I have participated in only one beta as of now, which was Everquest 2. I was an avid EQ 1 player much as I was and still am an avid D2 player. I actually transfered to the "Legends" EQ 1 server in order to be accepted into early EQ2 beta. For those of you who are not familiar with EQ, that was a server with expanded in-game content, and higher GM to player ratios, among other things. The downside was that it was also almost $40 dollars a month if I remember correctly.
After being a devoted player of Everquest for almost 3 years I can honestly say that I was more than extatic about being able to be a part of the beta of EQ2. Unfortunately, my experience really had a negative impact on my feelings about the world of EQ.
In beta, (and for that matter for a long while after release in my opinion) the game was broken, flawed, and unfinished. At this point your probably thinking, well of course... it's a testing phase. I knew full well that I was going to be playing a non-polished game and I was ok with that.
Logging in to unstable servers to try to complete buggy quests in a limited area of the game put such a sour taste in my mouth about the lore, gameplay, and immersion level that I was never able to fully recover and ultimately ended up really not caring for EQ2.
Im not sure if I ever would have liked the game, but I genuinely feel that had I not been a tester, I would have been able to at least give it a fair shot. When I initially started playing both D2 and EQ I was thrown headfirst into a well developed online community, in a stable play environment which I think contributed largely to why I played the games and enjoyed them for as long as I did.
In the end, I guess, what I'm trying to say here is that this is a game that I have been waiting for since highschool, (im 24 now) and I will echo the same sentiment that many have expressed in that I am willing to wait for the actual release of the game to start playing. I wont compromise what could, and hopefully will be my love for a great game that I will play for years to come.
Has anyone else had similar experiences testing? Possibly even just a particular incident with poor game design decisions that have led them to leave a game? If I was given the opportunity to participate in testing, I can honestly say that I would respectfully decline. What do you guys think?
But in all seriousness I doubt that the beta will be the same for Diablo 3. Blizzard puts a lot of love and care into their games and they have already started internal beta testing since May (?, Don't quote me on that). I bet you that any major game changing, turn-off glitches have been found and fixed. The purpose of a closed beta is to have a large number of players sweep over the game to find minor glitches such as problems with the physics engines, things phasing through walls under unique circumstances, typos, etc. Also, Bashiok specifically stated that the team wanted to reveal as little if not any of the story during the beta. I've been in the Starcraft 2 beta and the Cataclysm Beta for reference. Blizzard games in beta phase are nowhere near being glitchy to a point of ruining your idea of the game.
tl;dr - Blizzard =/= Sony Entertainment, Diablo 3 =/= EQ2, no story in the beta.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
My place really was here. I was too foolish and stubborn to notice. But, what I truly hoped for then was here. Why do I always realize it When I've already lost it.
i know what you mean....I am currently in Alpha Testing for Battlefield 3 (i dont even think im allowed to tell you that haha) and dont get me wrong the game is awesome, i try not to play it bc I want that excitement of picking up the game on release and just diving into it....i am 24 too and have been playing Diablo since day one....if a key ends up in my grasps i dont think ill do anything with it
Well. Since none of you guys want to use your beta keys, you can always donate them to diablofans so we can hold contests to give them out!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
My place really was here. I was too foolish and stubborn to notice. But, what I truly hoped for then was here. Why do I always realize it When I've already lost it.
Beta testing is way more than just playing its helping the developers perfect the game. You shouldn't want to be in the beta just to play. A lot of what the beta is is to find glitches or bugs and report them even as simple as grammer issues u r testing the game to give feedback to the the developers so they can tweak the game as needed. I have only been in a few beta tests(none with blizzard) ill admit at first I just wanted to play but than you realize that there are some things that need to be fixed and ur input can make a difference. So I guess what I'm trying to say it don't get into the beta and expect a perfect game... test it and don't let that be ur first true experience with the game.
Well. Since none of you guys want to use your beta keys, you can always donate them to diablofans so we can hold contests to give them out!
Well that's kind of a paradox isn't it? If they didn't want beta keys they wouldn't sign up for beta, and there's also the fact there probably won't be any beta keys since the beta application is linked to your battle.net account.
OT: The first negative, imo, is that the unfinished/unpolished can scare away ignorant players with high expectations of a bug-free and enjoyable beta. The problem is that even though it might be enjoyable the betas purpose is to find and report all bugs and broken mechanics, not enjoy a finished product.
The second negative is that repeated interaction with the Diablo 3 mechanics can hasten how fast a player will get bored with the game itself when it's released, since everything won't be "new, fresh and exciting".
This is my experience from the WoW: Cata Beta, but I think the Diablo Crew will do a better job than the Warcraft Crew and not spoil too much.
Well. Since none of you guys want to use your beta keys, you can always donate them to diablofans so we can hold contests to give them out!
Well that's kind of a paradox isn't it? If they didn't want beta keys they wouldn't sign up for beta, and there's also the fact there probably won't be any beta keys since the beta application is linked to your battle.net account.
I meant that if they were to sign up and receive a beta key for the sake of the community it would be much appreciated.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
My place really was here. I was too foolish and stubborn to notice. But, what I truly hoped for then was here. Why do I always realize it When I've already lost it.
How do you send feed back when you participate in a beta, or how did blizz implement it in sc2?
Good question. As I've mentioned in another thread, I was given access to the SC2 beta 2 days before the beta closed, which seemed pointless to me. In the email I received it simply stated that I was chosen to participate in beta, gave me info on how to download/install the game w/a beta key, but mentioned nothing of where to provide feedback. I do recall the email mentioning that I should provide feedback on the game but there was no link/instructions on how to.
