I would also love something to get early access. I cant believe I missed the Kickstarter. I beat myself up every day about it.

AFAIK, right now the comic Patreon is the only active method to help fund things.

Dark Ether wrote:

AFAIK, right now the comic Patreon is the only active method to help fund things.

And the physical goods store.

There is a plan for a second round of funding IIRC though no details have been released beyond that "there is a plan." I think DT posted that comment about "later this fall" so it's probably pretty solid.

From past experiences with alpha testing and closed beta testing, sometimes the test is just getting yourself logged in. I was in the early CBT for Age of Conan. It took me 6 hours to download the 30Gig installer and another six to install and get logged in. When I did, I had no head or limbs and had fallen through the map. I was kicked from the server (chat announcements were not working), an update was pushed out, and when I logged in again, I had my extremities but couldn't exit the boat I started in. Point is early testing can be a real PITA.

In the business world I then had to do more or less the same thing with a large robot. Which someone had loaded with bad firmware. Once I had a good firmware loaded I had to teach the robot it had a head and eye's and 2 arms and to try not to dump 3000 lbs of it's acid filled guts on the floor. While the customer watched. A customer who had shelled out 8 figures. Point is early testing can be a real PITA.

Second Chance?! If that is a 2nd crowdfunding effort, please count me in!

*makes a snow angel on her Scrooge McDuck-sized mountain of Shiny Brass Nemmie Buttons!*

YUSSSSSSSS.

City of Tabbies needs a state-of-the-art veterinary hospital! Please point me in the direction of the new crowdfunding!

*hugglecates and headbonkinates all the mewlings in the nursery*

Doctor Tyche wrote:

I figure I've been mum on this subject for long enough. *IF* we can continue the current rate of progress, we should have our target closed alpha build ready around mid-November. In two weeks is the next progress assessment, so we will know better if we will hit that period or no.
Before we hit Alpha, [b]we need to run our Second Chance,[/b] which would enable access to the backer test builds. Which means, we will know in 2 weeks when to hold this. There are only limited windows in which to hold this.

thanks for the heads up, Dr T. Getting ready now. How long will the new funding opportunity last? over 2-3 paycheks I hope? I'm looking to make several donations to edge up to a good high number.

*flies around the Earth in opposition to its rotation*

*goes back in time to before Earth-P was destroyed*

*collects more Shiny Brass Nemmie Buttons*

*has more SBNBs to add to the Veterinary Hospital Building Fund*

Cyclops wrote:

Amerikatt wrote:
*flies around the Earth in opposition to its rotation*
*goes back in time to before Earth-P was destroyed*
*collects more Shiny Brass Nemmie Buttons*
*has more SBNBs to add to the Veterinary Hospital Building Fund*
You should add a statue to Amerikatt out front. failing that, add Amerikatt gargoyles on the roof. The Katt need a brooding place to watch over the city.
PS, add a fishstick factory in the back, and leave an ominous clue of what they are really made of...
or a fish and chips fast food place using fishmen as mascots, "Hey we're delicious!"

+9000 Interwebz for these suggestions, Cyke! Thanks!

Grimfox wrote:

It is very tempting to put entirely too much money into this.

Fortunately, I've already done that, so now I must face the temptation to put entirely too much [b][i]more[/i][/b] money into this.^_^

Kiyori Anoyui wrote:

I'm in the same boat! Hopefully there aren't crazy tempting add-ons, perks, or such cause I may give in...

I hope there are LOTS of tempting add-ons -- all reasonably in *my* price range!

*dives head-first into a Scrooge McDuck-sized mountain of Shiny Brass Nemmie Buttons!*

WHEEEEEEEEE!!!

Wolfgang8565 wrote:

I am more than ready to put money into this since I didn't get to do it in the first place lol

My sentiments, exactly!

I wasn't able to afford even the $5 pledge back then. Now, I *finally* have 2 Shiny Brass Nemmie Buttons to rub together!

Viva La Vida Loca! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXUG9zTpI_w

I pledged the KS, but since then have kicked myself for not going in at a higher tier, so I'm hopeful that I can add on or something of the sort.

When did Amerikatt turn into AmericanFatKatt?

