$20 just to get a beta key!

Just to mention it, not money is the real source to develop a good game. Ofcourse you can say they need money to do that and work on it but at the point where they got over 2 million dollar you cant say "i give them more money to get a better game" cause u dont stick the money into a computer and improve a game automatically. The only important ressource to develop a game is the time u stick into develop the game. You can buy more time for development if u get some more developers into the project because u have the money to pay them. But i dont think they do that with the money. U understand that logic? There is a point where more money doesnt mean a better game and i guess this point has been long reached.
I was questioning myself if to get the beta. On the one side i want to play it as soon as possible. On the other side i dont the the point in giving 15 Euro away for later having nothing more, cause when the ful version is released that advantage over the others to have the beta and they cant play it is nullified so my 15 euros are also. So i would pay for something that is nullified just with the time flowing by.
I dont have the money for that since im studying, so i must see this a bit more like that. I like to support developers to do their indie stuff, but not at all costs. They shoudl give a goodie for the jump from normal version to beta to alpha beside that. I dont got the point where to have it earlier is worth 50$. Just my opninion. But give the Beta people additionally an other commander and the alpha people the commanders badge and that would be better.

One of the reasons people want to play the beta is because the feedback they give during the beta helps make the game better. In that sense, the money is never wasted if it means you helped make the game better.

Also during the kickstarter the Beta's and Alpha's did get an extra Commander I think? I know I have the Progenitor and Beta access, although they might've been two different Tiers.

Which sounds like you have already hit the point where, for you, the price no longer justifies the reward. Which is fine, that is the point of having tiered pricing in the first place.

I have spare cash, and I was willing to spend far more on PA that I would spend on a released game. Sure, this means I also get early access to buggy, unfinished code which may or may not crash my PC. It was, however, the point where for me the price just justified the reward; I could have spent far more, however I could not reconcile the extra spend with the extra reward for that spend.

There was more than one person who spent $1000+ on PA (5 backers at $10k+, another 6 backers at $5k+, 91 backers at $1k+). For them, the rewards were enough to justify the spend, and compared to that I was a miser. Compared to that, asking for $20 to upgrade to beta is fairly trivial an amount.

Thats totally ok for me, for me it was immediately no discussion what to take, i took the 40$ Tier (too bad i missed the Kickstarter Campaign, i'm not that long into indie games so i just missed this Game). It is ok if people want to invest more money cause in their opinion the game gets better and i totally aggree with that. But on the other side there are quite many people want to pay for the beta but dont see the point in paying just for an early access. You have to see it this way, the most Indie Developers do it that way, that the PreOrder is cheaper and u get Early Access while the released Game is at a higher price and ofcourse has no Beta Access. In my Opinion even the Backers investing their 40$ for Preorder should have an Open Beta available and otherwise the Beta and Alpha Backers shouldnt just have the Early Access for more money, they should have something they never lose also. I watched the different Tiers at the Uberstore and thought these are a bit senseless. U have the Basic Thing with 40$ u get the Game and Soundtrack+Background for your PC. Then 2 Tiers with 50$ difference to the standard just getting the Early Access and nothing more than the Basic Tier and then the Hyperjump from 90 to 250$ (!) and u get a Truckload of stuff. Why so tight with the Content? They could also give the Alpha and Beta Backers some of the digital goodies the 250$ Tier gets like the Commanders Badge so they have something also after the Game is released, and the 250$ Tier has all the physical stuff also for those who can invest that money for it.
I thought long about taking the Beta Access but then i thought i even want something after the Beta is over that i can use in the game and show i was a Beta/Alpha Backer. But that wasnt in it so i just bought the basic.
In my Opinion thats a bit sad, there would be many ways to give some stuff to the beta and alpha backers for their support and the testing they do and also spread the word.
Also in my opinion it is a bit tight not to give them something. I shouldnt care about it cause i already have my Basic Version but isnt it a bit ungrateful?

Ofcourse u say u have the possibilty to improve the game while u are in Beta but seriously if i have the Beta or 100 other People have also or not doesnt make that difference. There are already many Alpha and Beta Players 1 or 2 more or even 30 or 40 more wouldnt make a difference and wouldnt implement more content to it. So that argument isnt really impressive.
Just my opinion, i see many Indies doing it different and dont take more money they even do the opposite and give you for your preorder additional content and like that u are playing their Alpha or Beta.

