Here is the link :3
(Prismata on Steam)
Free until Monday May 21st 10AM PDT
Note: hey guys, although the title says “free”, unfortunately, it’s not exactly this way … like @Gnuffi @Fraggles @GanbaRANGER noted, only the “game base” (the first campaign ~~) is released, and to really pick up the full game is necessary to buy the DLC .-.
Thank you guys guys for warning 
(I went to post in a hurry and did not even notice 
)
To keep?
would appear so
Hi everyone!
Our “Kill the Servers” weekend is now live! From May 18th to 21st, you can grab the Prismata base game for free (and keep it!) Please tell your friends!
but just the “base game” -whatever that means for this game 
Looks like a f2p game with microtransactions though.
yup, looking on the forum it appears to be one of those “once we cost money, but we plan on going f2p, -and swap the “old” paid game into a premium dlc instead”
so all we are getting here, is just the (future) f2p version, but “early access” to it, 
I generally don’t have a problem with micro transactions in free-to-play games, but this free-to-play game seems to cost $25.
It seems like they’re giving us a demo. 4 out of 5 “episodes” of the single player campaign are unavailable unless you give them $25 for the DLC, which also comes with “2000 shards and 5 Power Cores” so that you might have a sense of investment and want to buy more stuff.
-shudder-
prismata is primarily a multiplayer game, campaign is nice, but its just one playthrough and thats it.
this is a combination of hearthstone and chess.
and it will be completely free (the multiplayer part). skins, cosmetics, etc. and campaign chapters will still cost when it launches. its currently in beta.
no its not like that. its more like hearthstone, league of legends, or any other free game with cosmetics. and i again will emphasize this is a multiplayer game.
campaing is just an added bonus and its paid for…
also to clarify a bit, this game deserves it, and although im not playing it atm as often as i used too i still think its a great game.
i compared it to hs, lol and similar games but here you don’t have to collect stuff and fall behind if you dont pay for extra packs/boosters or play a ton. everyone has access to everything always.
when you start a game both of players get the same pool of cards for that particular game, core of the pool is always the same (like 10 cards) and other part changes each match.
so there is no collecting beside cosmetics. completely free game
quick search on the forum said the opposite 
etc etc, there are more like these, so i don’t know what you are saying that i’m saying that was wrong…
it was paid before (because the only tier you could get was the “full” game), -ITAD also says this, (besides the devs),
& apparently yes there were “always” plans to go f2p, and what we are getting is the base game, that would be f2p anyway, “later”/soon, and the paid full game,(which was before the only option), would then be changed to premium dlc (which looks like it did)
sry, but i don’t see where i said something wrong, the info on the forum seems to complete correspond with that, both from users answering questions about the freebie promotion, -and the devs directly
i never mentioned their business model, (beyond being f2p, which seems correct according to the info)
what you pay for now is early access, but by paying you also unlock campaign which if you want to play anyways will cost you when the game relases. or you can get a beta invite for free if youre lucky.
when game releases it is free. apart from cosmetics and campaign…
i guess we have different views on early access. and your first link says exactly that.
you said
and i cant agree with that. early access isnt the same as release. youre paying for the benefit of early access to the game that isnt done yet. youre not paying for THE game.
