Early Access: the current state

    • EA doesn't mean that the product is finished by any means it depends on the developer how they plan to use EA. MBB are planning to give us some basic machines and things to do and then add more as we get closer to Final while we report back bugs etc.

      Ark did the same thing and many others as well. EA should b considered paid open beta.

      I also want to point you to this on the kickstarter page back when it started



      See the ETA mark and also this



      Planned for March not Delivered in March

      witht hat said I know that the majority in here is perfectly fine with this small delay and so am I.

      I would rather have a useable project that has been delayed by a few weeks rather than a hunk of useless scrap that's delivered on time.

      Have a great evening :D

      i5 4690k - 3,5 Ghz, EVGA gtx 1070 ftw hybrid - 8 gb vram, 16 gb 1600 Mhz ddr3 ram
    • OndrejTT wrote:

      Yes agree. Early access is part of game with some minor bugs which is available earlier. They must have a good game out, not depend if it's early access. This is not a beta access, which can carry major bugs and non-functioná features. Early access must be on the higher level. All what we want is fully working EA. If they release it with major bugs which make game unplayable, you must wait for patch anyway. So it's better to not be upset with unplayable game and take them some more time. This is not about months, but some weeks. Maybe they don't have finished some license process which they need. Maybe some other issues. A wish them an to us good luck to have soon release of great EA Cattle and Crops !
      are you sure you should wait a few weeks? I fear that may be months

      sorry for my english, I'm using a translator
    • ChiloopaBatman wrote:

      OlaHaldor wrote:

      ChiloopaBatman wrote:

      EA is usually the finished product
      Uh... No. :) In development <-> Finishsed product
      EA is basically finished product. Public EA comes after the beta phase and is used for final polishing, but all the part are pretty much assembled. There are of course exceptions.
      The term "Early Access" has kind of been bastardized lately. I remember when it almost always meant a time between beta and the final release, where you could start playing the virtually-finished game a week early. Especially In the case of MMORPG's, this could represent a pretty big advantage when it came to grinding levels and accomplishments. But these days, a lot of developers have been using it interchangeably with "Alpha", with Steam games being among the worst offenders.
    • Mehve wrote:

      ChiloopaBatman wrote:

      OlaHaldor wrote:

      ChiloopaBatman wrote:

      EA is usually the finished product
      Uh... No. :) In development <-> Finishsed product
      EA is basically finished product. Public EA comes after the beta phase and is used for final polishing, but all the part are pretty much assembled. There are of course exceptions.
      The term "Early Access" has kind of been bastardized lately. I remember when it almost always meant a time between beta and the final release, where you could start playing the virtually-finished game a week early. Especially In the case of MMORPG's, this could represent a pretty big advantage when it came to grinding levels and accomplishments. But these days, a lot of developers have been using it interchangeably with "Alpha", with Steam games being among the worst offenders.
      You're right, it's been bastardized heavily and that sucks, because everything is getting skewed that way. I, personally, would call the CnC EA for a Beta, because that's what it is in reality. It's a way to get a huge segment of testers relatively quick and also secure the testers actually have a genuine interest in the game. While at the same time give a little extra to the kickstarter backers. It's a fine solution for everyone :) Despite the skewed semantics :D
    • If you rush developers to release Cattle And Crops earlier, you just make beta more unfinished, more time they work on EA, less bugs there will be. I respect developers that more delay time means less bugs and other errors. I really don't mind if they delay, I supported for this amazing project and I know this is going to be superb project even with delays :)

      The post was edited 3 times, last by VX97 ().

    • We're already half way through March so time will move fast.
      Delaying the EA means they really care about their product and trying to wow us instantly. Look at Fernbus or even now more recently TSW Heavy haul, released too quickly causing very low FPS and many more trouble and people instantly judge and give bad comments causing the rate score to be super low .. that ain't good for sales (people who wait out) so let them finish up the EA and while all of us are playing it or you should rather say testing it we help them evolve the game even more.
      Yeah waiting sucks but in the end it will be worth it no doubt!
      Claas - vorsprung durch technik
    • A point which I have read on here and other forums are people wanting frequent updates on the progress of C&C. I'm pretty sure that as committed as the creators of this game are, they do have lives outside of this project, so to want updates as often as weekly (lost count how many I've read) i think is maybe asking a little too much.

