Closed alpha terms

What the closed alpha is

The closed alpha is a private testing phase of COLONIZED, the space survival MMORPG developed by Guillermo Fernández Cadarso («vanguille») (“we” or “us”). Its purpose is to test the game in real conditions, find bugs and gather opinions before it is finished. It runs as an invite-only Steam Playtest: each participant gets in with a personal key that we assign.

These terms apply when you apply for a place and, above all, when you receive access. They complement the website’s Terms of use and the Privacy policy. If they conflict with the Terms of use on anything specific to the alpha, these terms prevail.

We will ask you to accept them expressly and separately when you apply. Taking part is free of charge.

Who can take part

To take part you must:

• be 18 or over;
• have a pilot account on colonized.work (created with Discord) and a Steam account in good standing;
• use a PC able to run the test build (we will tell you the requirements);
• take part personally: one place per person and per account.

We require adulthood because the alpha involves confidentiality commitments and a licence over your feedback, and because its content, not yet age-rated, may not be suitable for minors.

Application and selection

Applying does not guarantee that you will take part. We select participants in waves, depending on the places available in each phase. Your position on the waiting list (order of arrival plus 10 places for each referral who completes their application) guides the order, but we may also take into account the variety of hardware, regions, languages, playstyles and testing experience each test needs.

If you are selected, we will assign you a personal key: you will see it in “My account” and, if your account has an email address, we will also email it to you. Your application must be truthful: if we find false information, we may cancel your place.

Access, keys and Steam

We may give you access with a Steam key, with the Steam Playtest feature or with another method we tell you about. Phases run with a key or by direct invitation are confidential; phases run with Steam Playtest are not, because Steam does not support confidential testing in Playtest: the Confidentiality section does not apply to them and you may share screenshots, videos and opinions (the conduct rules still apply). We will always tell you how each phase is delivered. In every case you will need a Steam account, and the platform is governed by its own terms, such as the Steam Subscriber Agreement and Valve’s privacy policy; Valve processes your data as an independent controller.

We grant you a personal, limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable and revocable licence to install and use the test build for the sole purpose of taking part in the alpha, for as long as your access lasts. You may not:

• sell, give away, lend, share or publish your key, your access or your account;
• copy, distribute or make the test build or its files available to others;
• use the test build for commercial purposes.

Keys and access have no monetary value and cannot be exchanged for money.

Each key is assigned to a single person and is never assigned to anyone else. We keep a record of which key you received, when and how it reached you and, if you confirm it or we check it, when you activated it, as explained in the Privacy policy. If your key does not work, write to us and we will give you another; if you breach these terms, we may revoke it.

A test build: what you expressly accept

The alpha is a version that is in development, incomplete and not final. By accepting these terms you are informed, and you expressly and separately accept, that the test build departs from what you would expect of a finished game in at least these respects:

• it may have bugs, crashes, performance problems and compatibility issues with your hardware;
• content may be missing, and features may change, disappear or be rebalanced at any time;
• servers may be unavailable, open only at certain times or close without notice;
• your progress may be lost, in whole or in part (see the next section);
• it may need frequent updates, and an older version may stop working.

This acceptance is the one required by Article 115 ter(5) of the Spanish consolidated General Law for the Protection of Consumers and Users for characteristics that depart from the objective requirements for conformity.

Install the test build only from Steam or the channel we tell you about, and bear in mind that it may be demanding on your hardware. If you have a history of epilepsy or sensitivity to flashing lights, consult a professional before playing, and stop playing if you feel dizzy, notice visual disturbances or feel unwell in any way.

Progress, wipes and in-game items

During the alpha we may wipe or reset, in whole or in part and at any time, characters, progress, ships, items, Solmera Credits and any other game data, with no obligation to compensate you. Unless we expressly announce otherwise, nothing earned in the alpha will carry over to the final game.

Items, currencies and other game elements have no real monetary value, are not your property and cannot be sold, bought or exchanged for money or goods outside the game.

Confidentiality

Everything you learn by taking part in a confidential phase of the alpha (with a Steam key or by direct invitation) that we have not made public is confidential information: the test build and its content (ships, places, mechanics, interface, story, music and sound), its performance and its bugs, technical information and the plans, dates or figures we share in the alpha’s private channels.

Confidentiality does not apply to information that was already public through no fault of yours, that you knew lawfully beforehand, or that you must disclose by law or at the request of an authority (in that case, let us know if the law allows it).

This duty lasts until we publish the information or lift confidentiality, and at most two years after the end of the alpha. If you are a content creator, write to us: we can give you specific permissions, with their own publication dates.

Your feedback

“Feedback” means anything you send us about the game: bug reports, suggestions, ideas, survey answers, messages in the alpha channels, and screenshots or recordings you send us.

Ideas as such are not protected by intellectual property, and we may freely use the ones you give us. To the extent that your feedback includes anything protected by copyright, each time you send it to us you grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, transferable and sublicensable licence, for the full term of legal protection, to reproduce, distribute, communicate to the public and transform it, and to incorporate it into the game or any other product or material, in any format or medium.

We are not obliged to use your feedback or to credit you, and its use does not entitle you to any compensation. This does not affect your moral rights as an author, which the law treats as unwaivable. Do not send us anything that is not yours or that contains other people’s personal data.

Rules of conduct

In the game, in the alpha channels and in any community space, we ask you to:

• treat other participants and the team with respect: harassment, threats, insults, discrimination and hate speech are not allowed;
• not share content that is illegal, sexually explicit, violent or that infringes other people’s rights;
• not use cheats, hacks, bots, macros or programs that modify the game or give you an advantage;
• not exploit bugs or exploits: report them;
• not attack or overload the servers, or try to access other people’s systems or accounts;
• not impersonate team members or other people;
• not spam, advertise or trade for real money;
• follow the team’s reasonable instructions during testing.

Breaking these rules may lead to a warning, a temporary suspension or the permanent loss of access, depending on how serious it is.

Data the game collects

To find bugs and balance the game, the test build may collect technical and gameplay data, such as performance, error and crash logs, your hardware configuration and your activity in matches. Before you install it, we will give you a game-specific privacy notice with all the details. The processing of your account and application data is explained in the Privacy policy.

Suspension and withdrawal of access

We may suspend or withdraw your access to the alpha:

• immediately, if you seriously break these terms (for example, by leaking content, selling your key or cheating);
• after warning you, if you break these terms in a minor way and do not correct it;
• for testing reasons, for example at the end of a phase or when places are reduced, letting you know whenever possible.

If your access ends for any reason, you must stop using the test build. Confidentiality and the licence over your feedback remain in force afterwards.

Duration and end of the alpha

The alpha has a limited duration, which we will decide depending on development. We may extend it, pause it, split it into phases or end it at any time. Taking part does not entitle you to continue in later phases, to receive the final game or to any price or reward, unless we expressly announce it.

Liability

As the alpha is free and experimental, to the extent permitted by law we are not liable for damage inherent in its test nature that you have accepted, such as loss of progress or server unavailability.

Nothing in these terms excludes or limits our liability for wilful misconduct or gross negligence, for death or personal injury, or any consumer rights that cannot be excluded by contract.

Changes, governing law and contact

We may update these terms as the alpha progresses. If the changes are significant, we will let you know by email or in the alpha channels before they apply; if you do not agree, you can stop taking part.

These terms are governed by Spanish law. If you are a consumer, you keep the protection of the mandatory rules of your country of residence and may bring claims before the courts of your place of residence.

For any question, write to admin arroba colonized.work. We publish these terms in several languages; in case of any discrepancy between versions, the Spanish version prevails.