Why would PS2 need an extended Beta test ?

[SpottyGekko]

Watching Highby's stream of beta play made me wonder why PS2 would need a long beta test period ?

There is no PVE and no raids/dungeons, so no NPC (AI scripts/pathing/balancing) features need to be tested and debugged.
There are no quests, so the multitude of possible bugs that themepark MMO's suffer from do not need to be found and squashed.

So it would seem to me that PS2 beta testing is all about optimizing the Forge Light engine, fine-tuning the netcode and balancing weapons and certs. Possibly the resource distribution rates also need to be balanced.

Balancing of weapons and resources will be tricky, because the balance will depend to a certain degree on the player loadings on a server. What works in the first month after launch (ultra-high population) may not work the same way later.

So I'm wondering if beta will really last more than 2 months ?

Or am I missing some important facts ?

[Hamma]

Well we have no idea how long beta will be. :D

[PaperChampion]

I forget where i saw it, but wasn't it stated that Beta was supposed to last until launch?

Edit: either Smedley or Higby's twitter.

[BlueSkies]

PS2 beta testing is all about optimizing the Forge Light engine

which could take a very long time to get it to do what they want it to do

[kidwithstick]

The longer the beta, the better the game.

Just because theres no "dungeons" and AI mobs doesnt mean theres not plenty for them to be working on right now.

[IAMDANIEL]

I forget where i saw it, but wasn't it stated that Beta was supposed to last until launch?

Edit: either Smedley or Higby's twitter.

Beta lasting untill launch.... imagine that....

[Comet]

I think it's more often than not that an FPS has a shorter beta than MMORPGs. With that being said, this is the first MMOFPS so who knows.

[Tatwi]

So I'm wondering if beta will really last more than 2 months ?

Or am I missing some important facts ?

You are missing some important facts. Enough said.

[Harasus]

There is still a lot of stuff they want to test.

[kidwithstick]

I think it's more often than not that an FPS has a shorter beta than MMORPGs. With that being said, this is the first MMOFPS so who knows.

except it isnt....

planetside?:huh:

[BlueSkies]

this is the first MMOFPS so who knows.

...

You have seen the "2" behind Planetside right? ;)

[Comet]

Sorry Blueskies, you are correct :)

Damn public school system... ;)

[Tatwi]

except it isnt....

planetside?:huh:

Except it isn't.... :rolleyes:

[WNxArachnophili]

What about all of the environment glitches? Like when you get stuck on a pebble.

[SpcFarlen]

What about all of the environment glitches? Like when you get stuck on a pebble.

Pebble is stronger than average soldier :rofl:

Core mechanics and systems are probably done but its all the small things that add up real fast, like those steroid injected pebbles.

[kidwithstick]

Except it isn't.... :rolleyes:

planetside wasnt an MMOFPS?

hmmmm....

[Boone]

I'm sure there is plenty to test. There is no need to rush seeing as it's F2P. They need to not mess it up and get people hooked soon as they log in. Only way they are going to make money, unlike the cash grabs we are used to seeing.

I can see it taking a good 3-4 months.

[moosepoop]

for mmos beta usually continues directly to launch because the online communities are already forming during beta phase.

[AThreatToYou]

There is a whole fuckton to test.

First off, Balance. Since PS2 is an exclusively PVP game, replace all the woes of PVE of scripting/quest bugs into balance issues. If the game isn't at least relatively balanced then it will not be fun.

The maps are freaking huge, and every inch of them will be fought over, so the players have to go in and get in all those nooks and crannies to keep the being stuck to a minimum.

PS2 also has to deal with being a real-time shooter, not a glorified point and click RPG. Physics, animations, model sizes, collision boxes, these things tie into balance and the like but PS2 will have much more detail in it than other MMOs... a level of detail fitting of a modern FPS, all of which deploy on a significantly smaller scale.

And then there's the technology behind PS2. It has to be tested & proven to perform the PS2 game experience or else the game just won't work.

[Tatwi]

planetside wasnt an MMOFPS?

hmmmm....

hmmm.... this is all very confusing. I thought he was saying that Planetside 2 is Planetside. In which case, from everything that I have seen/read, it isn't. Planetside 2 is its own game that is significantly different than Planetside in game play / looks / etc.

[Neurotoxin]

I can't recall if it was in a video or at community day where I heard that it isn't planned to be released this year, and since then I've heard something that says they plan to release this year.

I guess we have to refer to the Cleggometer. Is his beard at least 3" long yet?

[Sledgecrushr]

There will be quests in PS2, they are called missions. From all of the videos I have seen zero on the mission system. This might actually be a big deal.

