Hi,
I'm just writing this thread because I am concerned that Larian Studios might be tempted to go down the route of putting Divinity: Original Sin (DOS from this point on) up on Steam in a beta stage via the Early Access (EA from now on) program Steam now has.
I feel that this would not do Larian or DOS any favors, and in fact might cause way more problems than it's worth. While putting DOS up for EA will get more word out about the game, and bring in more people to play & test the game... it will also have the affect of bringing in lots of negativity and trouble to the game & community.
The way I see it, if DOS was to up on EA, Larian would have 4 options:
1) Put up a beta version that is free, but incomplete, and gets removed once the game goes for sale.
This would solve the issue of spoiling the game, but guaranteed you'd get complaints that it's not the full product and/or complaints when the game gets removed.
2) Put up a version that is cheap, incomplete and gets taken away when fully released.
You would get complaints when the game gets removed. Guaranteed. You will also get complaints that you have to pay to get into a beta, even if it's only $1-5.
3) Put up the same version as backers get at normal retail price. You will still get complaints that beta's should be free. You'll also run the risk of peeving off backers who had to pay way higher than this price to get beta access.
4) Put up the beta at the same price level as backers had to pay to access beta. This would hugely, hugely peeve off the steam crowd and cause a huge ongoing stink on the discussion forums that DOS would be forever tainted by it.
I'm making this post after watching what's happened to Wasteland 2 over the past few weeks, and ever since it was put up for EA at basically the same price point as backers had to pay to get Beta. It's *not* pretty just how many threads in the W2 discussion forums that go for pages long complaining about how expensive it is, paid beta's suck, they'll never be buying it no matter how good it ends up, etc.
After seeing that basically every new thread in their forums for the past week has been complaints about it being beta, that it's so expensive for a beta, asking if the game will ever get finished, that it should be free, complaining about EA games/system, etc.
I just don't want Larian Studio's to go down this route... as attractive as EA might seem, right now Steam is flooded with EA games... and the flood doesn't seem to be letting up. Sadly, the sheer number of EA games being released is fast turning ppl completely against any/all EA games. I think it would do Larian and DOS way more harm to release DOS via EA prior to release than any good that will come from it.
At least right now with just backers playing and testing the game, they KNOW they have people invested in making the game as great as possible. Ppl who buy on Steam... are not so invested, and are not reliable. In fact, I've seen a pathetic amount of whinging & whining on the W2 forums about how buggy it is, how many crash's they have and how dare they charge for an obviously incomplete/unfinished product - even though the game is clearly listed as an EA game in Beta... ppl do *not* read store pages.
Here's some of the threads flooding the W2 steam discussions right now - out of the 1st user made 30 threads:
Early access 40 bucks? its time to stop now. $60 top-down RPG, sides are at critical mass. Early Access = Beta = Full Price ? It's getting out of contorl with prices. Will this game ever be finished $60 dollar early access? Consumers aren't investors. I'll help beta test... Why charge 60 for beta access and 25 for release??? Dear Dev, please explain: Why Early Access for a story driven game? Honey pot for sucker bees? another early-access game? Is this game worth the money? So 13 out of the top 30 active user made threads are basically complaints, whinges, whiners, etc about the price point, that it's a beta game, that it's on EA, etc. If you go back these kind of threads are spread throughout the forums.
Also, these kind of complaints are not limited to just W2 forums. You'll see complaints about pricing, EA, incomplete games, will the game ever be finished, etc in all the other EA games as well - just not to the excessive amount that W2 seems to be drawing (due to it's high price point I'd say).
I really hope that Larian waits and only puts DOS up on Steam when it's 100% done & complete. Otherwise I greatly fear there will be a bad backlash against them and DOS for all the above mentioned reason's.
