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The Daily Grind: Do you like beta weekends?
I'm not sure when this whole "beta weekend" craze began, but with The Secret World now joining the likes of TERA and Guild Wars 2 in parceling out its pre-release access, it's safe to say that staggered testing weekends are the new norm. Personally I'm not a fan, as my weekend gaming time ranges from limited to non-existent, and if I'm hyped enough to play a marketing beta, I'd just as soon play it several hours a night. It's especially aggravating in the case of Guild Wars 2 and TERA, both of which can't even be bothered to turn on their testing servers every weekend! What about you, morning crew? Do you like beta weekends? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Eligium community manager emphasizes the importance of beta testing
Thus far we don't know a whole heck of a lot about Frogster's Eligium (other than the fact that it features kung-fu pandas). The devs have released a trailer and kicked off the game's closed beta last month, but there's still a lot of mystery surrounding this particular MMO. Thanks to an interview with Frogster community manager Piotr Dawidowicz, we now have a few more details to go on, including snippets about mounts, PvP, and the importance of the game's closed beta test. "The closed beta for Eligium is not one of those marketing closed betas. We want to use this test phase effectively; it's not just a way to push the product," Dawidowicz explains. "We are intentionally not inviting the entire community to the closed beta. Many of the fans just want to see the finished product –- a polished game –- and don't want to bother with reporting bugs. That's why the closed beta is more of a privilege," he says.
The Daily Grind: Are open betas necessary?
Final Fantasy XIV is in open beta as we speak, and anyone with even a passing interest in MMORPGs is probably already aware of that fact. What you may not be aware of is that very little is actually going to get "tested" (much less re-implemented) during this month-long honeymoon. Many people have even begun referring to open beta periods as marketing betas, since they basically exist to generate awareness of the title and build as much hype as possible. While my own reaction to MMO betas mirrors the hard-working tester in the photo above, many of you are no doubt enjoying Square-Enix's latest. What's your take on open betas in general and FFXIV's in particular? Do you even bother submitting feedback and/or testing, or do you look at them as pre-release free trials?
