beta-invites
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WildStar not sending out more mass beta invitations... for this phase
Are you a hopeful citizen of Nexus who still has not been invited to the WildStar beta? Kind of bad news, then, as the community team has confirmed that no more large-scale beta invitations are in the works for the rest of this phase of beta testing. While there are still plans to help people get into weekend beta events, it looks as if the majority of testers currently in the game are pretty much it. Wait a second -- this phase of beta? No, the tweets don't say that there's another beta phase incoming, but that's certainly the implication, which would mean that the game is creeping that much closer to an open beta and a possible release date. So that's good news, although it still doesn't make up for the fact that anyone not already in will be stuck on the outside for the rest of this phase. [Thanks to Siphaed for the tip!]
The Elder Scrolls Online sends out more beta invites
Today might just be the day. It might be the day that you wake up, check your email, and discover that -- glory of glories! -- you are now part of The Elder Scrolls Online's beta. The official site is reporting that a wave of invites have gone out to potential testers for the next beta phase. So you know the drill: Check your email, check your spam folder, and sacrifice your favorite action figure on an altar in the hope that it will make a difference. "We're looking forward to the next beta session and can't wait for more of you to see the game," ZeniMax said. The studio assured players that the beta "continues to grow" and that more invites will be forthcoming.
LotRO: Riders of Rohan beta invites ride forth from Turbine [Updated]
According to reports from our readers, beta invites for Lord of the Rings Online's upcoming expansion are zipping across the electronic highways and into players' inboxes. The test will run on July 18th and July 20th: From 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, July 18, 2012, help us push the limits of LotRO! Get your first look at Rohan! Cross the Great River from Parth Celebrant and follow the road south through the Wold to the city of Langhold. Your first quest will be available in this city. Spend a couple hours exploring LotRO's newest regions, check out the new quests, admire the great scenery and battle your way through its newest creatures! From 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Friday, July 20, 2012, help us push the limits of LotRO! Get your first look at Mounted Combat! Go to Elthengels in the Norcrofts and prepare to fight from horseback in the open plains of Eastern Rohan! Riders of Rohan is releasing on September 5th. Massively recently got hands-on time with mounted combat in the expansion and was quite impressed! [Update: As A Casual Stroll to Mordor and Sapience on the forums rightly clarify, this beta is under a strict NDA. Please obey it, here and elsewhere!] [Thanks to Ron for the tip!]
More Mists of Pandaria beta passes may be on the way
We're currently receiving reports that more Mists of Pandaria beta passes are being issued -- with a twist. Because all Annual Pass subscribers have received their beta invites, this round is going to those that did not purchase an Annual Pass. If you've registered your interest in beta access on your WoW account, you may have gotten in as well. Please note: if you receive an email notification that you have a beta invite, don't click any links in the email. Just go to Battle.net, log in, and check your accounts to see if you indeed have beta access. And if you are granted beta access, you may want to check our gigantic amount of Mists of Pandaria beta coverage to catch up on what's changed, what's gone, what's new, and what's incredibly cool. It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
250,000 more MoP beta invites are on their way
Happy Wednesday? Sure! Blizzard is sending out a quarter-million beta invites this evening to eager Annual Pass subscribers. 250,000 invites take some time to send out, so don't be surprised if you don't see an email right away. And even then, always head over to your Battle.net account page to make sure that you're really in -- you don't want to risk any scam emails! Also, in this beta push, you'll be able to level to 87. Enjoy the beta! Kaivax -- Another 250,000 Beta Invites Are Heading Out A few moments ago, we initialized a new wave of 250,000 invitations to the Mists of Pandaria beta test. These are all invitations for World of Warcraft Annual Pass subscribers, and it should be a few hours before the e-mail notifications for all recipients have been sent. If you want to make absolutely sure that you got an invite, just check your games list in Battle.net Account Services. As always, thank you very much for your enthusiasm in helping test Mists of Pandaria. We really appreciate your feedback. source It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
Another 100,000 Mists of Pandaria beta invites arriving tonight