      I know for some this waiting game maybe hard but let's not wish time away too quickly guys, lifes going fast enough as it is. Find something to distract your attention from it and I'm sure EA will soon come around
    • Paul91 wrote:

      A point which I have read on here and other forums are people wanting frequent updates on the progress of C&C. I'm pretty sure that as committed as the creators of this game are, they do have lives outside of this project, so to want updates as often as weekly (lost count how many I've read) i think is maybe asking a little too much.

      I know for some this waiting game maybe hard but let's not wish time away too quickly guys, lifes going fast enough as it is. Find something to distract your attention from it and I'm sure EA will soon come around
      How is that too much? I've worked on different projects where we had to do weekly updates. It took about 5-10 minutes every Friday. If that is too much you must be ridiculously busy if you can't spare 5-10 minutes to keep your peers informed. People seem to hugely overestimate how time consuming a simpel update is. Let me ask you this: How long does it take you to write a Facebook update about something? Not long, right?

      Let me remind you: This project is their actual jobs. It's not a volunteer based modding project. People are getting paid and part of the job is costumer service and it's in their own best interest to keep people engaged in the project. It is business 101.

      NO ONE is asking for a new video or any other kind of time consuming weekly updates, just a little something like a picture, a 3D model or a few words. It is NOT too much to ask, really. It will have no slowing effect on the game development what so ever.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by ChiloopaBatman ().

    • ChiloopaBatman wrote:

      How is that too much? I've worked on different projects where we had to do weekly updates. It took about 5-10 minutes every Friday. If that is too much you must be ridiculously busy if you can't spare 5-10 minutes to keep your peers informed. People seem to hugely overestimate how time consuming a simpel update is. Let me ask you this: How long does it take you to write a Facebook update about something? Not long, right?

      Reply
      Firstly i don't think the whole weekly update would be necessary especially at this stage of the games development. I think statuses/updates would become repeatative/similar. As we have been told in a recent update the creators are working on ironing out bugs and busy resolving other dull issues I'm sure (the boring stuff if you like) and I'm pretty confident to say that with the complexity of this game I can't imagine many of these kind of issues being a five minute/weekly fix. I can't really say I'm craving updates about this kind of stuff. But hey, each to their own I guess.

      It appears to me that we know a huge amount of the main gaming structure already and what we can expect from it. Is there much more we need to know or even be informed about?. Lets not forget this is only EA. Even if there is more to come I'd quite like the element of surprise when it comes to the release of EA or even the final version 1.


      ChiloopaBatman wrote:


      Let me remind you: This project is their actual jobs. It's not a volunteer based modding project. People are getting paid and part of the job is costumer service and it's in their own best interest to keep people engaged in the project. It is business 101.

      Reply
      Right, yes your right, this project is their job, is customer service there job though?, I don't believe at this stage it is, here's why. We are kind of like investors, we have chosen to support the development by putting money into it at our own risk to help make it get bigger better along the way and really shouldn't expect much in return (except the release to Early Access of course) therefore the developers if they wish are not obliged to keep us informed on the game at all if they choose. I think we have been pretty fortunate in this case with what already know. I think the developers have been quite clever in giving us these little insights into the game along the way to keep the majority of us engaged, and judging by the number count on the crowdfunding page well, I don't think there appears to be any danger in getting people engaged either. On the whole the majority reaction of people when an update is issued people still appear to be upbeat and engaged.



      ChiloopaBatman wrote:


      NO ONE is asking for a new video or any other kind of time consuming weekly updates, just a little something like a picture, a 3D model or a few words. It is NOT too much to ask, really. It will have no slowing effect on the game development what so ever.

      Reply
      (Unfortunately I could find a couple examples from this forum alone of enthusiastic people asking/expecting weekly updates of all kinds) perhaps it's due to the select few people not fully understanding how this type of project could be working out.
      I kind of understand what your saying in terms of receiving something little every now and again but after all think ourselves lucky we could find ourselves in a much less informative or dare I even say it a worser situation than worrying about not receiving regular updates.
      How many projects are out there like this where we have any involvement at all in pre-testing/production (like fs17 for example)

      Trying to look at it from the developers side of things, there is a fine line between giving too much information and not enough, you can't please everyone. If C&C give to much information/updates I believe the novelty and excitement of the game won't come to much once we come to get our hands on it, therefore taking away the enjoyment from the game as you know what to expect. This enjoyment achievement I think is one of the main aims for the creators of the game, is to create a fresh excitement.

