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Mike O'Brien: Guild Wars 2's beta weekend 'overwhelming'
Mike O'Brien said that the result of Guild Wars 2's initial public beta weekend was "overwhelming in more ways than one." ArenaNet's president took the time to write up a short blog post reflecting on the outcome of the past beta weekend and the reasoning behind this coming Monday's surprise stress test. According to O'Brien, while the feedback from the event was quite positive, the team had to struggle with unexpected demand for the game. Even after the management temporarily turned off the ability for players' ability to pre-purchase the title through ArenaNet, the game's 48 servers couldn't contain the influx of testers and beta tourists. It wasn't just a PR stunt, however. "This was definitely a real beta, designed to find problems, gather player input, and learn what work still needs to be done before we ship the game," O'Brien stated. The team is anticipating a bigger crowd with the next beta weekend, which is why it's running a seven-hour stress test on May 14th to test new changes.
Trion's Hal Hanlin and Mike Daugherty give details on RIFT's update 1.6
RIFT has gained a reputation for its fast and furious pace of updates, and doesn't appear to be ready to shed that image any time soon. Players are currently participating in the Ashes of History world event, and learning some clues about a mysterious new island, which is due soon with Update 1.6. In addition to the launch of a new overland zone, Ember Isle, there will be new group content, new zone invasion mechanics, and a new feature called "Instant Adventures." Design Director Hal Hanlin and Content Lead Mike Daugherty took some time to talk to Massively about Update 1.6. Read on for highlights from the interview.
