it's still extremely stupid to have been able to rate a game in alpha or even beta. It does highlight a massive flaw with the industry's current obsession with Metacritc and review scores
I personally think it is the exact opposite that is the problem. People giving games a free pass because it is in alpha or beta because "things were different in my days".
We aren't in those days we are in the modern days.
Where the ONLY dictate of whether or not something can or cannot be reviewed is if it is sold or not.
and I am sorry to inform you but Planetary annihilation is being sold and its "Alpha" is being used as enticement as in it is being sold as a selling point. Meaning it is fair game.
You cannot realistically rate an alpha of a game as if it were a released game. It isn't even a complete game, and that fact is acknowledged by the developers. Rating it as a completed game on sites like metacritic makes no sense whatsoever.
You can realistically rate an alpha of a game as if it were an alpha OR as if it were a marketing strategy.
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How may I put it to you in a way you will understand.
They are selling people alpha access. As in alpha access is right now a product.
As a product it has an inherent worth a monetary worth.
As something with monetary worth people have a say about what their money is worth and whether or not such an expense is worth it.
Because people have valid opinions on things sold in a market they can thus share these opinions.
Because these opinions are about the value of a product being sold on the market they are essentially rated.
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There is no logic to saying that an Alpha cannot be rated when it is sold. If it is sold it can be rated, it is logical to be rated, and it should be rated.
If I don't want people giving my incomplete script negative reviews, I shouldn't sell people my incomplete script. Should people give my incomplete script a review as if it was a complete one? No.
Should they give my incomplete script reviews? Of course.
Can people who go about buying incomplete scripts find this review helpful? Of course.
But what if the script changes? Then either post mark the review or update it... Games are released incomplete all the time now, how is it any different other then the fact that they didn't attach the beta label?
rating a game based on price is just stupid. By that logic, all of the 99 cent games should get scores of 100%
Rating a game based on price makes perfect logical sense. You are ultimately asking the value of a product. If a product gives you a lot of value for less money then it is more worthwhile then a product that gives you less value for more money.
It doesn't mean a game that is 99 cents is automatically 100% because you are still asking for its final value and while "its cheap" is definitely a positive, it isn't one that can turn crud into gold.
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Topic: Planetary Annihilation: The dubiousness of expandalone patches. Also Titans. (Read 72885 times)