Having won the super trap land giveaway which promoted people to help them on greenlight I can say that it is a shifty tactic, but it should go without saying that if you win and like it then you should promote it. If you enter and don't win and the game still appeals to you...well you should promote it.
I also feel that if you do a beta give away you should also include a small discount towards the retail version to the winners. I'm not saying a 50% off or anything but even a 5%-10% would be excellent to show that you appreciate the interest and feedback during your beta.
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This. Especially the part about ignoring betas. Some look interesting enough to enter, most don't, but the fact that they're there, gives me another option to use my points when I'm sick of looking at Dota 2 and Geneforge Saga.
Though I'd still much rather have that many giveaways of X-COM or Dishonored -- No offense, devs.
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i know, i want free games also. who cares that it takes time, money, and skills to make a quality video game. They already made it, so now they should just give us all copies of the game. What was that? Devs need to eat? I need to eat too and by they giving me the full game, I can save money to go buy myself a meal.
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Just won one a Chivalry beta key. Haters gonna hate
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Feel free not to enter.
In fact, having those developer giveaways benefits you in several real, measurable ways.
1) Their creation gives you points.
2) Their existance pulls entries from other people, reducing their available points for entering giveaways you want, improving your chances.
These giveaways are sanctioned by cg, the person who owns steamgifts. If YOU feel you somehow have the rights to dictate how this site (which, by the way, is designed ENTIRELY for YOUR benefit) is run, then you might want to consider where you got this absurd sense of entitlement, and how you can get it under control.
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Forum search. Please, learn use. No post same thread.
They no force you enter. Why you care...
Bah, I can't write like that anymore! Seriously dude, except that you're complaining about Developer Beta giveaways I didn't understand at ALL what you said or what your point is supposed to be.
Also, really... are so many people so spoiled as to complain that the Developers of a game are mass-giving the Betas? They don't care about contribution, they won't use it to enter giveaways. So why do you care?! Why don't you complain when they gift them on Facebook for example?
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So they can't make giveaways (they're not called gifts) of betas because the site is called Steamgifts and Betas don't qualify as gifts in your opinion ?
Do you also think Burger King should stop selling fries because it's called Burger King and fries are not burgers ??
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You can play beta versions just fine, not just "test" them. Usually late game multiplayer betas are just stress tests, so they want tons of people playing to make sure the system holds up.
And if you don't agree with being given something to have it taken away, don't enter the beta giveaways. But who says they're being taken away? You got it for the time you were allowed to right? You were given a game and got to play it? Like a cheeseburger. You get it, eat it and it's gone later. You get the game, play it, and it's gone later. It didn't get taken away, you used it. Try going to Burger King and explaining you want your money back because your cheeseburger is GONE after you ate it. They can't charge you for something you don't have!
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The only problem I have with betas/developer giveaways is how it messes up the "top contributor" stats (which in itself is quite unimportant, but it is at least a minor reward for the top contributors to be seen on that list).
Apart from that, this whole thing reminds me of a person who told me that elder scrolls games were better on consoles because they could not be modded there (the person claimed that it was work to mod games, therefore it was better if you could not do it, thus entirely missing the part of it being optional to TES games on PC).
Also, when skimming through some of the comments above, I noticed that some people who argued against betas really don't understand basic marketing and how markets work in general.
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I don't know why the "I want to play betas" and the "I don't want to play betas" crowds can't peacefully coexist. I understand that some people think it's a shitty thing for developers to do, offering betas and not full games, and I could see getting rid of this if EVERYONE thought that way. However, there are people who don't think that way, and would gladly spend their points on a beta for the chance to play a game early. Maybe a little bit more transparency could be useful (something like an expected release date listed in the description so potential entrants know roughly how long they'll have to play the game), but other than that I see no problems.
As for WHY developers are allowed to give beta keys and not players? I really don't know. Maybe the devs are paying the site for the advertisement potential. If that's the case, then it allows this site to flourish and I'm all for it.
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Its simple, if you dont like them, dont join them
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Beta giveaways are nice (In my opinion) due to the fact that it enables winners to try out their game, potentially recommend it to others, sometimes even cause them to buy older/future titles, thus further promoting their game or company. I see no downside. You don't have to participate if you don't like it, but some people may enjoy the game and want to be able to try it out early or before purchasing. Though I understand yours, and everyone else who opposes the Beta giveaways, opinion, I respectfully disagree with it.
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I see threads all of the time with people trying to justify their piracy (which is stealing, however you want to justify it) by bitching that game companies don't give them demos (something noone is entitled to, if you don't like that they don't give a demo, don't buy their product).
And now that some game companies ARE trying to give out betas (like a demo of sorts), you bitch about that too? I realize it is not all the same people, but I do see a lot of people here complaining and suspect there is some crossover.
So much entitlement.
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I'm a bit confused about your argument. You say betas are like demos, and the companies are giving them out on steamgifts. I agree with this statement. However, should demos not be publicly accessible? What's the point of a demo if only a select few people in a small community can access them?
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Well, traditionally, a beta is a prerelease version of the game, after they've got it playable, but before they've worked all the bugs out. The idea is, you play the game to see what bugs are left, and tell the devteam about it. This means you're going to want to keep access restricted to people who you know are effective at rooting out all the possible bugs in the game.
Of course, this invalidates the "it's like a demo" argument, because a demo is a preview of the game without bugs in it.
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I don't consider steamgifts a group of people that effective at rooting out bugs in a game LOL. I think that's what paid beta testers are for. That's why I feel like the main goal of public beta is to basically just act as advertisement for the dev. Online betas might use the excuse of multiplayer stress tests, but for single player games?
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2 out of 3 of his wins on this site are for Betas. ROFL.
Seems like he's mad that he didn't understand what "beta" meant before he won. ლ(ಠ_ಠ)ლ
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Developers giving betas?...
This is kidding?
We (I) want full games, come on...
We delivering the best final product possible!... and the reward?
500 copies (Full) for 15,000 copies or more (Betas)... not bad!
They get money with us... (Feedback = Good Final Game)
... Sorry for my english
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