We could have might a release on Thursday: Gamma phase?

I see your wiki quote and raise you:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_development#Milestones

Lol we just linked the same thing...

Exactly, that's why milestones have custom name.
Microsoft is usually using one codename (longhorn for vista) then add a build number for each milestone.
But you can do whatever you want really.

That's why mixing dev stage & milestone is not thinking outside the box, it's confusing, and more importantly, not original.
Gamma, really? That's the best you can do to find a "original" milestone name ?

Hey, what is that word right there on the image I see? Gamma, is it?

I don't think the devs really wanted "Gamma" to be a revolutionary new meaning to a product thats not quite ready for full release yet you seem to get hung up on it like it is. It's just a more appealing term to use...

Exactly my point. They're not under any obligation to use the normal system.

Milestones are not development steps.

That would mean that PA is in a release candidate stage, that would be quite worrying.

Really, this whole discussion is exceedingly pointless.

I see your quote, and I raise you

Check the page you linked.


Alpha and Beta do mean something. They are specific. The Beta of this game has really been an early version of the Alpha, the Alpha was really the Pre-Alpha. The game obviously isn't feature complete (stuff still to add), neither was it asset complete.


I think it's safe to say, at this point, that the normal way to understand Alpha-Beta release terminology is completely dead, and Gamma really means "still in development", as does every other term that is thrown out there.

Obviously it's not done. They must have just thought it would be funny to annoy the people that were already complaining anyway.

I see pilot's point and can definitely understand his concern. The only thing that straying from common nomenclature achieves is obfuscating the process of the development. I know that Uber are striving to continue working on PA after release but that does first require a properly communicated release.
Right now it looks much more like it is headed towards a perpetual beta. Iterative design is fine. Obfuscation is not.

Who says this must match the development cycle? It doesn't, it's the release cycle, that's 2 separate things. As has been hinted by Neutrino, it's a marketing release to a good degree, and going with the names of the commanders probably fits the game quite well, unless of course you suffer from
Tunnel vision and belong to the tiny group of people who actually make a huge deal out of it just for the sake of argument.

I'm not totally sure, but Uber could be (whispers) having fun with it. What is so coveted about the term "beta"? it is almost so loose a term it is already meaningless, so why bother sticking to arbitrary boundaries set by other devs/communities.
So yes, you are being the grumpy one

Does the stages of development really matter? The game is done when is done, Uber have statet this several times, Uber are not rookies in game development. I think they know what they are doing

A. F**CKING.MEN

There are multiple ways to read this. I laughed.

No way! Suffer now in silence forever. Next time you think twice before making more silly names.

So Microsoft and Google hate is no more hipster?! I am dissapoint.

It might just be because they just do not want to be constrained by standard definitions, just because it does not match the way they are making their softwares. They are developping a game which is virtually never feature completed, since they intend to add more features after first official release. They could obviously not define all the features which would be integrated in v1.0 since, based on different constraints they can decide to remove a feature (think about submarines) or add another one. I can understand one seriously wonder how it's possible to reach a step where there's consistency and coherency in v1.0 when a game is developped this way. Time will tell. But i also understand that it's just quite difficult to make the different development stages with alpha and beta definitions when you're likely to add or remove features along the development process. At some point i guess They realized it did not really make sense to use alpha, beta. Who cares ? What matters is the final result.