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Beta testing...if Carbine or NCsoft is out there, I'd love to know the truth.
Siecefire
Member Posts: 23
First off, I am not trying to single out NCSoft or Carbine for any conspiracy theories or anything like that, but I do have a question for anyone who may be in the know. I am simply using this developer and publisher because they currently have the game of greatest interest to me....WildStar.
I have long wondered how beta testing selection is "ACTUALLY" done. Also, why is there the question "Are you a member of the media?" If you are, does it give you an advantage over others? Or does it actually put you on the back burner of beta selection? I would think that it would give you an advantage to being selected over others, but I honestly have no idea and would like to know.
If it were to simply come down to something like PC specs (which I personally don't believe it does) I would think I could get in. I have a PC that has nearly the best of everything. I can play "anything" on ultra graphics settings and still pull 70 fps easy. Since they have my specs, I can only assume that isn't it.
If it were to come down to experience....I have nearly 20 years of it. Having played numerous MMO's at length, and still holding active accounts in some quite old ones. I can only assume experience isn't how your picked.
So what is it? If anyone truly knows, please enlighten me. I am admitting I really have no idea how the process is done, but would like to know so that I can increase my odds in the future.
Thanks in advance...
Comments
depends on the beta... if its an actual beta, its done in waves, they let in X number of accounts per day/week/month to test database coding and server arch apart from the standard game testing.
if its a fake beta then they just kinda wing it.. i think media has both pro/cons cause it means you are more likely to want to/do make videos showcasing the game or ask alot of very "classified" questions they arent ready to talk about
but it should really prevent you joining or not joining.
a few years ago beta actually meant testing the game, so specs and experiance was a bonus as it means they could test the game on different system builds and people were more likely to spend time breaking the game to find bugs.. now days its mostly fake betas
which basically comes down to a straw game, you vs the billions others wanting to "test" who ever gets the short straw(s) gets in to play it
As Ichmen said, it depends on the beta.
The press question is often to be able to organize and manage press in order to better manage the messaging - why have them using random beta screenshots and their (possibly incorrect) interpretation of gameplay when you can hook them up with the official press kits and interviews/walkthroughs?
Choosing people often includes a lot of factors. Some of which are system specs, geographic region, and guild affiliation. That last one is important when bringing in guilds to test group-based content because, for example, it makes more sense to have 20 people that normally work together as part of the test of 20-man content than it does to only have PUGs.
There's very little actual hand selection in most betas, although there are the Alpha, FAF and other builds where people are actually invited.
As someone who has been on each side of the process (player, press, developer), here are two things you can do to increase your chances of getting into the beta of today's in-development MMOs:
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
Also system specs can work both ways, they look for all ranges, the high (best of everything) to see what their best settings will do on such a computer and how good their game can run.
Medium tech, to see how it will run on a general basis for most of the population
Low tech, In case someone has tech that runs far behind can the product run on their computer if all settings are set to the lowest? and how does that work on their computer?
Sometimes they've already filled the top two and are looking just for people with low specs to see how it runs so having a very good computer will keep you from beta.
Yes it's somewhat of a game you play and you don't know if your card is what they want so you deal it out and hope it is. It's not a clearance level so just having the best computer doesn't mean that if it's solely on tech you'll get in every time, double edge sword kind of thing.
Help me Bioware, you're my only hope.
Is ToR going to be good? Dude it's Bioware making a freaking star wars game, all signs point to awesome. -G4tv MMo report.
I have been in many alpha and beta tests so this is my take:
1) Knowing people.
2) Computer Specs matter. The problem is that people who have the bleeding edge systems often feel entitled to be in the alpha/beta because of that equipment. There is being too bleeding edge. Ex: the system is setup to display on 3 screens would likely be flagged as a negative. While they don't want people getting gameplay problems due to poor setups (low memory, substandard video cards) as that would make harder to determine problem origins (them or your system) they also don't want you running a pre-release o/s. Like people who were running windows 8 RC expecting to get in to game testing. Think a bit better than the typical system they would have to support rather than old or special case.
