I think (hope) that we will get more info regarding this in the next update as we should get a DR update for the upcoming months.

Rest assured that if you signed up for the Tech Alpha 1 or 2 the chances of you getting in on the testing later are better than not. There is still a good bit of testing to be done I'm sure and then I'll bet there will be some Beta action.

Don't despair. Just be patient.

 

52 minutes ago, Anders Bermann said:

Sad... I thought they said, that everybody who signed up, eventually would get in? 

They said everyone who wanted to be insiders would get in (as it's just a sign up), but as far as I know they have never stated such for testing.

This is the closest statement they've made as such regarding getting into the testing program:

Quote

So while you may not have been selected for participation in the first Tech Alpha, please know that we are actively working to get as many people into the testing process, as quickly as possible.

They want to get as many as possible into testing, but no guarantees.  And since all tester emails have now been sent it appears that there will be no more chances to get in, unless Microsoft announces more waves in the future.  Maybe for beta testing they'll send more invites?  We can only hope.

Edited February 2, 20206 yr by Mengy

Just wait for open beta which should be out in 4 to 5 months I guess. No point in sweating over a lotto based selection process of Alpha. These past few weeks were hard on me because after a wait of 4 months(one of the few who registered day one) I was really hoping to get in this time. Now just looking forward to the next discovery episode on airports. 

Edited February 2, 20206 yr by Baber20

In the last update they said wave 1 emails for Alpha would be sent until January 31st which would suggest there will/may be a wave 2 for the current Alpha.

With them renaming 'tech alpha 2' to just 'alpha', I got the impression things were going well and maybe the games would be in peoples hands sooner rather than later.

Id rather just play the game than to be a beta tester.  With it being a ten year project I dont expect it to be 'done' on release but rather fully playable and mostly done.

If they weren't going to have any more invitation waves, then I don't see why they would open a new recruitment process at the same time. After all they did label this as the first Alpha invitation wave. I'm sure there will be more, and probably not too far in the future if they are not swapping builds again.

1 hour ago, sightseer said:

I got the impression things were going well and maybe the games would be in peoples hands sooner rather than later.

One reddit user said this "I'm a so called Alpha tester but it's not allowed do discuss any of those things. One thing I'd like to remind you all though, is that it's an ALPHA and definitely NOT the finished game. By that I mean you should lower your expectations (really) if you're picked up for testing."

So it sounds like it has a long way to go.

Edited February 2, 20206 yr by GlideBy

We are at the alpha stage of a project that, when it comes out, will continue to progress for many years to come, through the work of the studio, and the contributions of the community.

So we have to see the videos as a promise and a goal to reach. If the game was already at this stage, there would be no need for alpha. Anyone who signs up for alpha only to enjoy a finished product does not understand the word alpha.

15 hours ago, Baber20 said:

Just wait for open beta which should be out in 4 to 5 months ...

Have Microsoft stated anywhere that there'll be an open beta? Source?

3 hours ago, SierraDelta said:

Have Microsoft stated anywhere that there'll be an open beta? Source?

Just assumption since game alphas usually go into closed beta and then eventually open beta. I bet they would want to stress test the azure servers before the final release. 

16 hours ago, GlideBy said:

One reddit user said this "I'm a so called Alpha tester but it's not allowed do discuss any of those things. One thing I'd like to remind you all though, is that it's an ALPHA and definitely NOT the finished game. By that I mean you should lower your expectations (really) if you're picked up for testing."

So it sounds like it has a long way to go.

This is what I was saying in another thread, that the Tech Alpha experience might not be what most people are looking for (to replace their current stable simulators), yet someone who is a tester suggested that I was completely wrong. Either one of them is lying, or each one's experience can vary wildly with the Alpha.

2 hours ago, ChaoticBeauty said:

Either one of them is lying...

Not necessarily.  Each one had different expectations from the Alpha.  Also, they could be testing different versions.  If you expect this to be typical alpha code with CTDs and other problems, then you won't be so disappointed. If you expect an almost finished product, you won't be very pleased.

Hook

54 minutes ago, LHookins said:

Not necessarily.  Each one had different expectations from the Alpha.  Also, they could be testing different versions.  If you expect this to be typical alpha code with CTDs and other problems, then you won't be so disappointed. If you expect an almost finished product, you won't be very pleased.

Hook

Said post suggested that there were not any serious issues regarding the testing experience, and that any assumptions about the build's instability would be wrong. So it is not about the expectations, which I was trying to tone down with my original post.

So, in general, is the actual gameplay experience what we expect after watching all those videos?