this post was submitted on 18 Oct 2023
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I guess I'm the problem for sure, I have bought well over 50 early access games. That said, I don't understand why people get their panties all in a twist about it. A lot of the time it is small developers, and they're up front about their plan and progress. I get being pissed at games being released as "complete" when they're definitely not, but it just seems petulant to shit on early access as a concept.
Personally, I really enjoy seeing a game grow into something which has been directly influenced by its users. It's a fun experience to me, and I rarely feel like I have been burned. So yeah, maybe chill out.
If developers didn’t abuse early access I might be more sympathetic but too many seem to think it’s a catch all excuse for not having to address problems in the game. Especially when it’s been early access for years.
Looking at you Rust...
Yeah, I get that there are some bad actors there, and its a gamble. Just feels like you're an old dude yelling at the clouds. It's an outlet for small developers, and obviously it's a popular avenue for that. People can invest in games they believe in, and if they can't take the gamble they can stay away from it. There's no logical reason why you care about what the rest of us do if you're not into buying early access games.
If game developers can release games that they get paid for but aren’t actually complete I think that has a negative effect on everyone.
My broad view is that early access is actually anti-consumer. You pay for a subpar product with the ‘promise’ of future improvements.
As a consumer you can vote with your wallet but you’ve already given them your money, what pressure realistically can you apply to a developer that abandons a project? It was early access after all, what did you expect?
I've gotten bit by it a few times, and am generally annoyed at the incomplete nature of games lately.
It's at the point where I've sworn off Early Acess games. I don't dislike the concept, I just don't like using my free time on incomplete or in progress experiences. If I wanted to do that, I'd buy any AAA game that launches with a season pass...
It's not an experience everyone desires no matter how fun it can be. Really, Steam just needs to make Early Access games more visible as Early Access, and then hold them to a higher standard than the goons who ride it out for years and years with little progress. Or worse; constant ADHD change.
Leave the games-as-a-service thing to the MMOs, subscriptions, and donations, not ostensibly "normal", downloaded and installed games: Steam has allowed it to become too much of a crutch for those who aren't getting the ball rolling even after getting that Early Access money.
If they want to continue funding alpha-stage products or products without a vision, they need to make it feel less like buying a normal game, because that's what people will expect. It doesn't have to be drastically different. Just inconvenient enough to make it obvious you're not getting a complete product. Like the purchase doesn't download anything because it is quite literally a beta product that doesn't have a released version. Players could opt in to any released beta versions the normal way in the game's properties.
I say all of this as someone who both loves 7 Days to Die (a big offender of riding the status) and as someone who has sworn off getting any more Early Access games. They just aren't good enough experiences on average to justify being as easy as normal, complete games. Even the good ones you hear about early aren't worth it for me: I don't want to dig in and burn myself out on a game I cannot even finish, yet.
Same experience here, they must've only played the bad ones
well this is obviously all your fault