that has been uncalled for.

This post was made so that people don't feel justified for complaining. It's a very distinct difference between complaining, yelling and being angry and being critical and providing feedback.

When people make statements in the line of "This or that doesn't work. I crash to desktop! I want my money back", they are not providing feedback, they are acting as if they where in their rights to have a functioning product. I have no problem with people who points out flaws and genuine problems with the build, as long as they understand that they are not entitled to a functioning product yet. As long as they are sharing their points of view to either debate it with others to see if people agree with them, or to make the developers aware of the issue.

alot of threads have shown signs of simply complaints. It is legitimate to complain after the full release, it is not right now.

But I also understand how this might be confusing for people, thus I made this thread to point it out for people who might be confused. I think it's somewhat strange that Bohemia Interactive haven't communicated this a bit stronger, and that might have contributed too more people expecting a working, full product.

[frag85 10]

Bump for sticky. (even though the arma3 site and steam page explain what the Alpha is about)

[Winfernal 2]

Bump for sticky. (even though the arma3 site and steam page explain what the Alpha is about)

Some people needs to be spoon fed. :)

[limbless 10]

A miserable little pile of bugs!

[Gunter Severloh 4067]

Link from another thread about Alpha:

Software release life cycle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_release_life_cycle