Grimfox wrote:

When did Amerikatt turn into AmericanFatKatt?

[b][I][u]FUN FACT[/u][/I][/b]: AK requires about 20,000 calories per day in order to maintain her power levels. She converts all of those calories into energy. That's why she can nom an entire industrial vat-sized portion of Catsi's Nuclear Chili and never gain a gram of weight!!! This Fun Fact is brought to you by the letter Q.

Kitten Dreams wrote:

Kitten Dreams' eyes get bigger and bigger, observing AK's 'little snack'.
She looks at her small box of Girl Scout cookies and quickly hides the Thin Mints, before cautiously backing away.

AK is about to invite Kitten Dreams to join her for lunch, but sees her reaction to the preponderance of noms. AK pantomimes a welcome to the table, but, seeing that Kitten Dreams is making a hasty retreat, figures that she must be on her way to an emergency meeting of the Legion of Catgirls.

At that moment, her personal chef wheels in a couple carts with Crab-Stuffed Flounders. AK watches as her friend departs, then eats her portion of flounder.

We need to immortalize AmeriKatt as a trainer for all heroes with shoulder pets. That would be the ultimate KS reward.
You can find AK atop the palatial Animal Hospital and fish stick bar. The penthouse doesn't have a pool, but an Olympic size litter box.

Did we ever hear how the test went? Obviously the second chance isn't up and running yet but it's still interesting to know we're that much closer.

Cyclops wrote:

From what I have read, an alpha is more for professionals than players. I've been in several betas (including COH), and I enjoyed working with the devs. The beta test forums were always fun. it is just as important to report exploits as it is bugs.

i don't know if the KS2 will get us an invite to alpha or not, but I really don't care. The game will be MY reward. That is what I will be investing in.

In software testing the terms "Alpha" and "Beta" can mean many different things to different people.

In the most general terms when software is "in alpha" it's usually only being tested/run by a small handful of very highly trusted 3rd party people and/or only internally within a given software company. Detailed results of such testing are rarely released to the public and software at this stage is often so raw it can be subjected to multiple rebuilds in very short periods of time. Basically alpha-level products are typically unstable, unoptimized and considered "not ready for prime-time".

On the other hand software that's "in beta" is usually complete enough that it can be released (for testing) to a much larger less technically-savvy audience. Still at this stage there can be all different levels of "closed" or "open" betas which can represent just how widely available (and/or how widely reportable) the state of the software has become. Beta level software tends to be much more stable and overall "usable" as eventually intended. By the time fully open betas start a computer game is usually like 90-95% as "finished" as it's ever going to be.

Obviously it'll be up to MWM to decide when various people will have access to this particular game. If they allow any of us (non-MWM people) to participate in anything I'd call an alpha test it would likely just involve 5 or 10 key people who would be under very strict NDAs (probably to the point where they couldn't even openly admit they were alpha testers until afterwards) and would be expected to provide serious feedback/bug reports after many hours of serious testing. Any alpha testers for this game, considering the grassroots nature of the how the game is being developed, would likely become as close to "honorary Devs" as humanly possible.

Once this game enters the beta stages they'll likely start letting the KS/second chance people start to test/play it. Beta testers will hopefully provide good feedback for the Devs but it'll be at a much less intense level as the alpha testers. Eventually it'll get to the point where anybody will be able to download it and beta test it - that'll likely come a month or two before launch.

Lin Chiao Feng wrote:

Yeah, nowadays they mean whatever the relevant Marketing department wants them to mean.
Decades ago, "alpha" was testing after integration and before feature freeze, and "beta" was after feature freeze and before release. Except when they weren't.
I'm saving my SAN points and not worrying about it.

Frankly I'm not too worried what MWM ends up calling its various testing phases either. I just want to be able to do as much useful testing as I'm able to do whenever you Dev-type folks let me do that. ;)

Lothic wrote:

Frankly I'm not too worried what MWM ends up calling its various testing phases either. I just want to be able to do as much useful testing as I'm able to do whenever you Dev-type folks let me do that. ;)

Yeah! They should skip the greek letters and name their software phases Chico, Harpo, Groucho, Gummo, and Zeppo!

Be Well!
Fireheart