End of the Beta- Thank you all!

[IainMcNeil]

Hi guys

The beta is now over. Thanks once again for all the great feedback. We couldn't make these games what they are without your help.

Only a few days to wait for the final release!

Thanks guys!

P.S. And please don`t forget to spread the word about the game to you friends, your social media, other game forums, blogs, etc...

[lordzimoa]

Thanks guys, for all the great feedback, was a pleasure again working with you all.

And guys, if you are interested, we could use some more Beta help with the Commander game, in a few weeks we plan a big Beta upgrade, so please subscribe to the Commander Beta and we make sure you guys are added in the next Beta round.

http://www.slitherine.com/beta_test/ctgw_pc

Thanks,

Tim aka LZ

[uran21]

Thanks to all of you on great feedback. Your help has been invaluable!

[tnourie]

Can't we continue to "play" it until we buy it? (and you know we will. . .)

[Rudankort]

Well of course you can continue playing beta until it expires.

[tnourie]

Well of course you can continue playing beta until it expires.

It stated it can no longer be played, so I uninstalled it and the link to the most recent beta is gone.

[Rudankort]

It stated it can no longer be played, so I uninstalled it and the link to the most recent beta is gone.

Well, sorry for that. As far as I remember, the last beta was scheduled to expire after AK release, but if you did not download it back when it was released, I'm afraid it is too late now.

[Ballacraine]

Well of course you can continue playing beta until it expires.

The beta expires?

Balla.

[VPaulus]

Well of course you can continue playing beta until it expires.

The beta expires?

Balla.

Of course. It will expire when Afrika Korps is release. All beta expires, Balla. Otherwise people wouldn't buy the original, right?

[Mountaineer]

And no discount

[Blitz1945]

Bought the game yesterday. As an original tester from the first panzer corps, I say with pride this game just keeps getting better and better. Great game design, lots of fun, and a good team. Job well done to all at Slitherine!

[MajVonRyan]

Bought the game today.

As Blitz1945 said '...Great game design, lots of fun, and a good team. Job well done to all at Slitherine!"

[Ballacraine]

Well of course you can continue playing beta until it expires.

The beta expires?

Balla.

Of course. It will expire when Afrika Korps is release. All beta expires, Balla. Otherwise people wouldn't buy the original, right?

I have beta tested for more years than I care to remember for both video games and 3D graphics packages.
This is the first time I have ever come across a beta 'expiring' in such a fashion.

I was quite amazed at the number of beta testers you had got through in the credits.

If this is your policy, I can now understand why!

Balla.

[RobertCL]

Sorry but see the amount of time spent I would have found logical beta testers would have received a special discount when purchasing AK, this occured when purchasing the original game (but not the DLCs).
This is what I name commercial gesture.

[Ballacraine]

A complementary copy of the finished article is the norm in the 3D Graphics world.

Balla.

[Blitz1945]

I think this issue is dead at this point guys. I see your recourse as not participating in future betas. Our job is to test the game for bugs and we do that for free!! Let it go.
That's my friendly advice.
On a side note, how many of you have turned off being notified about this thread??!!
I am about to do that myself!

[Ballacraine]

Well, if this is how much our collective input is valued, you are probably correct.

Balla.

[IainMcNeil]

I have just got back from 2 weeks away which is why you have not had a response. I actually missed the release completely.

We sometimes do give discounts to beta testers but have not been doing it on PzC expansions because the price was so low. We're pretty much selling them as low as we can before the processing fees start to make it not work. AK has a higher price point and we could have offered discounts but to be honest we just didn't think about it because the last 7 releases of PzC have had no discounts.

It's a little late to do anything now for AK, but we want you to know we do really value your input. For DLC's we cant offer discounts but for the next expansion remind us in advance and we'll see what we can do.

PzC has retained more of its original testers than any other release so we absolutely do not churn through beta testers! The reality is only about 10-20% of people who sign up ever participate. So of those hundreds the majority probably didn't even play the game and certainly never posted feedback. This is why we've moved to the current process of asking people to post to the forums to say they want to be credited.

[RobertCL]

Thx for the quick response.

we've moved to the current process of asking people to post to the forums to say they want to be credited

I did not even know this option existed! Where is the link ?

I understand you might have "false testers" who just play one scenario and move on, or request a discount whereas they have done nothing.
This surely also exists. This supposes you keep track of occasional testers and this is administrative work you might probably be willing to avoid.

I just regret there was no discount for the purchase of all DLCs sold in a unique package, this could also have been done.
AK was such a huge extension compared to any single DLC that it deserved a promotion as such for beta testers.

Understand I never wanted to get 50% discount but the gesture showing our long lasting work as beta testers did not come and gives the impression we are not rewarded. Just a "thank you guys" is really not enough, some other games are often given for free for specific beta testers who proved they really checked in depth the content of a package.

It was a good idea to launch a promo for the game in June but again here all core players who know well the game would have expected a gesture for the DLC packages separately or for a pack with all DLCs because they already own the original game.

Another idea if you want to offer promos at very specific anniversaries, just propose the game + all existing DLCs + AK in a unique package with a discount.

Well this is all about marketing management.

Having said this I was satisfied to have the opportunity to test AK which is a wonderful add-on.

I also think you should really consider integrating the real sound mod 1.10 to the official game (if you have the agreement of the modders who will certainly enjoy to have their work recognized) since their package is according to me the package bringing the best added-value to the game. I think you should ask them since the game is so greatly improved!

[IainMcNeil]

AS I said we would have offered an AK discount if we had thought about it. I was away during the launch and the run up to launch was a desperate rush to get everything done before I left and it was not considered. To do it now would just piss off those who had already bought so we can only do it going forwards. As I said we cannot discount DLC's because they are too low value. The processing & download charges start to make it nonsense to offer discounts on such low value items. Charges are a % with a minimum fee (kicks in around $10 or less) and the DLC's are already way in to the minimum fee and it makes charging less pretty much impossible.