Pathfinder Online Alpha

I have some Pathfinder Online alpha keys available to give away.  If anyone is interested in helping test a game at this very very early stage of development send me a PM with the email you would like the key delivered to.

I don't frequent these forums very often any more because I'm not playing in any of the family chapters so the quicker you get in the quicker you get the key.

Stay safe.

a lov to have one

Get me one elth please

yes please

I'd take on if you have any left :)

Hmm late to the party. I would take one if I'm not too late.

I'd love one Elth.

Fog PM me the best email for your key please.  I have one key left and it's yours, I just need the email address that you want the key linked to.

Thanks Elth. Want to start trying to make contact with the devs to get an article in the next issue of the magazine about it.

All keys have been emailed out to those lucky winners.

Fog, Ryan and his crew are very active with the community so you shouldn't have too much trouble.  You probably wont find me in alpha for a while but each of you will probably get more keys to hand out yourself after a certain amount of time to get more of the family involved.  I'm not as active with the PFO community as I was two years ago but it is a very active community.

Hey Elth,
Since you seem to be up on the news more. I understand Alpha9.1 is being opened to whole bunch more of the KS backers. Is that a temporary Alpha access, or will we have access from that point onward?

Should be alpha from that point onward once you are in.

I read more closely, since 9.1 is the last Alpha before early access, it's rather moot.
I am worried that if this is the state of the game at Early Access, a lot of KS backers will be unimpressed.

No competent game developer goes straight to "Early Access" (aka Head Start before launch) immediately after Alpha, there's no development cycle that skips basic milestones or they'll... well, just trust me on that.  They might be labeling some sort of funky backer titles or something, but I strongly doubt that they are going from Alpha straight to Release.

They are.

Pathfinder are not using any standard game release schedule. There are no NDAs in operation - what you see is what you get, there are no secret surprises they are hiding to wow your socks off or deny other games from stealing off them.

They are operating as a true kickstarter project. What they plan to  have at release will be the bare-bones foundation of a working system (what they call a "Minimum viable product")... and that's it. Some basic character models. A selection of weapons and armour. A small handful of enemy mob types. Resource harvesting and crafting. A marketplace. This won't be your usual polished game that is complete when you buy it. They are starting at ground level and asking players to journey with them as the game expands and evolves.

It will be very interesting to see if it works for them, as it requires quite a leap of faith from the playerbase. Most will probably take one look at the graphics and basic gameplay and not even give it the time of day. Others will see it as an investment - characters effectively level in real time, so those who are there from day one and stick it out have the potential to be greatly rewarded for their perseverance.

I stand corrected.

That's pretty much all I'll have to say on it, going forward.

I will just add - that I am worried also for them.   It will take some truly dedicated fans to keep the game going with this process and I fully realized that is what they are hoping for... a group of hardcore fans to help them build their game.   I am just not positive that the MMO world is ready for it since most of them expect a game to be released bug free and with 5 years of content.

This is a game I have been following for a long time....if at some point someone else receives keys to distribute, I would absolutely test the heck out of it! Thanks in advance!

If I get any more Sklurb i'll send one your way. I would ask that anyone else that has gotten a key to check their account regularly for extra keys to hand out and distribute them as necessary.

Morigana,
I'm less worried about how much "content" they have, as this is a sandbox game in many ways, than I am worried about the mechanics feeling clunky and non-intuitive and that it feels nothing at all like Pathfinder.

Malthol, I wouldn't expect the game to feel like the Pathfinder role-playing game apart from the occasional feat or ability and class descriptions. Ryan has stated numerous times that they cannot recreate the pathfinder rules because it is under the d-20 licensing owned by Wizards of the Coast and it could result in a lawsuit.

It's a sandbox game so theme-park content like quests and exclamation points will be limited to non-existent and the oneus is up to the player to set their own goals whether it be creating sandcastles, participating in the economy through harvesting, adventure, crafting, building, social community building, keep and establishment building or just playing chaotic evil and trying to tear everyone else's sandcastle down.

They are not looking for huge subscriber numbers, they are looking for dedicated and loyal fans that will create the foundations for game growth. If you're looking for a theme-park experience, there are other alternatives.

Where I am failing to get interested in the game comes more from an animation and intuitive mechanic side of things. The long game seems to be coming along nicely, but I find it hard to test a game with little to no animation, and I am also finding the experience and skill purchase to be far to overwhelming in its current form. I don't like new player experiences like tutorials so that's great that there is none, and once the tooltips and guides become more informative it should even out nicely.

» Edited on: 2014-10-22 18:02:56

Thanks so much, Elth! :)

My e-mail is sklurb@sklurb.com

Much appreciated!

» Edited on: 2014-10-23 11:33:50

Elth, If you should ever get you hands on more keys, then I would love to test it.

Will do Booie. I haven't had any keys for some time now, but when I do get them I'll go down the list from this thread and you will each get one in turn.