also you have to separate the main aspect of the game - multiplayer which will be free when the game comes out with other microtransactions / story chapters (which are completely unnecessary to play the real game)
that said, i cant agree to treat this as something that was once paid for, and later became f2p. since it was/will always free from the get go. (early access isnt release)
that’s semantics
it was “paid” before, then got swapped, to being a “base version” that we got for free -which would be free anyway (which is why many games that go f2p still have that f2p option during ea, with an accompanying “full” separate version),
-they chose not to go that route, which is their prerogative, but doesn’t change that a game that was “full”+paid goes free (temporarily) but “all” you are getting, is the base game (which isn’t listed, nor was on store before) -which, most importantly; would be free anyway “later”
-and tbh, “how long” the “early privilege” lasts doesn’t matter, when it’s f2p, planned or not, and you’re giving it away for “free” - “early”, it (clearly) sends mixed messages to people, (hence why there are a bunch of posts asking what they actually are getting)
whether or not someone should/or could be disappointed by not getting the “previous” version for free, and just a preview/ea to what would be f2p anyway is another matter, and not what i was even trying bring up here,
but it still was Version A “before” -paid, and what we are getting, is Version B, (that wasn’t even listed prior), for free, (as some sort of token of good will/“freebie’ness”), despite going f2p later anyway
you’re just not convincing me that anything i said was “wrong”, technical or otherwise, since no matter which way you turn it, it very much looks to me like exactly what i said…
imo, getting “early” access, for free, to a free-to-play is nothing to make a big deal about, like this event is sorta (imo) trying to give the impression of, since you’ll apparently miss out on 0 by just holding off past monday, or for whenever it actually goes f2p
as contrary example, other ea would-be-f2p games, that went “promotional” free, and made an event out of it, (before going f2p), then gave away the/an actual paid "X"tier version -hence why they made an announcement/deal out of such event
all i’m saying is there is no reason for the fuss about this, since it’s a game that’s f2p anyway, being early access doesn’t make that more special for a freebie, f2p is f2p despite the “timing” of entry, when it’s just the base version
(ps i dislike/disagree that the notion of of “early access” is a qualifier to “pay for the access”, -no; you’re paying for the game itself, (and getting a discounted(usually) exactly because it’s not “done”), you aren’t “paying” for the privilege of playing before release, but for the state of the game, thus going temporarily free (of a base/free version swap anyway) -is not something special, because there is no product difference, and you would not be paying for anything regardless)
i’m not bashing on the their business model/decision, or the game itself, or even being f2p
i’m merely saying there is 0 need to rush for this, or treat it like other freebies/excitement, since this is not a special deal or anything, -but in fact comes with the caveat of not being the version that was in store “before”, but “just” the base game (-which ofc would be no good for those that actually might have wanted/thought it for the sp), and would by all likelihood be able to get this exact version, still for free, elsewhere or “after” the event anyway…
meaning, imo, completely no call for all the fuss of making such “freebie” announcement, -for a f2p game anyway (good game or otherwise/mp focus or such)
i agree about sending mixed message, and their wording of base game is retarded. and i can see how it makes people confused. my first response to this topic was to clarify things a bit, since i know what youre getting/not getting, or whats in the game currently. i wasnt defending devs or their model of business.
youre not getting anything except a beta key. this promotion is just another way to say, hey guys here are some beta keys (there was a big wave of beta invites recently for steam users also).
your whole premise of a game that was paid for before and now isnt is wrong. beta access was paid for (its called early access here cause of steam i guess, and by paying that beta access you get the campaign chapters when they release - which would cost the same price anyways). or you can look at it this way: campaign and some goodies were payed for and you got a free early access / beta key (campaign was always meant to cost money).
again wrong. there are no versions. campaign costs some money, multiplayer is free, you just cant access it atm since its in closed beta. (if you pay 25$ for campaign and some goodies you get a free beta key, get it?)
i agree, this promotion is nothing more then beta invite wave. and it also happened a month or so ago… you’re not getting anything, just a chance to play the game before it goes open beta (if ever) or full release.
again, agree
in this case, like i explained, you pay for campaign + bonus early access. if you get a hold of beta key from someone you get the same game - campaign. also, the whole notion of owning a game here is honestly a bit wrong. it would be like saying you own the lichess if you created an account there and go play some chess games. its a service, and a free one at that.
if youve played hearthstone i could explain it easier. imagine you get all the cards in the game, and the option to play other players. (hs dungeons for example could be equivalent to prismata campaign). you login (you can also play prismata in browser, and standalone client, without steam), and play pvp (or bots). if you want single player missions, you pay for them (and some puzzles i think).
no fuss, no versions before or after, absolutely nothing different now or when it releases. for 25$ (i think), you get your campaign wheter you pay now or 5 years later. only difference is if you pay now, you get to play now.
