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Closed alpha
Official page: This page is maintained by Frozenbyte, the developers of Starbase, and cannot be edited by users. Information on this page has been confirmed to be correct at the time of writing (please get in touch if you notice anything odd or outdated).
Closed Alpha summary
| 🔨 | Starbase is currently in Closed Alpha. The game is still not fully functional and many features are missing but we are improving every day and adding important gameplay loops every month. |
| 🟢 | Want to join? The signup list is pretty long but we are sending invites almost on a weekly basis, and are accepting new applications as well. See below for more information and options. |
| 💬 | In the meantime, please browse the Forums or join our Discord for the latest news and developer tidbits. |
Early Access info
Starbase will release on Steam in Early Access on June 17, 2021. For more information, check out Early Access.
Closed Alpha
Closed Alpha general info
The Starbase Closed Alpha (often just called CA) is the first alpha testing of Starbase and it is the first time non-developers got access to the game. The Closed Alpha is free and player invites happen in waves. Closed Alpha will scale up from the first hundred players in the beginning to hopefully tens of thousands of players by the end. See below for signup link and more information.
The main purpose of the Closed Alpha is to test the game with large amounts of people while preparing more features for the eventual Early Access launch.
Closed Alpha will end prior to the game's release in Steam Early Access.
Closed Alpha timeline
Starbase launched in Closed Alpha in May 2020. The first wave of 100 players was hand-picked from active and helpful community members.
Closed Alpha FAQ
Closed Alpha signup
You can sign up to the Closed Alpha at https://www.starbasegame.com/alpha-signup. See below for signing up for press, streamers and groups.
Discord community
The official Starbase Discord is run by the developers and has a special "Alpha Tester" role for those in Closed Alpha.
Closed Alpha general information
Starbase is currently in Closed Alpha, which means a closed (private) test with a growing number of users outside the development team.
While everyone is excited for Closed Alpha, for us developers it's an important tool to make the game better and prepare for the eventual Early Access release. During Closed Alpha the game will break often and many features are missing or not fully functional - the game is not yet ready for the majority of gamers to join in. That's why we're doing a Closed Alpha instead of e.g. an Open Alpha or launching straight to Early Access.
For most gamers, we would recommend wishlisting Starbase on Steam:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/454120/Starbase/
This way you will get notified when the game enters Early Access, and it's a more polished experience than currently in Closed Alpha. Development will continue in Early Access with frequent updates. For more information on Early Access, check out Early Access.
That said, if you're interested in Closed Alpha, then read more below, sign up, and keep your fingers crossed or become active in the community! Please note that Closed Alpha players will eventually have to buy the Early Access version, and the Closed Alpha will be closed as the game moves to Early Access. We will also wipe the servers before EA launch, although we will do our best to keep e.g. spaceship blueprints - but most personal wealth will be gone in the transition, so everybody starts on a more or less equal footing in Early Access.
Signing up
Signing up - players
Players - Our signup is at https://starbasegame.com/alpha-signup . The list is almost 40,000 players now and we invite new testers in various ways (see below). We most likely will not be able to invite all users before Early Access begins, and nobody is guaranteed an invite, but we still hope to do a few massive waves towards the end of Closed Alpha.
Signing up - streamers
If you're a streamer with a notable audience (1000+ subscribers), please sign up at https://starbasegame.com/alpha-signup-streamers . Please note that generally speaking streamers do not have any advantage in the selection process, as the game isn't ready for the mass market yet. We'll give access to streamers at certain strategic points during development when the game is in a more presentable stage - most likely closer to Early Access launch.
If you're more of a gamer who occasionally streams to a small audience, you might want to sign up in the normal signup (most likely a better random chance to get access; you are allowed to do both).
Signing up - press and gaming media
If you're part of the press or gaming media, you can sign up at https://starbasegame.com/alpha-signup-press or get in touch at http://press.frozenbyte.com/#contact. We'll start inviting more press to the game just before Early Access or at EA launch.
Signing up - groups or clans
We now have a group signup form at https://starbasegame.com/alpha-signup-groups . If you are an individual clan member, please fill the normal player signup and then ask your leader or communication person to fill the signup for the whole group. Invites will be sent at certain intervals - we'll probably start with smaller groups and work our way to the big ones. Note that we REQUIRE all members of the group to sign up individually on the normal list! Also, we may not be able to invite all groups or all members to the Closed Alpha, so we cannot guarantee invites at this point.
About invites
Invite priorities
We have many ways to invite users:
- Loyalty users; players signed up on the list; first come, first served
- Random or "lottery" users; random picks from the signup list
- Criteria-based users; we may sometimes need users with e.g. certain hardware or other criteria (this doesn't happen often but we have the option)
- Handpicked Discord community users; active and friendly members of the community or members who have contributed in some other way
- Larger groups (see above for signups)
Access to the game may also be granted to our business partners, press, streamers and other special cases. Our invite process in general is not a scientific process and we do not guarantee any fairness - we'll do our best but at the end of the day it is our right to invite people in the way we want. Everybody will be able to buy the game at Early Access launch.
Asking or begging for access
Please do not beg for access in the Discord. Begging is not cool and excessive nagging will decrease your chances of getting picked. We suggest spending the effort on being interested in the game and talking about it instead, as being active in the Discord will increase your chances of being handpicked instead of relying purely on the random chance (or signup order) of Closed Alpha signup. Please do not ping admins, devs, mods or anybody else for access to Closed Alpha, it will not be granted and will decrease your chances of getting invited.