      I'd be quite happy to not hear anything else from the guys untill the next update is that of the release of early access when ever that maybe. These are my own views and opinions however.
    • Let me start by saying that, compared to other developers, MBB is doing a pretty good job on the communication aspect of this project.

      And, like Paul91 said, there is a fine line between communicating too little or too much. I am a project manager by profession and I can assure that communication is the 2nd most important aspect of every project. And yes, it's possible too communicate too much and too often, but that's like saying that someone eats too much vegetables. Sure you can eat too much vegetables (I think?) but it's really hard and it almost never happens.

      Come to think of it, communication in a project could be compared to eating vegetables. You know you are better off eating at least a certain amount a week, but you almost never make it and put it off to next week. Only to find that in the end it's too late. But! The next project everything will be better..

      This could either be a brilliant comparison or the stupidest thing I've said this month. Either way, it pretty much sums up my projects. ^^
    • jamespants wrote:

      Let me start by saying that, compared to other developers, MBB is doing a pretty good job on the communication aspect of this project.

      And, like Paul91 said, there is a fine line between communicating too little or too much. I am a project manager by profession and I can assure that communication is the 2nd most important aspect of every project. And yes, it's possible too communicate too much and too often, but that's like saying that someone eats too much vegetables. Sure you can eat too much vegetables (I think?) but it's really hard and it almost never happens.

      Come to think of it, communication in a project could be compared to eating vegetables. You know you are better off eating at least a certain amount a week, but you almost never make it and put it off to next week. Only to find that in the end it's too late. But! The next project everything will be better..

      This could either be a brilliant comparison or the stupidest thing I've said this month. Either way, it pretty much sums up my projects. ^^
      That is actually a very astute observation but I would hope MBB likes communicating with their fans and backers more than I like vegetables...
      I think currently the updates are fortnightly which is totally fine by me. So the next update should be friday where hopefully they will say early access will be out by the next update.... *hopefully* :D
    • As far as I am concerned the dev's can get the game to us when they think its at a playable stage. Then we can help them work out the kinks single player with appropriate meaningful feedback prior to multi player launch and then final game release. Looking forward to playing it as much as anyone
      You will never be a farmer if you haven't got patience
    • BigShadow wrote:

      As far as I am concerned the dev's can get the game to us when they think its at a playable stage. Then we can help them work out the kinks single player with appropriate meaningful feedback prior to multi player launch and then final game release. Looking forward to playing it as much as anyone
      You will never be a farmer if you haven't got patience
      still people dont understand just because its "early access" does not mean it will be perfectly playable its just a taste. "playable" will come circa. November when they estimated version 1.0 of the game. EA is still and will always be a Beta/alpha product.

      is it not time to end this debate? locking this thread?
    • leviathonbeast wrote:

      BigShadow wrote:

      As far as I am concerned the dev's can get the game to us when they think its at a playable stage. Then we can help them work out the kinks single player with appropriate meaningful feedback prior to multi player launch and then final game release. Looking forward to playing it as much as anyone
      You will never be a farmer if you haven't got patience
      still people dont understand just because its "early access" does not mean it will be perfectly playable its just a taste. "playable" will come circa. November when they estimated version 1.0 of the game. EA is still and will always be a Beta/alpha product.
      is it not time to end this debate? locking this thread?
      hi yes end this debate locking this thread please masterbrain
      ---- ici vocale serveur >>>>> discord.gg/mVFF9hd
    • To clarify my point of view, since I think have done a poor job of clarifying thus far:

      Because of the EA delay, I thought it would be nice little something with a weekly update of some sort. Just a little treat to sweeten wait. When the EA is released they can then update us with longer intervals. As we are hopefully way too busy playing the game, to spend our time on petty little things like devs updates, right? ;)

