T w e n t y S i d e d

Check this out. It’s the webpage for the upcoming Galactic Civilizations II.

The game is in beta, and by pre-ordering you can become a beta tester. Normally being a beta tester means signing a NDA (Nondisclosure Agreement) promising not to talk about the game. I can see the reasons behind this: A beta release will usually be full of bugs and not properly balanced yet. The last thing you want is for some yo-yo to start complaining far and wide about the bugs they find. “The game crashes!” “It doesn’t support my graphics card!” “I lost my savegame!” Since many games get a bulk of their sales in the first few weeks, and since pre-release buzz has a large effect on those initial sales, the last thing you want is for problems in the beta to turn into lost sales later.

But Stardock is taking a different approach. Money quote: (Emphasis mine)

Beta testers receive the special Collector’s Edition of the game (all users who pre-order, regardless of where are entitled to it) plus they have an immense amount of influence over the course of game development based on their feedback.

There’s no NDAs, if we’re not doing a good job making a fun game, you can scream it to the world! ;)

That is a very bold move. Hats off to those guys. This is a risky move, but it buys a lot of trust in my book.

The game looks good. Now, I have nothing to do with beta cooties. I get enough of that in my real job. But once this thing is polished and ready to go, I’m going to be all over it. The original is a real gem, and I have high hopes for this one.

Shamus Young is a programmer, an author, and nearly a composer. He works on this site full time. If you'd like to support him, you can do so via Patreon or PayPal.