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Prison Architect - Low as $10.19 (66% off) on Steam
- Thread starter DracoNB
- Start date
This is not a deal. The game is still not even worth testing, as it is hugely bugged and missing fundamental gameplay features. It has made almost no progress in the past year. Everyone I know that bought this game regrets it, as it doesn't look like the game will ever make any fundamental progress towards what was promised.
techie81
[H]ard for [H]ardware
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I bit. had a few bucks in my steam wallet to make it even cheaper. Watched a few LP's and it looks like fun.
Missing gameplay features and buggy... Well it is an ALPHA. Don't buy a game in alpha if you aren't willing to experience (and report!) bugs you find.
They have a new build every month: http://www.introversion.co.uk/prisonarchitect/builds.html
um...
unless people are willing to pay for it?
Do you know how much money Notch made off Minecraft while it was still beta? And people were very satisfied with the game in its unfinished form.
Another ignorant 'cyber begging' comparison from you? Sheesh
That said, this has been in Early Access for ages. It sounds like it has the funding from Kickstarter and EA, so why has it been stuck in Alpha for so long?
seriously , this is one hell of a game. Just the background is interesting . Running a prison? hell yes!
just look at their youtube channel , each month they release a new video explaining everything new and bug fixes .
https://www.youtube.com/user/IVSoftware
Its a fun , very very fun game.
just look at their youtube channel , each month they release a new video explaining everything new and bug fixes .
https://www.youtube.com/user/IVSoftware
Its a fun , very very fun game.
sfsuphysics
[H]F Junkie
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Well to echo what others said... 66% off, so this is a $30 game? For an alpha? Uh fuck that. $10 full price from what I see, when the game is completed.
Seriously calling 66% off as "hot" is like when department stores jack up prices then say 30% off sale!
Seriously calling 66% off as "hot" is like when department stores jack up prices then say 30% off sale!
MavericK
Zero Cool
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Considered getting it, but I think I'll pass for now. I don't see this as going for $30, even when it's released. I am a bit confused as to why they're still in Alpha as well...this game has been in alpha since late 2012.
QFT..
Ocellaris
Fully [H]
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Well clearly they just need more generous people to get excited about 66% OFF and keep funding their questionable development pace.
Modred189
Can't Read the OP
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I bought in some time ago. As an alpha form a very small group of devs, it has been a very fun game. Do i play it constantly? no. But I do come back to it once a month or two for a few hours to try the latest build.
It's been worth every penny I paid.
It's been worth every penny I paid.
cageymaru
Fully [H]
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I've been in the pre alpha for Project Cars long before Prison Architect was announced. I think 2 - 3 years is a fair amount of time for development of a game. I've heard of games taking 5 years to develop. The Elder Scrolls Online took 5 years according to it's wiki for example.
Now of course those games are a lot more robust than this game. In the video linked earlier, the developers for Prison Architect said that they have had 5 children since they started working on the game. Which is a kinda neat way to track game development time for an Indie developer.
With that said, pre alpha access is not for everyone. Project Cars as awesome as it plays and looks, was crashing this week after they added in a couple tracks and tweaks. I don't mind it because it's what I signed up for; to pre alpha test the game. I signed up to find bugs and the developers issue bug fixes almost daily. I'm very happy with this arrangement.
Compare this to Elder Scrolls Online where there are just as many crashes and bugs as Project Cars (probably more!) and it's a full retail release. I got pissed at ESO because I paid for a finished game. It was crashing before they even decided to add in content! I knew it wouldn't be bug free, but it's got bugs more than P Cars! So in the end as long as what you bought, is truly representative of what you paid for, I don't see a reason to worry. It's when it isn't that I find the state of the game appalling.
Just my 2 cents of course.
Another ignorant 'cyber begging' comparison from you? Sheesh
That said, this has been in Early Access for ages. It sounds like it has the funding from Kickstarter and EA, so why has it been stuck in Alpha for so long?
They never did a kickstarter for this game.
That said, they claimed initially that the $35 price was to discourage people who didn't want to play an unfinished game, and they only wanted their most ardent fans to be involved in the early stages of development. So either they've come a long way since then or they've seen that other people have had success selling unfinished games to the wider Steam audience.
Good price, but I can't remember the last time I actually played it.
The biggest problem is that I end up going through the same routine every "playthrough"... build this, then that, then this, then that. It's nice that things keep getting added, but I haven't seen anything added to the list of features over the last few months to warrant another start.
The biggest problem is that I end up going through the same routine every "playthrough"... build this, then that, then this, then that. It's nice that things keep getting added, but I haven't seen anything added to the list of features over the last few months to warrant another start.
Except Project CARS made significant progress consistently week after week for years. I've been watching PA for literally years as well at this point and trust me if it was worth it I'd have purchased it already. The game was 15% done in 2012 and today it's... 21% done. Wow, in for three!!
MavericK
Zero Cool
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I've been in the pre alpha for Project Cars long before Prison Architect was announced. I think 2 - 3 years is a fair amount of time for development of a game. I've heard of games taking 5 years to develop. The Elder Scrolls Online took 5 years according to it's wiki for example.
Now of course those games are a lot more robust than this game. In the video linked earlier, the developers for Prison Architect said that they have had 5 children since they started working on the game. Which is a kinda neat way to track game development time for an Indie developer.
I agree with you in terms of game development time, but I highly doubt that many games are in the "Alpha" stage for 2 out of 3 years of their development. Given what I have seen of this game it just doesn't make sense to me that this hasn't gone into Beta at least, based on the apparent complexity of the game and the amount of time it's taken.
