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The Beta Anxiety Thread!

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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 5,050,278 Bounty Hunter
    edited April 2012
    Anyone know when all beta phases are finished?
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 5,050,278 Bounty Hunter
    edited April 2012
    Slyp_Disk wrote: »
    isn't closed supposed to be for contributors and people that have put time into and care about the game; the people who are actually going to find and report bugs (and don't just want early access to the game)?
    So people who work beta testing cannot participate in closed beta if they don't happen to like D&D? :p
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 5,050,278 Bounty Hunter
    edited April 2012
    Slyp_Disk wrote: »
    isn't closed supposed to be for contributors and people that have put time into and care about the game; the people who are actually going to find and report bugs (and don't just want early access to the game)?

    That is what it used to be. Some where along the line, the word "test" had it's meaning changed. Now once a game goes from Alpha testing to Beta testing, it is supossed to be complete & polished. It is now a promo trailer for you to interact with & then go spread the word to all of your friends.
    The Marketing department does promotions in magazines, at conventions & on social media websites ( oh and of course dont forget to give a key to the hot blonde w/the big rack we saw walking down the street ) by giving access to this "testing" stage.
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 5,050,278 Bounty Hunter
    edited April 2012
    xilix wrote: »
    That is what it used to be. Some where along the line, the word "test" had it's meaning changed. Now once a game goes from Alpha testing to Beta testing, it is supossed to be complete & polished. It is now a promo trailer for you to interact with & then go spread the word to all of your friends.

    A much higher level of balance and polish is expected from games now. Instead of adding "gamma" testing to achieve it, now there are just several layers of beta tests, and some of them require way more testers. There have also been changes in how core tech and content relate. Most of external beta testing is evaluating content/design choices, which feels more polished than evaluating core tech (because it crashes way less).

    On the Foundry, we have a number of important decisions that are waiting for beta tester feedback. I'm impatient for it to start, too. But we have some work left to do or all the feedback will be to fix the things we're working on now.
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 5,050,278 Bounty Hunter
    edited April 2012
    rgbDreamer wrote: »
    On the Foundry, we have a number of important decisions that are waiting for beta tester feedback. I'm impatient for it to start, too. But we have some work left to do or all the feedback will be to fix the things we're working on now.


    And I can't wait to test the Foundry. Count me in.
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 5,050,278 Bounty Hunter
    edited April 2012
    I've always thought of closed beta as being the way a company can do stress tests. They open it a little bit to see how the game handles having hundreds of people playing. It's not as big a group as Open Beta, which allows them some leeway if anything major breaks, but it's more than what the company itself can field in the way of just players. Players can spend 8hrs just playing through the game en-masse: employees must work on their various other projects.

    I don't think that closed beta is supposed to be paid, and I can almost guarantee that putting "I participated in the closed beta for x" is not going to impress any companies if you're trying to get a job in the gaming industry.

    Sometimes being in the closed beta for a game can even ruin the experience when the game actually launches, because you rush through as much content as possible, or you play through things that get changed after launch, etc. I deliberately stayed out of the closed beta for SWtOR because I wanted to enjoy the experience once it was polished.
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 5,050,278 Bounty Hunter
    edited April 2012
    rgbDreamer wrote: »
    A much higher level of balance and polish is expected from games now. Instead of adding "gamma" testing to achieve it, now there are just several layers of beta tests, and some of them require way more testers. There have also been changes in how core tech and content relate. Most of external beta testing is evaluating content/design choices, which feels more polished than evaluating core tech (because it crashes way less).

    On the Foundry, we have a number of important decisions that are waiting for beta tester feedback. I'm impatient for it to start, too. But we have some work left to do or all the feedback will be to fix the things we're working on now.

    You work would be completed a lot faster if you allowed me to be on the beta team..I'm ever so good really I am.

    /grabs leg: Pleaaaassseee!!!! no, no... come back... I love you!!!!!
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 5,050,278 Bounty Hunter
    edited April 2012
    rgbDreamer wrote: »
    On the Foundry, we have a number of important decisions that are waiting for beta tester feedback. I'm impatient for it to start, too. But we have some work left to do or all the feedback will be to fix the things we're working on now.

    This is what Beta is for. Testers finding buggs that fell through the cracks & giving feedback (that should actually be listened to*cough SWToR cough*) to allow Devs to see what works & doesn't.
    I predicted this ploy a few years ago. Naturally there was much cynicism, to put it mildly, to my remarks concerning the de-evolution of Betas. Too many games get rushed to the door w/out being thoroughly tested both in house & out.
    I hope you get the testers & feedback you need. Would love to see Neverwinter & everyone who contributes to the Foundry succeed.
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 5,050,278 Bounty Hunter
    edited April 2012
    I deliberately stayed out of the closed beta for SWtOR because I wanted to enjoy the experience once it was polished.

