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The Warframe closed beta was versions 0 through 6. The Warframe open beta is versions 7 through... currently 45, and the last two aren't released yet.

We never once did

I don't think there's a *widely accepted* formal definition, but I've heard one that the alpha milestone is when the game is first playable from start to finish (placeholders may remain / optional content not made) and the beta milestone is when all final assets are in place, only bugfixes remain

It was perfect at birth!

Sounds like a linguistic drift, because to me it sounds like they are asking about the pre-release versions of the game, but because betas have become so prevailent that is the word people use to describe all versions of pre-release now.

The multiverse gimmick for the user-created levels was brilliant, and the source of all the funniest things JK Simmons has ever said.

as for what people mean by "portal 2 beta", its just an easy way talk about what the game would've looked like at certain snapshots in time, as opposed to any actual beta build

Does that make Erik Jesus?

i think this largely falls under the broader issue of media illiteracy: many fail to distinguish between consuming a thing & understanding the thing, and fail to see that much of the allure of early ideas is they’re abstract thoughts unburdened by the specificity & functionality required to exist

"We tried so many things but couldn't find a way to make it fun for every player", and that's always stuck with me. I think it's door number 3 syndrome: The unknown in their imagination will never have any flaws so it'd obviously make things better, just like my imagined flamethrower.

Very cool, Amsterdam holds a special place, especially as a Dutch native, so cool to hear it had a role to play here.

I’m always cautious of the E3 demo effect. Devs are asked to consolidate for a demo, which means early finalization and a halt on actual progress. Valve being private likely meant they often didn’t have to waste such time.

I get the impression its like hl2 beta where there's a bunch of really cool old concept art that doesnt really make sense as a complete package (thus why it got changed over time) and anyone trying to make it will eventually figure that out, but modding is fun so perhaps its all worth it in the end

wait OHHHH, as in like, there literally isn't a build. not anything about classification, just there literally isn't a build sorry abt that :( i may be a bit stupid

I think most people who are into researching game development have shied away from using the term “beta” because it describes a very specific thing. That said: those intermediary prototype builds probably have interesting differences! The allure of “what could have been” lies in all media.

Coming back hours later surprised I didn't mention *HL:A & Deadlock* as even MORE examples of people seeing the Valve dev process as entirely separated "eras." Rewriting the story while keeping almost all the level design intact feels like a massive "what could have been" moment for beta hunters lol

- character limits really suck on here for big ideas like this, but I hope you understand the slack I'm attempting to give people. Love your work, Chet! I think folks assume too much about the process, but other commenter is correct that "beta" is just new slang for "cutting room floor" or scrapped

I completely get where you're coming from but I'm just letting you know what people are referring to when they say beta. Even if it was never officially called a beta, this was a period of time during development when L4D looked different and what people have dubbed "beta." youtu.be/ewj1eD1l1mo