Dirty Bomb enters closed alpha, shows off analytics

Splash Damage's self-funded PC shooter Dirty Bomb has entered closed alpha today, and the studio has released a trailer showing off its analytics system and how it has already impacted the game in pre-alpha testing.

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Splash Damage's self-funded PC shooter Dirty Bomb is entering closed alpha today so those of you in the Founder's Club can check your e-mail shortly to see if your key has come yet. Meanwhile, the developer has released new footage to show off Echo, its analytics system.

You can sign up at the official site. You could also purchase your way into immediate access for a cool $120, which grants you some bonuses like a founder's tag, art book, and soundtrack.

The trailer shows how the developer has already used Echo to alter some maps in its pre-alpha testing, in response to factors like disproportionate deaths in certain parts of the map.

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    January 31, 2013 6:30 AM

    Steve Watts posted a new article, Dirty Bomb enters closed alpha, shows off analytics.

    Splash Damage's self-funded PC shooter Dirty Bomb has entered closed alpha today, and the studio has released a trailer showing off its analytics system and how it has already impacted the game in pre-alpha testing.

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      January 31, 2013 8:02 AM

      Man this game is DOA.

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      January 31, 2013 8:10 AM

      Have we really reached a point where studios are announcing "closed alpha" testing?

      WTF.

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        January 31, 2013 8:32 AM

        Fans are always curious about the progress a game is making.

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        January 31, 2013 8:46 AM

        For this case, I like the idea, because Brink could've used far more public feedback to balance it and streamline or eliminate elements that didn't work well. Brink being a console game also hurt it, in terms of the low multiplayer count and being stuck with the bots most of the time, which made the gameplay worse because their AI didn't handle objective-based gameplay well.

        Dirty Bomb sounds like Brink's core mechanics, on PC only, without the derisive fiction, or being stuck with console platform development and testing. It also is self-published, and the pre-orders to enter closed alpha are funding the game's production. In a currently barren PC FPS ecosystem riddled with stupid DRM here and console cross-dev concessions there, Dirty Bomb sounds promising.

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        January 31, 2013 9:04 AM

        [deleted]

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        January 31, 2013 10:29 AM

        [deleted]

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          January 31, 2013 12:51 PM

          Word on the street is that this alpha is a real, working alpha and not a "demo" like many betas.

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            January 31, 2013 1:47 PM

            and costs $120, unlike many betas.

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              January 31, 2013 3:45 PM

              Not seeing the problem here. It's a pretty effective gate to only let seriously interested folks to see an unfinished WIP. It's not the only way to play early, just for those not involved in the community. I'd be really surprised if it's not free by the time they get to serious stress testing at the end of beta.

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      January 31, 2013 10:18 AM

      It's actually interesting hearing about the map information and how everything's tracked. That would be a cool feature. If you could see stats on the map while on the load screen of areas where firefights break out a lot and such to give you an idea of what you're going into.

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      January 31, 2013 10:26 AM

      I really like Splash Damage as a company and want them to succeed. They've got some wonderful ideas and are super innovative when it comes to the multiplayer FPS.

      I was really sad that people didn't like Brink. It had its flaws, but it does not deserve the hate it gets around here.

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        January 31, 2013 1:49 PM

        Brink seems like the kind of game I'd drop into if it were F2P and I could spend 10$ for some fun.

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        January 31, 2013 1:50 PM

        I had some fun with it. Played it more than a lot of other games that I've paid big bucks for.

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      January 31, 2013 12:58 PM

      The more footage I see, the more this looks like ETQW/ET movement and that is definitely the direction I want to see. I don't know if the market would ever support another game with circle strafe jumping again, but I wish it would.

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