Request Beta of Pinball Arcade for PC?

[Hanson]

Any reason why you couldn't have asked that question two months ago? Still a bit confused about the timing of you guys...

And that's what I'm trying to say with my "negative" comments. FS promises and promises, they tell us "next week", "mid July", "end of July" and so on and so on....... ! This is no whining, this is the truth.
Sorry, but that had to be said.

..

 

[warh0g]

Any reason why you couldn't have asked that question two months ago? Still a bit confused about the timing of you guys...

In the Kickstarter response to beta-backers it is stated "In the next week or so, we're hoping for your support for beta testing for T2 and ongoing".

 

[warh0g]

And that's what I'm trying to say with my "negative" comments. FS promises and promises, they tell us "next week", "mid July", "end of July" and so on and so on....... ! This is no whining, this is the truth.
Sorry, but that had to be said.

..

Have they really promised that?

 

[lettuce]

Noticed that i now have access to the beta sub forum, but no email yet

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

Any reason why you couldn't have asked that question two months ago? Still a bit confused about the timing of you guys...

Two months ago, the PC version wasn't even in internal testing because they were implementing the Steam SDK. You really expected FarSight to ask Valve for beta keys for a game that at the time still had required features missing and couldn't possibly have been approved for Steam yet?

 

[Carl Spiby]

Shame they have to rely on email channels, a phonecall would have got them their answer in no time.

 

[warh0g]

Noticed that i now have access to the beta sub forum, but no email yet

I don't have access to Beta sub forum.

 

[rob3d]

Noticed that i now have access to the beta sub forum, but no email yet

I don't have access to the beta sub forum yet. All I have is access to the old TZ beta forum.

 

[freezy]

Two months ago, the PC version wasn't even in internal testing because they were implementing the Steam SDK. You really expected FarSight to ask Valve for beta keys for a game that at the time still had required features missing and couldn't possibly have been approved for Steam yet?

I don't know, that's why I'm asking. Hell, they know who'll get the codes since last year, so why only ask at the day you're supposed to deliver. But DonCarlos, if you have more concrete info, please share it, otherwise a response from Farsight would be great.

 

[Lobotomy]

Response from FS is on the boards, it clearly says that Mike is waiting for response from Steam.
And Mike clearly stated that their connections at steam are European based, therefor the time difference makes it rather difficult to correspond with mail back and forth.
IF FS had own digital distribution channels we would been playing beta, or even perhaps the final product by now, but the reality is what we have today, live with it.
And no, i am not a newcomer to the forums just because it's my first post HERE.

 

[superballs]

And that's what I'm trying to say with my "negative" comments. FS promises and promises, they tell us "next week", "mid July", "end of July" and so on and so on....... ! This is no whining, this is the truth.
Sorry, but that had to be said.

..

Can you point out where they've promised anything? They are dealing with things outside of their control and as such cannot be expected to control it. They have stated intentions, but delays are, and have always been a part of game development.

Response from FS is on the boards, it clearly says that Mike is waiting for response from Steam.
And Mike clearly stated that their connections at steam are European based, therefor the time difference makes it rather difficult to correspond with mail back and forth.
IF FS had own digital distribution channels we would been playing beta, or even perhaps the final product by now, but the reality is what we have today, live with it.
And no, i am not a newcomer to the forums just because it's my first post HERE.

Welcome to the boards. Based on your first post, i like you.

 

[warh0g]

Response from FS is on the boards, it clearly says that Mike is waiting for response from Steam.
And Mike clearly stated that their connections at steam are European based, therefor the time difference makes it rather difficult to correspond with mail back and forth.
IF FS had own digital distribution channels we would been playing beta, or even perhaps the final product by now, but the reality is what we have today, live with it.
And no, i am not a newcomer to the forums just because it's my first post HERE.

Välkommen! A fellow Swede

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

I don't know, that's why I'm asking. Hell, they know who'll get the codes since last year, so why only ask at the day you're supposed to deliver. But DonCarlos, if you have more concrete info, please share it, otherwise a response from Farsight would be great.

Valve probably needs a game to exist on Steam before they can generate beta codes for it. So it makes no sense for FarSight to ask for beta codes until the game is out of internal testing and sent to Valve for approval. Therefore, FarSight probably didn't ask until just recently.

 

[Mike Reitmeyer]

I couldn't ask for codes before we had a game setup. Once we got setup on steam, I noticed a page where you can request keys. I figured that was how you do it. A little over a week ago I tried using that page and realized I couldn't do anything. So I'm guessing I either don't have appropriate permissions or the account manager at Valve needs to set something up first. So I sent them an email asking what needs to be done.

I didn't expect it to take days to get a response.

I know how much you all want the beta, and I really want us to put one out so we can get as much feedback as soon as possible so we can release on PC this month. I even check my email from home (off the clock) to see if we've gotten a beta response, in case it requires me to respond back.

 

[DaPinballWizard]

Thanks for the info.

 

[neilpinbot]

Though I'm not even to be a beta tester. I think Mike deserves a medal as far as I understand he's a programmer plus having to deal with integration onto steam. I would have thought that management would make sure that programmers have all the required setup details ready.

 

[TomL]

I would have thought that management would make sure that programmers have all the required setup details ready.

Sure, management usually delegates that responsibility to the programmer. "So, Programmer, we have a tight deadline, make sure you have everything you need to finish your work. And come to me if ever you need someone to help prioritize your assignments for you."

Tom

 

[dach]

Mike has always been courteous in response to over whelming pressure from TPA fans . Could things have gone smoother? Surely they are aware of the market for PC , given the possible greater CPU and graphics potential and the easy access offered by the Steam distribution . I wait not patiently but quietly now; it has to be close.

 

[warh0g]

I couldn't ask for codes before we had a game setup. Once we got setup on steam, I noticed a page where you can request keys. I figured that was how you do it. A little over a week ago I tried using that page and realized I couldn't do anything. So I'm guessing I either don't have appropriate permissions or the account manager at Valve needs to set something up first. So I sent them an email asking what needs to be done.

I didn't expect it to take days to get a response.

I know how much you all want the beta, and I really want us to put one out so we can get as much feedback as soon as possible so we can release on PC this month. I even check my email from home (off the clock) to see if we've gotten a beta response, in case it requires me to respond back.

Keep up the great work Mike! Cheers from Sweden

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

For those who haven't braved the Designated Complaint Area, an update:

Our rep is in Luxembourg to be exact. Valve is headquartered in Bellevue, WA, so I'm not sure why our rep is in Europe.

I got a response from them on the keys, we're working out the details. As soon as I have something more definitive we'll let you know.

As for why I didn't ask sooner, I saw something on the steam dev site for getting beta keys. I figured you could just request them on there. As it turns out I need Valve to set something up first, then I can request keys off the site whenever we need them. Everything else I've done with them had been pretty easy and quick, I didn't expect this to take days or even weeks to resolve.