I think most players just want an "open beta" of free play to trail the game before spending money. Most people probably don't want ot actually beta test the games. So many companies also do these "open betas" for long periods of time now. It kinda ruins the impression of what a beta is actually supposed to be. This primarily goes for the F2P crowd. I think Allods may even still be considered in OB. When a F2P lets you spend money in an online store, it's not beta.
I started beta testing back in the DAoC days. It's not always fun and games. Even after launch I remained on the champion class focus team. Spending entire evenings parsing logs on hundreds of kills using one skill over and over. Trust me, it's a job. I did it because I loved the class, and the game. I wanted to see it prosper. Not many people have the patience to kill 100 mobs using only one skill. Rinse and repeat with ever skill you have. Ideally you would have more kills, but with the number of focus testers we had 100 was about our sweet spot for individual testing per skill.
To Czanrei....you telling that Knight isn't a class and writing a report on it is not testing. I think too many have this mindset. I'm going to tell them how I want the game to be played. Nope, as a tester you go and test what they tell you. You are there to find bugs. Does the skill actually do what the tooltip states. Does the quest complete successfully. Does it get bugged if you knock an NPC off a cliff.
Because you hit the nail on the head, Michael: being a beta tester is not about playing the game to see if you like it or not (or at least, it's not supposed to be and it didn't used to be before it became a marketing tool).
I've beta tested several games now, and to me, it's about making the game as good as it can be at launch. I happen to be a very detail-oriented person, so I take the time to submit detailed bug reports and pay attention to what is and is not working. Because I do have the time to do it, I spend hours with each class I am interested in (and even with at least one class I dislike) trying to make sure that they are "working as intended" so that the game will launch as smoothly as any game can - after all, it is software, and software will always have some bugs.
So yeah, I'd like a beta invite. Not only because I'm interested in the game itself, but because I would genuinely like to see the game succeed. And it can't do that if a majority of the selected beta testers are only out to play the game before launch to see if it's a game they want to buy. No game can.
"You are obviously confusing a mature rating with actual maturity." -Asherman
Maybe MMO is not your genre, go play Modern Warfare...or something you can be all twitchy...and rank up all night. This is seriously getting tired. -Ranyr
I've tested several games over the years, both mmo and console IP's. So I do want to be involved in the testing of TOR but I think it is BW that doesn't want my opinion because I would start off by telling them knight isn't a class and end up starting that debate all over again. Not to mention the space on rails and race restricted classes would get a lot of reports from me as well. So basically, I won't get an invite to beta because like the movie says; "They can't handle the truth."
Sure they can, "the truth is out there" just maybe not yours. You can go to the TOR forums and QQ there all you want as well.
I think I'm a pretty good beta tester because I am good at finding ways to exploit or break the game and in some cases I believe I've helped get these things fixed in other games before launch.
But not for SWTOR, I don't want to beta it because I think it is hyped enough they'll have a ton of people. I'd rather beta some indy games and work to give good feedback, since I'm nice like that.
"Never met a pack of humans that were any different. Look at the idiots that get elected every couple of years. You really consider those guys more mature than us? The only difference between us and them is, when they gank some noobs and take their stuff, the noobs actually die." - Madimorga
I would love to get into the beta but at the same time hope they keep beta closed and small (1 or 2 servers) Theres no need for the current testers to hear all the "this is why WOWs better' spam while trying to test the game. The game will do fine without an open beta.
I sincerely want a beta invite. I have been around the mmo block a few times, and then some. When I test a game, I give actual/usable feedback, unlike what I assume the majority of testers do - mess around for awhile and quit or play hardcore but never actually give any feedback.
Why do so many games launch in such a poor state? Is it the lack of testers feedback or is the lack of gumption from developers? I would like to think its the testers' faults, but I guess I could be wrong.
Why? Because gaming companies are run by business suits, not gamers.
The MMO industry as of late has been saturated with greedy executives that are only looking at the dollars and not caring enough about creating a good, fun game with longevity. They are looking at the short term and raking in as many dollars as possible so that the ycan bail and leave others with the POS they created.