Blizzard's developers are like monks. They are on a roll today! Earlier this evening, they fired out 100,000 beta invites after last night's set of 100,000 invites. Several minutes ago, Bashiok announced that yet another 100,000 invites have just been sent out. We heard you like invites so we put an invite in your invite so you can beta while you beta. This is a short but sweet update that we're sending an additional 100,000 invites out tonight, for a total of 200,000 Mists of Pandaria invites being sent out today. Again, it will take a while for the invites to process so we recommend keeping an eye on your games list through Battle.net Account Management, as we expect invites to continue going out into the wee hours of the night and into tomorrow. For more information on the invite process as a whole, please refer back to today's earlier announcement. source Keep an eye on your Battle.net Account Management and be wary of any email scams! Good luck on your invites! It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
Next wave of 100,000 Mists of Pandaria beta invites sent out
If you remember yesterday's mass invite of 100,000 beta testers, well, welcome to déjà vu -- because Bashiok just announced another wave. Yes, that's right. In addition to yesterday's 100,000 beta invites, today has another 100,000 on the way for a grand total of 200,000 beta invites this week. That's pretty darn amazing, in my opinion. Remember to check your account management page directly to avoid email scams. Yesterday's 100,000 Annual Pass-holder beta-test invites ran through the night, and we're still in the process of notifying the invitees by email. Those selected for yesterday's wave of invites should all have the Mists of Pandaria beta client available for download through Battle.net account management, and they should all receive the email notification by end of day today. If the beta client shows up for you in Battle.net account management, you don't need to wait for the email in order to download the client and begin testing. We're off to a solid start with the beta test, and things are looking good in terms of realm stability, so we're ready to invite another wave of Annual Pass holders. A second wave of invites is going out to 100,000 more Annual Pass holders today, starting right now. If you're added in this or any subsequent wave, access to the beta client will show up in Battle.net account management as discussed above. Please check there today and tomorrow, as today's wave of invites will be processing throughout the day and likely into early tomorrow morning. Notification emails will also be going out, but again, no need to wait for the email if the beta client is available to you through Battle.net account management. source Good luck to everyone -- and if you get in, wave at the tauren warrior, or the worgen warrior, or the night elf warrior, or the draenei warrior, since he or she might be me. It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
Blizzard opens the Mists of Pandaria floodgates for 100,000 annual passholders
As everyone who isn't willfully ignoring recent news is aware, World of Warcraft's Mists of Pandaria expansion is currently undergoing beta testing, and we know that many of you can't wait to get your hands on all the new content for yourselves. Well, if you're a World of Warcraft annual passholder, today might just be your lucky day. Bashiok stopped by the official forums to let players know that Blizzard is in the process of sending out a whopping 100,000 MoP beta invites to annual passholders. Bashiok closes the announcement by reminding players that all annual passholders will be invited to the beta before any opt-ins, though there's no telling how many of them are still awaiting invites or how long it will take before the poor/cheap among us get a crack at Pandaria, but hopefully it will be soon rather than soon™.
Microsoft files complaint over fake Halo 4 beta domain
Believe it or not, there are evil people on the Internet who use misinformation and deception to steal from the innocent and well-meaning. We know, we couldn't believe it either, but it's the truth, as recently demonstrated by an outbreak of fake Halo 4 beta test invites.343 Industries' creative director David Ellis was quick to debunk the bogus site, but the URL used in the phishing scam (halo4beta dot net) is still out there, tempting fate with its Halo-oriented name and un-Microsoftness. Who knows what nefarious maleficence the domain could be used for if left in the wild, so Microsoft has filed a complaint with the National Arbitration Forum in order to have the domain name transferred to its ownership.In situations like this, the company filing the complaint has to be able to prove that the domain in question was registered maliciously in order for the Forum to decide in its favor. Under the circumstances, we feel like global fraud will probably be malicious enough to sway things in Microsoft's favor.
Halo 4 beta invites are all fake (so far)
Abe Vigoda's not dead, that bridge in Brooklyn isn't really for sale, and there isn't actually an Easter bunny or a tooth fairy. Oh, and that invite to the Halo 4 beta you just got? It's not real either, says 343 Industries' content editor David Ellis. That doesn't mean there won't be a beta, but there isn't one yet. Santa Claus, though? Totally real.
