Vatlva - Saturn beta sample shots

Thank you and please continue to share Yakumo:thumbsup:

 

A demo that is the same as the final game, but with restrictions, i.e. you can only play one level is, simply, a 'demo'. Nothing more, nothing less.

Beta, by its very definition, means something 'incomplete' - compared to the final product. Your batch of discs (Megaman Legends, FF7, etc...) are demos if they aren't any different to the final game (barring imposed restrictions)

A Beta doesn't have to be on a cdr or internal company disc. I also wouldn't make any distinction between the words 'prototype' and 'beta' - they both mean the same thing at the end of the day - although beta, I think, is more widely used in programming circles whereas 'prototype' tends to be applied to more 'physical' things (i.e a prototype car, etc...) I think in gaming circles the term prototype tends to be used for cartridges (hence the more physical definition, a cartridge isn't seen in the same light as a disc)

I wouldn't say Yakumo's title was misleading based on the description.

...and yeah, I'm bored

 

Oooo ooo you're splitting hairs! I fucking love this game.

I'm in agreement that a "beta" is simply a game that is at a stage that isn't gold. Obviously devs assign the words "alpha", "beta", "gamma", "delta" and "epsilon" (et al) to stages of development as well but for the most part we don't see those designations.

I've also played plenty of "demos" that were of early code with stuff that didn't make it into the final such as HoTD for the PC. A demo strictly speaking is something that is a "demonstration" of the game. This is both a demo and a beta albeit one polished enough to be used as a demo (won't crash at random, won't erase your entire memory card, won't make your clocks run backwards, etc).

 

x

 

This is a fun Multi-player game. I know VBT use to be crazy about it. It does support the multi-tap, one of the few 6 Player games.

Very cool, thank you for sharing!

 

I can think of a few questionable exceptions to the whole "demo or beta?" debate, such as the infamous Sonic 2 prototype stolen from a trade show in the US, which I believe was originally meant to be more of a demo with just a few stages available. However, once leaked it didn't take long for people to realise this was more a complete snapshot of the game's development at a very specific point - normally called the beta phase (although some argue it was more a late alpha, but that's splitting hairs). The fact remains it's probably one of the better-known examples of the defining line being very much blurred as to what exactly you call such a version.

Another that immediately springs to mind is the playable demo of The Getaway released officially on various sampler discs, as this was originally made available long before the end product and features plenty of so-called beta elements, including some early character designs. On the other hand, there was similarly a pre-release trial of Killzone that is virtually indistinguishable from the retail code. Since it's already been mentioned in its PC guise, I should also point out the Japanese timed demo of The House Of The Dead, which has many placeholder textures. I've never really noticed any major differences in the PC demo, but I'm curious about this one so I'll probably check that out later as well.

The material contained in those preview discs of X-Men: Children Of The Atom and Vatlva as posted by Yakumo is slightly harder to categorise, because they were created for the purpose of highlighting upcoming games to the public, yet still have quite a few notable elements that could be described as being from the beta phase. Another discussion that's ongoing at the moment is about the various builds of Resident Evil 2 from its "1.5" period, and whether each separate disc should be regarded as a separate era or generalised into phases based on major changes.

With each case being unique, I fear this is an issue that's probably never going to be resolved without casting aside our skills as a normally civilised group! Besides, does anyone else feel it's more the responsibility of each person to decide whether or not they agree with another's own judgements? What one perceives as a demo may be seen as a beta to someone else, and so on...

 

Many US game devs operate on the milestones of:
Prototype - Earliest rough version with only the most basic gameplay represented in some way.
First Playable - A portion of the game is actually playable with most important gameplay features in place.
Vertical Slice - One full section of the game (e.g. one level, mission, chapter, etc) is nearly completely playable with close-to-final art assets and code.
Alpha - Game is feature complete. No new gameplay features go in past this point.
Beta - Game is art asset complete. No new art assets go in past this point.
Submission - Game is finalized and tested heavily and is sent to console makers for testing and approval.

With these definitions in mind, the popular practice of using the term "Beta" as a catch-all for any and all pre-release builds of a game is clearly incorrect, so if we're gonna be sticklers on nomenclature, we'd still not be getting it right.

All of that said, however, we're kind of getting off the topic, arguing over minor details instead of giving Yakumo proper appreciation for posting those images. Thanks very much for the screens, Yakumo!

 

One of those times it is much easier for me to pronounce the katakana than the 'english' title.

Thanks for the post, Yakumo!

 

I know what you mean. I use katakana many a time when I can't read the foreign word. Not really the best way since katakana normally sounds fuck all like the word should sound but I guess it's better than nothing. Very useful when trying to read a Chinese persons name :nod:

Yakumo