Topic
Glitch, Unlaunched
We are taking Glitch back to beta. This is some big news. The story’s told in this blog post, which you ought to read before continuing to read this. :)
But I know that reading about the over-arching thoughts behind the decision will raise many questions from you all, the most fundamental being: “How will the game change for me, and what does ‘beta’ mean?”
Playing Glitch will be a very similar experience to what you’ve become accustomed to over the past couple of months, except punctuated with some big changes to the fundamentals (like XP, energy and housing) and the addition of functionality that puts more creative power in your hands and allows you to have more of an impact on of the world of Glitch. To that end:
- The world will continue to be open around the clock, though there may be occasional (and brief) down-times
- You’ll still be able to invite friends in limited quantities, but general sign-ups will go back to being queued
- The player support team will be devoting more time to ensuring these new additions are working the way they should, which could mean slower response times to help cases (though we’ll still aim for the fastest turnaround possible)
- We’ll encourage players to help us test all of this out, and hunt down bugs with us as new features are released
- Though you’ll still be able to buy credits and subscriptions, whoever feels they want a refund because of the change (or for any reason) can do so through December 31st.
- And finally, while we are not currently planning another reset — resetting again is very unlikely — that might change. And even without a complete reset, some of the transitions will be big and the old systems won’t map perfectly to the new ones. For example, the new housing system will be a big change (some details here).
It’s all a bit crazy, but this is an exciting time for us. We’re doing it to make sure that all of you have a game that is awesome to play from the first moment you step into the world to deep into your Glitch adulthood.
If you have any further questions, comments or concerns, I will be reading along and answering them as best I can. You can also take a look at the new FAQ section we wrote just for this (we’ll be editing and adding to it as questions arise).
Replies
- Yeah, actually, could we get something specific to users who've been playing during the 2 months it was out of beta? Something totally different, but commemorative. That way original Beta users could keep being special with their GNG block and their funpickles....but us early adopters (including Betas who kept playing after reset) could get a little cred for the time we've put in as well. I started playing like 2 days after it went live...
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My chief concern is losing the progress obtained with the hundreds of hours I have spent on the game if there is a full or large partial reset (especially after buying full year highest level subscriptions for both myself and my fiancee). Your reassurances that this is not going to happen comforts us enough to continue playing. We do not want to keep investing hours in progress towards something that is just going to go away. If a reset were to happen we would be devastated and never log in again.
Thank you for confirming that you will be resetting as little as possible and not making us lose the things in our house when you force us to move (I am SUCH a hoarder - you have no idea . . .). Along those same lines - I love the location of my house. If forced to move, please let me keep my location or choose one that I would find comparable.
That said - I am soooooo looking forward to making potions and to the upcoming group owned private islands that my friends and I can invest in and build up (I have an image of a multi-terrain land with a gigantic Robinson Crusoe styled multi-leveled winding treehouse with Chinese lanterns crafted from paper and lit by fireflies in the center)!
We love the game and think Tiny Speck are cool people with good ethics (major kudos, too, to the excellent customer support I personally have experienced) and are happy to consider our subscriptions as an investment to make this awesome game even awesomer (provided no reset). - I am glad to be on this ride with innovative and courageous staff! ty!
- +1 to Kookaburra, I actually like that idea! Then I could pick the house style I like AND have the self-satisfaction of building it myself.
- I am all for a reset!... provided I get to keep ALL my stuff, ALL my skills, ALL my cash (you get the idea!)... basically I want nothing to change but just get better. (I really don't see why everyone is SO concerned about a reset. ;-D )
- WOW.. what an exciting time for us all. I think "BETA" is not the right term though as it makes me think of going backwards since we already did Beta and we opened.. how about "Charlie" or some other "C" word, as these new changes will effect all of us since launch back in September. I'm hanging in there TS.. looking forward to all the goodies you have in store for us!
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Yet another WOOHOO! to the changes. Potion Making here I come!
I am also nervous about losing my home. I have the very best home available in all of Ur. I don't care about the stuff. I liked having moving sales of my hoarded heaps of "maybe this will be useful in a few months" stuff. But my address means the world to me (so do my fireflies). -
Nooo no reset please :(
And about changing houses, besides keeping our items, there's also the problem of house location, might not seem important to many, but I value the distance to subway and vendors :( -
I think "BETA" is not the right term though as it makes me think of going backwards since we already did Beta and we opened
Gamma would be next (it's the greek alphabet - alpha, beta, gamma...) -
New depth and development has GOT to be welcome so thank you TS.
BUT - oh not another reset PLEASE, all that grinding again, I don't have the stomach for it. And another house move might just push me over the edge - I have amassed so much 'stuff', I know it's only pixels but pixels that cost time. And my neighbours are my closest game friends and it took a lot of game time to find a street with enough empty houses.
Happy happy, sob SOB, happy sob.....and breathe. -
I'd keep playing if there was a reset, but I'd be sad.
Thanks for being open and responsive about these changes and why they are happening; I can't even begin to explain how refreshing that is. - Could we get some kind of official word on whether it is the case that the forced move will allow us to stay on our current streets/neighbourhoods?