The days of sand box are over and the time of theme park shallow are upon us.
The way I see it the MMO industry and games have become console style games online. No one is willing to put forth the effort it takes to make a complete MMO anymore. Gods and Heros is a perfect example. Released with no crafting and no pvp, yet they claim they will add it "as intended".
MMOs as we know them are gone forever due to corporate greed and catering to the most casual of gamer demographics.
Keep you wallet close to your vest and don't waste your money.
I don't think I do. I even tried to do a different faction in Rift than I planned on going once the game went live and I still felt like a lot of that newness was gone.
In his latest column devoted to Star Wars: The Old Republic, MMORPG.com Community Manager Mike Bitton wonders how many people truly want into the game's beta. After all, as Mike suggests, a beta is supposed to be work, a way to help the development team ensure that the game soon to be released is actually ready for release. It's not just an "early look". Check out Mike's excellent thoughts and then add a few of your own.
Volunteering as a Beta Tester used be a serious thing. The Devs wanted and needed the Player Testers reports, thoughts, and feedback. Not anymore. Focus Groups that are held quietly by the Devs for the most part have made Beta Testing obsolete.
Beta Testing now and with most MMO Publishers is just a Hype generator run by the Marketing Dept. Any feedback or reports submitted by Beta Testers I doubt are even read now.
Participating as a Player in Beta Testing was a way for Devs and Players to work and play together for the good of the MMO. Now the Devs do everything they can to distance themselves from the Players. Frankly I can't blame the Devs one bit.
So no, I do not wish a Beta Testing Invite. It's pointless. SW:TOR will be finished and in the box ready to ship long before Beta Testing even starts.... the only thing Beta Testing will do is get the servers ready for the flood of players at release.
At first I wanted a beta invite but I just don't have the time for it. I already have a job. I'll put my faith in those who are testing and enjoy the fruits of their efforts when this is released...on October 4th.
Just remember what ol' Jack Burton does when the earth quakes, and the poison arrows fall from the sky, and the pillars of Heaven shake. Yeah, Jack Burton just looks that big ol' storm right square in the eye and he says, "Give me your best shot, pal. I can take it."
I don't have enough time to invest into game I have no intention on playing. Beta testing just isn't the same as it used to be, at least for me, so it's not on my list of things I'd like to do at all. GW2 beta testing is another story.
All of my posts are either intelligent, thought provoking, funny, satirical, sarcastic or intentionally disrespectful. Take your pick.
I get banned in the forums for games I love, so lets see if I do better in the forums for games I hate.
I enjoy the serenity of not caring what your opinion is.
Yes I want a beta invite, so I can see for myself, if I am going to like it or hate it. I been watching all the qq contest on the forums around here between fan and hater and I need to see for myself.
for me it all depends on the game and if i respect the developer. for instance I played champions online I beta tested and contributed to over 20 different bug fixes. while I played it because it was easy it was in the settings tab they had a report bug icon in game. made it fast and easy.
I have the most respect for 2 game developers Bioware and Bethesda. If i was a tester for bioware I would report bugs and glitches i found because i want the game to be the best. being a tester does take some the luster off the game I agree I have beta ed and tested more games than i can count.
I agree with the article but if i got a key I am sorry to say i would have to play and test it to satisfy my curiosity.
Games I will be playing are: TES V, SWTOR, ME 3, TSW
Like another has said, I do and I dont. I dont because Bioware stories are great 1 or 2 plays worth, but after that, they are pretty much done. I do, well because its something im looking forward to, by one of my favorite developers and favorite settings.
Maybe id just play on sith side in beta since im planning on starting out as a trooper.
As for testing, didnt we have discussions on this and many other mmo sites about how beta tests were mainly marketing and stress test driven ?
