Internal beta

[Arshune]

Well since PS has fewer things in it to actually test out, I don't think it'll require as long a beta as an RPG will...in fact, I'll be really surprised if they don't meet their Q1 deadline, from the sounds of that shoutcast the game just needs a stresstest and some playbalancing aside from the usual bug hunt. My official guess is 3-4 weeks selective beta for miscellaneous testing, 1-2 weeks open to test the server capabilities. At least, that's all they could fit in and still meet the end of March for a release.

[Sputty]

Heh, I think they won't have the probs near SWG's. PS is going to have to struggle to be out before SWG or they might jsut decide to wait another month or two. It COULD go like that. They'd have reasons to do that

[Arshune]

Also, SWG was destined to be a disappointment in everyone's eyes for two reasons:

1.) Being a jedi is supposed to be next to impossible. That's gonna be a major downer to the MILLIONS OF FANS who want to be jedi.
2.) Only one character per account.

I know people who play MMORPGs, I myself have played MMORPGs, and if someone has a high level character, they start a new one and then "twink" from their high level old one. That's the way it is, that's the way it always has been, and that's the way it will most likely continue to be. That's what keeps them playing. If they have to delete their old character to start a new one, the game runs out of things to do FAR FAR FAR quicker. That, and every other Star Wars game sucks butt, and the last one I heard of was Jedi Knight 2, which was good...so the suckage is incoming.

[Sputty]

There's been a few SW games betweek JK2 and SWG.

[Arshune]

Also, let's not forget that SWG and PS cater to different audiences and won't really be in direct competition to each other except with the younger crowd that only has enough for one game every 3 or 4 months.

[Yogi]

Originally posted by Arshune
For the first stages of beta, they're almost definitely going to pick people with:

1.) LOTS of time to play (harder than hardcore gamers)
2.) People who actually know they're s'posed to test the game, not just play it
3.) Computers that are most likely to be supported by the code (not one with really obscure components that require special support)

At least, that's what one would logically expect. I doubt they'd play favorites, if it got out and was confirmed, people would probably throw a HUGE tantrum. Now, whether or not prominent PS community members fit those criteria or not is another story altogether...

For the T2 beta, those who sent the good folks at Dynamix beer got in first, as well as the good fan site people.

[mistled]

I personnally think that the first round of beta testers should be hand picked from the community. Hamma, CrazyMike, RocketFodder and the like should all get in. It would be nice if they pulled the very active members from the OFs and from the forums here at PSU also (especially since I have two l33t whores in my clan ).

Hell, if I was a dev and you sent me beer, I'd let you in. That's just how the first round goes. The initial round of beta testers should be people who have been pushing the game and people who just happen to be in good with the devs. That's life. People should realize that.

[Derfud]

Originally posted by {BOHICA}mistled
I personnally think that the first round of beta testers should be hand picked from the community. Hamma, CrazyMike, RocketFodder and the like should all get in.

Hamma is already in.

[Arshune]

I really fail to see how being in the first beta would be a good thing...that's more like unpaid labor than a tip of the hat. It's mostly doing exactly what they tell you to when they tell you to and very little actual play.

[Yogi]

Originally posted by Arshune
I really fail to see how being in the first beta would be a good thing...that's more like unpaid labor than a tip of the hat. It's mostly doing exactly what they tell you to when they tell you to and very little actual play.

That's how a lot of beta's are run. They want to test specific things to make sure they didn't miss anything in the early stages. Then open it up to more play oriented stuff to see how everything is on a large scale.

[Kyonye]

i couldn't give a crap about beta. you want in, have fun trying. as long as the game comes out as planned, i'm happy.

[LesserShade]

the open beta for load testing will be where it's at.

[Hamma]

Dave has stated many times that there will be no "favortism"

It's well known however that members of the media often get in on beta testing. (just about any game)

[Yogi]

Originally posted by Hamma
Dave has stated many times that there will be no "favortism"

It's well known however that members of the media often get in on beta testing. (just about any game)

I hope so

I wouldn't blame Dave for auto-filtering me because I'm from Tribalwar

"Oh look, a @tribalwar.com email address *delete*"

[Hamma]