and yeah their wording and advertisement of this is a bit retarded i guess…
Well, this sucks… I purchased this not that long ago… And guess what, I only have the base game now…
im not sure what exactly did you get in that 25$ package, or how much did you pay, but i presume you got single player campaign episodes, with some bonus currency, skins etc. and i think if they later release some single player stuff you wont have to pay for the things youve already got. i think each episode can be bought separately.
but just out of curiosity, what do you have in the “base game”?
i think you are misunderstanding what i’m saying
the version, that was listed on the store “before” -where the freebie is now, the “main purchase option button” that’s always on top of the steam store page
-before, was the “paid beta”/full game, for 25$ (and i’m not saying there is anything wrong with that)
now they have swapped it, so the prior main option, full game, is down as dlc (where it would be during the final f2p release anyway too), and the freebie/"future f2p"version is the main
ITAD confirms this, users on the forum says so too
it doesn’t matter what the content is/was during beta, it’s still the same content, they just swapped the versions, one from being “the game” ->to dlc, and ea f2p → “the game”
i’m fully aware what you got/get for either versions, the point here, is that what was the beta “before”, is now changed for this promotion, and the “old” beta content is now dlc, and the “current” beta content is the future f2p version -which you couldn’t just get f2p from steam, as only the engineer edition (or whatever it was called) was available to get you access → but also had different/“more” content for being paid
the best example i could come with this is imagine if Life is Strange had never had a free ep1, and only ea/“beta” full pack(uncomplete), then still during ea, changes the selection choice, as a free promotion, swapping the prior pack to “dlc”/season pass/"full game"access tier(upon release), and the main option then became the free ep1 -but which would be free anyway after the “event”
i think what i’m saying is, what they are doing here, they might as well just have entered the fp2 phase now since they bothered swapping the purchase option around anyway, and keep it as is, instead of trying to make it something different/some special temporary event/promotion, -when this is exactly the state it would be on final entry to the f2p release/phase anyway
since it’s 2 completely different “beta” keys, (so just calling them a beta key doesn’t really help you there, since they contain vastly different content now during ea because of this: 1 beta key/the “old” gave you full content on release, the “new” beta key, just gives you the base content on release, -which would have been the release/1.0 f2p key anyway, and to get the “old” beta key/full content, it’s now a “dlc” key)
i got the old beta key, and i dont have anything, beside the first chapter of campaign which i think will be free anyways. is that the “base content” everyone is reffering to?
there are 2 “beta keys”,
1 is the 25$ (according to the forum, it was called engineer something) -which should contain full sp campaign (when done) -and was the version listed on steam before (this f2p version wasn’t on steam previously according to itad & forum)
the “new”/current steam beta key, is the “base version”, only containing full mp, and 1ep of campaign(when done full release) -which didn’t cost 25$ before, won’t on release, and will/would still be free on release regardless (according to their plans) and ofc still only be the base version for free
where as the “old” full game/full sp campaign version, would then be dlc (like it is now) for people still having option to get that if they want
what i’m saying is, for this promotional event, they just put the store/game in exactly the same “store”/state as they would have on f2p release anyway, -thus no reason to make it like it’s a special event, and by all reason and rights, they could just keep it “as is” now -and have entered the f2p phase with this, instead of making it slightly temporary before release anyway… (since it would be exactly the same like this then)
i feel like there is some language/communication mixup/barrier somewhere that doesn’t get my “point” across fully between us on this… 
yeah i feel the same.
there are only beta keys. and all are the same. i got a beta key couple of months ago. it gives access to the game. game is free.
campaign episodes (except ep1 which is free for everyone) are locked for free users. engineer tier costs 25$ and unlocks 5 episodes. i have the option to purchase engineer tier since i got beta invite and didnt buy in the early access game for 25$ which equals to engineer tier (or in other words, equals to same eng tier i can purchase + beta key).
so in order to earn some cash devs gave you the opportunity to play before others in their beta phase in exchange of you purchasing their campaing (or engineer tier, which is the cheapest one).
there are no differences btw versions, and this event like i said is just another beta invite wave, for people that dont intend to purchase or play single player campaign.
for all of you that purchased the “game” (infact you purchased the campaign) @YQMaoski etc., you still have your moneys worth, as anyone that wants to play the campaign WILL have to pay that 25$.