I have Beta tested a few games, sent in tons of e-mails of corrections that needed to be addressed, broken content and mistakes in the world. Most if not all have been ignored. I have watched as they patch the most useless things while glaring problems to gameplay are left in when the game went live. I for one am done with trying to help. I signed up for Beta along time ago but wouldn't beta test this game even if offered. At one time, i would have bought the game earily but I have seen too many games that went live when they needed another year of development. How many games have you played or seen that have their own CU or NGE like Star Wars Galaxies in the first year of play. I will revisit the idea of playing this after 6 months of play and if the members on MMORPG aren't trashing it in the forums like they do to SWG I will play it.
The $59.99, $69.99 or $79.99 or whatever they are going to charge to buy the game is better in my pocket than theirs. I saved money by not buying Aion, Mortal Online, Vanguard, Warhammer and a few others that looked great but turned into shit .
I've tested several games over the years, both mmo and console IP's. So I do want to be involved in the testing of TOR but I think it is BW that doesn't want my opinion because I would start off by telling them knight isn't a class and end up starting that debate all over again. Not to mention the space on rails and race restricted classes would get a lot of reports from me as well. So basically, I won't get an invite to beta because like the movie says; "They can't handle the truth."
I'm sure anything you'd have to say has already been said thousands of times over on their official forums. I think if they couldn't handle the truth, they wouldn't have forums at all.
Yes, if i don't or there is no open beta chances of me buying this game are drastically reduced, I'm not going to spend more money then the actual game costs just to fly out get a ticket to a convention hotel room etc to spend 45min playing it just to see if the game lives up to the hype, that is ridicoulus.
I don't "play" the beta test, I work it. Doing a beta is a completely different experience for me than playing the game, and has been for the 25+ MMO's I've beta tested. I've been in the alpha and beta tests of an MMO, then went on to play the game for 3 years, actively enjoying every moment.
It's not like a single player game where there's 100 hours of play then you've seen everything. When I'm actually playing it, it's what I can do with my friends.
When I'm testing it, I'm tearing it apart. I've every alt imaginable, I delete toons often, I'm regularly dying horribly to silly situations just to see if the mechanics are sound. I'm attacking things I should never attack to see how things are balanced.
Beta is a job, not a preview, and I do it that way so the game is better (for me, at least). I find the things that interfere with how I enjoy a game and let the devs know.
It's like helping to build the house I live in. Building the house in no way spoils my enjoying of living in it, and I know what it took to build it.
Absolutely yes. I love beta testing. I have been in quite a few, and have no issue fully enjoying a game afterwards. Some day i dream of creating my own game that millions will enjoy, but until that happens i love thinking im taking a part in development of other games.
Durning a beta, i try to break it in every possible way i can think of. I look for mistakes in text (spelling, grammatical, etc), i look for broken or missing terrain at boundries, i gather as many items as possible to see how the progression flows across many classes. i look for possible exploits and balance issues. its fun for me to see where an actual dev team may have made a mistake.
Every time i find a mistake, i report it. Then i find more. Each time i see in a patch that something i found was fixed, i think "youre welcome". It gives me a real sense of accomplishment to think "I found that, and now because of me, someone else wont have to deal with it being broken." I may never have what it takes to develope a full game, but i know i can take part in someone elses, and i can make it better, i can help it see its full potential.
So yes, i very much want that beta invite. I want to know i took part in the success of the game.
So? Each time somoene logs into a game that game is tested. What difference does it make if that person has intention to see what a game looks like. There are load tests, stability tests, functional tests... Even if you don't report a but you are giving some sort of service to devs who invited you.
Some people take their testing role seriously and some don't. But since dev teams don't pay anyone a dime they should be thankful for every minute of anyone's time of those who participate in beta. If one in 1000 beta testers is a person that would provide proper feedback then everyone profits.
I would only beta test games that are of my interesst so I can profit by having early access in return for my time as tester.
No fate but what we make, so make me a ham sandwich please.
I'd like to get into the beta test, to help shape a game in devolopment is a wonderful feeling when something you suggested gets implemented. I've beta tested almost every mmo thats come out for the last 10-14+ years. I will admit I also want to get a general idea how the game plays and flows as well while testing, this comes naturally though as you bug hunt, Most games general gameplay won't change much once its in beta, maybe a system tweaked here and there but usually is never a total overhaul that late in devolopment.
