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Like Niviene, for example.|
Originally Posted by DarkGob
Certain individuals have strongly implied (without breaking the NDA) that it has begun.
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As to what happens in closed beta, I couldn't comment on the I17 one if I was in it, but I am free to comment on past closed betas. In the past, the earlier you got in, the greater the probability that the primary thing you'd be testing was whether the server would be up at the same time you tried to test it. Also, very early closed betas tended in the past to be directed betas, meaning the devs *told* you what to test, and what not to test, because a lot of things simply aren't working correctly or stably in the early parts of the beta. It is not uncommon for the servers to be brought down on a moment's notice, for whole zones to stop working, for clients to randomly crash, and for odd things to happen to characters and other test server entities.
Early beta testing is not about providing the devs with your highly valuable insight. Its about trying to make everything work correctly and at all. Highly valuable insight typically becomes more interesting a couple weeks into the beta, once the system is stable (both in terms of execution and in terms of the devs not changing things daily) enough to make that insight meaningful.
During the I14 closed beta for the Architect the devs were at one point changing things so fast that often missions you created to test something would not run the next day to allow you to test what you were trying to test. Missions you spent three days working on would suddenly corrupt in ways that basically destroyed them and forced you to start from scratch. It was very painful at times but that is the purpose to the early betas - to shake those things out.
If you just want a sneak peek at the content, closed beta is not for you. There are fun aspects of it, but a lot of the fun is the kind of fun people create for themselves while being otherwise tortured. And the rules in closed beta are a lot different than they are in the relatively free-wheeling forums out here. Its a much more focused environment in general.
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That post was pretty ambiguous. The title does clearly state that it begins in Tuesday, but the message could be interpreted as saying that the server was merely going down on Tuesday. I think the main confusion here is between that and the fact that the patch (which was quite large) went up late in the day. If you look at the announcement for the Dual Pistols Closed Beta, it was a lot clearer.
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Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Like Niviene, for example.
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I honestly have no idea how much more clear "Issue 17 Closed Beta Starting Tuesday, March 2nd!" can be. Nor do I know how "shutting down the Test Server for Issue 17 Closed Beta" can be at all confusing or vague.|
Originally Posted by DarkGob
That post was pretty ambiguous. The title does clearly state that it begins in Tuesday, but the message could be interpreted as saying that the server was merely going down on Tuesday. I think the main confusion here is between that and the fact that the patch (which was quite large) went up late in the day. If you look at the announcement for the Dual Pistols Closed Beta, it was a lot clearer.
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(quotes partially edited)
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Originally Posted by Dispari
I don't know why Dink thinks she's not as sexy as Jay was. In 5 posts she's already upstaged his entire career.
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Another point to consider is that, while an invite to a closed beta can be a nice 'thank you' gesture to Veteran players, not all of us Vets make good beta testers.
I myself am a terrible beta tester. My playtime is erratic. I have times where I may play for hours for a few days in a row and then not play for a week or more depending on my work schedule. When I do play, I'm likely to be more concerned with looking at new shinies than in active testing. I've been in a few betas and frankly I don't think I contributed much. I tried to, and send in reports as I found things, but in all honesty it was a token effort.
Arcanaville, on the other hand, should be in every beta. And paid in gold.
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One thing that always amuses me (I would say surprises, but honestly it doesn't surprise me) is all the people on the test server acting like things are done and that the devs are incompetent fools for things being the way they are. Every time a server goes down or a zone crashes there's a rage thread about how stupid the devs are and how they can't even keep a simple zone up. And as soon as the gates open and something needs testing, people complain that the new set sucks, the devs dropped the ball, and nobody will play the set on live. Nevermind we haven't even gotten one balance patch yet and the person didn't offer ANY feedback about WHY it sucks -- the devs are morons! |
Originally Posted by Arcanaville
It is not uncommon for the servers to be brought down on a moment's notice, for whole zones to stop working, for clients to randomly crash, and for odd things to happen to characters and other test server entities.
Early beta testing is not about providing the devs with your highly valuable insight. Its about trying to make everything work correctly and at all. |
I tried to do some explaining and consoling during the DP closed, since we were absolutely flooded with people complaining about zones being down and being stuck in the queue. I think the majority of it fell on deaf ears though. And I swear someone ragequit over DP sucking before we even got the first patch.
I did a lot of stuff this last beta and found a handful of amusing (read: broken) junk. I hope that's enough to get me into the i17 because while I do want to see and play with the new stuff, I always enjoyed breaking things in humorous ways. I did more this last beta than I think I've ever done (although I did a lot during the AE open and that didn't get me anywhere).
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Originally Posted by Justaris
Arcanaville, on the other hand, should be in every beta. And paid in gold.
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Originally Posted by PRAF68_EU
Dispari has more than enough credability, and certainly doesn't need to borrow any from you.
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I tell ya, if I were the guy in charge of deciding who gets into these closed betas, the first thing I'd look for is people on the forums whining about how long they've been playing and how they're entitled to it, dammit. Those are some folks whose opinions I know I can trust.
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