I like the sound of this...but....please dear god don't make us wait till January for beta

-part of me wants to this game to be as deep as possible on release, and part of me says GIMME, GIMME, GIMME NOW!!!!

I think id like to see something like this

• Beta 1 in August
• Beta 2 in October/November
  
• Beta 3 in May
• Gamma (private) in July
• Release in August.

--Unless Beta 1 is open beta, then the other is acceptable. I thought the "alpha" was going to be in August.

Actually. Yes. This sounds like a really good idea. I'm not sure I could even get into Elemental with a February release window. Supreme Commander 2 and Command and Conquer 4 just add more to the list of games I want. A summer release though... yes!

So not only will the time allow for a more polished game, but the release window I think is far better in the summer.

In all fairness though with DG, it was the network code that was the issue while the gameplay itself was pretty well received. What DG needed wasn't necessarily a much longer beta, but a set of beta users more representative of the types of network connections DG was going to see in the real world.

I don't want to sidetrack on what was good/bad on the DG release. Brad's done enough of that . My point being that I think the purpose behind Elemental's long beta has a basis in feeling out gameplay issues/enhancements rather than the more narrow focus of feeling out a bug like the networking.

This. Getting 32 people to play one game is not practical, but getting 4-8 to play a game with the balance filed in by decent AI would be great. Aim for 8-12 max humans and 32 total.

For time: there are good points and bad points. Long beta gives testers a chance to really wring the guts out of yoru game, including these month-long mega games. You just can't do that when beta stages are too close together (for reference, in TA beta I averaged about a game per beta version, because I simply couldn't finish big games fast enough).

OTOH, long beta can lead to burn out before launch. I played a ton of Sins in beta, had burned out before it went public.

I fully support the idea of having an extended beta.

I'd say take the time.  The issue is most people consider the start of your beta to be the 1.0 retail of most other people's work (I'm not sure if that's praise on you or condemnation on them)

Just be sure when you make the decision, to post it up, post why, then let people know if they preorder, they'll have the game at the same time they would have- just that you're going to be adding content before release so you avoid the vaporware tag (you REALLY need to do this on the beta announcement)

Besides, you could release in Feburary a polished product, then spend the next six months polishing and adding.  You guys have enough goodwill, that a few bugs will be forgiven, given your rep for polishing things out.  That's a luxury that is as rare as not having financial pressure.

Ultimately- do what you think will make the game best though.  That's what ulitmately counts.  A late game is always forgiven if it's good.  A rushed game can stain a brand forever- look at the KOFXII fiasco.

Well, as most people who preordered already, I may not be totaly objective in that, but...

YES! Please take your time, take as much player inout as you can afford. I guess here we all want Stardock to release the best game it can.
Because we waited for a game like that for so long already anyway.
And because the more success Stardock has, the more chance there is others will follow in it's steps.

So please do, as long as you feel it's worth it. Just dont forget: we want you guys to make money, 'cause we want to buy more games!

(wow, if I don't get in the alpha with that )

For what it's worth, because I can say with a fair degree of confidence that I won't be pre-ordering Elemental, I believe that an extended beta is a great idea. (I'm not pre-ordering primarily for financial reasons; I'm actually rather fond of this genre.)

In any case, I think that the kind of hand-in-hand development that can occur by truly incorporating the beta testers into the development cycle of the product can only lead to a superior and more polished (and less buggy) finished product. Willythemailboy has a legitimate concern about the beta cycle possibly leading some users to get bored with the title but I suspect that Stardock probably has plenty of ideas for expansion packs such that the game could feel fresh even after a long playtime.

My 2 pence.

As you said, you don't have any financial pressure to put the game out in February, and everyone who wants can join the beta by placing a pre-order. So I'd say, take all the time you want to make the best game possible...

No beta testing for non-preorders/

Most def I've already waited long enough, what's another year? And I think stardock with another year will make this game a truly spectacular experience

PLEASE DO IT. THIS IS THE GREATEST THING THAT YOU COULD POSSIBLY DO FOR THE GAME. 

I don't mind doing an extended beta process, though I would sincerely hope that the extended-schedule "Beta 1" was for everyone who's preordered (rather than the current quick, month-long alpha, then the beta for all preorders). I figure it would be, but it's worth putting out there.

Beyond that, my only concern with the extended beta is getting new pre-orders involved. Historically Stardock has only let new pre-orders in at the major beta releases, but there are awfully big gaps between the major releases as scheduled.

This sounds like a sales pitch for "We want longer development time. Please don't be angry.", but since it's done so well.. I'm in. I can't help but to trust you.

I feel con'd. I don't know wheter that's a good thing or a bad thing in this case.
Let's just do this!

*air guitar*

Well, "It's done when it's done." is just a fitting sentence.

If you guys indeed can afford it to postpone the official release date, then I'd suggest that we'll make the best game on the market!