Dominus December beta invites delayed [Updated]
Those of you itching for a three-faction PvP MMO with a sci-fi twist will have to endure the discomfort a bit longer. Dominus has announced a slight delay in its beta testing program due to a new game engine that is currently in need of some tweaking. "The content is basically fine. But the animations are borked, and the lighting is all off, and everything needs to be re-optimized," explains Pitchblack community manager Sanya Weathers on Dominus' official forums. The bad news is that those players who were promised a spot in the December wave of beta invites are out of luck for the time being. The good news is that the spots aren't going anywhere, and you'll be able to do your part in Dominus' testing phase when new player acceptances resume after the new year. [Update: We've corrected our erroneous references to Dominus' old title.]
Firefall dev update talks beta progress, testing schedules
Wondering how Firefall is progressing as we inch closer to the end of the year? Wonder no more, as a new Red 5 dev blog sheds a bit of light on what's happening with everyone's favorite cel-shaded MMO shooter. The dev team is currently focused on Firefall's open world experience, and said functionality is currently at the center of "a huge push for us this month," Red 5 says. The dev blog also makes mention of the relatively limited access to beta, and says that players shouldn't worry if they haven't received invites yet. "It is definitely not a demo of the game. There are many times where testing is nothing but repeatedly banging your head against a wall while we watch the log files," Red 5 explains. The devs also plan to roll out more beta invites as infrastructure allows, with the process stretching "all the way into next year."
Gotham City Impostors beta invites are the real deal
If you were a keen enough detective and/or a nefarious enough villain to opt in to the Gotham City Impostors closed beta early last month, go check your email and prepare to don your choice of cowl or clown wig: Beta invites are on the move! Now, the beta hasn't actually started yet, but the invitation indicates another announcement "in the coming weeks," which could be any time from now until the heat death of the universe. Those lucky enough to receive an invitation to Monolith's 6-on-6 vigilante shooter are urged to register at the game's official forums. You can still dress up like Batman and fight crime even if you didn't get an invitation, we suppose, but real-world vigilantism never works out the way you think it will. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
TERA European community test kicks off, political system detailed
Blue Hole Studio's TERA has officially kicked off its European testing phase, according to this morning's press release from Frogster. The German gaming company is publishing TERA in Europe, and has sent out 1,500 invites to "the most dedicated and hardcore fans from the TERA community." The special testing event will run for four days, and Frogster says similar events are scheduled for the "very near future." Frogster also drops a few hints regarding the game's political system, noting that it's intended to be endgame content and that elected rulers will access exclusive mounts, impose taxes, and manipulate NPC villagers. The system involves something called policy points which are acquired via questing, and Vanarchs (the term for players that ascend to the position of regional ruler) must determine how and where to spend them.
GamersFirst hands out over 10,000 APB Reloaded closed beta invites
It's Christmas in March for a lot of former San Paro citizens rendered homeless by the demise of their favorite MMO. Yes, GamersFirst has cracked open the APB Reloaded beta door a bit further as of Tuesday afternoon according to a post on the free-to-play developer's official forums. "Today is your lucky day," reads the short message. "We're sending out 10,000 plus invites. Check your email (don't forget the spam box)." GamersFirst has been slowly but steadily ramping up the media assault for its reborn open-world shooter, and whether you're looking for videos, exclusive interviews, or beta key giveaways, Massively's got your back as you look to make the streets of San Paro your personal playground.
GamersFirst looking to expand APB Reloaded closed beta
Things are ramping up in APB-land, and it's not just because GamersFirst has released its second dev blog of the week (as opposed to its traditional one-entry-per-week modus operandi over the past few months). Bjorn Book-Larsson writes that another 2500 souls have been admitted into the ongoing closed beta test, and thus far the GamersFirst hardware is holding its own under the new player onslaught. The beta test was approaching 1000 concurrent users as of Thursday afternoon, and though a few server restarts were required, the engineers have since nailed down a stable configuration that seems to be lag-free (aside from distance-related issues). Book-Larsson says that if all goes as planned, Friday evening will see another batch of invites, so keep an eye on your inboxes if you're itching to get back to San Paro. While you're waiting, check out our exclusive APB Reloaded GDC coverage or the recently released Vehicle Showcase video here or behind the cut.