For Uber it is ever a Win Win situation, the Alpha and Beta Players, test the Game, finde bugs, find mistakes, help to improve balance and even more important, they spread the word and show the World the product so there are more customers coming and buy the game and ADDITIONAL they get up to 50$ more for that. So Alpha and Beta Players are used as advertising and dont get something digital for that. They could have said, just the Beta and Alpha Testers get the Soundtrack and i would totally understand that, but that would show they are thankful u are doing a big part of work for them.
Not to misunderstand, i love the game, i like the Dev Team they are cool and so on, but thats one thing i dont understand, the content of these different Gameeditions you can buy.
Sorry for the long text, sorry for mistakes and such stuff, it isnt my native language.
Greetz

You either like the game, or you don't. You can probably get many of the goodies off ebay eventually if you really want them and are too cheap to buy them now while the developers still need the money.

Thats not the point of this discussion. This isnt something about the game, please read, think and then it will get clearly. This here isnt about "like" the game or not, cause i guess we all do or we wouldnt be in this forum. It also isnt about getting the goodies itself, cause i really normaly dont care about the stuff i get as goodie from developers, most time i even dont care about the soundtracks. It is about some fairness between the different tiers to buy and the content they offer so i wrote my opinion about it. Thats the real point.
I dont have to care about it at least cause i already have my Basic Version ordered and as soon as the Game releases i have the very same content all the others have except the 250$ buyers. But thats what i wanted to talk about, cause it's confusing, i dont get the strategy behind that i dont get why they let the Players pay for an Early Access and let them do a big part of work. It kinda feels like i have to pay to help a friend with something u know? So i said in my opinion they should distribute the content inside the tiers a bit different so the Beta and Alpha Backers get some more content too. At the moment it is like you pay till 90$ and get the game and then boom on 250$ they unleash the content but before it doesnt make any difference.
Thats my point of view.

All the preorders get the Theta Commander; at this stage nothing is finalised, however the different commanders will have slightly different stats (less/more HP, build rate, damage output, move speed etc as well as a different model). Anyone who was in the kickstarter at $50+ will get the Progenitor commander (you also get this with the Cosmic preorder). I think anyone that gets a package with alpha access (kickstarter $90+, Galactic and Cosmic pre-orders) will possibly also get the Alpha commander (I know it's on my list). The Delta commander is only for kickstarter $90+ and the Cosmic pre-order.

Anyone who pledged $1000+ in the kickstarter gets their own custom commander (that's over 100 people btw) :shock:

While the differences will likely be mostly cosmetic (I'm not expecting any of the commanders to be game breakingly good), they are in-game items that you won't lose, and the further up the tiers you go the more you get.

Also, "buying" alpha / beta as part of a preorder will get you into the closed alpha and beta. Open beta is by nature open to the public; I have seen no plans that include an open beta stage, and nobody from Uber has said anything about an open beta stage, so there are no guarantees. If they do decide to run an open beta phase, though, you'll have access to the (open) beta yourself for no extra purchase.

This is false and you are making stuff up. Quit it.

I don't think you have the faintest idea what you're really talking about. Prior to seeing any Kickstarter projects I had absolutely no conception of what it really cost to build a video game. To the layman, over $2 million seems to be a grand fortune. But I've heard that it cost $10 million just to make Supreme Commander. Obviously having a higher budget doesn't instantly mean the game will be better, it's still up to the core team to create awesome gameplay ideas and and concepts. However, having the money to potentially hire new employees and keep the entire current team salaried and happy can do nothing but help.

Scribing giant blocks of text over such a trivial issue is just ridiculous. I'm happy to give my support, and if you're not, fine.

I would love to know how you know all of this about game development and where the money goes. Do you have a background as a developer?

The most critical aspect of this discussion is how much are the Beta/Alpha Pre-Order packages worth? The $20 and $250 packages currently on sale on Uber’s website are a bit easier to calculate because you, the purchaser, get stuff with tangible value to it (access to the full game, a soundtrack, t-shirt, a special commander unit, etc.). However, it is difficult to put a price value on Beta and Alpha access. Some here have argued that it is not a finished product, so it should be ‘worth’ less than the final, finished version. But that isn’t what you are buying with those packages; you are buying a unique experience.