I'd love to get into the SW: ToR, or the GW2 beta myself. Or even both, I have lots of spare time on my hands.
Being a pessimist is a win-win pattern of thinking. If you're a pessimist (I'll admit that I am!) you're either:
A. Proven right (if something bad happens)
or
B. Pleasantly surprised (if something good happens)
Comments
I do not want Beta, I want lauch!
________________________
"If RL was an MMO, I'd probably be getting laid more often..."
I think most players just want an "open beta" of free play to trail the game before spending money. Most people probably don't want ot actually beta test the games. So many companies also do these "open betas" for long periods of time now. It kinda ruins the impression of what a beta is actually supposed to be. This primarily goes for the F2P crowd. I think Allods may even still be considered in OB. When a F2P lets you spend money in an online store, it's not beta.
I started beta testing back in the DAoC days. It's not always fun and games. Even after launch I remained on the champion class focus team. Spending entire evenings parsing logs on hundreds of kills using one skill over and over. Trust me, it's a job. I did it because I loved the class, and the game. I wanted to see it prosper. Not many people have the patience to kill 100 mobs using only one skill. Rinse and repeat with ever skill you have. Ideally you would have more kills, but with the number of focus testers we had 100 was about our sweet spot for individual testing per skill.
To Czanrei....you telling that Knight isn't a class and writing a report on it is not testing. I think too many have this mindset. I'm going to tell them how I want the game to be played. Nope, as a tester you go and test what they tell you. You are there to find bugs. Does the skill actually do what the tooltip states. Does the quest complete successfully. Does it get bugged if you knock an NPC off a cliff.
I really don't want to test TOR, I don't want to play at all before launch, I want the stories to be fresh for launch day.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
Because you hit the nail on the head, Michael: being a beta tester is not about playing the game to see if you like it or not (or at least, it's not supposed to be and it didn't used to be before it became a marketing tool).
I've beta tested several games now, and to me, it's about making the game as good as it can be at launch. I happen to be a very detail-oriented person, so I take the time to submit detailed bug reports and pay attention to what is and is not working. Because I do have the time to do it, I spend hours with each class I am interested in (and even with at least one class I dislike) trying to make sure that they are "working as intended" so that the game will launch as smoothly as any game can - after all, it is software, and software will always have some bugs.
So yeah, I'd like a beta invite. Not only because I'm interested in the game itself, but because I would genuinely like to see the game succeed. And it can't do that if a majority of the selected beta testers are only out to play the game before launch to see if it's a game they want to buy. No game can.
Firebrand Art
"You are obviously confusing a mature rating with actual maturity." -Asherman
Maybe MMO is not your genre, go play Modern Warfare...or something you can be all twitchy...and rank up all night. This is seriously getting tired. -Ranyr
No bata here, thanks!!!
Sure they can, "the truth is out there" just maybe not yours. You can go to the TOR forums and QQ there all you want as well.
I think I'm a pretty good beta tester because I am good at finding ways to exploit or break the game and in some cases I believe I've helped get these things fixed in other games before launch.
But not for SWTOR, I don't want to beta it because I think it is hyped enough they'll have a ton of people. I'd rather beta some indy games and work to give good feedback, since I'm nice like that.
"Never met a pack of humans that were any different. Look at the idiots that get elected every couple of years. You really consider those guys more mature than us? The only difference between us and them is, when they gank some noobs and take their stuff, the noobs actually die." - Madimorga
I would love to get into the beta but at the same time hope they keep beta closed and small (1 or 2 servers) Theres no need for the current testers to hear all the "this is why WOWs better' spam while trying to test the game. The game will do fine without an open beta.
Why? Because gaming companies are run by business suits, not gamers.
The MMO industry as of late has been saturated with greedy executives that are only looking at the dollars and not caring enough about creating a good, fun game with longevity. They are looking at the short term and raking in as many dollars as possible so that the ycan bail and leave others with the POS they created.
