The difference betweeen early access, alpha, beta?

[REDSHADOW]

if someone can explain to me I thought that early access is like alpha

[Snapjak]

Early Access is you paying for the game, as it is, RIGHT NOW. You don't have to pay for it again once it's actually released. It's not an alpha or beta, but will likely include both along its development. You get to play it the entire time, from right now to release and beyond.

Alpha is a very early rough game release that is meant to find major bugs.

Beta is a late release meant to find the last of the major bugs on a much larger scale (bets usually involve tens of thousands of users at once).

All of them are before a 1.0 release.

[REDSHADOW]

Originally posted by Snapjak:

Early Access is you paying for the game, as it is, RIGHT NOW. You don't have to pay for it again once it's actually released.

Alpha is a very early rough game release that is meant to find major bugs.

Beta is a late release meant to find the last of the major bugs on a much larger scale (bets usually involve tens of thousands of users at once).

All of them are before a 1.0 release.

thank you for that so its pretty much what I thought it to be so I am confused and if you can explain to me:

If I where to have an early access to a game does that mean I am an Alpha tester or Beta tester or if the term "tester" is not right for this sentence take it out.

[ໂ‧͡‧̫ໃ]

It's alpha - beta - early access, in that order.
Early access games are sometimes in a "beta build" but you're not either an alpha or beta tester because early access games have usually already passed that point.

Early access games are meant to be games that are opened a little earlier to consumers although they are very playable. Simply put, at a consumer standpoint alpha is barely playable, beta is ridden with crashes and bugs, early access should barely have any and most of them will be patched up for actual release. Early access is more for content development more than anything else. It isn't really for testing.

Keep in mind that developers sometimes use these terms really really loosely these days.

[Snapjak]

If you buy into an early access game, you'll essentially become one of the development users. Your feedback can help shape the game for the better. You'd play as the game is created and finished.

It's sort of like being a tester, but with a much more direct impact on the final game.

http://store.steampowered.com/earlyaccessfaq/

[REDSHADOW]

Keep in mind that developers sometimes use these terms really really loosely these days.



thats why I ask because its hard to tell but thanks to you both for clearing up the mess

[ໂ‧͡‧̫ໃ]

Yeah, just take it with a grain of salt and trust your experience compared to labels. It doesn't happen so much for bigger titles but with smaller indie games it is a thin line for some.

The only time you really need to be wary is with really small indie titles that don't have any content. If they slap on early access and it barely runs (like some of the weird Greenlight pre-alpha games that don't have any real content), they're just milking people whether it be for actual development or no. They shouldn't even be in early access since they don't have a game. Other than that the terms are still very vague for indie games atm. One thing to keep in mind is that if they want you to be an alpha/beta tester you never need to pay them to test it or to get the game at that stage because the game just isn't done yet (they actually pay people who do test games for a living, during alpha). During early access though it is a purchasable product, it is where they're adding content, getting the little unexpected errors out the way because of the new additional content. At that stage if you participate you've likely bought the game (or are gifted the game) and not actually a tester in the alpha/beta sense but more a consumer and part of the player base.

[Discussions_Acc]

Originally posted by Tawny Lawns 💗:

It's alpha - beta - early access, in that order.

All those terms are clearly defined so you don't need to make up new definitions.

Here's what Alpha and Beta means:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_release_life_cycle#Alpha

While Early Access just means that the game is still in development but already purchasable and playable (alpha, beta or release candidate).