For example, I really want to watch the upcoming movie “Star Trek: Into Darkness”. It will come out to the general public in 10 days. But if I really wanted to I could talk to J.J. Abrams or Paramount Pictures and watch it today, right now, for a price. They will charge me a lot more than the $20 most people will pay on the 17th because I’m getting access to the movie before everyone else does. PA is offering something similar by offering a “closed” beta and alpha access to the game, but we get the added bonus of having an influence over the outcome of the game. It would be as If I watched the new Star Trek today with J.J. Abrams and then he might potentially edit his movie based on my critique of it. One could argue that there is real value in giving the consumer an “experience” of video game design despite having absolutely no qualifications or practice at developing video games, and all before anyone else gets to participate.

That all having been said, some have argued that those participating in Alpha and Beta testing will be providing a service to Uber at our own cost. This is a very persuasive counter argument and is probably why the development team is ‘eternally grateful’ for our money and help in critiquing their game.

However, it is my belief that Uber should not pay us for our services. Most of us are not qualified and experienced game developers, our feedback might easily be more hurtful than helpful. Even if 10 good testers are worth 50 bad, they will still have to take the time to filter through 60 testers to get that good feedback. I also defend higher tiered access to the alpha and beta because it will further incentivize those few with Alpha and Beta access to ‘get the most for their money’. This should improve both the quality and the amount of testing hours for the development team.

We as Alpha and Beta players should make it a point to not just play because we are entitled to it or deserve a fair price but rather because we have a commitment and passion to help the developers make a great game that we all want to succeed, despite its cost. I for one cannot wait to earn my part in developing this game, a chance most people don’t often get before the game is even released.

The thing that gets me riled up with this subject is this: You guys keep asking for something for free. The something you are asking for was willingly and in some cases (like me) excitedly purchased by others. And not just a few others. Thousands of other people. We all thought it was worth it. So we payed for it. Now we get to enjoy that benefit.

If you don't think it's worth the money don't buy it. That's how the system works. But don't come to us and complain when we (especially in the backers forums) have demonstrated that we think its totally worth the money.

TLDR: If you don't think it's worth the money don't buy it.

And by the way, I think this TLDR covers this entire discussion, including the times it has come up before.

I'd have paid extra for the beta access if I hadn't missed the kickstarter.

With my current financial situation, I can't really afford to throw $20 toward the development team in exchange for the privilege to provide my experience to the QA process.

Don't misunderstand. Developers NEED to restrict beta and alpha access. Load balancing can be a real pain and therefore having too many people trying to test the alpha/beta can actually have a negative impact on the metrics.

They are, however, cleverly going to phase people in to the alpha when they're ready and that will solve this issue.

tl;dr - The only people who should be in the beta are those who are devoting their time to improve the game, not those who just want an early preview. If you don't like it, don't pay for it. (as said above)

I think it is worth it to pay more to help fund this game.

You probably wasted $12.50 this summer watching a crappy 3D movie. Or subbed to some sub par MMO for 15 dollars. These guys just spent 3/4 of year crafting a masterpiece. They are in crunch time, and I can bet a least of few folks there have been working overtime to get the ship off the ground. 20 dollars is a fair price to be a part of an amazing experience that will last a lot longer the 2 hours. You will forever be able to say you were a beta tester on Planetary Annihilation.

OK for my this would be not only a worth while investment(yes that's what it is its not a purchase for a few reasons) I'm studying games art and want to study games programming this is a great look into the production process and a unique opportunity to allow companies like Uber to create a game with out outside company bias but from a collective from the target audience. you are being continually cherished with pictures and video updates of the games progression(all of which I'm saving for my own viewing hope you don't mind) this i think is invaluable for anyone looking at this type of work and you get a voice a vote a chance to move the game in the direction you think it shall go small albeit but at least you are playing a part you can say I helped create this game plus for every dollar that goes into this game the more of a game is going to come out of it at the end so when you complain that its $20 that's less than 1 hours work for me for something that has taken hundreds of hours from a group of people sounds like a bargain to me mate. now I have had any sleep this weekend from making 3d models for class so I'm just a little grumpy. please thank Uber for all there hard work and if you are willing to work hard finding problems filling in forms cause I know I am buy it if you arn't buy some other stuff.