The days of sand box are over and the time of theme park shallow are upon us.
The way I see it the MMO industry and games have become console style games online. No one is willing to put forth the effort it takes to make a complete MMO anymore. Gods and Heros is a perfect example. Released with no crafting and no pvp, yet they claim they will add it "as intended".
MMOs as we know them are gone forever due to corporate greed and catering to the most casual of gamer demographics.
Keep you wallet close to your vest and don't waste your money.
I don't think I do. I even tried to do a different faction in Rift than I planned on going once the game went live and I still felt like a lot of that newness was gone.
Volunteering as a Beta Tester used be a serious thing. The Devs wanted and needed the Player Testers reports, thoughts, and feedback. Not anymore. Focus Groups that are held quietly by the Devs for the most part have made Beta Testing obsolete.
Beta Testing now and with most MMO Publishers is just a Hype generator run by the Marketing Dept. Any feedback or reports submitted by Beta Testers I doubt are even read now.
Participating as a Player in Beta Testing was a way for Devs and Players to work and play together for the good of the MMO. Now the Devs do everything they can to distance themselves from the Players. Frankly I can't blame the Devs one bit.
So no, I do not wish a Beta Testing Invite. It's pointless. SW:TOR will be finished and in the box ready to ship long before Beta Testing even starts.... the only thing Beta Testing will do is get the servers ready for the flood of players at release.
At first I wanted a beta invite but I just don't have the time for it. I already have a job. I'll put my faith in those who are testing and enjoy the fruits of their efforts when this is released...on October 4th.
Just remember what ol' Jack Burton does when the earth quakes, and the poison arrows fall from the sky, and the pillars of Heaven shake. Yeah, Jack Burton just looks that big ol' storm right square in the eye and he says, "Give me your best shot, pal. I can take it."
Yes I want the god damn invite!
With no other game would I even tolerate this. If it was not SWTOR the normal rule of "no demo no monies" would totally apply.
No.
I don't have enough time to invest into game I have no intention on playing. Beta testing just isn't the same as it used to be, at least for me, so it's not on my list of things I'd like to do at all. GW2 beta testing is another story.
All of my posts are either intelligent, thought provoking, funny, satirical, sarcastic or intentionally disrespectful. Take your pick.
I get banned in the forums for games I love, so lets see if I do better in the forums for games I hate.
I enjoy the serenity of not caring what your opinion is.
I don't hate much, but I hate Apple© with a passion. If Steve Jobs was alive, I would punch him in the face.
Yes I want a beta invite, so I can see for myself, if I am going to like it or hate it. I been watching all the qq contest on the forums around here between fan and hater and I need to see for myself.
for me it all depends on the game and if i respect the developer. for instance I played champions online I beta tested and contributed to over 20 different bug fixes. while I played it because it was easy it was in the settings tab they had a report bug icon in game. made it fast and easy.
I have the most respect for 2 game developers Bioware and Bethesda. If i was a tester for bioware I would report bugs and glitches i found because i want the game to be the best. being a tester does take some the luster off the game I agree I have beta ed and tested more games than i can count.
I agree with the article but if i got a key I am sorry to say i would have to play and test it to satisfy my curiosity.
Games I will be playing are: TES V, SWTOR, ME 3, TSW
Why yes, I would like a beta invite please.
Like another has said, I do and I dont. I dont because Bioware stories are great 1 or 2 plays worth, but after that, they are pretty much done. I do, well because its something im looking forward to, by one of my favorite developers and favorite settings.
Maybe id just play on sith side in beta since im planning on starting out as a trooper.
As for testing, didnt we have discussions on this and many other mmo sites about how beta tests were mainly marketing and stress test driven ?