      Hope that made my POV more clear :)
    • I suppose that the EA is released by the end of April, as it was planned for the end of March, the last post of the MBB describe the delay "... a couple of weeks", that is translated (from my point of view) in 2 - 3 weeks. The delay is due to me as the MBB did not expect such a large participation and support towards this project, and this delay is caused because developers want to release a more complete version already, so that the supporters give a good impression of the version of the farming community, so as to attract more people to buy. We are all anxious to try this great new opportunities that were offered, it only demonstrates the fact that we expect them to any post or dev log, and developers are well aware. There are many questions and answers are few, but just missing now. I'm sure that between month or so we will finally get that version and then be able to play. :)
    • But in fact I did not say that we will be satisfied. We are all aware that the game is still fully in development, and it is here that the developers aim: to make a good already feel in a beta /alpha version, without too many bugs or errors, so as to better meet their potential customers , present and future. If you already have the game has excellent features and functionality in a version under development, let alone to completion!!
      The company has given the chance to own lenders to be able to watch the game and you can test it, so that it can further improve and solve any
      problems found. The basic program is therefore already working, now it's up to us to take part in developing a better use. And remember that we are volunteers supporters, and that nothing we have to demand with the company. As I said, in the first days of April it will probably be announced
      released, because as from their post, the notice of release will be announced approximately 15-20 days before. By the end of April, up early May, we will finally test the game in its primordial form. Almost there now!! :) :) Greetings to all :)
    • Before anyone jumps on me I would like to point out a few things.

      To me Early Access does not meen full access. It is more akin to a Demo and it does not even have to be playable. These day people think Early Access means get the full game now and not expect any bugs. Gone are the days when we used to get full demos like those from companiles like 3DRealms (Duke Nukem), IDSoftware (Quake, Doom) for example. Nowhere does it have to say that they have to realse a fully playable game.

      Now. as a former game developer myself, I can fully understand why there is a delay to the release of Cattle and Crops so they can get things right and Kudo's to them for doing it. A game as complex as what I am seeing here cannot be simply thrown together in a few days, weeks or even months and expect to work perfectly. They want to get things right and I respect them for that. Hell, I even expect loads of bug fixes even after official release. What software does not have bugs?

      I, like others here, who have access to the Early release, are, in a sense, beta testers for the full version and though many will just play it when it is available, some will go out of their way to hunt down every bug that they can find and report it and others, I can see some of those that get it just to play it becoming put off by the bugs and whatnot demanding their money back. I, for one, would stick by and wait patiently for the fixes.
    • Middleclaw wrote:

      Before anyone jumps on me I would like to point out a few things.

      To me Early Access does not meen full access. It is more akin to a Demo and it does not even have to be playable. These day people think Early Access means get the full game now and not expect any bugs. Gone are the days when we used to get full demos like those from companiles like 3DRealms (Duke Nukem), IDSoftware (Quake, Doom) for example. Nowhere does it have to say that they have to realse a fully playable game.

      Now. as a former game developer myself, I can fully understand why there is a delay to the release of Cattle and Crops so they can get things right and Kudo's to them for doing it. A game as complex as what I am seeing here cannot be simply thrown together in a few days, weeks or even months and expect to work perfectly. They want to get things right and I respect them for that. Hell, I even expect loads of bug fixes even after official release. What software does not have bugs?

      I, like others here, who have access to the Early release, are, in a sense, beta testers for the full version and though many will just play it when it is available, some will go out of their way to hunt down every bug that they can find and report it and others, I can see some of those that get it just to play it becoming put off by the bugs and whatnot demanding their money back. I, for one, would stick by and wait patiently for the fixes.
      Some good points made middleclaw, I particularly think you have hit the nail on the head in the last paragraph, I reckon it will be the few impatient ones that we are seeing out there that want the game now but once the EA is released they will be one of the first to complain when they come across the first bug and question why lol. It's appears to me it's probably kids being kids and not fully understanding it all!!

      The post was edited 1 time, last by Paul91 ().