    Wouldn't have mattered if you had participated or not. They didn't listen to the testers. We didn't matter outside of them watching the stability of the servers. And we all know the game was launched far from polished. There are still buggs we posted about in the first week of testing.
    There was a thread, posted by the Devs, stating our feedback was NOT going to be heeded. They had their data & that was all the Devs would pay attention to. That thread was taken down fast when it lit up w/cries of outrage. "Emergency maintainence" was suddenly needed. Funny that when we were let back on to the forums a few hours later the thread was gone :rolleyes:
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 5,050,278 Bounty Hunter
    edited April 2012
    Respectfully, this has been brought up officially as a Pre-Order Torchlight 2 thread in the News Section. For the sake of non-duplication, it's reccomended to post your feedback there which many points there have been answered by both the developers and users alike. But a huge thanks to rgbDreamer here for making a very important point as to the "changes" of testing.
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 5,050,278 Bounty Hunter
    edited April 2012
    is this available to test now?
    or when is it expected to be available in beta?
    Thank you...
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 5,050,278 Bounty Hunter
    edited April 2012
    Any idea when the beta launches? I got the closed access key at PAX and was wondering when do i find out more?
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 5,050,278 Bounty Hunter
    edited April 2012
    Hello, firstly sorry for my english

    I wanted to know if I can preorder torshlight 2 from France in order to access the beta neverwinter, I look forward to this game since
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 5,050,278 Bounty Hunter
    edited April 2012
    I have no interest in Tl2 so I wont bother. I also have something of a bad taste left over from the private and then public STO tests. I wonder if NWN will be handled differently...
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 5,050,278 Bounty Hunter
    edited April 2012
    yea we all know about it i just hate that companies are now using preorders as leverage to get garunteeed cb acess i can pass on it and wait to get mine
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 5,050,278 Bounty Hunter
    edited April 2012
    yea we all know about it i just hate that companies are now using preorders as leverage to get garunteeed cb acess i can pass on it and wait to get mine

    Look at GW2 you have to buy the game sight unseen to participate in their beta weekends...the GW2 beta forums were flooded with angry people who ended up hating the game but could not get a refund.

    What PWE is doing is mild by comparison.
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 5,050,278 Bounty Hunter
    edited May 2012
    Look at GW2 you have to buy the game sight unseen to participate in their beta weekends...the GW2 beta forums were flooded with angry people who ended up hating the game but could not get a refund.

    What PWE is doing is mild by comparison.

    It's exactly identical, you have to buy torchlight 2 which you might also hate, long before it can be reviewed or tried. Unless you think paying $20 for nothing but beta test rights is OK.
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 5,050,278 Bounty Hunter
    edited May 2012
    I have to agree with the big man on this one, here we are closing in on half of the year being gone the game is set to launch at years end (Oct-Dec ish) no word of closed beta to the faithful yet here they are making promises of beta to a group of people in a different genre.

    Not a wise move; Cryptic has a lot of positive buzz for once over this title...what they don't need is to start behaving like Atari owned Cryptic.

    I understand that this was probably all PWI doing, but Cryptic could have soften the blow by making at least a closed beta announcement to those of us that has been here since day one.

    I would have done the promo in reverse. I would have offered a $10 coupon code off Torchlight II if they tried the Neverwinter beta. This promo they make $10 instead of $20, but I believe would have more than twice the buyers. This way, it sounds like Neverwinter is the Big Cheese, and we are getting $10 off the $19.99 Torchlight II price tag.

    The way it was done costs the end user twice as much money, and it feels like they are begging the Torchlight II playerbase to try Neverwinter. How many will even bother? I would keep the Torchlight II $9.99 promo price tag until Cryptic releases the Neverwinter closed beta, then take the price up to its current going rate of $19.99.

    That's just my opinion, and subject to change along with local weather conditions ;)
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 5,050,278 Bounty Hunter
    edited May 2012
    The fact is game makers know people are desperate to play the games, especially after following hype trains for ages, and that they will risk the money to play the game. I've seen it happen time and time again.

