Do you think we will get an open beta?

Ortisai · August 2010

I would like to continue testing the game before i pick up my copy, but was wondering if they will open up a beta to everyone.

What do you think?

Lureei · August 2010

The days of so called open beta is history.

All beta´s today are closed betas, since you either always have to pre-order och limitid keys distributed.

Would be cool if you could test games these days but most times u have to buy it without knowing what u get

Hyanmen · August 2010

I don't think they will have an Open beta.

It just doesn't work with the way SE does their testing. It is merely a demo so the servers couldn't really hold all those people when only one of the three city states is available.

I also don't see them revealing the full game before retail version.

It's very unlikely.

Kuatosune · August 2010

Just agreeing with everyone else here as I seriously doubt you'll see any kind of open beta or even a pre-order "open" beta.

vash79 · August 2010

I know this may seem odd, but I hope they don't have an open beta. Even though I am excited to play it, I would rather wait and get it when it is released then having a whole bunch of people try out the game during the open beta, even when they aren't really interested in the game and then complain about everything.

Shoju · August 2010

Nope.

Like its predecessor, FFXIV is not the most 'intuitive' (no giant yellow icons above NPC's heads etc) game in the world, especially compared to many of the games released over the past few years, and the last thing the FFXIV community needs is an escalation in the whining (which would undoubtedly occur) by unleshing the unwashed masses upon the game.

xcalibur · August 2010

Open beta means that you can talk about it, not that everyone can get in.

The only reason I would want a widespread open beta is to reduce the number of people complaining about the jumping/swimming/controls at release as I imagine that is going to get pretty annoying.

ArmaniDemon · August 2010

I seriously doubt it. I do hope that the next phase of testing is a little more accessible though.

AIMonster · August 2010

Originally posted by xcalibur
Open beta means that you can talk about it, not that everyone can get in.

The only reason I would want a widespread open beta is to reduce the number of people complaining about the jumping/swimming/controls at release as I imagine that is going to get pretty annoying.

No, open beta means the beta is open to the general public rather than a select few. It has nothing to do with if the NDA is lifted or not. You can have a NDA lifted in closed beta or can have a NDA still in place in open beta. Of course you have various milestones in each phase.

Alpha - Private testing, usually anyone testing the alpha is paid as QA or a game tester. All features aren't complete.

Closed Beta - Mostly feature complete and testing focuses on ironing out bugs. In MMOs this is typically when you let unpaid tester in via applications.

Open Beta - Open to anyone willing to test the client. More like a demo of the game than an actual testing period.

Stress Test - A test done on the servers to see if they can handle a heavy load of people. Often times like an open beta, but only for a shorter period of time.

Hyanmen · August 2010

Originally posted by Magnum2103
No, open beta means the beta is open to the general public rather than a select few. It has nothing to do with if the NDA is lifted or not. You can have a NDA lifted in closed beta or can have a NDA still in place in open beta. Of course you have various milestones in each phase.

Alpha - Private testing, usually anyone testing the alpha is paid as QA or a game tester. All features aren't complete.

Closed Beta - Mostly feature complete and testing focuses on ironing out bugs. In MMOs this is typically when you let unpaid tester in via applications.

Open Beta - Open to anyone willing to test the client. More like a demo of the game than an actual testing period.

Stress Test - A test done on the servers to see if they can handle a heavy load of people. Often times like an open beta, but only for a shorter period of time.

The funny thing is, SE has done the testing completely different from that list.

They are masters of doing their own thing.

Alpha & Stress test - Public testing, the whole client is a placeholder. In-house team has handled ironing out bugs.

Closed Beta & Stress test - Not feature complete, some features are placeholders, testing focuses on ironing out design and game mechanics. Bugs are not the primary concern (only Alpha testers can report them). Features are implemented and placeholders replaced once they are ready and debugged. Again. in-house team takes care of bugs.

Open Beta - Not likely, most of the Stress Testing has been done in the Alpha & Closed Beta phase already. The Beta client is only 10-20% of the full game.

This is why I like this company.