Mmmm... I just started playing around with Pioneer and I disagree.

I'm a player, so while I'm sure there's loads of technical voodoo reasons all the tech heads can give you as to why it's still alpha, I'm looking primarily at it from the angle of a new player starting out... I've played many alphas and betas in my time so as a player, I feel I know what the expectations are for each stage of development from a players point of view.

Aaaanyway.... (I said the word "player" a lot there, cuz I'm a playa, yeah... *gang signs*).

In terms of your basic "ship flying about trading and exploring and whatnot" it's looking pretty nice.

But some things like the interface menus are in need of more eyecandyness before they could be considered polished enough for a beta.

They're very basic (flat blue panels) and need more... I dunno, more detail or skins or something.

More option toggles are needed, like on/off for names displayed onscreen (maybe I missed that?).

Also accessibility for new players could be better.. I found it pretty difficult to get up and running, there's downloads all over the place and it's hard to find a concise list of what you need/want (protip, stick to the listings here at SSC and don't wander off, to minimise confusion).

After you get the main game sorted you are left looking at a list of mods with filenames and little else to explain them.

I found it very tough to clearly find the stuff I wanted (and knew existed from reading threads here).

The wiki is very lacking and there's no real manual or noob guide beyond a key listing (that I can find).

A game is more than the sum of it's parts and (imo!) beta refers to a certain level in all aspects of the game experience, including documentation, support, guides, menus, interfaces, buttons and all that stuff beyond the basic gameplay.

But all my gripes are minor, just what I experienced while getting the game sorted (and I'm not the sharpest pin in the box, so I prolly missed a lot of stuff), I'm playing and it's very beautiful and everything I said becomes irrelevant when you find yourself doing a flyby of Alpha Centauri.

But it's just not a beta yet. <img src="' http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//icon_razz.gi f"' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':-P' />

Well... maybe a closed beta lol, but that kinda doesn't work with free open source games, heh.

The planets need more skins and details but i kind of like polygon ships!

(Edit Fixing quote)

That's kinda my point, there are better planet texture mods to be had already, I'm sure of it.

But it's not quick and easy to find them or get them into the game, I found a moon texture and a terra texture but I dunno... Meh, it's not essential, the game universe is hardly ugly, some planets are stunning when you drop into atmo.

The ships are cool, that's the way I like 'em too lol, plus they are pretty easy to customise in terms of textures etc.

Oh and just to counter all my bellyaching, I love, really love the way ships handle in this game.

All that said, does it make any difference if the game is labelled Alpha, Beta or Susan?

It's a free open source thingy, so really those lables are a bit meaningless.

And also its not to hard (At least with autopoilit)

Autopilot be damned!

Na, obviously in a game with proper physics and orbits and whatnot you need a good autopilot sometimes.

But the point of Pioneer (again, I stress only my opinion) in terms of flight model is the rich complexity of plotting orbits and transfers and all that stuff.

I played Orbiter for a long time and those mechanics are the whole point of that game simulation.

For me it wasn't too hard to get to grips with Pioneer in that regard, but that's only because I had that knowledge from Orbiter already.

But again that brings us back to the point, for entry level players there is a lack of guidance documentation etc for what can be a very complex game.

I mean sure you can autopilot all that stuff but you're losing out on a massive part of the experience... the art/science of space flight itself.

Now that said (I say that a lot) about 5 minutes ago I found a thread here with links to some very good videos that provide some nice guidance and tips.

Like this excellent lets play.

So really I'm prolly full of hot air and all this stuff is out there for newbies like me, it's just a case of finding it and pulling it all together.

Alpha is used when the game is not feature complete, and Pioneer is still some way from that. You call it beta when the game is ready for final testing prior to release and you are working on final stabilization.

As far as i understand (and devs can naturally tell me i'm talking crap), devs will call the game beta when it reaches parity with frontier (yes, in some ways it has, but in others, things are still missing/not working), plus all the extra goodies they are working on.

But hell, why not, we could work through the whole greek alphabet and go to an Omega release at the end. Roll that around on your tongue a bit.... Omega release.... mmmm... sounds tasty! Ill take it with a side order of Pi <img src="' http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//icon_e_biggrin.gi f"' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D' />

Thats how i found out about the game but i get bored watching his videos someone should make a new lets play of exploring space!

"Alpha" is our way of saying "everything is broken and we reserve the right to change whatever we want without notice". Really, alpha releases are development snapshots. And that's why we're happy(-ish) to break your savefiles and change the entire galaxy each time - things are moving fast!

We've talked about what "beta" means and we're pretty much agreed that it will mean we have a stable engine and platform on which we can build out the game properly without breaking things. That means (at least):

• All engine subsystems checked and either fixed or rewritten. UI and models are almost done, sysgen is likely the next big one.
• Savefile stability (that is, saves keep working with newer versions of the game and can cope with content (mod) changes)
• Procedural generation stability (that is, the galaxy, terrain, etc doesn't change between releases)
• Lua API stability (so mods don't have be to be constantly updated)

Some of this we know how to do but just haven't got to implementing yet. Other bits we're still just talking about.

No ETA on any of this. We're a merry band of volunteers, and we're not in any hurry <img src="' http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//icon_e_smile.gi f"' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

Yes... This is true, you guys are all doing this off your own back so to speak, ain't no fat EA corporate budget and paychecks flying around here... Just passion and dedication motivated by something far more awesome than mere profits.

It's easy to forget that as a player when we're too busy whinging over some low priority bells and whistles.

"DEVS! Make everything awesome and perfect NOW!"

Heh, I've been guilty of that in my time, no question, I have been that guy browbeating the GM at the table for not including this or that minor detail.

But when I think about it while playing, when I'm in the universe, what you've accomplished is actually pretty insane.