[ThGlump]

There are tons of things that could change based on feedback. Its not only about PVE/quests. There are supposed to be 3 continents to start, yet we see only one.
And feedback. Dont forget feedback. Based on that we could see abilities changed/created new, bringing back AMS, reworking bases or whole system.
I would be disappointed if beta would be shorter than 6 months. You can really change some major stuff in shorter time.

[Boone]

There will be quests in PS2, they are called missions. From all of the videos I have seen zero on the mission system. This might actually be a big deal.

Sure, but it isn't "Kill X amount of NC players" it's more like your Outfit Leader or whatever logs on and creates them, so for example if there is a big fight at say The Crown and there is a shit load of vehicles just kicking our factions' ass. He can likely create a mission or something that goes something like "Deploy X vehicles over to The Crown for assistance".

I don't know exactly how it works, but I think that's the jist of it considering the extent of what we know.

[Rivenshield]

I've worked on several large software development projects.

I have never even *heard* of any business enterprise software going from alpha to release in less than six months. Ever.

[PeterLawford]

Anyone who doesn't think this game needs a tremendous amount of beta testing hasn't played the beta yet. As far as I'm concerned, the longer the better.

[Salidin]

Sure, but it isn't "Kill X amount of NC players" it's more like your Outfit Leader or whatever logs on and creates them, so for example if there is a big fight at say The Crown and there is a shit load of vehicles. He can likely create a mission or something that goes something like "Deploy X vehicles over to The Crown for assistance".

I don't know exactly how it works, but I think that's the jist of it considering the extent of what we know.

Various features and animations have yet to be "polished" I mean they are in BETA so they are not going "I have a remarkable idea lets revamp everything" instead they have a good base plans and have implemented them inside the game they just need to get them all ironed out.

But you also have to remember that because Planetside 2 is a free to play game with a cash shop the longer SOE takes the less potential cash they make so it is in SOE's best interest to get it to the public and most likely will use the same exact model Tribes Ascend used and possibly even the same time frame the beta lasted as well or at least similar.


So while it would be beneficial for both players and SOE to "rush" out PS2 they are not which is also beneficial for both players and SOE because they build a quality over money status drawing in more happy consumers. Not saying or even predicting that it will be perfect upon launch but it will certainly be better then the current state.

[Boone]

Anyone who doesn't think this game needs a tremendous amount of beta testing hasn't played the beta yet. As far as I'm concerned, the longer the better.

I agree with the longer the better. As I said before, they are making money off box sales so they better make sure they're game is good. None of this Diablo 3 shit.

It will also give me time and others to get our PCs up to the task. They did say release this year though...?

[Broadside]

Watching Highby's stream of beta play made me wonder why PS2 would need a long beta test period ?

There is no PVE and no raids/dungeons, so no NPC (AI scripts/pathing/balancing) features need to be tested and debugged.
There are no quests, so the multitude of possible bugs that themepark MMO's suffer from do not need to be found and squashed.

So it would seem to me that PS2 beta testing is all about optimizing the Forge Light engine, fine-tuning the netcode and balancing weapons and certs. Possibly the resource distribution rates also need to be balanced.

Balancing of weapons and resources will be tricky, because the balance will depend to a certain degree on the player loadings on a server. What works in the first month after launch (ultra-high population) may not work the same way later.

So I'm wondering if beta will really last more than 2 months ?

Or am I missing some important facts ?
Trust me, it needs it.

[Drakkonan]

No software will ever be bug-free, so prolonging beta just to find a few more collision issues (falling through rocks), or minor bugs is stupid. Beta is designed to test everything that couldn't be tested internally due to limited resources. With thousands of players, they're able to better test balance based on weapon/faction use trends, and they're able to test server stability under a full load. In general, they should be verifying that the design decisions they made earlier in development translate as intended into larger groups.

While it takes some time to find these issues, it's not as long as beta lengths suggest. Provided enough players are online consistently, it shouldn't take longer than a week or two to find 24/7 stalemate lines, overpowered weapons, bottlenecks, or anything of the like. Of course, it takes longer than a week or two to address and fix said problems.

[Salidin]

Beta is designed to test everything that couldn't be tested internally due to limited resources.

That's not what BETA is, BETA is part every game's development stage its to polish the game in general for launch aka Gold. Yes there will always be issues that is inevitable but too many issues makes you question if the development team even tried or is trying to rush it for other reasons. Only in a few circumstances does the development team need to outsource to test their product primary MP games such as PS2.

As longer SOE feels and/or is able to provide BETA for PS2 it means a better quality game at launch. Every issue big and small add up and if there wasn't an abundant amount of them we wouldn't have a beta but there is. So patience it is a virtue and everyone needs it.