    Can't blame the game companies for doing it though, it's not their fault, they're just trying to make money, blame players for not being able to hold their load until the game comes out :P

    On the subject of GW2, I agree completely that they don't give refunds for players who didn't like the game, I somehow doubt they promised that everyone would like the game or money back, that would be silly. . .
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    Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 5,050,278 Bounty Hunter
    edited May 2012
    I would have done the promo in reverse. I would have offered a $10 coupon code off Torchlight II if they tried the Neverwinter beta. This promo they make $10 instead of $20, but I believe would have more than twice the buyers. This way, it sounds like Neverwinter is the Big Cheese, and we are getting $10 off the $19.99 Torchlight II price tag.

    The way it was done costs the end user twice as much money, and it feels like they are begging the Torchlight II playerbase to try Neverwinter. How many will even bother? I would keep the Torchlight II $9.99 promo price tag until Cryptic releases the Neverwinter closed beta, then take the price up to its current going rate of $19.99.

    That's just my opinion, and subject to change along with local weather conditions ;)

    No...what they are doing is pretty standard for the industry, that's why I'm not understanding the concern and Torchlight is D&Dish which gives the impetus for folks to try it, but more than that Cryptic is at a show me place in their lifespan...their last two games while pretty solid now did not get favorable press and Cryptic pretty much needs to use marketing like this.

    The bottom line is like all perfect world MMO's there will be many opportunities to test I can almost guarantee mmorpg.com and massively will be giving away keys once beta gets started.
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    lefasixlefasix Member Posts: 11 Arc User
    edited May 2012
    Hello, i was watching the game today on youtube, and i notice that, when you are using your caracter appear in the middle of the window a lil circle that i know that is for using to point the target. The problem that i see is, everytime u have to move the camera down to point that circle to hit the character. So most of the tiime u have to be pointing down watching the floor and not the awesome enviorment. The creators should move that circlie a lil lower like DDO did. SO u can hit targets without pointing so low the camera.
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    mewbreymewbrey Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild Users Posts: 517 Bounty Hunter
    edited May 2012
    What I'd like to know if possible, is the torch light going to be a digital copy as I cannot get mail where I live.
    ~*~ Foundry missions: Stronghold Branax : Goblin menace : Forwyn crypts ~*~
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    enderlin50enderlin50 Member Posts: 993 Arc User
    edited May 2012
    mewbrey wrote: »
    What I'd like to know if possible, is the torch light going to be a digital copy as I cannot get mail where I live.

    Isnt almost everything digital these days? Id say you will get the option to Digital Download.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
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    mewbreymewbrey Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild Users Posts: 517 Bounty Hunter
    edited May 2012
    enderlin50 wrote: »
    Isnt almost everything digital these days? Id say you will get the option to Digital Download.

    In most cases :D Just wanted to check, but I ordered it already and it mentions that its digital once you've ordered :D So i am happy! b:dirty
    ~*~ Foundry missions: Stronghold Branax : Goblin menace : Forwyn crypts ~*~
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    acidithacidith Member Posts: 5 Arc User
    edited May 2012
    Hi all !

    I'd like to ask something about the closed beta acces.
    I singed for it, but i dont want to preorder TL 2.
    How many keys will be send to the registered ones?

    Thanks,
    Agrima
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    acidithacidith Member Posts: 5 Arc User
    edited May 2012
    Nvm just preordered it:)
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    darkdaysx2darkdaysx2 Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 12 Arc User
    edited May 2012
    aww <font color="orange">HAMSTER</font> they took preorder down this sucksb:angry
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    iamtruthseekeriamtruthseeker Member, Moonstars, Neverwinter Beta Users Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2012
    darkdaysx2 wrote: »
    aww <font color="orange">HAMSTER</font> they took preorder down this sucksb:angry

    Must...take...flaming...bear...seriously...no...pre-order...must...find ...constructive...anger...and...stop...using...so...many... ellipses....
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
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    trebrtrebr Member, Neverwinter Beta Users Posts: 3 Arc User
    edited May 2012
    darkdaysx2 wrote: »
    aww <font color="orange">HAMSTER</font> they took preorder down this sucksb:angry

    huh, its still there?
    http://torchlight2.perfectworld.com/
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    angelxeyeangelxeye Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild Users Posts: 1
    edited May 2012
    I got this email today:

    If anyone has trouble viewing, it says that if you pre-order Torchlight II you get Neverwinter closed beta access.

    Just an FYI to anyone interested :)

    I was SOOO looking forward to Neverwinter (and still am). BUT I have 0 interest in torchlight. The fact that they pkgd them together makes me worry I wont like NVRWNTR as much? Why the pkg, I dont get it and feels like a rip off for people who just want this one.


    O and ya- bears seem a bit odd here - I have to agree
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