# Will Beta have an NDA?

**URL:** <https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/will-beta-have-an-nda/372>\
**Category:** General Discussion\
**Created:** [May 11, 2013, 12:07pm UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/will-beta-have-an-nda/372 "2013-05-11T12:07:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Bailung](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex022/user_avatar/discourse.stonehearth.net/bailung/32/65585_2.png) [@Bailung](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/Bailung)\
**Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 12:07pm UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/will-beta-have-an-nda/372/1 "2013-05-11T12:07:20Z")

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Is there any information whether the beta will have a **NDA** of any kind or is it to early to think about that?

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**Author:** ![A1UR](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex022/user_avatar/discourse.stonehearth.net/a1ur/32/13596_2.png) [@A1UR](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/A1UR)\
**Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 12:24pm UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/will-beta-have-an-nda/372/2 "2013-05-11T12:24:14Z")

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I think I saw/heard somewhere that there would be none. Don’t remember where though.

Actually come to think of it that was probably the DRM.

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**Author:** ![easto1a](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex022/user_avatar/discourse.stonehearth.net/easto1a/32/65481_2.png) [@easto1a](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/easto1a)\
**Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 12:27pm UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/will-beta-have-an-nda/372/3 "2013-05-11T12:27:24Z")

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I would anticipate it not to have one. Games like this would really benefit from exposure via YouTube plays.

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**Author:** ![ernierock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e79b87/32.png) [@ernierock](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/ernierock)\
**Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 1:11pm UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/will-beta-have-an-nda/372/4 "2013-05-11T13:11:34Z")

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It would be really weird to have an NDA on a pretty much open beta. There will be thousands of people in that just paid money, there were no applications or nothing.

And as @easto1a said, it would greatly benefit from all exposure.

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**Author:** ![Bailung](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex022/user_avatar/discourse.stonehearth.net/bailung/32/65585_2.png) [@Bailung](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/Bailung)\
**Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 1:33pm UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/will-beta-have-an-nda/372/5 "2013-05-11T13:33:18Z")

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Don’t get me wrong, i think like you guys. I just thought something a little more official would be nice.

Just to be on the safe side.

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**Author:** ![ernierock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e79b87/32.png) [@ernierock](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/ernierock)\
**Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 2:23pm UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/will-beta-have-an-nda/372/6 "2013-05-11T14:23:39Z")

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Official is always nice 😉

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**Author:** ![Lvl0User](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5e925/32.png) [@Lvl0User](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/Lvl0User)\
**Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 2:24pm UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/will-beta-have-an-nda/372/7 "2013-05-11T14:24:15Z")

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An NDA seems highly unlikely given how open Radiant Entertainment has been with the development of Stonehearth. However, if they do decided to release an alpha version, an NDA is a good possibility.

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**Author:** ![Bailung](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex022/user_avatar/discourse.stonehearth.net/bailung/32/65585_2.png) [@Bailung](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/Bailung)\
**Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 2:52pm UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/will-beta-have-an-nda/372/8 "2013-05-11T14:52:35Z")

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An Alpha with NDA and a Beta without would be the best overall solution i guess. But I kinda understand why bringing a Stonehearth Alpha might be difficult.

Its true it seems like an NDA might not be Radiant Entertainments style but, there are a few reasons do do NDA anyway, most important would be quality management. Sure, we know what alpha/beta means and therefore are not bothered by bugs, others might not understand that and spread the rumors stonehearth is a buggy “shitty” game. Such reputation loss is hard to gain back, whether the claims are true or not.

Lets wait and see 🙂

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**Author:** ![Lvl0User](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5e925/32.png) [@Lvl0User](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/Lvl0User)\
**Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 3:11pm UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/will-beta-have-an-nda/372/9 "2013-05-11T15:11:40Z")

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@Bailung Tom said in their first Livestream that they want the game to be essentially done by the time the beta is released. Although I feel that this is a tad ambitious, I’m not expecting too many bugs in the beta because of Radiant’s determined attitude.

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**Author:** ![easto1a](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex022/user_avatar/discourse.stonehearth.net/easto1a/32/65481_2.png) [@easto1a](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/easto1a)\
**Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 3:18pm UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/will-beta-have-an-nda/372/10 "2013-05-11T15:18:04Z")

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The only issue is that with little outside testing the beta may in fact have a lot of bugs as different hardware responds differently. Fingers crossed they seem to be going about development in a great way but getting some simple bugs fixed before beta launch is a good plan but proper bug fixing surely can’t start until the beta is live.

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**Author:** ![Bailung](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex022/user_avatar/discourse.stonehearth.net/bailung/32/65585_2.png) [@Bailung](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/Bailung)\
**Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 5:04pm UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/will-beta-have-an-nda/372/11 "2013-05-11T17:04:51Z")

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@flich221 thats what i was talking about hardware compatibility bugs,

@Lvl0User essentially done by time of beta yes, thats why beta without NDA and alpha with NDA makes sense, since alpha is much more like to have bugs.

OOT:  
//  
But again, the way Stonehearth is coded and designed makes it hard to release an alpha in the first place. The alpha would be missing so many (core) mechanics that the alpha would not be that great(not as great as tony and tom might which an alpha to be), and with all those mechanics, its already a beta^^. Thats actually something good, nothing will be release, thats not approved by Tom and Tony, and therefore is as good as they thing it needs to be. If they feel they can bring an alpha that feels right, they will bring it.  
//

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**Author:** ![Gazz](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex022/user_avatar/discourse.stonehearth.net/gazz/32/5649_2.png) [@Gazz](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/Gazz)\
**Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 5:48pm UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/will-beta-have-an-nda/372/12 "2013-05-11T17:48:20Z")

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Any NDA is only as good as your ability to enforce it.  
With a large “tester” base where all you have is an email address, you **_can’t_** enforce it.

