So other companies don't announce Beta dates?

[Anderz]

Originally Posted by RadarX

Could I point out that they actually started talking about Beta timeframes back in March?

http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03...-beta-in-summ/

You can, but only if I can point out that actual beta keys for Planetside 2 were being handed out in February:

http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/02/15/pc...tside-2-cover/

[RadarX]

Originally Posted by Shocktor

I had forgotten about this... well played RadarX, well played. They gave ambiguous dates -- and still missed the target! So, back to your original point as to why companies don't announce Beta dates.......

And as for the second thing you said: Sooner than we think?? I was thinking we would get invites today... so it's going to be sooner than that?

Wish I could comment more on dates. I really do and we know how badly everyone is clamoring for this. As we've said Technical Beta will be first and very tiny just to make sure everything is working. It won't be a lengthy time period before we start bringing in folks in waves.

[Shocktor]

Originally Posted by Anderz

You can, but only if I can point out that actual beta keys for Planetside 2 were being handed out in February:

http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/02/15/pc...tside-2-cover/

That's about when End of Nations started handing out keys... maybe they are on similar development schedules? (two completely different companies and game-types) Their closed beta starts in two weeks.......

[Krawanan]

Originally Posted by RadarX

Could I point out that they actually started talking about Beta timeframes back in March?

http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03...-beta-in-summ/



Unfortunately almost all of this is inaccurate I'm afraid. We'll certainly provide information when we can about it. It's sooner than most people believe.

I love hearing from you,

but let me mention that higby said the exact same thing, lik 1,5 month ago xD

I understand you guys are getting pretty tired of people whining for beta, but the wait is just such a drag

[RadarX]

Originally Posted by Anderz

You can, but only if I can point out that actual beta keys for Planetside 2 were being handed out in February:

http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/02/15/pc...tside-2-cover/

Can I point out they started giving away Beta keys in 2010? Just Google "end of nations beta key giveaway."

Look what this is? Is a marketing tactic and a VERY effective one. It's also extremely abnormal for how Beta's work with online games. I wish these guys luck (I've worked with a few of them in the past) and I'm very excited for their game. This is not how PlanetSide 2 is going to do it's Beta.

[Night]

Poof...

[Anderz]

Originally Posted by RadarX

Wish I could comment more on dates. I really do and we know how badly everyone is clamoring for this. As we've said Technical Beta will be first and very tiny just to make sure everything is working. It won't be a lengthy time period before we start bringing in folks in waves.

So is technical beta happening right now?

Either way, that post is a much better way of phrasing it than "sooner than most people think", because most people think (or at least hope) it will be today, everyday.

Originally Posted by RadarX

Can I point out they started giving away Beta keys in 2010? Just Google "end of nations beta key giveaway."

Look what this is? Is a marketing tactic and a VERY effective one. It's also extremely abnormal for how Beta's work with online games. I wish these guys luck (I've worked with a few of them in the past) and I'm very excited for their game. This is not how PlanetSide 2 is going to do it's Beta.

Fair rebuttal, but my point largely remains: if you start alerting people about an impending beta, they're going to want to a ballpark figure as to when.
Also, I think when you start plastering "Plantside 2 beta key!" on the front of the most widely read PC gaming magazine in the world, people are naturally going to think it's soon, and not 4-5 months away soon. You can call that marketing, which it certainly is, but I can call it misleading.

[Pride]

Originally Posted by Stardouser

This thread would be a lot more awesome if people could find at least 10 multiplayer shooters or games that are close to shooters in the past 5 years that announced their beta dates, along with source of evidence.

Is that a challenge I sense? I believe ten may be a bit ambitious, I can't think of ten big shooter released in the last couple of years. How about five and you can work with me from there?

Halo Reach - X360
Microsoft
Announced for 3rd of May on the 11th Febuary
3 Month Gap
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/halo-reach-beta-dated

Halo 3 - X360
Microsoft
Announced for 16th of May on the 10th of April
1 Month Gap
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/04/10/ha...irmed-for-may/

Call of Duty: World At War - X360/PC
Activision
Announced on the 9th of August (or possibly the 8th of september, i'm not sure of the date format here) for an October release.
3(or possibly 2) month gap.
http://www.ausgamers.com/news/read/2658086

Battlefield 3 - X360/PC/PS3
EA
Announced for 27th of September (closed, 29th open) on the 20th of September.
1 week gap.
http://www.neoseeker.com/news/17406-...beta-date-set/

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 - X360/PC/PS3
EA
Announced for 28th of January on the 8th of January.
1 month gap.
http://www.shacknews.com/article/618...d-company-2-pc

So there we have it, from all the influential shooters of the past 5 years I can think of straight away then their beta dates.

Edit: I was bored so I decided to meet your original challenge.

