How long will the beta be?

[Salad Snake]

And will people who simply signed up on the website have a shot of making it into beta before it closes?

Also, sorry if this has been made before but my search-fu was not strong enough to find a similar thread...

[haticK]

Probably close to the release. Eventually it will go into open beta.

[Oh Good Gwief]

Until the game is released.

[Salad Snake]

Ah I see, thanks for the prompt reply.

[Midgard]

Months.

[adddemon]

my wild and unfounded speculation is, since its going open beta in October, and considering the beta delay of several months.... probably late January, since they will try and push the holiday season, miss, and reach a January release instead, which is actually pretty common for games.

[Fatgun]

my wild and unfounded speculation is, since its going open beta in October, and considering the beta delay of several months.... probably late January, since they will try and push the holiday season, miss, and reach a January release instead, which is actually pretty common for games.

Except this is a free to play game and normal marketing tactics don't apply. I'm estimating a late November or early December release.

[Maarvy]

[----------------------------]

this long

[Littleman]

Since beta is looking more to be about balance testing (it's why they want MASSIVE numbers of people in ASAP) and less so about bug hunting and PC compatibility - something they've arguably got pretty well handled with the tech test - I think we can count on a release this year.

Not that open beta on an F2P basically amounts to release anyway...

[opticalshadow]

smedley stated during the AmA that beta will last as long as it needs to.

[Salad Snake]

Not that open beta on an F2P basically amounts to release anyway...

Hmm, in most way yes, but wouldn't they scrub people's accounts right before the "real" release? I would suppose they'd exclude anything bought with cash money or alternatively refund the amount so they can re-buy it.

[Hamma]

I hope it lasts till it's done and 100% ready for prime time. To many companies make the mistake of rushing it, hopefully they live up to their word and take their time on beta.

[windlord]

Well I've been waiting a loooong time now, like many other folk. It'll happen when it happens...

Personally I've not been too pleased with the opportunities for obtaining beta keys for antipodeans. I've missed most of the chances simply by sleeping at the wrong time of the day.

Soo I hope it's not longer than a month, simply in terms of me trying to estimate how much patience I have left...

Gosh I sound intemperate.

[RawketLawnchair]

[----------------------------]

this long

That is a pretty accurate guess, but I'd say it would be more like

[--------------------------------]
as opposed to
[----------------------------]




if the dashes were weeks. :D

[Sephirex]

That is a pretty accurate guess, but I'd say it would be more like

[--------------------------------]
as opposed to
[----------------------------]




if the dashes were weeks. :D

Pretty close.

I'm thinking its about this long,

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7bj6iQ9MDyM/SkmAq0gayPI/AAAAAAAAFXA/Wd0UFo7ac2Y/s400/this_big.jpg

[Liwen Diamond]

If my estimate of SOE's developpement ressources and efficiency is accurate and the alpha footage shown at E3 is a viable snapshot of the current stage of developpement of the game at the time, I'd say 3 to 4 months.* Most of the game bugs proper have been squashed, most of the graphics assets are done, most of the features they wanted for launch are included, the biggest and perhaps hardest of challenges in left to overcome however : Making the game stable at performing at 100% under of the strain of thousands simultenously playing. And THAT, I predict, will take a solid 3-4 months.

*This expert opinion as been provided to you by Liwen Diamond, a 23 years old gamer with zero insider experience in the buisness of developping video games and no access to any concrete information regarding the game developping studios known as SOE outside of "Must have around 300-400 ish veterans of the industry working in there, with maybe 250 of them actually developping games of the rest being administration, PR and marketing." This opinion as thus, on a scale of 1 to 10, an approximate value of 0.

[SpottyGekko]

Of course, the phrase "it's done when it's done" is just a myth. No commercial product development team has an infinite budget.

SOE have their internal deadlines, I'm sure. There will be some flexibility in that deadline, but they will try their best to meet it.

