Alpha Version - is it already available?

[Shattered.likeness]

From what I read here, it looks like the team at Blizzard might be getting a little anxious at the release of Grim Dawn as well. Previously, I had heard that it was definitely planned for release around the end of this year, and now it looks like they don't know when its going to be released either.

Maybe its just that I'm more excited about Grim Dawn than D3, but this makes me think that Blizzard is seeing Grim Dawn as a threat. Comparing the screenshots I've seen from both camps thus far, I have to say that GD looks better to me. Can't wait for the alpha to be ready, so I guess I'll just have to go play some more TQ:IT until then.

[Darkenmal]

Originally Posted by Shattered.likeness

From what I read here, it looks like the team at Blizzard might be getting a little anxious at the release of Grim Dawn as well. Previously, I had heard that it was definitely planned for release around the end of this year, and now it looks like they don't know when its going to be released either.

Maybe its just that I'm more excited about Grim Dawn than D3, but this makes me think that Blizzard is seeing Grim Dawn as a threat. Comparing the screenshots I've seen from both camps thus far, I have to say that GD looks better to me. Can't wait for the alpha to be ready, so I guess I'll just have to go play some more TQ:IT until then.

Your looking a little too deep there. Blizzard loves competition. They want a wider market, so they have to innovate to stay ahead.

Diablo 3 looks better to me, but thats most likely because of the huge budget they can put into it, and just about ten years worth of development.

Grim Dawn will be amazing, but its basically six dudes against Blizzard.

Who knows yet, it's still way too early to make more then educated guesses.

[wickedinsane]

As soon as there is an alpha version available Im also willing to contribute with the legendary edition! Seeing the fan community I would assume that as soon as you release an alpha version you can be sure that surely 100's or even 1000's of fans are willing to contribute. You should focus on this to get some great plus of budget

[medierra]

While I know at least a couple people on the Blizz team are aware of us, I don't think they see us as a threat at all and doubt the name Grim Dawn has even come up at a company meeting. I think we're really too small to be on their radar.

As I've said before too, we're not trying to compete with Blizzard either. A strategy that was dependent on that would be ludicrous for us. We think the market is big enough to feed the giant, D3, and still support other smaller companies like Runic and Crate that are trying to offer something a little different. I think some people will buy two, maybe all three, and some may just buy Grim Dawn, not necessarily because it is absolutely better but because the style and gameplay suit their own personal tastes a little better.

I remember back when Everquest was at it's peak with around 500,000 users, everyone thought the MMO market was saturated and any new MMO would just take users away from the existing ones. Then Dark Age of Camelot came out and all of the most popular MMOs actually gained subscriptions after its release, including Ultima Online, which was like 6 years old at the time. Then the voices were saying "oh, the market is definitely saturated now, for realz". Then WoW came out and the MMO market grew vastly larger. However, despite all that incredible growth, you then had people saying no one could compete with WoW. While competition has perhaps gotten tougher, there are still many other MMOs on the market and more in development. One of the smaller ones, that has just gradually grown from humble beginnings to be quite successful, is Eve Online. I'd like to think Grim Dawn can become sort of the Eve Online of ARPGs, which is to say, a more narrowly targeted niche game that can better appeal to at least one segment of a large market.

[hooby]

Originally Posted by medierra

I think some people will buy two, maybe all three,

*hands up*

five, six, seven...

I'm really happy, that the ARPGs are back. They were a bit sparse for a while.

[Shinrou]

I think a major selling point for Grim Dawn would be for it to get into as many headlines as possible a little before it's release with awesome trailer that blows minds and get the word of mouth roam rampant. While I'm glad I personally know about the game, I really hope you'll get more supporters for your hard work and you'll get paid for all the hard work in the end and it will keep you guys working for more enjoyment for us to play!

But yeah, Crate and Blizzard really are in whole different dimensions with each other. More people with more money to put into development doesn't automatically mean a better game. They surely will have tons more of content, that's for sure, but with more fame and audience, they are pressured to develop the game to as wide audience as possible.

I personally have a hunch that Grim Dawn will be way more sinister and haunting than Diablo 3 will be. Crate seems to be doing what they really love to do and aren't pulled back by any strings that are telling them to appeal to bigger audience. That's the feeling I get, and that's what I'm liking a lot.

I have also preordered Diablo 3 but I'm way more excited waiting for this masterpiece.

[mamba]

Originally Posted by Shattered.likeness

From what I read here, it looks like the team at Blizzard might be getting a little anxious at the release of Grim Dawn as well. Previously, I had heard that it was definitely planned for release around the end of this year, and now it looks like they don't know when its going to be released either.

Maybe its just that I'm more excited about Grim Dawn than D3, but this makes me think that Blizzard is seeing Grim Dawn as a threat.

GD is no threat to D3. If D3 is delayed, it is because they did not manage to finish it on time, not because they pushed it back to not conflict with the GD release.

If anything, it is Crate who will try to avoid releasing at the same time as Blizzard.

Originally Posted by medierra

We think the market is big enough to feed the giant, D3, and still support other smaller companies like Runic and Crate that are trying to offer something a little different. I think some people will buy two, maybe all three, and some may just buy Grim Dawn, not necessarily because it is absolutely better but because the style and gameplay suit their own personal tastes a little better.

I preordered GD, will most likely get D3 and probably get TL2, simply because they are far enough apart or small enough - and obviously because I simply like the genre

[Psychogasm]

ehh i dont play favorites between developers, i play games because they are fun...so ill be buying D3, and already have GD preordered, though ill prolly skip TL2 becuase i wasnt really a fan of the first.

[Chernozem]

Will a retail box version be released in India?

I'm sorry if my question is in the wrong thread and if it is foolish....

[Aity]

Ahh, finally. I got some extra cash and am willing to dump it into Crate's coffers. Hopefully by next week I'll be a proud Legendary Fan.

Why do I bring this up. Cause I read in an earlier thread from a supporter of GD that Crate should make a kickass trailer and self promote before release. That I assume is the obvious course of action. But if you want to gain recognition, and Crate knows this, you need to put a game that is as debugged as humanly possible. Nothing pisses a game reviewer or sours the gaming experience for fans than blatant bugs in your highly anticipated game.

I may not be a developer, or a designer, or anything related to the technical aspect of game creation, but what I am is logical. I can break a game if you give me enough time. Which is what I'm hoping to do repeatedly if I get the Alpha call

I don't say this to brag or hurt Crate but to make the game as great as humanly possible. That is what alpha and beta testing are about. Breaking the game in a hundred different ways and kindly asking Crate to fix them all :P

Mad Respect to Crate and all their fans. You guys are cream of the crop.

Aity