This branch is, by its own definition, "unstable". So what is the reason for Experimental? Creative Director Brian Hicks defines it as the following (edited for clarity and formatting): However, Experimental servers are still on a separate hive, meaning character data does not carry over from the Stable branch or vice versa. However, occasionally the Experimental branch is running the exact same build as Stable, and under those rare circumstances players are able to play on any server without having to switch between versions. Servers for this branch are controlled exclusively by the development team, meaning regular users are unable to own a server that is set up for this branch, and they are operated on their own hive that is exclusive to Experimental.Ībout 99% of the time, users who have opted-in to the Experimental branch on Steam will be unable to play on Stable branch servers because they will be using incompatible versions.
Steam will automatically download any files that are necessary to change versions. Users must manually switch to this version using the game options available to them through Steam, and manually switch back to Stable if they wish to play on that version instead.
Most builds used for this branch have been previously tested for quality assurance by an internal team at the development studio as well as normal users on the game's second public branch. Though its name should make this obvious, this is the version that has been through more rigorous testing and been found to be playable for the majority of the userbase without any crippling issues. It includes all public servers in addition to all private hive and private shard servers.
There are two versions of the game available to most users at any given time, and the "normal" one intended for general consumption - the one selected by default - is referred to as the Stable branch.