I don't think the beta will provide any sort of negative experience for me as I would expect to find bugs/errors or glitches, as that's what a beta is usually for. It's still exciting to get to play a game before everyone else, regardless of how much of the game you actually get to play.
How do you send feed back when you participate in a beta, or how did blizz implement it in sc2?
Good question. As I've mentioned in another thread, I was given access to the SC2 beta 2 days before the beta closed, which seemed pointless to me. In the email I received it simply stated that I was chosen to participate in beta, gave me info on how to download/install the game w/a beta key, but mentioned nothing of where to provide feedback. I do recall the email mentioning that I should provide feedback on the game but there was no link/instructions on how to.
I don't think the beta will provide any sort of negative experience for me as I would expect to find bugs/errors or glitches, as that's what a beta is usually for. It's still exciting to get to play a game before everyone else, regardless of how much of the game you actually get to play.
In my personal experiences with Betas I find I'm able to compartmentalize the experience as almost a whole different game entirely compared to the retail copy. I go in with as little expectations as I can, and enjoy testing. I've been part of a good amount Betas, mostly for first person shooters on console, but non the less found they left fond memories of bugs, and balancing issues that I could look back on after release and laugh about. Thankfully I can say all of the games I've help test made great improvements from Beta to Gold, making them feel and play different to the point it didn't feel as if I was playing that particular game for (insert months here) before hand.
I feel for those who get into the D3 beta, this will be the case. The talented people working on this game are passionate about it; it's been their life for years now. Betas are great advertising also, if there are too many bugs in the Beta it will not only leave a bad impression with the testers, but also the community which follows the news and content. I expect the Beta to be polished and fun, yet not give away too much of the game. That was when release comes the testers still have plenty to look forward to.
“We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about.” - Albert Einstein
After being a devoted player of Everquest for almost 3 years I can honestly say that I was more than extatic about being able to be a part of the beta of EQ2. Unfortunately, my experience really had a negative impact on my feelings about the world of EQ.
In beta, (and for that matter for a long while after release in my opinion) the game was broken, flawed, and unfinished. At this point your probably thinking, well of course... it's a testing phase. I knew full well that I was going to be playing a non-polished game and I was ok with that.
Logging in to unstable servers to try to complete buggy quests in a limited area of the game put such a sour taste in my mouth about the lore, gameplay, and immersion level that I was never able to fully recover and ultimately ended up really not caring for EQ2.
Im not sure if I ever would have liked the game, but I genuinely feel that had I not been a tester, I would have been able to at least give it a fair shot. When I initially started playing both D2 and EQ I was thrown headfirst into a well developed online community, in a stable play environment which I think contributed largely to why I played the games and enjoyed them for as long as I did.
In the end, I guess, what I'm trying to say here is that this is a game that I have been waiting for since highschool, (im 24 now) and I will echo the same sentiment that many have expressed in that I am willing to wait for the actual release of the game to start playing. I wont compromise what could, and hopefully will be my love for a great game that I will play for years to come.
Has anyone else had similar experiences testing? Possibly even just a particular incident with poor game design decisions that have led them to leave a game? If I was given the opportunity to participate in testing, I can honestly say that I would respectfully decline. What do you guys think?
But in all seriousness I doubt that the beta will be the same for Diablo 3. Blizzard puts a lot of love and care into their games and they have already started internal beta testing since May (?, Don't quote me on that). I bet you that any major game changing, turn-off glitches have been found and fixed. The purpose of a closed beta is to have a large number of players sweep over the game to find minor glitches such as problems with the physics engines, things phasing through walls under unique circumstances, typos, etc. Also, Bashiok specifically stated that the team wanted to reveal as little if not any of the story during the beta. I've been in the Starcraft 2 beta and the Cataclysm Beta for reference. Blizzard games in beta phase are nowhere near being glitchy to a point of ruining your idea of the game.
tl;dr - Blizzard =/= Sony Entertainment, Diablo 3 =/= EQ2, no story in the beta.
Well that's kind of a paradox isn't it? If they didn't want beta keys they wouldn't sign up for beta, and there's also the fact there probably won't be any beta keys since the beta application is linked to your battle.net account.
OT: The first negative, imo, is that the unfinished/unpolished can scare away ignorant players with high expectations of a bug-free and enjoyable beta. The problem is that even though it might be enjoyable the betas purpose is to find and report all bugs and broken mechanics, not enjoy a finished product.
The second negative is that repeated interaction with the Diablo 3 mechanics can hasten how fast a player will get bored with the game itself when it's released, since everything won't be "new, fresh and exciting".
This is my experience from the WoW: Cata Beta, but I think the Diablo Crew will do a better job than the Warcraft Crew and not spoil too much.
I meant that if they were to sign up and receive a beta key for the sake of the community it would be much appreciated.
Good question. As I've mentioned in another thread, I was given access to the SC2 beta 2 days before the beta closed, which seemed pointless to me. In the email I received it simply stated that I was chosen to participate in beta, gave me info on how to download/install the game w/a beta key, but mentioned nothing of where to provide feedback. I do recall the email mentioning that I should provide feedback on the game but there was no link/instructions on how to.
I don't think the beta will provide any sort of negative experience for me as I would expect to find bugs/errors or glitches, as that's what a beta is usually for. It's still exciting to get to play a game before everyone else, regardless of how much of the game you actually get to play.
so you don't know?
I feel for those who get into the D3 beta, this will be the case. The talented people working on this game are passionate about it; it's been their life for years now. Betas are great advertising also, if there are too many bugs in the Beta it will not only leave a bad impression with the testers, but also the community which follows the news and content. I expect the Beta to be polished and fun, yet not give away too much of the game. That was when release comes the testers still have plenty to look forward to.