[megamold]

Of course, the phrase "it's done when it's done" is just a myth. No commercial product development team has an infinite budget.

SOE have their internal deadlines, I'm sure. There will be some flexibility in that deadline, but they will try their best to meet it.

but what if they were to implement the store and stuff say a month into beta ? that would mean the game would be making money in only slighty smaller amounts then at launch, thus giving them the cash and drive to continue the beta as long as needed.

if im not mistaken several other f2p titles have done this, we just have to remember that the process for making a f2p is different from making a classic mmo or boxed title.

[sagolsun]

It'll be in beta until the developers consider the game balanced enough.

Beta is the time when developers can freely wipe zones, screw around with game balance, switch player factions, add and remove features as seen fit.

The beta will last until the numbers balance out and the game is reasonably well balanced and the dev team can get an idea of how all the systems work together on a large scale from a bird's eye view.

PS2 is an ambitious undertaking and the only competition is PS1, really, so there's little in way of industry standard to go against. You throw stuff on the wall and see what sticks. Hence the beta will be longer than in other games.

[Dart]

I know what SOE have said but I'd be surprised if beta was LESS than 6 months. NDA doesn't permit me to tell you guys why just yet but I think the 3-4 month timeline is overly optimistic.

[Sunrock]

Of course, the phrase "it's done when it's done" is just a myth. No commercial product development team has an infinite budget.

SOE have their internal deadlines, I'm sure. There will be some flexibility in that deadline, but they will try their best to meet it.

Agree. But one could only wish :brow:

[Littleman]

but what if they were to implement the store and stuff say a month into beta ? that would mean the game would be making money in only slighty smaller amounts then at launch, thus giving them the cash and drive to continue the beta as long as needed.

if im not mistaken several other f2p titles have done this, we just have to remember that the process for making a f2p is different from making a classic mmo or boxed title.

Even with an income, at some point calling it a beta is just a free pass for them to make sweeping changes that they couldn't get away with at release, like wipes. As time goes on, only the most gullible fools will continue to take the developers word for it, and the rest will wonder when the wipes will freaking end.

I don't think the beta will truly last so long. I can see delays into spring of next year, but I can't see this thing taking a year, not for balance. "Balance" will fluctuate from day to day simply because people may eventually find the scissors to the paper that was constantly defeating the rock which made scissors look pretty useless at the start. Also, introducing new content can lead to imbalances. We can't really expect there to be no new content updates post launch, can we?

So basically, stress testing server loads and balancing weapons and vehicles. Those are the primary purposes of this beta. Thinking this will work out like other betas is kind of short-sighted: those other betas don't concern themselves with 2000 players on a single map. SOE will have gotten a bulk of the "small time" testing done already.

[Dart]

SOE will have gotten a bulk of the "small time" testing done already.

Sorry man but this is not the case... You might think it would be - in fact I'd probably have agreed with you before the tech test - but it isn't.

[Littleman]

Sorry man but this is not the case... You might think it would be - in fact I'd probably have agreed with you before the tech test - but it isn't.

You can't make this claim until AFTER the beta client is on everyone's hard drive. It's not going to be the tech test client. What do you think the delay was for?

[sagolsun]

Even with an income, at some point calling it a beta is just a free pass for them to make sweeping changes that they couldn't get away with at release, like wipes. As time goes on, only the most gullible fools will continue to take the developers word for it, and the rest will wonder when the wipes will freaking end.

Correct. We can expect wipes of player progression, side swaps, forced weapon usage, "TANK ONLY WEEKEND" or whatever. Players who coughed up cash for premium features would feel cheated and complain. Even if you'd put a giant <blink><marque>disclamer upfront.</blink>

A better way of getting a feel of the premium market would be to randomly give out credits for free to some players and see what they buy. Maybe even use that as an incentive, if they can be bothered setting such a system up.

