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[easynam]

Well it's pretty much a free weekend now if you want to try: http://twitter.com/xnotch/status/24879331341

[unsilentwill]

It's half-off for Alpha, and half of the game is free online. The rest you can view through thousands of youtubes and livestreams. It is not an obscure game right now.

[Skofo]

There are some neat gameplay videos out there, if that counts for anything.

[PsySal]

...if a game sells 4+ million copies..

It's good to you know that you have boundaries!

TBH it's totally OK if you only play games that have demos, I just found this particularly sort of a funny line to draw... Like, if a game sells 3.5 million copies, that isn't *quite* enough, but once it cross that 4 million line you know it's good enough to buy! 

[Vino]

It might be easier to roll out updates to sections of the player base instead of everybody at once. Staggering the update means not everybody gets it at once but the server doesn't die.

[Ashkin]

It might be easier to roll out updates to sections of the player base instead of everybody at once. Staggering the update means not everybody gets it at once but the server doesn't die.

This would be good... Starts with the older players, and ends with the newest ones. Finally, an advantage to me having bought the game waaaaaay back, before infdev, indev, and I think even before the survival test ._. Well, technically I was gifted it, but whatever.

[Türbo Bröther]

Sneaking is in now... not fall off ledges

Neato completo yippee!

[bvanevery]

I think the idea of etiquette when it's all bits and bytes in a massive thread in a web forum that doesn't notify you again until you get "new" posts is a bit ridiculous, but I see that someone deleted all of my recent posts, so whatever.  I won't be providing that feedback again, if the author even cared.  I realize the game is an alpha.  That said, the UI is poorly demonstrated for a newbie.  This entry in the FAQ seems to be the key to my woes:

Why can't I destroy blocks?
In order to destroy a block, you need to hold down the left mouse button until the block is gone. Single or repeated clicks will not work. Different blocks take different times to destroy.

Of course I single clicked and repeat clicked the blocks.  Which worked fine for the Minecraft Classic I tried yesterday.  I played the game for several hours this way, and as you can imagine, it was pretty boring.  I would have given up pretty quickly, were I not determined to judge the game.  After several hours I did indeed give up, I thought for good, but people on this thread gave me pointers to a video and a FAQ, so I finally figured it out.

As a player I don't think it's my job to read FAQs on websites somewhere in order to figure out the basic mechanics of a game.  Intermediate strategy maybe, but not the very basics.  There should be a tutorial... I see that there's a menu entry for that, but it's greyed out.  That video showed some bubble help, but I never saw any.  I think a plain text README is a bit of a stretch for what one should expect a player to do, but I've been known to look at them when things aren't obvious.  All there was for Windows was Minecraft.exe, no README.  I'm also known to look at the key bindings under a game's Options to try to figure things out, but that didn't help for "how to chip a block apart."

BTW I can't help but ask: aren't you worried that Blizzard is going to sue you into the ground for trademark infringement?  I mean, come on, do you really think you or anyone else is going to get away with "BlahCraft" or "WhateverCraft" when they're a 900 lb. gorilla in the game industry?  I could see someone successfully using the word "Witchcraft" as it's a common English word, but as a betting man, I'd say anyone using "CompoundWordCraft" is gonna get roasted.  My free suggestion: change it to "Mineshaft."

[kyn]

bvanevery, I think that almost everyone agrees that figuring stuff out on their own is one of the most fun parts of minecraft. Personally I don't care for in-game tutorials all that much, I try to skip them most of the time, but Notch already mentioned them in on of his most recent blog posts, so they are indeed planned. Also, keep in mind that the game is still on an Alpha phase, you can't expect for it to be refined to the level of help files and tutorials when everything hasn't been implemented yet. Features get added, altered or removed all the time, so having to keep constantly updating the documentation would be a hassle, I think most of this stuff would be last priority until the game reaches the 1.0 version.

Also, I think Notch is in the clear with lawsuits unless he decided to call it Edgecraft.

[bvanevery]

I just spent several hours suffering because I didn't know how to chop a block.  Dungeon Keeper, you click on something, it gets dug.  Ditto SimCity.  Ditto Minecraft Classic.  Minecraft Alpha is the odd man out here, it goes against what's intuitive.  That can be fixed with a tutorial or balloon help or a README or a single line of text on the screen, as we both know.  Or even a digging animation; there's precious little visual feedback when you merely click.  Yeah it's alpha and these things aren't in yet.  What surprises me is that people pay for this sort of experience.  I didn't, but I'm trying to imagine someone who did.  I think if you're taking money from people for an "alpha" product, then you should be held to a higher standard for introductory game materials.  In traditional development, "alpha" means "the product does not see the light of day."  It does not mean, "your first stage of monetization."

[kyn]

Actually you're not buying the alpha, you're pre-purchasing the game at 50% off.

[gunmaggot]

bvanevery:

This is an alpha.  That means it's very early.  Stuff like tutorials are still being worked on.

You start out not being able to destroy blocks instantly because a significant part of the game is 'craft'ing tools that enable you to dig faster.  Just check the wiki - it's normally linked off the site so none of this is supposed to be hidden. 
Notch is still figuring out how to integrate revealing crafting recipes to the player, but he recently posted an idea on his blog about a kind of a how-to tech tree that gives you more recipes as you discover things (ie. once you've turned wood into timber it shows you how to make sticks/workbenches etc.).