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I'm actually really excited about this. I have faith that the devs will do what they can to make sure we have the least disruption, and it's a brave decision to go back to beta.
I don't want to have to start all over again but I will if it comes to it, so no refund for me thanks. - I'm very happy to hear about this. I've really wanted to see a more sophisticated economy develop, and more tools to enable expressions of creativity by players. I realize that most disagree, and that's completely understandable, but I would be just fine with a reset if it has to happen. I get to relive the memories all over again. :-)
- @MzMunchken: after Alpha and Beta, next would be Gamma... sounds good doesn't it?
- Love your sense of humor Stoot but so appreciate your comment that you will try not to do it (reset)...I had to laugh at myself as I started reading and reacted a little less than in a positive fashion with your first where is that button...but thank you again for saying you will try very hard not to do it. I'm not really great at redoing things a third time and have a great appreciation for those early testers that have been thru it lots of times. I needed someone to poke fun at me and go for it, I'm ready to break things if needs be and move me wherever..can't wait to see what you'll come up with!!!!
- Gamma … it's been done: blog.flickr.net/en/2006/05/... ;)
- A reset wouldn't be so bad provided that the game being reset to was significantly different from what we have now. Resetting to essentially the same game would be... bleh. Resetting to a game where, say, there were no vendors. Now THAT would be interesting.
- If you have to reset housing, I'd like to retain the exact same spot for my new house. I don't care so much about contents, but not having to climb up and down to get to the house is critical.
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I think "BETA" is not the right term though as it makes me think of going backwards since we already did Beta and we opened
Gamma would be next (it's the greek alphabet - alpha, beta, gamma...)Posted 8 min ago by Adroix | Permalink
True Adroix, but this is UR where anything is possible ;-) - So I've seen the question asked a number of times here and elsewhere - but no answer that I can see ..... are subscriptions suspended during beta/gamma/whatever ?
- @Stoot: looking forward to Delta too ;-)
- This is incredibly exciting and I'm really looking forward to hearing more details. I'm especially looking forward to the new housing .. I hope we can build our own!
- I'm very excited about all the great changes. I'm sure I audibly "squeed" when I saw the new skills and more uses for herbs! (Can you tell I'm a bog-dweller?) You can keep my subscription money, you've certainly earned it. Though I will add my voice to the choir of "Please for the love of the Giants, don't reset."
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Oooookay, for everyone freaked at the idea of being reset again (admittedly a sucky, albeit UNLIKELY event), here are some undeniable up sides:
1) You WILL advance through the game MUCH faster. There's no comparison - learning skills will be more efficient, because you know which ones count first. Leveling will be faster, and you will adapt to new strategies better. You aren't starting over in the same way, you're being reset with all the advanced knowledge and inside scoops.
2) If all the housing is modified (and likely will HAVE to be to accomodate some of the SUPER cool stuff TS has been hinting at, and everyone has been begging for from the beginning), having to buy a new house can become a good thing - you can save up currants fast and buy the house you want with the knowledge of what it took before, plus new information on what is offered. Maybe you realize you like X house, but want Y house this go round. There's no getting around how much this will upset some people, but try to see it as a cool thing. You can't get the new super cool houses without moving from your current house. Ultimately, do you want the house you want now with none of the features, or the features with the inconvenience of moving house? I know a bunch of people will say same house no features, but that's what glitch is - a constant evolution of features and offerings.
3) Most importantly, a huge number of people playing glitch want beta tester items. There's a prestige that comes with being a beta tester, and there's a distinct practical advantage that comes from being an insider before the game is accessible to the rest of the world. Yeah, it's been live for two months, but by turning back the clock, you have an opportunity to gain even more status. Level is irrelevant, join date is what matters when people start keeping score. And they will. They already do.
Finally, think of the time spent in the game as time actively having fun. Yes, you derived that fun by working towards a tangible goal (and it will be a drag if that achieved goal gets taken away), but you still had fun. I hate to think a bunch of you are mad because you invested hours and hours of NOT having fun because you wanted to get to a point where the game suddenly BECAME fun. -
Huh. I don't like this at all. I bought a full year subscription hoping for some stability, and even a remote chance of a reset scares me. Also, I don't WANT to move again. It took a lot of time and effort to find I place I really like with the surroundings just what I want-I don't want to be forced into some other place. (Not worried at all about the crap in my house, but this is about location.)
I don't really get it why you have to go to beta again anyway. I don't see the point - I don't see anything exciting in this, and it really worries me, tbh. Like Pope Joan said - I feel ill. Alll those XP and especially the favour I collected, which I did with a particular purpose, and you will just change the whole system? Not worried about the money, but I'll never get that time back that I invested. Time and also heartache. - @eric It is called the truncate button
- Stoot..!!!!..You just like to keep us on our toes..sheeesh LOL :D...Un-Launch...Bring it on!!..we are ready to take you on :-P... xx
- Dang I'm deflated! Can't find the unction to Play now. If everything I Have achieved MIGHT be gone again, what's the point?? :/
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If it comes to it, am happy to help my fellow glitchen move at moving-time. Maybe it'll just be a question of re-moving into our own places. Regardless, we'll figure it out! Moving parties! Storing stuff at others' houses! Plus the new boxes! Maybe we can start a moving tips thread...