[Dart]

You can't make this claim until AFTER the beta client is on everyone's hard drive. It's not going to be the tech test client. What do you think the delay was for?

I can't tell you what the delay was for. Just bear this conversation in mind while you're playing later.

[Littleman]

I can't tell you what the delay was for. Just bear this conversation in mind while you're playing later.

Oh yes... because they've been keeping the tech testers WELL informed on the major issues that would cause the beta to last much longer than 4 months :rolleyes:

I'd actually be concerned if it took them that long to handle something they've known about since the tech test.

[Piper]

I can't tell you what the delay was for.

Smedley wanted to do some accounting in the style of the Count from Sesame street?

[Dart]

Oh yes... because they've been keeping the tech testers WELL informed on the major issues that would cause the beta to last much longer than 4 months :rolleyes:

I'd actually be concerned if it took them that long to handle something they've known about since the tech test.

Play the game - then feel free to PM me on the OF. Until then you can't possibly know what you're talking about.

[LampShade]

The Call of Duty 4 Beta lasted about 2-3 months. C&C Red alert 3 beta lasted around 4 months... But seeing as Planetside 2 is way more complicated than both of those games, I would assume 3 months would be a BARE MINIMUM.... probably 5++ months is realistic unless they decide to put a few big things off on later updates in order to release sooner. Bug fixing in MMO's is very difficult compared to a normal FPS or a RTS.

[feuerdog]

I would think that SOE would want to get the game ready for the holiday season, but that may be too soon.

The core mechanics will be fairly stablized from the tech test I'd hope, but there are still tons of things to test and balance.

There will still be core mechanics issues that will pop-up.
There will be alot more testing and polishing on the server side as the numbers of players saturate the beta.
There will be plenty of technical issues as people with older, newer, and different PC configurations enter the beta.
The sheer number of beta players involved in the next few days will highlight a bunch of issues that have not been present yet, or somehow overlooked.
They want 3 continents worth of content ready for release and I don't think anyone seen any real testing on the other continents.
After all that is sorted, there will still be issues related to basic game balance to adjust. Weapons, vehicles, certs, controls, interfaces, resources, timers, speeds, etc, etc.

My guess,....we are looking at a 1st quarter 2013 release at the earliest.

BUT, it all depends on how well the beta testing progresses. I'm pretty sure there is some wiggle room involved with projected release dates and the finalization processes.

[igster]

Agree with the posts about it being a longer beta period than the other games mentioned.

We should thank the devs that we are going to get our hands on the game really early. They have been working their socks off.

A bit too much expectation is being put on the beta with people saying stuff like they want to take a week off to play it.
- It's not the release
- The servers won't be up 24/7
- There are likely to be very rough edges and big old hairy bugs
- There will be major features not in the game
- There will be character wipes and server crashes
- Balance will be off

We should not be seeing it as a release of the game and the end of PS1 but we should see it as a chance to provide loads of feedback to make the game absolutely awesome when it really does come to being released.
- We will get to see for real how much amazing work has been done so far
- How the devs have looked to make changes to the gameplay and whether they are working
- Constructive criticism should be given (feedback will drive the improvements)
- We'll start to get much better feedback on the gameplay elements now full outfit squads will be in the beta now (<<< This is the biggest thing about the beta imo)

The tech test software and the beta software will be almost the same version.. development rarely has multiple 'branches' and with the number of bug fixes and improvements the devs will be making I expect that the last tech test build and the beta build they let people into tonight is likely to be the same version if the last tech test build was stable and didnt crash a lot.

(The last thing they would want to do is to change the software a lot and let a lot of people into the beta at the same time)


Looking forward to seeing you all in the beta tonight!!!
VS Werner R gonna rock the beta!! :)
/excited!!

[AlexCool]

2 months ... surely

[frunction]

When you can buy HATS

[wasdie]

As long as it needs to be.

Unlike a retail game, they can start making money off of the game in beta with the cash shop. The launch of a F2P game is very ambiguous.