Since an NDA in this situation would be either a failure or a source of embarrassment, I don’t expect there to be one. =P

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**Author:** ![Lvl0User](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5e925/32.png) [@Lvl0User](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/Lvl0User)\
**Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 6:37pm UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/will-beta-have-an-nda/372/13 "2013-05-11T18:37:03Z")

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@Gazz I can keep a secret. 😉

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**Author:** ![Bailung](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex022/user_avatar/discourse.stonehearth.net/bailung/32/65585_2.png) [@Bailung](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/Bailung)\
**Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/will-beta-have-an-nda/372/14 "2013-05-11T18:42:08Z")

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@Gazz good point. Guess there will be none then… i didn’t think about the how ^^ \*silly me ^o^

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**Author:** ![Spiku](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Spiku](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/Spiku)\
**Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 7:13pm UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/will-beta-have-an-nda/372/15 "2013-05-11T19:13:27Z")

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I could write an enforceable NDA. It’s not hard to have an Alpha build require registration, and all of the NDAs I draft include provisions ensuring that anyone breaching the NDA is required to pay all related Court and Counsel fees. All you have to do is make it so you have to log in to download the Alpha, and each Alpha can have an individual identifier. Any leak is attached, and Court proceedings can begin immediately =3

You should never assume that such things are unenforceable just because they generally aren’t.

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**Author:** ![wraithbone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8edcca/32.png) [@wraithbone](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/wraithbone)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 11:23am UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/will-beta-have-an-nda/372/16 "2013-05-17T11:23:22Z")

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It is completely enforceable without legal action, you do what the game industry already does on review embargoes:  
If you break the embargo, no more updates for you!

Why do they do this?  
There is a very good reason for this and Extra Credits sums it up better than I could in [this video](http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/demo-daze).

But for Radiant Entertainment to do so would be borderline stupid. Not only would it betray the open and community driven focus of the game, it would be detrimental to the overall marketing and exposure that YouTube brings to games like this.  
If they are prepared to have a livestream showing an old, defunct, pre-alpha, crash-happy version of the game then it seems unlikely that the game will have an NDA or embargo placed upon the beta.

On the more pessimistic side saying that it is possible still means that it can happen. It’s just that it would take a lot of resources to enforce the NDA or embargo.  
That would be time wasted in the community’s opinion and the gains for Radiant would be insignificant given the marketing strategy they are using. I’m sure that they know that.

Just because it is possible doesn’t mean it is plausible.

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**Author:** ![Spiku](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Spiku](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/Spiku)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 1:03pm UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/will-beta-have-an-nda/372/17 "2013-05-17T13:03:30Z")

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It wouldn’t take any additional resources to enforce a properly written NDA; prosecution fees are waived until completion of the litigation, and on conclusion the responsible party pays all costs involved =3

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**Author:** ![wraithbone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8edcca/32.png) [@wraithbone](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/wraithbone)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 11:19pm UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/will-beta-have-an-nda/372/18 "2013-05-17T23:19:04Z")

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Wow… please tell me you are not doing a classic America is the only country in the world. What about people outside the USA? You cant prosecute them under US Law (well not unless you think that breaking an NDA justifies extradition).  
lol

“America is the only country in the world.” its an expression, blame Hollywood… please don’t be offended by my use of it.

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**Author:** ![sdee](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex022/user_avatar/discourse.stonehearth.net/sdee/32/65441_2.png) [@sdee](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/sdee)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 11:58pm UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/will-beta-have-an-nda/372/19 "2013-05-17T23:58:33Z")

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We are not planning an NDA at beta. And we also can’t wait to watch all the youtube videos that result. Extra brownie points for blogs and youtube videos that tell dramatic stories. 😉

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**Author:** ![Spiku](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Spiku](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/Spiku)\
**Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 1:32am UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/will-beta-have-an-nda/372/20 "2013-05-18T01:32:32Z")

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@wraithbone aithbone, this is not a venue for racism, please refrain from blanket judgements of cultures and/or people. Now, despite being British, and drafting contracts in accordance with English Law, I have successfully enforced such locals as mainland China, Pakistan and Russia. While most governance might include a staple: “(b) This Agreement is governed by, and is to be construed in accordance with, English law. The English Courts will have non-exclusive jurisdiction to deal with any dispute which has arisen or may arise out of, or in connection with, this Agreement.” this is worded specifically to emphasis non-exclusive.

The thing about a contract between individual parties, is that it is in no way similar to IP Law in how other countries view it. You would be hard pressed to find any governed country that doesn’t have an enforceable contract law, and I have yet to find a third party legal practice that declines free currency.

While the initial prosecution takes place in your domicile Courts, and non-attendance on the other party lends itself very well for your initial Judgment; simply making a contact in another country who will be paid for prosecution? Unsurprisingly, bringing the case to someone in their native jurisdiction and providing that Judgment carries a lot of weight.

But indeed, I am telling you I am not doing any offensive stereotyping of other cultures, nor am I implying that only one country’s legal system applies. I would be happy to discuss the matter of legality and enforcement with you in private messages.

I would point out that I certainly don’t anticipate this sort of action on the part of Radiant Entertainment, I am simply offering insight from someone who has dealt with some of the issues broached and found the comments made to be contrary to my professional experience.

[Next page](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/will-beta-have-an-nda/372.md?page=2)