Why did the game go into early access today on Steam?

[Darthus]

Save 25% on Mortal Online 2 on Steam

A persistent sandbox world. No classes or levels. Train the skills you want for your own unique build. Player-driven trade, economy, and housing. Millions of crafting combinations. First-person immersive combat. Exploration. Bosses. Full loot, full PvP. The world of Nave is yours - who will you be?

store.steampowered.com

The game is now shown as in early access, with a release date of today. It is currently sitting at Mixed reviews (EDIT: has since increased to Mostly Positive), despite a number of beta players coming in to try to support it. Many of the reviews seem to have not understood it was going to be a sub eventually.

Massively Overpowered wrote a mocking article saying "MO2 goes Early Access after saying it would skip EA":

Mortal Online 2 goes into early access for a $40 buy-in price | Massively Overpowered

massivelyop.com

I just don't really see the point. I'm sure the team thought "Hey, here's an easier way to get people to be able to get early Closed Beta access without having to go through the website", but I don't know if they thought through the implications of being seen as releasing into EA right now. It's also very odd to launch today just because there's a new trailer, when a very significant system (housing and keeps) is dropping in one week.

I don't recall, but I'm hoping 1) they can clarify more clearly that this in not a traditional EA and is more like a pre-order with closed beta access 2) that reviews reset when the game goes live and they don't heavily advertise right now.

 

[Backyard Employee]

Seems the prophecy is beginning to unveil itself.

 

[PuckInmortali]

I don't know, seems pretty clear to me, except for down in the bottom right it says the release date is today.

 

[Najwalaylah]

I just don't really see the point. I'm sure the team thought "Hey, here's an easier way to get people to be able to get early Closed Beta access without having to go through the website", but I don't know if they thought through the implications of being seen as releasing into EA right now. It's also very odd to launch today just because there's a new trailer, when a very significant system (housing and keeps) is dropping in one week.

I don't recall, but I'm hoping 1) they can clarify more clearly that this in not a traditional EA and is more like a pre-order with closed beta access 2) that reviews reset when the game goes live and they don't heavily advertise right now.

In the past at some times when Steam has done something 'about' a Star Vault game that's been bad timing or publicity for the game (example: With MO1, putting it in the Free to Play category), it's been Steam's policy or idea. Without knowing, I'd assume it's the same this time until proven otherwise.

That's the marketplace there is, and how it is.

 

[Tzone]

They wanted pre orders and to allow people to play the game but steam says they have to be EA for that to happen is most likely.

 

[finegamingconnoisseur]

This came as a complete surprise to me, though knowing Steam I think it could all be due to semantics and technical categorisation.

 

[ArcaneConsular]

I'm guessing it was a huge mistake or someone at SV just didn't know the implications of what they were doing. People like to buy new games that just released. Now people are going to think they're behind and aren't going to want to buy the game at launch. I know I for one when I see new pvp MMOs that came out a few months ago wouldn't want to try it because the start is always the fun part. Hopefully they can correct this error

 

[Raknor]

As others mentioned, its not "early access" is pre-ordering the game which incidentally also gives you access to the beta. Steam doesn't have a "buy beta" category so it marks it as "early access".

Who knows what "early access" is even supposed to mean these days - can be applied to a beta test and to some random game that sits on "early access" for years and never actually releases.

 

[ArcaneConsular]

As others mentioned, its not "early access" is pre-ordering the game which incidentally also gives you access to the beta. Steam doesn't have a "buy beta" category so it marks it as "early access".

Who knows what "early access" is even supposed to mean these days - can be applied to a beta test and to some random game that sits on "early access" for years and never actually releases.

It doesn't matter what anyone 'thinks'. It is released and it is EA now. You can't just pretend otherwise

 

[Darthus]

It doesn't matter what anyone 'thinks'. It is released and it is EA now. You can't just pretend otherwise

Fully agree. Early access has a very distinct meaning on Steam, implying that it's a game in early development that you can buy into and help develop until it releases probably 1-2 years or more later. This is not that, and that's kinda the problem. I don't think some text in the EA box about it actually being a pre-order is going to help much (hence the article I linked). Steam has a "Pre-Order" system, which is separate from EA and has a much closer meaning to what I think SV intended.

It seems like SV thought they were just streamlining things, because if they did Pre-Order they couldn't easily give players beta access, so probably thought they were giving people a bonus by using EA to get them into the closed beta.

But people are not going to see this as "Oh cool I get early access to a game that's launching in 2 months with a sub", they are going to think they're buying into an early access game, and actually probably will review it as such too (and pre-form opinions and potentially not come back for launch).

We'll see, I just don't really know what they gained here by making it early access as opposed to just enabling pre-orders and reserving all hype and first impressions for launch. Maybe could have put a link to the existing store/donation page for people that were really interested in trying it out right now.

 

[PuckInmortali]

It doesn't matter what anyone 'thinks'. It is released and it is EA now. You can't just pretend otherwise

Maybe, but if you take 5 seconds to read on the store page it clearly says "Why early access? We are enabling preorders of the game... to hop in and try out closed beta before release."

 

[Darthus]

Maybe, but if you take 5 seconds to read on the store page it clearly says "Why early access? We are enabling preorders of the game... to hop in and try out closed beta before release."

That's a big if. =) You know 90% of people on Steam are illiterate.

 

[ArcaneConsular]

Maybe, but if you take 5 seconds to read on the store page it clearly says "Why early access? We are enabling preorders of the game... to hop in and try out closed beta before release."