APB Reloaded welcomes first 2500 beta testers
The APB Reloaded blog has updated and there's good news in store for anxious fans looking to dive back into the city of San Paro. The initial wave of beta invites has officially been sent, and GamersFirst's Bjorn Book-Larsson informs us that the first batch was targeted at American players (primarily on the west coast) who met certain minimum requirements. Book-Larsson also notes a memory allocation issue that cropped up after the influx of players (approximately 2500 in this wave), but says that as long as the system remains reasonably stable, GamersFirst will begin inviting new players on a daily basis. "The current plan is to slowly increase the CCU count (simultaneously connected players) from a few hundred (what it is now) to just over 2,000 simultaneous players this week -- which means close to 20,000 actual invitees," Book-Larsson says.
APB: Reloaded closed beta application keys received a get-out-of-jail-free card
San Paro may be waiting for you again! The free-to-play publisher GamersFirst has sent out application keys for the forthcoming third-person shooter MMO APB: Reloaded. Fans have been anxiously awaiting the reopening of the game's crime-ridden streets since Realtime Worlds walled off the city. Yesterday, email messages poured into many an inbox asking players to fork over their computer specs for a chance to enter the closed beta. Check your email -- you may have one of the invitations waiting for you. Although there is a key to be redeemed, you will not qualify for an actual beta invite until the GamersFirst development team has had a chance to review and accept your application. If your inbox is like many gamers' inboxes, you will want to sift through every piece of mail you received yesterday and look for the one titled "Your Key to San Paro inside." You may even have to dig through your spam box. If you have not signed up for beta testing yet, jack a car and speed over to the Gamersfirst website now, yo! [Thank you tipsters for letting us know!]
Trion Worlds explains Rift beta sitch
The beta for Rift: Planes of Telara is looming -- looming, people! -- and yet the masses are somewhat confused as to how to get into it. This was made more complicated this past weekend as Trion Worlds posted a Sign Up For Beta Now link on the front page of Rift without sending users to an actual beta sign up. Community manager Abigale posted a lengthy explanation on the forums as to why this happened and how Trion is planning to recruit for the beta. Essentially, Trion Worlds meant to send out an explanation email before the link went live. But now that it is live, Abigale laid out the three tiers of beta invites and access: Guaranteed beta invitees: These are the folks who got their hands on a VIP All Access pass at one of Rift's community events. This guarantees a beta spot in any and all betas. If you didn't get one yet, don't worry -- Trion will be handing out more of these codes in the future! First beta pool: Any fans of the game who have either entered in a code for a chance at beta access or have merely signed up for a Rift forum account previous to October 2nd is now part of a pool of potential beta players. Trion will pull more testers from this pool as the beta events roll out. Second beta pool: Anyone who signs up for a Rift account after the 2nd (which means that if you haven't already, this will be you) is placed into this pool. This gives you a shot at the beta, although not as great as if you were a part of the first pool. You can read the full explanation over on the Rift forums. [Updated: The link to the explanation should be working now. Sorry for the confusion!]
Lego Universe beta codes are starting to roll out
It's time to gather up your brightly colored blocks and figure out just what kind of cool things you're planning to build. Why? Because we're getting reports from around the Internets that the first invites for the beta for Lego Universe are starting to roll out to some very lucky gamers! Offering what looks to be tons of fun hearkening back to our childhood (or in some of our cases, our continuing childhood) the Lego Universe beta opened up for sign-ups just a month ago. Prior to that, we saw a pretty awesome pirate zombie trailer and even some pretty slick looking alpha footage. If you haven't signed up for beta as yet, you'd best head over to the Lego Universe site now. (What are you waiting for!) If you already signed up, be sure to check those spam folders -- your invite could be waiting for you already. Meanwhile, we'll be over here, obsessively checking our mail for any sign of some brightly-colored Lego brick love.
