Why do we get excited for beta's?

[Flacracker]

Shouldn't we be more excited for the actual release? Is it because we hopefully get to play it early? Also, why have betas become just a "play it early" thing? When was the last time a beta was used for actual QA by the players?

[AzureWatcher]

It's hard to test an MMO by using only internal testers.

You need a lot of external testers because we're good at breaking things and finding exploits. (However, it doesn't mean that it all gets reported.. :evil:)

[bjorntju1]

When was the last time a beta was used for actual QA by the players?

Next week

[Mauser101]

Because we want to play the game. Next question.

[Flacracker]

Because we want to play the game. Next question.

An unfinished version of the game? YAY!

[Sirro]

A good deal of PC based betas are legitimate tests, I would say actually 9 out of 10 CLOSED are in fact literal testing, Open is of course up in the air depending on the dev. If it's a console beta there is likely a 1 out of 4 shot it's a real beta, most developers avoid real tests on consoles because people seem to not get testing.

Look at Battlefield 3 and how much people freaked out, even though the devs said it was a much older build than the launch build. It doesn't help that they need certifications to release on consoles so its always behind, it costs much more money and harder to hotfix.

I am grateful to have a good pc to run every game at a good rate on the market, no need to settle for consoles and deal with the first party nonsense.

[VaderShake]

Shouldn't we be more excited for the actual release? Is it because we hopefully get to play it early? Also, why have betas become just a "play it early" thing? When was the last time a beta was used for actual QA by the players?


Beta's have always been part of the release process so this is just a step closer and an opportunity to kick the tires.

In the case of PS2 being a free-2-play MMO, the beta basically is the release in my opinion, when the final product goes live it will just be like hitting reset with some new features or some missing.

I just want my dam hands on the thing ASAP!!:doh:

[Xyntech]

I'm mostly excited about beta because I want to see PS2 go from an awesome idea to an incredible game, and maybe in some small way help contribute to the process.

I always regretted not having been in the PS1 beta, and I kind of feel like PS2 will make up for that a little. Beyond being part of the experience, seeing new tactics emerge for the first time and all of that, it's just cool to be able to say you were there.

But I'm much more excited for the eventual full release for the average player. That's going to be when the real fun starts.

[VaderShake]

Look at Battlefield 3 and how much people freaked out, even though the devs said it was a much older build than the launch build.


People freaked with the BF3 beta because it confirmed the fears of the BF vets that they raped the gameplay and "lowered the threshold" by way to much. Which was evident in the final product.

All previous BF titles = 10,000+ hours of gamplay combined.

BF3 = 120 hours and have not played it for almost 2 months.

Focused soley on PS2......

[MacXXcaM]

Is it because we hopefully get to play it early?

That's pretty much it...

[Raymac]

1. I can't wait to get my grubby little hands on this game that I've been dreaming about for years.
2. I'm such a fan of the franchise, I'm looking forward to doing my small part in helping fine tune the game.

[JoeDragon]

For me it's only partly that I want to play the game. The biggest draw of Beta for me is that I can say a few years from now... "Hey I was here since Beta, and I helped refine the game in to what it is today."

Unfortunately though I've beta tested for probably 30 games now, NONE of them have retained much of a player base, or just flat out failed and were shut down. (Or were just Expansions for existing games) Not to raise anyone's E-peen, but I actually have a bit of respect for the people who have been playing since Planetside 1 Beta.

[BlueSkies]

Its a chance to bugfix and stress the servers when no one has anything on the line because its beta. Even if you are just "playing early", the beta client you install is packed with debugging code, so you are helping like it or not :p

[Rivenshield]

I'm not really part of the gaming crowd, so I could give a shit less about betas in general. The last release I got even mildly excited for was SWG, and we all know how that turned out.

But any game that causes me to still remember individual battles almost a decade on, that has a dev team that let's us badger them into getting the guy to write the music we want and that produces promo videos promising us (in precisely these words) GIANT ASS VEHICLE BATTLES.... yeah, I like being on the inside track. I like being able to see and feel and smell it before the general public, and perhaps even influence it in a positive way.

*THIS* beta is different. And you know it.

[Zapalot]

Because we want to play the game. Next question.

This. And to increase the hype :)

[Ruffdog]

Because of the chance to break shit. Shit like vanguards and magriders. But seriously it's exciting to be able to help the devs because they are cool mfs to us and when I played ps1 in its heyday with poplocks and no biffers my pc was shit. With ps2 I'm goin to town

[SFJake]

I don't see whats less exciting about playing the beta or the release.

I can play the game.

Its still the game.

Why should I not be interested in the beta? Not getting the base logic here at all.

[Timealude]

I dont know about everyone else here but when i play betas i always report things and give feedback, its only fair since they let you into the game early. I also deeply care about planetside and you better believe I will report every bug I find.

[dafuq]

why do i get excited?

because devs decide to hype it up like shit

[Flaropri]

Shouldn't we be more excited for the actual release? Is it because we hopefully get to play it early? Also, why have betas become just a "play it early" thing? When was the last time a beta was used for actual QA by the players?

Both WoW and LoL actually use the feedback from players during open betas to improve their process. Minecraft obviously had a huge amount of QA and improvements to the game from the players during it's process.

