Minecraft help - What is Alpha and Beta???

[o0BigDave0o]

Earlier I posted a thread asking about buying Minecraft, i asked a few questions about it but there is one that keeps popping up.

What is Alpha?
What is Beta?
Whats the Difference?
Are they BOTH still for sale or has Alpha udgraded to Beta? if so, whats the cost difference?
[[EDIT]] I have just been trying out minecraft classic on the browser, with the render distance on short it works great (65fps+), on normal its a tad bit laggy (+-15fps), far is very laggy (+-8fps), will the full game be able to run on my laptop??

Thanks

Original Post
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.270213-Buying-Minecraft-help#10380647

 

[chromewarriorXIII]

Alpha was the original build that went up for sale. It has since progressed to Beta. You can not buy Alpha anymore since the current build is Beta.

The difference is that Beta is closer to the final build than Alpha so there's some features that weren't in Alpha.

 

[Elamdri]

The game has gone through a number of phases including InDev, InfDev, and Alpha. Currently the game is in Beta and that's all you need to really know. Those other builds were just earlier stages of development.

 

[o0BigDave0o]

The game has gone through a number of phases including InDev, InfDev, and Alpha. Currently the game is in Beta and that's all you need to really know. Those other builds were just earlier stages of development.

Then surely it ma be best to wait til the next or full game comes out, so charlie for example?

 

[tthor]

they are that thing you do at night that you thought nobody knew about... but I know..

 

[Elamdri]

The game has gone through a number of phases including InDev, InfDev, and Alpha. Currently the game is in Beta and that's all you need to really know. Those other builds were just earlier stages of development.

Then surely it ma be best to wait til the next or full game comes out, so charlie for example?

Well, the game is certainly playable right now. I had the fortune of getting in before beta, because anyone who got in before beta paid less than it currently is and get's all updates for free.

Currently, the Beta is about 5 euro more than Alpha, but when it goes to launch, it's going to go up another 5 Euro. As it stands, the game is fully functional and quite a lot of fun, and it's only going to really improve. I would honestly just suggest getting it now, if nothing else than not having to spend another 5 Euro when it is finished.

 

[Arkia]

The game has gone through a number of phases including InDev, InfDev, and Alpha. Currently the game is in Beta and that's all you need to really know. Those other builds were just earlier stages of development.

Then surely it ma be best to wait til the next or full game comes out, so charlie for example?

Actually it'd be better to buy it now if you plan to. When the game is finished it'll cost more, but if you buy it now at the lower price you'll get all the updates for no additional cost until the game is considered to be finished.

 

[lacktheknack]

The game has gone through a number of phases including InDev, InfDev, and Alpha. Currently the game is in Beta and that's all you need to really know. Those other builds were just earlier stages of development.

Then surely it ma be best to wait til the next or full game comes out, so charlie for example?

No, get it now while it's cheaper.

Also, I think you should look over <link=http://www.minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Minecraft_Wiki>this website, it covers pretty much everything.