beta-testing-weekend
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Tamriel Infinium: Three pieces of 'advice' now that you're in ESO beta
When I started this piece, I wanted a good strong Elder Scrolls oath or expletive to start us out, so of course, I jumped to the Imperial Library to find a good one. By the time I'd finished looking and being distracted by the incredible lore surrounding these phrases, by the dragon's teeth, I had completely forgotten why I'd wanted to look up the oath in the first place because this week's Tamriel Infinium isn't even about oaths. It's about beta testing. Apparently, ZeniMax should not give any more beta invites to people with Twitter accounts because they cannot keep a secret. Many players reveled in the fact that they are better than everyone else because they received a special invite to The Elder Scrolls Online closed beta for this weekend. I figured I'd help those special few out by giving them some "advice" on how to make a good impression on the developers while in closed beta. The first one they have already done: announce to the world at large that they have been invited to secret beta test. To get extra points, include your full name and IP address so that it's easier for the ZeniMax community team to find you and "thank" you personally. I've got three more pieces of advice to give, and I want to know why the rest of you deserve to be in beta. Perhaps, I can use your advice to help me get in. Bogfire! My own tactics aren't working for me yet.
Final SWTOR beta weekend targeting November 25th - 28th
As it's Thanksgiving weekend in the US, it's fitting that BioWare is giving players something to be thankful for: one last, giant beta test of Star Wars: The Old Republic. So if you're interested in seeing if the hype matches the game, make sure you stay out of any turkey comas following Thursday! According to SWTOR's Twitter, the test has been scheduled for November 25th through the 28th. This represents the largest beta test for the soon-to-be-released title yet, with hundreds of thousands -- perhaps millions -- of players invited to stress-test the servers. The test might not technically be "open" beta, but it's pretty hard at this point not to get into it. Any player who registered for beta testing prior to November 11th is automatically included, and those that didn't can grab one of the thousands and thousands of keys floating out there -- including from us! If you have questions about the beta test, it might behoove you to check out SWTOR's FAQ on the event.
The Old Republic opens the beta blast doors for its final testing weekend
On the Massively staff there are the Haves and the Have Nots of the Star Wars: The Old Republic beta. The Haves use their glorious position to grind the morale of the Have Nots into the dirt, leaving these poor saps weeping while the Haves go to a bar and high-five each other with Wookiee paws. It's enough to make you feel like you're in a high-tech trash compactor of emotions. If you're like our Have Nots and have yet to get into the SWTOR beta, BioWare has good news for you today. The next beta testing weekend, which is scheduled for sometime later this month, will open up to everyone who's applied before November 11th. If that's not you, there's still a good chance you can get in, as BioWare will be handing out additional beta keys via sites like Massively in the near future. According to an additional FAQ covering this event, this will probably be the final beta testing weekend for the MMO prior to its December 20th launch. Even if you're not in a SWTOR launch country, as long as you have signed up or get a key, you'll be invited to test this season's hottest ticket. BioWare also announced that SWTOR will be available to play at this month's Dreamhack gaming event, from November 24th through the 27th.
Star Wars: The Old Republic increases invitations to this weekend's beta test
While Star Wars: The Old Republic's beta test weekends thus far have been small and intermittent, BioWare hopes to make it up to anxious fans by kicking off a much larger beta event. The studio posted that it is in the process of inviting "more players into testing than [it's] ever invited before in a single weekend" over the course of today in preparation for this weekend's test. This next beta weekend will take place from October 7th through the 11th and is separate from the ongoing closed beta. BioWare also asserts that players who aren't accepted into this test will have future opportunities in the additional beta test weekends before the launch. SWTOR beta test invitations will come straight to players' emails and can be verified by logging into your account to see whether the beta client is available for download. [Thanks to everyone who sent in this tip!]
Answer your beta-related questions, Star Wars: The Old Republic does
In light of the Star Wars: The Old Republic's beta testing weekends' recent inception, Stephen Reid stopped by the SWTOR official forums to drop a couple of FAQs on the masses. The first deals with the ongoing beta testing, beta weekends, and early access for pre-order customers. The second hones in on the first beta test weekend, which took place last weekend. The beta FAQ begins by outlining the differences between early game access, beta weekends, guild testing, and the normal beta testing. Early game access, of course, is access to the launch version of the game prior to the official launch date; this privilege is given to those who pre-order the game. Beta testing weekends are exactly what they sound like, and Reid notes that the team is aiming for one more test weekend this month, which will host more players than the last test. Game and guild testing are both the normal, ongoing beta test, with the latter differentiated only by the invitation process for guilds rather than individuals. The post goes on to remind players that, even with the advent of the beta testing weekends, the NDA is still in effect, and that a player's participation in one beta test weekend does not guarantee her selection for subsequent weekends. And lastly, we'd be remiss to omit this small detail for our European players: Game testing for European players is "imminent," says the post, and these tests will include localized French and German versions of the game. Beta weekends for European players will begin around the same time. Now then, the beta weekend FAQ. The post declares the intent of the first beta weekend to have been a "small-scale simulation of a launch scenario." The post also discusses the successes and failures of the test and notes that almost every goal set by the team was met or exceeded. However, there were a few hitches with the invite process, which the team has since fixed. For the full details, hop on your speeder bike and head on over to the official forum posts.
