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[Conker534]

and none of this matters to me. I got alpha. :3

[Guillaume]

That's precisely the issue. Would 1.1 be an update or a bugfix? What about 2.0? What about another game that Mojang would make 5 years from now that would bear some resemblance to Minecraft?

This is what I want clarification on. The last sentence you're just being a smartass, and Minecraft 2 would be a completely different game. I just want to know what he means by update.

I'm really not being a smartass. For us, the stupidity of such a situation is obvious; but imagine some dude who had nothing better to do with his time and brought it to the court. His argument would be that by paying 10 euros, he entered in a legal contract with Mojang to obtain all future updates for a product for free, and that therefore he feels entitled to obtain Minecraft 2/Minecraft 3/etc. for free.

For us, this would sound retarded, and rightfully so- however it would be a very defendable position in court with a decent lawyer.

It is for issues like these that Notch got a lawyer: the judicial system can be stupid, and some idiots can make it work to their advantage. And as developers, we don't a full grasp on these kind of things- therefore we need to be very careful on what we say in these situations.

Again, for us as gamers/developers it sounds stupid, but this shit would fly in a court.

[Ricoello]

The way I see it, you can't say "Knowing Notch.." anymore. He has a company to run, salaries to pay. What happens when no more people buy the game? They're still stuck developing for it, but no income is made. That's awful management.

It's also pretty badass because now everyone that reads this will try to buy it before beta. And those that don't, well, they'll be paying for new content, which is still good for the company.

[Curseman]

It's probably just just going to mean that he'll charge a few dollars for the Zombie Siege and Dungeons and Levers expansions.  Just get a copy while it's still in alpha and don't worry about it.

[capn.lee]

This is what I want clarification on. The last sentence you're just being a smartass, and Minecraft 2 would be a completely different game. I just want to know what he means by update.

If any other company did this you guys would be frothing at the mouth in anger, but Notch does it and you defend him up and down. I don't get you guys sometimes.

alright baby, calm down. here, have a piece of cheese.

Notch hasn't said that people will be charged for updates, he has just taken away the guarantee that users can never be charged for one. To put this in perspective, you haven't explicitly stated that you aren't a murderer, should we now assume you are?

Should I start accusing you? Should I just accuse anyone trying to talk sense in to me as being a petty fanboy?

The day Notch charges someone extra for a bug fix is a day I will be on your side, but you're jumping the gun a bit, you have to admit

[Mipe]

I don't get those people at all... they don't want to buy the game while it is ridiculously cheap? What? And then complain they won't get expansions if they buy the game later? Double what?

Actually, I don't care anymore what others think. I've already bought Minecraft months ago 

[Batmanifestdestiny]

Personally, I think that if Valve can charge $15 for a hat in TF2, then Mojang (since now it's more than Notch) can charge some fee for Zombie Mode or whatever.


Then again, I'm not allowed to have an opinion: I bought it during alpha!

[Peevish]

If any other company did this you guys would be frothing at the mouth in anger, but Notch does it and you defend him up and down. I don't get you guys sometimes.

allen, darling, I only say this because I love you: don't be a troll.

Notch listens to people's feedback & often responds in this very thread. He's given a large portion of his game away for free and repeatedly released discounted versions as pre-releases. We've read interviews with him where he says he's hardly spent the Minecraft profits because he's too interested in just adding to the game, which reassures us that he's not just maximizing profits. We have some direct connection to the developer.

A triple-A studio is a faceless corporation, whereas in the indie community, an audience's trust is valuable currency. Notch has been good at engendering that trust. If he does something douchey, he'll see our broken trust in his bank balance and his inbox.

We're willing to trust he's a good guy because, so far, he's been a good guy.

[Bood_War]

Personally, I think that if Valve can charge $15 for a hat in TF2, then Mojang (since now it's more than Notch) can charge some fee for Zombie Mode or whatever.

Ahh, but you forget that any item they sell can be obtained for free in a random drop. The store is for people who want it NOW, or want to get a gift for the special TF2 addict in their life or something.

[oyog]

A triple-A studio is a faceless corporation, whereas in the indie community, an audience's trust is valuable currency. Notch has been good at engendering that trust. If he does something douchey, he'll see our broken trust in his bank balance and his inbox.

We're willing to trust he's a good guy because, so far, he's been a good guy.

 

Hear! Hear!

[Chromeleon]

Buying the game during beta will include all updates up until release, of course, and bug patches will be free.

(emphasis mine)

The exact wording in question strongly suggests that, until Minecraft is considered "out of beta," we really don't have anything to worry about.
I'm not sure that's what it said before, though, so he may've edited that bit in.  But it still sounds like expansions to me.

There will be a bigger focus on testing and stability as well, with more time between updates.

I think this may be the wrong way to handle it;  I don't really see their small team catching bugs quite as well as the vast playerbase at large can, and the impression I've gotten is that a lot of people really liked the regular update schedule.  It seems like it was always one of the first things people would mention about the game, and a lot of people were pretty upset when he was busy working on the halloween update and setting up the company.

Some players feel entitled to a fairly bug-free experience, while others are eager enough to see new features and updates that they don't mind things being a little rough around the edges.
So once voluntary updating is in, how about having two "feeds" of updates to choose from?  One with stable yet (relatively) infrequent major releases, and one "use at your own risk" feed with whatever's on the cutting edge at the time.
Letting them choose which mentality they want to play by seems like the only way to please both, and as long the updates are incremental towards the next "major release" and don't get too far ahead of it, I don't think it'd be too much trouble to maintain.

(based largely off the idea of Puzzle Pirates' test ocean, Ice.)

[capn.lee]

could cause problems for multiplayer, though.

i prefer frequent updates that are sometimes unstable, and dammit, i want the redstone sound generators already!

[davidp]

i bought this game three days ago and now i have no life whatsoever

[st33d]

no change then?

[Ben_Hurr]

I think we should wait until Notch actually tries charging for patches and holding dragons and lanterns ransom for $9.95 before we all fly off the handle! 

[Notch]

That's a pretty good idea!

[davidp]

no change then?

 

bah, you're probably right

[Curseman]

Does anyone else think that buttons should should keep iron doors open for just a little bit longer?  Even half a second more would make it much more convenient.

That's a pretty good idea!

Ben you fool!

[chumez]

Does anyone else think that buttons should should keep iron doors open for just a little bit longer?  Even half a second more would make it much more convenient.

Yep, agreed, they should be opened for a bit longer.

That's a pretty good idea!

[Tuba]

As long as we get hats.. I'm cool with it.