    • Alex1890 wrote:

      I suppose that the EA is released by the end of April, as it was planned for the end of March, the last post of the MBB describe the delay "... a couple of weeks", that is translated (from my point of view) in 2 - 3 weeks. The delay is due to me as the MBB did not expect such a large participation and support towards this project, and this delay is caused because developers want to release a more complete version already, so that the supporters give a good impression of the version of the farming community, so as to attract more people to buy. We are all anxious to try this great new opportunities that were offered, it only demonstrates the fact that we expect them to any post or dev log, and developers are well aware. There are many questions and answers are few, but just missing now. I'm sure that between month or so we will finally get that version and then be able to play. :)
      Valid point.

      Over time, but especially in more recent years, there have been thousands and thousands of innovative, promising games released with bugs or missing key features. They may have had clauses like 'Alpha', 'Early Access', 'Beta', 'Kickstarter', or 'Greenlight', but the end result was the same - people tried them out, didn't like what they saw, and NEVER bothered to look again. The end.

      Gamers frequently demand perfection from the start, no matter how unreasonable it may be, and there's too many other choices out there for people to bother coming back for a second look later on. These days, a new game NEEDS to perform well from the start. This particular niche already has Giant Software's 800lb gorilla squatting, C&C can't afford to show up with its shoelaces untied.
    • Middleclaw wrote:

      Before anyone jumps on me I would like to point out a few things.

      To me Early Access does not meen full access. It is more akin to a Demo and it does not even have to be playable. These day people think Early Access means get the full game now and not expect any bugs. Gone are the days when we used to get full demos like those from companiles like 3DRealms (Duke Nukem), IDSoftware (Quake, Doom) for example. Nowhere does it have to say that they have to realse a fully playable game.

      Now. as a former game developer myself, I can fully understand why there is a delay to the release of Cattle and Crops so they can get things right and Kudo's to them for doing it. A game as complex as what I am seeing here cannot be simply thrown together in a few days, weeks or even months and expect to work perfectly. They want to get things right and I respect them for that. Hell, I even expect loads of bug fixes even after official release. What software does not have bugs?

      I, like others here, who have access to the Early release, are, in a sense, beta testers for the full version and though many will just play it when it is available, some will go out of their way to hunt down every bug that they can find and report it and others, I can see some of those that get it just to play it becoming put off by the bugs and whatnot demanding their money back. I, for one, would stick by and wait patiently for the fixes.
      In my post I did not say that this version will be a full game, no bugs, no imperfections, indeed. We ALL know that the version we'll see is a fully developing version, and therefore subject to rapid and significant improvements. The best way to test any new project, is to entrust it to potential buyers, so it can be molded according to the needs that the community requires, or that wishes it were improved in diterminati points. In this way, as well as having a greater profit, you will also have a clientele satisfied with the product. And we all know what it means for a company to have satisfied customers. Developers have always however specified that the game was not developed to boost their guadagli, but to create a new gaming environment which is as close as possible in agriculture, since to date we have not a simulator able to satisfy the players fully. The game was developed and precisely set for all types of players (from casual settings with facilitated to complex, depending on the type of experience you want to achieve). And again, the delay is due, as stated by the developers, because they want to deploy a version with fewer bugs and implemented improvements, as they have focused heavily on product quality. I hope to be exhaustive in the description. Hello to all :)
    • Yep, I'm perfectly fine with giving them a bit more time to improve on the gameplay but it's now been almost a month (28 days) since they posted that message and 2 weeks since their last update and I honestly think it's time they gave us more info preferably a release date which I'm hoping they will do in a few hours.

      Don't take this as a negative comment because it isn't it's just me saying that they need to work on their PR skills ;) in any case I'm still looking forward to any news and of course the EA

      i5 4690k - 3,5 Ghz, EVGA gtx 1070 ftw hybrid - 8 gb vram, 16 gb 1600 Mhz ddr3 ram
    • Every week feels like a month when you waiting for a great game.
      We're all sitting in the backseat chanting "are we there yet" but almost no one is actually complaining. It seems 99% of the community has the patience to wait it out but we're all fidgety while waiting.
      We want it now, but not at the cost of quality. So MBB know that we are all behind you with the delay, just pop in and say:
      "heya guys, cheers for the wait. We're working on X and its hard to judge a finish time but we are hoping for Y/Z/2017 EA release (note this isn't an official will be done by date, its our best guess right now and may change). At this stage it looks [viable, a struggle, possible] to have it sorted by then. We'll keep you in the loop with what is happening."