It didn't crash during Gamescom. That was 3.0 being played.
Hang on, yes it did. Did you not watch Chris Robert's presentation - it was hilarious.
Not sure why you'll need a huge graphics card to load a procedural planetary body. It's not rendering anything beyond your vision. We'll find out soon enough.
All the show floor computers had GTX 1080s if memory serves, god knows how much RAM. But yes, we should find out soon.
Where is the alpha? Are you being silly? AC, PU, Star Marine etc. Alpha.
OK, using the definitions for generic software development then there's an argument that we're in alpha. But games development is sort of it's own thing and looking at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_development#AlphaFirst playable
The first playable is the game version containing representative gameplay and assets,[149] this is the first version with functional major gameplay elements.[150] It is often based on the prototype created in pre-production.[151] Alpha and first playable are sometimes used to refer to a single milestone, however large projects require first playable before feature complete alpha.[150] First playable occurs 12 to 18 months before code release. It is sometimes referred to as the "Pre-Alpha" stage.[153]
Alpha
Alpha is the stage when key gameplay functionality is implemented, and assets are partially finished.[153] A game in alpha is feature complete, that is, game is playable and contains all the major features.[154] These features may be further revised based on testing and feedback.[153] Additional small, new features may be added, similarly planned, but unimplemented features may be dropped.[154] Programmers focus mainly on finishing the codebase, rather than implementing additions.[152] Alpha occurs eight to ten months before code release,[153] but this can vary significantly based on the scope of content and assets any given game has.
I'd argue that we're in pre-Alpha stage (after $160 million and 5 years). But, let's see what others think.