While many "betas" are basically pre-release demos or ways to hype it we can't be certain that they don't at least look at some of the bugs that may be reported.


In any event, the reason people are excited is because we want to play the game, even if it is a bit buggy or imbalanced. Some of us ALSO want to check on certain things, and provide feedback if they look like they actually are problematic.

For example, you have several long threads about vehicles, weapons, and other things most of which require real in-game knowledge to get an idea of whether or not the things people are worried about are things they actually need to be worried about. There's a thread providing a suggestion to go against the "LA's are weak!" complaints... but even if those complaints exist they aren't justified because no one knows what the heck they are talking about because beta (and the balance patches that launch with it) don't exist even if they have played in E3 or Tech.


Others still might just want to practice with certain mechanics or tactics so they will be familiar with them by launch and have a (possibly mistaken) idea of how well it'll work out in live.

[derito]

Tribes : Ascend (closed) beta was an actual beta. They made some fundamental changes such as the removal of hitscan from most weapons or the shift from fixed classes to the loadout system.

[Drakkonan]

I never really understood it, especially for RPGs like Guild Wars. When I play a game for the first time, I want it to be both finished, and fresh.

Planetside's the first game I've really felt compelled to test, because it looks like there's a lot of stuff that needs to be changed. That, and just getting more people playing the game (regardless of whether or not they're testing), actually helps get metrics on server performance, unlike a game like Battlefield 3. That being said, I still can't bring myself to test software for free, and at the same time ruin the feeling of those first few footsteps into the world.

I really hope they limit testers freedom during the early stages of beta. Testers should be forced to test what they should be testing.

Edit: Even better; Require testers to submit at least one ticket per week or revoke their access to beta.

[Braveliltoaster]

http://assets.diylol.com/hfs/ddc/5d7/037/resized/beta-meme-generator-this-is-beta-12d73b.jpg?1329938405.jpg

http://qkme.me/3q9no4

[Littleman]

I really hope they limit testers freedom during the early stages of beta. Testers should be forced to test what they should be testing.

Edit: Even better; Require testers to submit at least one ticket per week or revoke their access to beta.

I wouldn't count on too many restrictions. MMO's live and die by player numbers. Planetside is especially reliant on player numbers, their existence being the only thing that makes Planetside actually work. Too strict, too often, and the testers might not log on in the numbers SOE requires. By and large, most of our time will likely be spent simply playing the game, and while they hope to get something meaningful out of us, they can't really demand it, and so that's what they'll both expect and accept typical player behavior. The turn-over rate would be astronomical otherwise.

Also, another reason for allowing us to play normally often is because after they tweak for example the aircraft following say, an empire specific aircraft only period of testing, they will need to see how well those aircraft mesh with the entire game overall.

[OnexBigxHebrew]

I want to be in the beta so when planetside 3 comes out I can tell newcomers that I deserve to get in before them because I played PS2 all the way back from closed beta!:rofl:


Just playin guys :p I think beta tests are a great way to have the mutual goals of the developers(testing, bug squashing) and players (getting an early look, giving input) met simultaneously before a full release.

[HeatLegend]

Shouldn't we be more excited for the actual release? Is it because we hopefully get to play it early? Also, why have betas become just a "play it early" thing? When was the last time a beta was used for actual QA by the players?

Put shortly: We get excited because we will get to play it. We -Are- more excited for the actual release; You can be existed over two things at once.

[Envenom]

Shouldn't we be more excited for the actual release? Is it because we hopefully get to play it early? Also, why have betas become just a "play it early" thing? When was the last time a beta was used for actual QA by the players?

Bro, if you're not excited and don't want to play by all means get to the back of the line.

[rTekku]

Shouldn't we be more excited for the actual release? Is it because we hopefully get to play it early? Also, why have betas become just a "play it early" thing? When was the last time a beta was used for actual QA by the players?

There's actually a lot of good feedback that players give developers during betas. We gave a ton of feedback to Blizzard for the D3 beta even though they ignored most of it. Guild Wars 2 had people giving a lot of feedback as well. I think everyone looks at what happened with Battlefield 3 and assumes people are treating it more like a demo than anything else.

[FOG SMoss]

Because Beta's are great ways to see the game in its current form and progress into the full release version. Also for many its a completely new game style.

I've only played CoD and BF series so a full all out war of 2000 players per map interests me a lot and the whole concept of the game is very appealing. If I like the game i'll be sure to recommend it to all the people I regularly game with as the more the merrier.

[vVRedOctoberVv]

Because we're nerds?

And betas ARE used for Q&A. At least when the developers are smart and listen to their testers.

[Lonehunter]

Most betas are just an early access thing to players, not much testing.

But Planetside 2 is THE MOST UNIQUE MMO ON THE MARKET.

Before it there has been only 1, (arguably 2 or 3) MMOFPSs in the world. One of them being PS1. Because of this it's only a smart decision to invite the only group of people who have experience with this kind of game, PS1 vets, into beta.

This game is for everyone, but only PS1 vets truly understand how epic an MMOFPS can be. We feel like this game is being designed for us, have been waiting for this game for a few years now, and are the best group of people to make sure the game actually gets tested.

[Papscal]

Because we want to play the game. Next question.

Simple backed with facts, i like it. Something to be learned here mr op.