Yeah, this is my concern. I think it's a valid one, and I'm a bit more sensitive to it after I wasted $20 on Cube World (which allegedly is still being worked on, but no update at all since July 2013...)
Modred189
Can't Read the OP
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I disagree.
Historically (i.e., before companies sold "beta access" and even after that), "Alpha" mean feature-incomplete, and buggy as hell. "Beta" meant that the game was largely feature complete and the bugs were tackled and infrastructure tested (stress testing for multiplayer games). The VASt majority of a game's lifetime is spent in alpha, so if a game takes 4 years to develop, alpha is going to last around 3 years most likely.
The difference is that Notch delivered.
Another ignorant 'cyber begging' comparison from you? Sheesh
That said, this has been in Early Access for ages. It sounds like it has the funding from Kickstarter and EA, so why has it been stuck in Alpha for so long?
<3
Good to finally see you come over to the EA is meh side.
Yeah my bad, they crowdfunded the first $1 million
DonInKansas
Supreme [H]ardness
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It sounds like it has the funding from Kickstarter and EA, so why has it been stuck in Alpha for so long?
So you're saying this game is screwed.
So then wait a few more years until its complete and buy it then if you are interested. No one is forcing you to buy it now, but you can if you want to play it and enjoy it instead of waiting the X years for it to be completed.
So much bitching. Would you rather them not sell it at all now and you can only watch their update videos every month?
MavericK
Zero Cool
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I think the idea was to give people a sense of the development length and how much has actually been done on the game so they can make an informed purchase decision.
I'd rather not have anything available for purchase that is either: A) a misrepresentation, or B) a ripoff.
This game is arguably both, because after years of development it doesn't look anywhere near what they originally promised, or even to be moving in the right direction. It's just sliding away, slowly. It's not like this is a difficult concept or anything either... it could hardly be simpler, from a programming and design standpoint.
I stand by my statement.
This game is arguably both, because after years of development it doesn't look anywhere near what they originally promised, or even to be moving in the right direction. It's just sliding away, slowly. It's not like this is a difficult concept or anything either... it could hardly be simpler, from a programming and design standpoint.
I stand by my statement.
Except they didn't do that. I posted a link to their monthly build releases + videos.
People should know by now don't buy Alpha games and expect fully featured ones. This is the biggest sale on this game so far. They initially kept the price high because they didn't want people complaining and only wanted constructive feedback from people really interested in the game.
Their first release was a very early alpha in September of 2012, so that makes the game 1 and a half years old at this point. Games take a long time to make, its just developers are now involving the community in the development process and getting feedback early instead of after finishing the game and hoping people like it.
The difference is that Notch delivered.
<3
Good to finally see you come over to the EA is meh side.
Not really. In most cases, I would say Early Access is great if you want to support a developer. I definitely wouldn't refer to it as 'begging'
Take a look at Dayz standalone though. $30 for a alpha release, which when updated gets more buggy. Then they bail after selling 1.7 millions copies. So they got away with $51 million dollars while we have to wait for the other company to pick off where they stopped. People will buy alpha and hope it will turn out to be a good game. Crazy but that is how it works.
http://www.pcgamer.com/2014/03/28/d...el=ref&ns_source=steam&ns_linkname=0&ns_fee=0
http://www.pcgamer.com/2014/03/28/d...el=ref&ns_source=steam&ns_linkname=0&ns_fee=0
All the more reason to research before you buy. I have no issues paying for an Early Access game if I want to support the dev and contribute to the final product. Then there are some, who purchase Early Access for the sole purpose of playing a game, which is entirely stupid on their part.
Modred189
Can't Read the OP
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This.
And keep in mind there are a lot of indie devs that lack the capital to actually build the game outside of an early-access system. As long as you buy in knowing you are taking a risk (that you're funding a game that might fail, as opposed to buying a final product), and are ok with that, it's a great system. The problem is the people who are pissed off and want their money back when a game DOES fail.
Ocellaris
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The DayZ thing is pretty crazy, they really looked like they cashed in when they could. There are plenty of other examples of well funded projects not going as intended. Like Oculus Rift and Broken Age recently.
$10 for Prison Architect [Alpha] isn't the worst deal in the world, people just need to accept that they may never get a finished game for that $10.
sfsuphysics
[H]F Junkie
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How you played/seen it though? It's not exactly a cutting edge type of game. Seriously reminds me of GTA1/2 days with that top down look, except perhaps a bit more better resolution. This game looks like it should be a $10 game when it's 100% done.
But hey, everyone puts their own worth on a product, and I can respect that their worth is not my vision of it's value.
Droc
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I look at ARMA3, the biggest sim on the market. hundreds of thousands paid into the alpha. The alpha lasted half a year, the beta a few months and the finished release was basically beta.
The game has been out for half a year now and its still a beta. Any features, such as the single player or parts of the game that should have been there when it was released, they update as "free DLC", and thats bullshit. you cant release an unfinished game, and when you do implement a part that should have been there, you cant say its free DLC.
fuck, i wish I didnt buy the biggest supporter package of that game.
DayZ standalone also. That game has made near zero progress in the past 3 months and full release seems to be years away. By the time its ready, no one will care.
Hitmanthe3rd
Limp Gawd
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Game is too hard. Thought I'd be creating a fun prison and dealing with Prison things. Too busy trying to keep funds down, and figure out the best place for the water to be placed...And various other tedious tasks. Not a bad game, just too overwhelming for me. I like my cookie cutter Titanfall. Although, Dota 2 had a big learning curve, and that's currently the only game I'm really playing...Maybe I'll give it another go.
Because graphics, not gameplay, is what matters.