Black light Retribution - PC
Perfect World Entertainment
Announced for 27th of Febuary on the 14th of Febuary.
2 week gap.
http://blacklight-retribution.browse...g-shooter.html

Brick Force - PC
Infernum Productions
Announced for February the 28th on the 3rd of Febuary.
1 month gap.
http://brick-force.browsergamez.com/...der-title.html

Dust 514 - PS3
CCP Games
Announced for June 29th on the 5th of June.
1 month gap.
http://thecontrolleronline.com/2012/...ate-confirmed/

Mass Effect 3 (more of a co-op shooter apposed to full on fragfest granted) - X360/PC/PS3
EA
Announced for Feb 14th on the 18th of Jan.
1 Month gap.
http://uk.pc.gamespy.com/pc/mass-eff...1216713p1.html

Ghost Recon Future Solider - X360/PS3
Ubisoft
Announced for April 19th on April 5th.
2 week gap.
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/04/05/gh...ork-announced/

So there you go, Challenge Accepted. 10 beta shooters, on multiple platforms as well as evidenced sources. With the additional 5 betas the new average for the gap between announcement and release is... 1 and a quarter months.

[kaffis]

Originally Posted by RadarX

Wish I could comment more on dates. I really do and we know how badly everyone is clamoring for this. As we've said Technical Beta will be first and very tiny just to make sure everything is working. It won't be a lengthy time period before we start bringing in folks in waves.

We get that you guys don't want to give out future dates.

All I want is for you guys to announce current milestones as you hit them.

"We sent out our first wave of external beta test invites to the Priority (Veteran, PCG, & E3) Pool today!"

The notion of you guys giving vague updates on progress, and even vaguer updates on future schedules, and then telling us that we won't know the current status unless we're in it... that's really nerve wracking when we're eagerly trying to follow something that the people in the know aren't allowed to talk about.

It's exciting knowing that my friend might be playing! Let me know that. He's not allowed to, after all.

[Stardouser]

Originally Posted by Pride

Is that a challenge I sense? I believe ten may be a bit ambitious, I can't think of ten big shooter released in the last couple of years. How about five and you can work with me from there?

Halo Reach - X360
Announced for 3rd of May on the 11th Febuary
3 Month Gap
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/halo-reach-beta-dated

Halo 3 - X360
Announced for 16th of May on the 10th of April
1 Month Gap
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/04/10/ha...irmed-for-may/

Call of Duty: World At War - X360/PC
Announced on the 9th of August (or possibly the 8th of september, i'm not sure of the date format here) for an October release.
3(or possibly 2) month gap.
http://www.ausgamers.com/news/read/2658086

Battlefield 3 - X360/PC/PS3
Announced for 27th of September (closed, 29th open) on the 20th of September.
1 week gap.
http://www.neoseeker.com/news/17406-...beta-date-set/

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 - X360/PC/PS3
Announced for 28th of January on the 8th of January.
1 month gap.
http://www.shacknews.com/article/618...d-company-2-pc

So there we have it, from all the influential shooters of the past 5 years I can think of straight away then their beta dates are giving on average a month and a 1/2 before they start.

Ah sweet!!!

Just out of curiosity, did BC2 and BF3 meet their projected dates?

However I do note that BF3's beta was more of a demo - it released not long after, lol.

[Krawanan]

Originally Posted by kaffis

We get that you guys don't want to give out future dates.

All I want is for you guys to announce current milestones as you hit them.

"We sent out our first wave of external beta test invites to the Priority (Veteran, PCG, & E3) Pool today!"

The notion of you guys giving vague updates on progress, and even vaguer updates on future schedules, and then telling us that we won't know the current status unless we're in it... that's really nerve wracking when we're eagerly trying to follow something that the people in the know aren't allowed to talk about.

It's exciting knowing that my friend might be playing! Let me know that. He's not allowed to, after all.

This.

Then we''ll at least know how far you guys are.

[Shocktor]

Originally Posted by RadarX

Unfortunately almost all of this is inaccurate I'm afraid. We'll certainly provide information when we can about it. It's sooner than most people believe.

Two questions about this:

Is information or the beta going to be sooner than we believe? (sorry for being obtuse)

Also, what do 'most people' believe? You say it's going to be sooner... so what is the average of what most people believe? (just being a pain for being a pain's sake -- you don't have to answer the second question)

Basically, are there going to be weekly announcements on where things stand? Or could that have the opposite effect of turning people off (if the information is the same every week)?

[Pride]

Originally Posted by Stardouser

Ah sweet!!!

Just out of curiosity, did BC2 and BF3 meet their projected dates?

However I do note that BF3's beta was more of a demo - it released not long after, lol.

EA tend to have a habit of releasing their "Betas" as almost complete games to double them up as a demo. However I wouldn't call them a demo as such as they do still make changes based on them, and they have a start and end date. Demos are usually finished.

To answer your question directly, yes I believe they did as I remember participating in them around the times quoted and I can't find contradictory information elsewhere. I also updated my list with 5 more games, admittedly Mass Effect is another one of those EA games which seemed to double as a demo, it even came bundled with a single player mission! I think they did use the multiplayer data to improve the final product though so I choose to include it.

[Roy Awesome]

Keep in mind, any game on the console is done 3 months before release.

Usually these betas are stress tests for server infrastructure, because the game cannot be changed while it's being pressed to disc.

[The Kush]

Originally Posted by RadarX

Can I point out they started giving away Beta keys in 2010? Just Google "end of nations beta key giveaway."

Look what this is? Is a marketing tactic and a VERY effective one. It's also extremely abnormal for how Beta's work with online games. I wish these guys luck (I've worked with a few of them in the past) and I'm very excited for their game. This is not how PlanetSide 2 is going to do it's Beta.

Well said Radar. This is planetside, not _______. (fill in blank with any game). Do it the planetside way *TM