Once it hits open beta, it's pretty much released.

[Valtasar]

But how many people will be able yo participate in the closrd beta?

[SavageB]

I can see the beta lasting for a long time.

[Astrok]

But how many people will be able yo participate in the closrd beta?

it gos as followed.

1.subbed ps1 players.
2.players that ever had a sub for ps1
3.people with pcgamer/twitter keys
4.everyone that signed up for beta

so in short everyone that pressed the sign up for beta will get in .

[Salad Snake]

so in short everyone that pressed the sign up for beta will get in .

Heh, well that was the answer I was looking for most. Don't mind waiting a while though considering there's a lot of real work to be done by the devs AND testers when we get in. Having been in a closed beta before I hold no illusions that this is a glorified demo like BF3.

[Baneblade]

Beta will be as short as possible. There is no money in Beta.

[Snipefrag]

Beta will be for a long time, 4, 5 or 6 months. They want three continents (only 1 is anywhere near ready), certs, command structure, a solid framework, cash shop.. loads of other stuff which is nowhere near ready. Don't set yourselves up to be disappointed by expecting it this side of Christmas. Let them take their time, work with them in beta and make the game as good as possible for release.

[megamold]

Beta will be for a long time, 4, 5 or 6 months. They want three continents (only 1 is anywhere near ready), certs, command structure, a solid framework, cash shop.. loads of other stuff which is nowhere near ready. Don't set yourselves up to be disappointed by expecting it this side of Christmas. Let them take their time, work with them in beta and make the game as good as possible for release.

i could be wrong here , but i tought esamir was pretty much ready also ?

i think they want to give us 2 cont's for beta ( indar and esamir ) and keep the 3rd one for when they decide to launch.

[Piper]

i think they want to give us 2 cont's for beta ( indar and esamir ) and keep the 3rd one for when they decide to launch.

Be surprised if they didn't get all three into beta at some point, they'd like people crawling over every last square inch looking for geometry/sticking bugs if nothing else I'd imagine.

[Snipefrag]

i could be wrong here , but i tought esamir was pretty much ready also ?

i think they want to give us 2 cont's for beta ( indar and esamir ) and keep the 3rd one for when they decide to launch.

I might be wrong but I believe Amerish is coming first and then Esamir. They will have to thoroughly play test each continent if they want 3 for release, that will have to happen in beta. The only thing i have to base my judgement that they arn't near ready is we haven't seen any ingame shots of either of those continents.. or even any indication from the devs that they are coming anytime soon.

[megamold]

Be surprised if they didn't get all three into beta at some point, they'd like people crawling over every last square inch looking for geometry/sticking bugs if nothing else I'd imagine.

i dont think so actually since we know for a fact lots more continent are coming after the first 3, i doubt they will do a beta for every new cont they decide to release.

and some small map errors are not that damaging to the game as say a CTD bug or something like that.

but we will see soon enough i geuss :)

[Piper]

i dont think so actually since we know for a fact lots more continent are coming after the first 3, i doubt they will do a beta for every new cont they decide to release.


Test server. :) I would imagine there will be one post launch. Most MMO games, have/had them, though maybe that's a subscription era hangover I have again?

[Marinealver]

Well I loged on but now all the servers are locked. Sorry but in the Japan timezone. I hope it wasn't only for a few hours because it seems like had to work the entire time it was on.

[Piper]

Well I loged on but now all the servers are locked. Sorry but in the Japan timezone. I hope it wasn't only for a few hours because it seems like had to work the entire time it was on.


Check the other threads, the beta servers never opened yesterday. Expected open time is er...10am PST today. 6pm BST. 7pm CET. I've no idea about Japan I'm afraid. :p

[megamold]

Test server. :) I would imagine there will be one post launch. Most MMO games, have/had them, though maybe that's a subscription era hangover I have again?

true, didnt think about that option :)