How to know if you've been selected
We will send an Alpha invitation by email to the address provided in the signup form. The email will come from a frozenbyte.com email domain, and in Gmail it may often go to the Promotions tab or even Spam. If your email is missing or bounces, we will try to contact you via Discord as a secondary method. In addition, on Discord we will add the "Alpha Tester" role to your Discord (if known) along with the "New in CA" role, which we will ping in the #alpha-new-players channel. We will also say in #starbase-chat when a new invite wave has been sent.
Checking and updating your signup info
You can go to the #bot-commands channel in the Starbase Discord and use the !alpha command to check your status, and check instructions to follow up with developers if you need to e.g. update your email or Discord information.
When is the next invite wave?
We are selecting more players on an active basis at the moment and until the end of Closed Alpha. There's no typical day or week for selections - they happen based on what we need at any given time. The only common theme is that we generally will not invite players if we have a patch incoming in the next couple of days.
How many will be invited?
Our invite waves during Closed Alpha have been between 100-1000 users per wave. The numbers will go up as we move towards the Early Access launch.
How many players are in Alpha?
Go to #bot-commands in the Starbase Discord and use !alpha stats to get the latest statistics.
How will the Early Access launch go?
Our goal is to release a smooth experience for Early Access, but some features will still be missing at that time. We have very ambitious plans for Starbase and that vision takes time to fulfill, and while we are getting closer with Closed Alpha, the full vision will be unleashed in Early Access and beyond.
The purpose for Closed Alpha is to make sure we don't run blind into Early Access. In CA the game is still buggy and messy in terms of both technical and gameplay features, and once we reach a bit more stable status and have more features, then the game is ready for Early Access.
In our opinion Starbase Closed Alpha shows a "glimpse of the vision", allows CA players to imagine what Starbase can be. Early Access will make that more real.
I have more questions!
Please join the Starbase Discord to ask questions!
Closed Alpha additional information
How can I increase my chances of getting in?
Our Alpha signup list works in two major ways: signup order and random lottery. We are unlikely to be able to include everybody but the invites will be ramped up towards the launch of Early Access.
We also do "handpicks" from the Discord. The criteria for handpicks is not scientific but we generally look at activity and friendliness. So being active in the community in a friendly manner is a good way to get noticed by us and get included in a handpick. As more tips on how to get started in the community, you can use the #introduce-yourself channel to tell a bit about yourself, ask a couple of questions in #starbase-chat, stick around for a while, maybe take part in #general-chat (but be warned it can have quite a lot of inside jokes and resident members - and while in general the Starbase Discord is not a place for memes, #general-chat may occasionally get rowdy with memes until moderators steer it back to more civilized discussion).
In any case, patience is the key (literally), as our invites often operate on a weekly basis.
How many players will be invited to Closed Alpha?
We hope to test the game with a lot of simultaneous players before Early Access launch. In total numbers this might mean 10,000 players or more. We already have that amount and more signed up to the Alpha list - you can check out the current statistics in #bot-commands with !alpha stats. Beyond this we do not have a clear goal of "this many players by date X". We'll see how development goes and what makes sense at any given time.
What weekdays are invites sent?
Most likely on regular non-weekend days, because big invite waves need our CM team to be online to handle any major issues (Finnish office hours are roughly 06:00-14:00 UTC). For days of the week, it's a tougher estimate. Typically invites would happen either a few days before an update, or a day after an update - We don't want to invite a bunch of people and then release an update that breaks things a lot. So either we get the players in early, or we wait until the patch has been deemed ok and it's "safe" to invite more people.
Information for Closed Alpha players
I got in the Alpha - now what?
Congratulations! Check out the Alpha Quickstart Guide... Rules and the general Rules and New Player Guide.
Will I get Starbase for free if I participate in the Closed Alpha?
No. Having access to the Alpha does not give access to the actual game when it enters Early Access, so you will have to pay for the game eventually.
Can I lose my access?
Yes. We can revoke the Steam key given to you at any point if we feel you have gone against these rules. Cheating and bad behavior are obvious reasons.
How long will the Closed Alpha last?
Closed Alpha will last an undetermined amount of time. Possibly even up to the launch of Early Access.
What happens after Closed Alpha?
The game world will be wiped and be available to everyone to purchase on Steam Early Access here. Closed Alpha testers do not get a free copy of the Early Access version of the game.
Will my progress and character transfer to the full game/Early Access?
Possibly to a degree, but we cannot make promises yet. We may have to do a "server wipe" once or multiple times during the Alpha (we will try our hardest not to, though). Likewise some elements of your character may transit from Alpha to the final game (like blueprints). Nothing is decided yet, however.
Are the servers on 24/7 or is there downtime?
Starbase servers are on 24/7 and Closed Alpha players can login at any time. There's only downtime when we update the game build or do some other maintenance, which isn't planned to happen very often.
Is there an NDA?
We do not use an NDA. NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreement) are sometimes used to make sure users don't disclose information about something to their friends or the online public at large. However for Starbase, we decided that it would just be too much hassle for no benefit. Our Alpha players are free to post screenshots, stream on Twitch or make videos on YouTube.