Beta to start Monday/Tuesday

[Sephirex]

Originally Posted by Rivenshield

What's the average for a MMORPG? I freely admit I don't know. Never worked on a game; I['m simply comparing it to the large-scale business enterprise system-thingies.

I'm more than willing to be proven wrong. I just don't see it happening that fast, is all.

This is where it gets tricky. This isn't an MMORPG. It's an MMOFPS. There's nothing really available to compare it to, but generally FPS's have a shorter Beta rate, since there isn't content tiers to worry about.

[IgloGlass]

Originally Posted by Rivenshield

I must have missed the memo. Their web site says:

WHAT IS THE BUSINESS MODEL FOR PLANETSIDE 2?
A:We will have more information on this in the months ahead. Sign up to receive our email updates and like us on Facebook to be in the know.

Free to play simply means they won't charge a subscription fee, so far as I know.


What's the average for a MMORPG? I freely admit I don't know. Never worked on a game; I['m simply comparing it to the large-scale business enterprise system-thingies.

I'm more than willing to be proven wrong. I just don't see it happening that fast, is all.

Sigh. The website isn't up to date at all, they don't even feature the different classes or anything! Suppose they will when open beta starts but now we'll just have to deal with it. The game will be completely free to play, akin to League of Legends, everything that is associated with gameplay will be possible to aquire without spending a single dime. However cosmetic items and boosters will be available for Station Cash, which is bought with real money.

I believe there is no set average for how long the beta usually lasts, it has so much to do with wether the publisher feels the need to release the game immediately or not I think. For example, the Mists of Pandaria beta has been going on forever and it's either going to be awesome or Blizzard is seriously slacking. That or waiting for the right time to release the expansion - might not be the best idea to release it during summer.

So to summarize.. TL;DR
Website is not up to date, watch videos for accurate information on the game and the beta will last for as long as the developers feel it should last, though the game is set for release (probably) this year according to Creative Director Matt Higby so even if it's a holiday release we are probably not looking at the beta lasting for longer than four months.

[Emperor]

Originally Posted by Rivenshield

What's the average for a MMORPG? I freely admit I don't know. Never worked on a game; I['m simply comparing it to the large-scale business enterprise system-thingies.

It varies. Some MMOs have drawn out betas that can last a month, even more. Some have a beta that lasts a week, stops, they release another beta build; rinse and repeat.

As Sephirex said, FPS betas are generally short, if there even is one.

[Rivenshield]

Originally Posted by Sephirex

This is where it gets tricky. This isn't an MMORPG. It's an MMOFPS. There's nothing really available to compare it to

Yeah... but a MMORPG is the only game of comparable *scale.* And look at what laggy clusterhumps most 'raids' are in games like Everquest 2, which involve relatively few combatants. PS2 is attempting to scrape a third or more of the pop of an entire server and potentially have them all within eyeshot of each other, each running around doing their own murderous thing. That's an awfully tall order.

Ah well. We'll all find out in Higby's good time.

[Sephirex]

Originally Posted by Rivenshield

Yeah... but a MMORPG is the only game of comparable *scale.* And look at what laggy clusterhumps most 'raids' are in games like Everquest 2, which involve relatively few combatants. PS2 is attempting to scrape a third or more of the pop of an entire server and potentially have them all shooting at each other within eyeshot of each other. That's an awfully tall order.

Ah well. We'll all find out in Higby's good time.

The server's are handling the load just fine, but the clients are having difficulty. MMORPG's spend most of their time in Beta due to balancing problems and broken triggers. Optimization isn't the biggest time sink in MMORPG Beta development, but they don't even try for this kind of scale.

There's just really no way to guess.

[Grimster]

Awesome, hope they are able to keep the schedule.

[Dreamcast]

So are they done sending emails or are they still sending emails, all this week?

[IgloGlass]

Originally Posted by Dreamcast

So are they done sending emails or are they still sending emails, all this week?

Smedley said that they might but no one knows.

[Envenom]

Originally Posted by Rivenshield

I must have missed the memo. Their web site says:

WHAT IS THE BUSINESS MODEL FOR PLANETSIDE 2?
A:We will have more information on this in the months ahead. Sign up to receive our email updates and like us on Facebook to be in the know.

Free to play simply means they won't charge a subscription fee, so far as I know.

lol. It's be stated over and over and over that the game is free. The website FAQ is out of date.

[VSENSES]

Originally Posted by Rivenshield

/shakes head

..
I'm telling you, I've done software development for HP and the state of California and places like that... and you do NOT go from alpha to release that quickly in the real world. The best we can realistically hope for is a Christmas release. More likely is March-April, which would correspond to the fiscal year most businesses use. About the time Smed and his peers sit down to haggle over departmental budgets, he can hit them up for some more ad dollars, because hey! PS2 is going LIIIIIIVE!

If I'm wrong, you can fax me a punch in the nose and remind me of what I said, and I will apologize profusely and go back to squashing smurfs instead of filing bug reports.

I'm just here for the faxed punch offer
Last summer BF3 were in alpha, then They had a short beta and then release less than 3 months later... So indeed this happen.

[Simokon]

So when is Beta? :P

I kid, please don't beat me!

[Kitsune]

Originally Posted by Simokon

So when is Beta? :P

I kid, please don't beat me!

*flies a galaxy into Simokon and gently falls onto the ground next to his burning corpse.*

Hope yall have fun with beta though

[haticK]

Mists of Pandaria just got a release date for September 25. That game has been in beta since March. If a game like that only needs 6 months I doubt PS2 will take longer.

[Revanmug]

Originally Posted by VSENSES

I'm just here for the faxed punch offer
Last summer BF3 were in alpha, then They had a short beta and then release less than 3 months later... So indeed this happen.

Please don't take BF3 as an example... That game SHOULD have been in beta for alot longer.
Rushed game is rush.

My biggest question about PS2 is if they intend to open the cash shop toward the end of their beta (and so not db reset) because at that point, it is pretty much release even though they consider it a beta.

They could of course just give back the SOE credit so you can spend it back but that sound like trouble for very little.

[WiteBeam]

Originally Posted by Revanmug

Please don't take BF3 as an example... That game SHOULD have been in beta for alot longer.
Rushed game is rush.

My biggest question about PS2 is if they intend to open the cash shop toward the end of their beta (and so not db reset) because at that point, it is pretty much release even though they consider it a beta.

They could of course just give back the SOE credit so you can spend it back but that sound like trouble for very little.

I doubt they would reset anything. Come the end of open beta, the game will roll right into being released. People will keep what they have bought and what they have accomplished in the game.