3) If the game has a website, signing up as early as possible helps. As opposed to people rushing to signup when they announce beta coming soon.
4) Press could flag you in a good way for entry into a press beta. It could also work against you.
Epic Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAigCvelkhQ&list=PLo9FRw1AkDuQLEz7Gvvaz3ideB2NpFtT1
https://archive.org/details/softwarelibrary_msdos?&sort=-downloads&page=1
Kyleran: "Now there's the real trick, learning to accept and enjoy a game for what it offers rather than pass on what might be a great playing experience because it lacks a few features you prefer."
John Henry Newman: "A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault."
FreddyNoNose: "A good game needs no defense; a bad game has no defense." "Easily digested content is just as easily forgotten."
LacedOpium: "So the question that begs to be asked is, if you are not interested in the game mechanics that define the MMORPG genre, then why are you playing an MMORPG?"
Wildsatr's beta is in early closed beta. Beta 2 to be exact with each beta expected to last 5 weeks according to Jeremy Gaffney. Which likely means it is very limited and small size right now. Probably on a few thousand. Compare that to Rift which only had a little over 1000 people total invited the 1st 5 months of their beta (which was called Alpha).
What companies generally look for in beta testers are player loyalty, which generally means fanboy, hardcore players and experienced testers. They want people that understand that betas are not always pretty and that it often takes a bit a work to keep going. They want people that are loyal and will not leak info. This is especially important in today's markets as companies want to control the release of information so they can hype the game as best as they can and sell as many boxes as possible at release. Carbine has talked a lot about this.
In regards to media. The big mainstream sites generally do not get invited into a beta until very late close to release while the independent one game only fansite people almost always get invited right away into a betas 1st or 2nd wave. The reason here is twofold. Trust and experience. Fansite operators are generally a lot more trustworthy as they are fanboys and dependent of keeping good relation with the company to get access to new information. Indy fansites also are usually run by much more hardcore players. Mainstream big MMO sites are more focused on quantity than quality and generally do not hire writers that have much MMO experience as they are mainly focused on producing as many articles as possible not articles of substance.
Also keep in mind devs will be inviting friends and players they know and trust 1st from previous games. Players that have appeared at conventions like Pax and so on and players that have registered for beta back when the 1st beta signup went out in 2011. These will all indicate people that are more likely to be excited about their game than randomly just signing up for another beta.
Often computer specs matter. Friends certainly do matter. A game like Wildstar that said they will be testing endgame content extensively in beta likely means there will be a number of guild invites at some point. That likely means raid testing guilds that have tested with particular devs, top world raid guilds and some top pvp guilds as well.
Carbine has stated they have gotten over 250k apps so early the odds of getting an invite are pretty slim.
As the process goes on they will have to shift their focus from the hardcore players and fanboys to more mainstream players.
Most video game companies probably pull at random but I actually have no facts on that. If there is a question "does your system meet the minimum specifications" and you answer no then of course you wont get in. As for a lot of games like FFXIV AAR they ask for specifics and I think that they pull a specific number of of people that "meet" specs, "exceed", and "outperform". I know they probably do this to see how people with mediocre systems, good systems, and amazing systems run the game.
Being a member of the media definitely gives you a plus to getting in, if you notice MMORPG has access to almost every beta that is out. They also talk about every game not under NDA. I would say this is probably because you are more likely to actually test the game in the way it is meant to be tested. So many people now days just play the betas but give 0 feedback. I feel like being a member of the media you give both the positives and definitely the much need criticisms that the devs need to hear.
Also, being part of a large guild or running a guild probably gives you a large benefit. I know many devs want to test the raids, dungeons, and actual multiplayer parts of the MMO. A lot of people run solo through Betas for whatever reason and this gives them an edge because they know they will bring people into the beta that will actually play together.
Anyway, that's just my two cents on how betas work. Excuse any grammar and spelling mistakes, I am feeling way to lazy to skim back over and fix everything haha.