I have Beta tested a few games, sent in tons of e-mails of corrections that needed to be addressed, broken content and mistakes in the world. Most if not all have been ignored. I have watched as they patch the most useless things while glaring problems to gameplay are left in when the game went live. I for one am done with trying to help. I signed up for Beta along time ago but wouldn't beta test this game even if offered. At one time, i would have bought the game earily but I have seen too many games that went live when they needed another year of development. How many games have you played or seen that have their own CU or NGE like Star Wars Galaxies in the first year of play. I will revisit the idea of playing this after 6 months of play and if the members on MMORPG aren't trashing it in the forums like they do to SWG I will play it.
The $59.99, $69.99 or $79.99 or whatever they are going to charge to buy the game is better in my pocket than theirs. I saved money by not buying Aion, Mortal Online, Vanguard, Warhammer and a few others that looked great but turned into shit .
I'm sure anything you'd have to say has already been said thousands of times over on their official forums. I think if they couldn't handle the truth, they wouldn't have forums at all.
Yes, if i don't or there is no open beta chances of me buying this game are drastically reduced, I'm not going to spend more money then the actual game costs just to fly out get a ticket to a convention hotel room etc to spend 45min playing it just to see if the game lives up to the hype, that is ridicoulus.
It's not like a single player game where there's 100 hours of play then you've seen everything. When I'm actually playing it, it's what I can do with my friends.
When I'm testing it, I'm tearing it apart. I've every alt imaginable, I delete toons often, I'm regularly dying horribly to silly situations just to see if the mechanics are sound. I'm attacking things I should never attack to see how things are balanced.
Beta is a job, not a preview, and I do it that way so the game is better (for me, at least). I find the things that interfere with how I enjoy a game and let the devs know.
It's like helping to build the house I live in. Building the house in no way spoils my enjoying of living in it, and I know what it took to build it.
I'd kill to be in the TOR beta.
Beta testing can be hard work but thats the price you pay to get a sneak peek so to speak...hehehehe
Usually i sit em out these days but i would love to help test on this game..
Playing GW2..
Absolutely yes. I love beta testing. I have been in quite a few, and have no issue fully enjoying a game afterwards. Some day i dream of creating my own game that millions will enjoy, but until that happens i love thinking im taking a part in development of other games.
Durning a beta, i try to break it in every possible way i can think of. I look for mistakes in text (spelling, grammatical, etc), i look for broken or missing terrain at boundries, i gather as many items as possible to see how the progression flows across many classes. i look for possible exploits and balance issues. its fun for me to see where an actual dev team may have made a mistake.
Every time i find a mistake, i report it. Then i find more. Each time i see in a patch that something i found was fixed, i think "youre welcome". It gives me a real sense of accomplishment to think "I found that, and now because of me, someone else wont have to deal with it being broken." I may never have what it takes to develope a full game, but i know i can take part in someone elses, and i can make it better, i can help it see its full potential.
So yes, i very much want that beta invite. I want to know i took part in the success of the game.
So? Each time somoene logs into a game that game is tested. What difference does it make if that person has intention to see what a game looks like. There are load tests, stability tests, functional tests... Even if you don't report a but you are giving some sort of service to devs who invited you.
Some people take their testing role seriously and some don't. But since dev teams don't pay anyone a dime they should be thankful for every minute of anyone's time of those who participate in beta. If one in 1000 beta testers is a person that would provide proper feedback then everyone profits.
I would only beta test games that are of my interesst so I can profit by having early access in return for my time as tester.
No fate but what we make, so make me a ham sandwich please.
I'd like to get into the beta test, to help shape a game in devolopment is a wonderful feeling when something you suggested gets implemented. I've beta tested almost every mmo thats come out for the last 10-14+ years. I will admit I also want to get a general idea how the game plays and flows as well while testing, this comes naturally though as you bug hunt, Most games general gameplay won't change much once its in beta, maybe a system tweaked here and there but usually is never a total overhaul that late in devolopment.
I'd love to get into the SW: ToR, or the GW2 beta myself. Or even both, I have lots of spare time on my hands.
Being a pessimist is a win-win pattern of thinking. If you're a pessimist (I'll admit that I am!) you're either:
A. Proven right (if something bad happens)
or
B. Pleasantly surprised (if something good happens)
Either way, you can't lose! Try it out sometime!