i think you are misunderstanding with the name beta key too
with steam, there are always different keys, corresponding to each different depot/“version” of a game
so if a game, from day 1 was full f2p, (early access or not -doesn’t matter as steam keys are concerned in the database), it would be “beta 1”-key corresponding to X depot containing only the “free” files -if that game then later either upgrades to a paid version, adds a separate paid version or a dlc one or two things happen;
the depot changes to correspond to the initial (if the game is merely upgraded and no other versions exists), or if another version or dlc is added, a separate depot, with it’s own unique “key”
so for the purpose of this game, there was 2 beta keys, 1 for “full” game, and the other for the f2p version
the thing here is, even if both keys existed prior, “on” steam it wasn’t (only the dev had access to that f2p depot key, customers didn’t directly on steam store)
so what they did here, is “change” the store, temporarily, so key “1” and “2” both got on the store at the same time now (which it would on final release anyway) -but hadn’t been before
only key “1”/full game key, was available on steam before, you couldn’t get this base version “directly” from steam store(as i understand it from forum +itad), you had to have gotten it from devs “directly”
that’s the change,
so when they do this, “change”, -for what appears to only be temporarily, despite this/how it is now, would be exactly what supposedly is the “final release” version plan(not meaning “final release version” of game/content itself)/store layout anyway -it seems silly to A, make it a “special” event, and B, not just keep it “as is” now for the rest of the time, and just enter the f2p phase now, even if it’s not release 1.0(game content wise) yet
(but i also have some ideas as to why they might chose this measure, and being temporary, -despite appearing utterly silly when it seems like it’s the final layout/end goal anyway)
they still need the money, and there will always be impatient people that wouldnt play single player but just had to buy the campaign so they could access the beta. so as long as the game isnt finished they stay in early access, and have events like these, which not only serve as marketing (as something is happening, its an event after all!), but someone maybe sees the game and decides that engi tier (the one that gives you campaign + other goodies) is nice and buys it.
also, and here is why i definitely support this kind of decision, they probably dont want to release unbalanced/bugged or whatever game just for the sake of releasing it. i hate what most of devs today do. release beta games as full. beta is beta, it should remain closed till the end. open beta should be used for stress testing and should last a short window. then the release comes. i will say it again, i hate when devs release a half ass product (beta) or stay in open beta forever and hide behind that beta tag (which gives them the outs for their mistakes / bugs / lack of time or whatever really)
yea yea, i get that, and understand the underlying promotional reasonings behind the event perfectly too
what i’m saying is, imo, i find it highly silly, regarding this, since they might as well, just “keep” the base version available now, after this invite wave, until release, since it’s the same version -and will be free then too
but i also understand some of their possible reasons why that’s not the route they intend for now, i’m just saying i disagree and find it silly “this late in the game”
i think it can be summed up sorta like this: If you have the confidence your game can hold up to an “X”-days free (perma)invite wave, (and has plan to be free later anyway), you might as well just commit fully to keep offering the free version “now” anyway
the reason my view is this, is; it’s not a “closed” beta invite, this is essentially a grand public mass opening/“trial run”, so since you’ll sorta get the “release” day rush anyway, or at least almost a guaranteed flood compared to regulars, you might as well keep it like this, and let the flood subside naturally again, instead of arbitrary just cutting it off temporarily, and then trying to open it up again on release 1.0
since the thing about early access is, despite being a 0.“1” vs a 1.0 release, you still only get the “one release”, which is the first impression, even if it’s not the “1.”
so if they know/feel/think the game can handle the scrutiny of 100k people rushing in, to day, -whom will share their opinions “as is”, and not(rarely) “update” for 1.0,
then, imo, you should have the confidence in your quality to just keep your future f2p game free “now”
-but i get their thoughts/concern they might have, and wanting to hold off for the permanent side of things, until they feel everything is fully ready.
(i just don’t agree on their notion here, and find it highly silly considering how they chose to go about this, but they clearly feel they want to test & polish it as much as they can before to be sure about everything themselves too)