True but what I mean it that according to steam it is. I.e the game now loses it's steam as a new release on launch. People will see that game has been out for 3 months and is an hardcore mmo with low user reviews and will pass on it. None wants to start playing a new mmo when they think everyone else is already 3 months ahead of them. I know I wouldn't. I'd be like damn everyone is already 3 months ahead of me? Guess I'll pass. Most of the fun is when MMOs first launch

 

[Piet]

It's just how steam labels it. They are still just buy into beta but steam wrote it down as EA.

 

[PoisonArrows]

Save 25% on Mortal Online 2 on Steam

A persistent sandbox world. No classes or levels. Train the skills you want for your own unique build. Player-driven trade, economy, and housing. Millions of crafting combinations. First-person immersive combat. Exploration. Bosses. Full loot, full PvP. The world of Nave is yours - who will you be?

store.steampowered.com

The game is now shown as in early access, with a release date of today. It is currently sitting at Mixed reviews, despite a number of beta players coming in to try to support it. Many of the reviews seem to have not understood it was going to be a sub eventually.

Massively Overpowered wrote a mocking article saying "MO2 goes Early Access after saying it would skip EA":

Mortal Online 2 goes into early access for a $40 buy-in price | Massively Overpowered

massivelyop.com

I just don't really see the point. I'm sure the team thought "Hey, here's an easier way to get people to be able to get early Closed Beta access without having to go through the website", but I don't know if they thought through the implications of being seen as releasing into EA right now. It's also very odd to launch today just because there's a new trailer, when a very significant system (housing and keeps) is dropping in one week.

I don't recall, but I'm hoping 1) they can clarify more clearly that this in not a traditional EA and is more like a pre-order with closed beta access 2) that reviews reset when the game goes live and they don't heavily advertise right now.

"The Game Has Mixed Reviews, Despite the Vets trying to Hold the shitter game together with Glue" Sums up Mortal Online2 and the relationship between the Vets begging the Devs to fix things and the Devs not listening perfectly.

 

[ArcaneConsular]

It's just how steam labels it. They are still just buy into beta but steam wrote it down as EA.

Like I said I get their intention that's just not how people will view it on actual release they'll see the game has been out for a few months already

 

[Najwalaylah]

I mean is anyone actually surprised?

I know of no-one who is surprised including those who really don't post here.

 

[Raknor]

It is not mixed anymore and the reason it was mixed, if you go trough the trouble of reading them is

1. people that bought the game trough the MO website don't count (they are part of the 173, not of the 45)
2. people can't read and are doing negative reviews because of subscription model instead of cash shops

 

[Backyard Employee]

Ok so. Here is the issue with the game hitting EA on Steam now, or just in general when the game lacks plenty of features and polish.

For starters. People who have been playing non-stop during the alpha are going to be heavily biased into sweet talking people into the game via reviews because obviously they want the game to do well because they think it will succeed. I even saw PatWins put a review up saying he logs in every day and always finds something to do and I honestly just have a hard time believing that. What are you logging in doing every day to clock 2.4k hours on Steam? Standing around?

But then tells people a very watered down reality and they should play. Fine, sure. Have your opinion. I don't agree with it and think it's really misleading in a grand picture of things. Oh, but guess what?

It seems Steam really doesn't care about people who owned the game previous to it's EA launch. What I mean by that is currently when you visit the MO2 store page you'll only see reviews made by players who have purchased MO2 via Steam. Which goes to show something quite funny.

When you sort the reviews by 'Other' (aka key redeems) you'll notice the user rating dramatically jumps upward and all the reviews are super long, and positive. What a surprise. A bunch of people who clock hundreds even thousands of hours are saying the game is good without really saying why.

Yet when you switch it to the steam purchases you get an actual reality of what people really think about the game who aren't so swallowed up in congratulating SV at every turn for some brownie points.

 

[Backyard Employee]

@PoisonArrows , nah but literally (another meme, inside meme) listen to what I'm saying. What you're saying is not the same as what I am saying.

You take say... 30 people from the MO community, movers and shakers, suggestors w/e... and they STOP SUGGESTING IN PUBLIC. This would also be good if they were donators as well, and they prol are!

You take people from every walk of MO, like a representative government, you discuss IN PRIVATE (no Henrik or Henrik spies) balance, you lay out many things, compromise, ... then you present it as a 'bill', the final balance changes you've decided to Henrik. If you assholes can't work together that much then you deserve a bad game.

This is what people do when they want change, they assemble. To assemble, you must compromise. You must put your playstyle out of your mind SOMEWHAT (but you obviously have to bring your wants to the table, that's how everyone gets something.) First couple should be pretty cut n dry, I would say, there are things that probably everyone agrees on.

THEN instead of having this giant wall of shite and whining to comb thru, he has a clear cut representation of what the community wants, and even if he doesn't take it all, he will take some, trust. Then keep doing that. That's the idea of forums, of discord, but when people are saying shit like delete mounted or you nub or w/e, it doesn't work. Pick your representatives and they can talk to the people who play like them, around them, and then come together... this is life-level problem solving. It's not advanced. It's also bound to work (assuming things can be brought together) because it's much harder to ignore that way.

You wanna play a sandbox game, use sandbox mechanics to get things done. And yea, as more people come to the game, more people will come to the table, but you have to assemble... it's more money lost if people don't listen, you know? It's also getting rid of the conflicting suggestions before they happen. I've said this before, I think, not just in this thread, haha, but I really believe it.

I would help, sure. But you don't need me. Like I said, people can do this in college classes, there's no reason why you guys can't. Shit, even like HS student council level.

Edit: I dunno if this post is gonna last long, screenshot it!!

It wouldn't ever happen.

I'll tell you why in a very short sentence.

People enjoy their playstyles too much to give up any parts of it, even if detrimental to the game as a whole.