Also, getting a discount for the full game in return for doing some alpha testing is a nice exchange of services.  Nothing to whine about.

[gunmaggot]

wow i just read your post history and goddamn you are a whining cunt

[deathtotheweird]

I think if you're taking money from people for an "alpha" product, then you should be held to a higher standard for introductory game materials.  

deal with it.

those apparently aren't his priorities, and thousands of people are enjoying this game without the need for an in-game tutorial or fancy digging animations or whatever the fuck is your hang up.

BTW I can't help but ask: aren't you worried that Blizzard is going to sue you into the ground for trademark infringement?  I mean, come on, do you really think you or anyone else is going to get away with "BlahCraft" or "WhateverCraft" when they're a 900 lb. gorilla in the game industry?  I could see someone successfully using the word "Witchcraft" as it's a common English word, but as a betting man, I'd say anyone using "CompoundWordCraft" is gonna get roasted.  My free suggestion: change it to "Mineshaft."

I'm pretty sure Blizzard doesn't have a copyright on every noun/verb + craft. What is the point of the post if only to make your smartass comment at the end?

If you literally spent several hours not even knowing how to chop a block, that is just beyond pathetic. I know some of the parts about the game are especially vague, but don't you have an ounce of curiosity in you? It literally took me two seconds when I started playing (for the first time ) to come up with "hey, I wonder what happens if I punch this tree a couple times". *this is the part where I notice cracks on the tree* "Well how about that, it starts cracking and the cracks widen as I continue hitting. Maybe if I punch it some more itll break".  There you have it, my personal Minecraft alpha first time story. Amazing what a little lateral thinking will get ya. You should try it some time.

(also, I agree with gunmaggot)

[gunmaggot]

(also, I agree with gunmaggot)

He just goes on and on and on and on in this obnoxious, supercilious tone.  He is the Dr. Zachary Smith of the TIGSource forums.  I hope he doesn't talk like that irl - the loneliness would be annhilating.

[bvanevery]

bvanevery:
Just check the wiki - it's normally linked off the site so none of this is supposed to be hidden.

I do not see any explanation on the wiki of how to use the UI to click on bricks properly, or otherwise get started with the game.  I would say the wiki is "sort of about the game," with the inaccuracies, out-of-date material, clutter, and sprawl that volunteer driven wikis usually contain.

Also, getting a discount for the full game in return for doing some alpha testing is a nice exchange of services.  Nothing to whine about.

Hey, don't get too complacent about what you think indie fans owe you.  In traditional software development, companies have open betas or closed betas because they're doing the company a favor, and the company gets marketing exposure letting people try it out early.  Don't presume that everyone thinks they should be paying you for the privilege of debugging your product.  It's a novel business model based on the goodwill of indie fans, and that goodwill can be squandered.  Don't ever call your customer a whiner.

[gunmaggot]

You aren't my customer, and I am calling you a whiner - and not just because of the display you've put on in this thread.  I hate you and will call you whatever words I think I can get away with without getting banned.  Notch didn't call you a whiner, and you aren't his customer either (yet).  What is wrong with you?  No, seriously, what is wrong with you?

[bvanevery]

deal with it.

those apparently aren't his priorities, and thousands of people are enjoying this game without the need for an in-game tutorial or fancy digging animations or whatever the fuck is your hang up.

I see.  So this isn't a Feedback forum at all, it's the Minecraft fanclub.  Paid fanclub at that.  Glad it's not typical practice around here.  I think a general attitude of "we're making plenty of money and have lotsa users, we don't need your opinion" will make for a pretty thankless Feedback forum pretty quick.  If it gets that way, may it go barren.

I'm pretty sure Blizzard doesn't have a copyright on every noun/verb + craft. What is the point of the post if only to make your smartass comment at the end?

I don't know Blizzard but I do know corporate America.  They just won some lawsuit to the tune of $88 million so don't assume they're not litiginous.

If you literally spent several hours not even knowing how to chop a block, that is just beyond pathetic.

No, it is beyond thorough and gracious, giving maximum benefit of the doubt for what's around the next corner.

It literally took me two seconds when I started playing (for the first time ) to come up with "hey, I wonder what happens if I punch this tree a couple times".

You got lucky.  The reason that game companies do focus testing is to find out what players do and don't discover when trying out the game.  They don't lambast the testers, they listen and improve.  I've even tested like that for money once upon a time, sad to say.  Sat around figuring out what would make some mere mortal throw up their hands in disgust, return the game, and say bad things about your product.  Yeah this is alpha but the glitch is still frustrating.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

i think bvanevery may be used to casual indie games. hardcore indie games have a different audience and different user base. for the latter, tutorials and hand-holding and telling the player what to do are seen as bad things, not good things. experimentation and figuring things out are seen as good things.

regardless of which type of game you prefer, you have to at least recognize that notch is giving his audience what they want, and that his audience *doesn't want* a step by step guide telling them what to do. some people enjoy figuring stuff out, others don't, it's not a flaw in either type of game to appeal to what its audience wants.

is his audience didn't like what he was giving them, he wouldn't be a millionaire (which he is).

[Sean A.]

You can't really harp on him for charging money for it. If thousands of people are buying it then what's the problem? I personally bought it because even though it's an alpha, if he stopped working on it now, I would still feel like I got my moneys worth.

Also lately, I've been messing around with minecarts, minecart boosters and red stone. It's fun stuff.