And if we have a reset, it'll be a hassle, but a neat challenge. - For those of us that bought the yearly sub special during beta, but were told it would reset the time at launch so that we got a full year at launch, what happens now? Will our time be frozen during un-launch so that it doesn't count towards the year?
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You know, I think this is great. I'm happy to support a creative bunch of people who realize that their project may not live up to its potential and are willing to put on the brakes and rework things. That is doing right by your players and customers, TS. Also, good job on offering refunds. I can't say I've had any online experience that is as stand-up as you guys right now.
Also, at the risk of pissing people off, I actually wouldn't cry if the world were to be reset. I love my house, I love the location, I am nearly completely skilled out at level 32, but I am more thrilled at the idea of having a completely fresh start with the knowledge of the Way It Was and how much better it will be. The idea that you will be giving more creativity to the players really excites me, and I want to see your vision through. I'm not worried about any time I invested, because I've enjoyed every minute of it, and I'll invest it again. -
Having been through every reset so far I would not like to do it again now.
I worked very hard to get the same house I had before launch because I love it. I would be very, very sad if the new one did not closely resemble it in appearance and in the situation and view because that is why I chose it.
I am certain I am not the only one who feels like this, though newer players might enjoy a reset to do things differently.
I would also be unhappy to lose my progress and the currants I have hoarded to upgrade my property as has been promised in the past.
However, Stoot and the team have always done their absolute best to make Glitch the best game there is, and I trust them to continue to do that. They will safeguard our interests because they know how important that is and how much we want Glitch to be the best it can be.
I will always continue to play Glitch because it is fun and Tiny Speck take notice of what we say and want and always try to give us what we ask for.
However (just in case no-one else has said it) NO RESET Please!!""! - I don't mind going back to beta, but if I have to take Better Learning V one more time I will be homicidal.
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this is great. i love glitch so so much, but it was getting boring because of the lack of collaborative creativity that i was hoping for. you guys identified exactly what the problems are, and i can't wait to see what you come up with. you're doing what has never been done before, so i am super excited to see what the result is. the world needs a game like glitch!
you guys rock! hurrah!
quick question about subscriptions: if i bought a year subscription, does it reset? does it go back to zero and start at the end of the new beta? - If we go to Delta I shall be Foxtrotting Oscar ;P
- double post sorry
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I better get a Beta pickle when Glitch relaunches again. Just sayin'
:P - can anybody answer if there will be more levels as 60? i see potion making 3 needs level 61... i am level 60 and if i am inworld i dont receive xp for my actions... how should this work?
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Hmm. On the one hand, I think that going back into beta (gamma, delta...) is a good thing, because there are obviously Big Changes ahead. And, you know, I've been getting a bit bored lately, so New Stuff would be cool.
On the other, I personally would appreciate it if we could get some sort of assurance that the final word on any reset could come before the cut-off date for refunds. If the New Stuff isn't that exciting, I'm not sure I'm going to be interested in keeping playing, really. -
I've been playing for just over a month, bought a year's subscription last week, and don't care about or need a refund (btw, thank you!)! This is the best game I've ever played, and if it's only going to get better with an un-launch, then I say:
BRING IT!! - YAY! I got here after the first beta, and i would love to e part of want. makes me feel puropseful! sooo excited about the new features. will we get funpickles? also, PLEASE NO RESET! but i in general really excited. overwhelmingly excited.
- What can I say? Unlaunch party Whoop!
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Glad it went to Gamma - I was just coming in here to say that, and BAM!... there it is.
w00tw00t! - I'm nervous & excited! Thank you TS! ♥
- @Xepherys: Actually, the link to Gamma that stoot put up was from Flickr (the site his alter ego Stewart co-started).
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I'm hoping that there won't have to be a reset. I really don't want to have to lose everything I have built up again this time.
I have no wish to cancel my subscription no matter what, but I wondered what will happen with them right now. Will they be suspended again until the game goes live as they were before? -
It's actually not an UN launch.
It's literally an UR-Launch.
From German ur-, originally from Old High German ir-, ur- (“thoroughly”),[1] The OED attributes the first attestation in English to Max Müller (1864), in composition with -vocal: "the neutral vowel, sometimes called Urvocal, better Unvocal."
Forming words with the sense of ‘proto-, primitive, original’.
WE just want to launch thoroughly!
One minor request: We, who hang on for this run (I have a one-year moly sub) should get not a Senor Funpickle (already got one, you see?).
But something...new.
And wonderful. -
This is brilliant news!! I agree with what Laerwen wrote, I love that you are willing to admit that there have been a few problems, but are willing to fix them in a major overhaul of the game.
That is something that I am willing to support, and my subscription will also remain. - So ... having just bought new real estate (which was released for some reason right before this announcement) ... how long do we have before it goes *poof*? Should I bother unpacking, setting up my icons just right, etc?