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Breaking: Sign up to test The Old Republic
Looks like yesterday's accidental posting of the announcement to test Star Wars: The Old Republic was only a day early! The testing portal is up, and Bioware is now accepting applications for closed beta testers.Testers are going to be selected on the usual three categories -- system specifications, age, and region. Other categories will be used as well, however they haven't been announced formally by Bioware. Those interested in testing the game will need SWTOR community accounts (forum accounts) before they can jump in over on the testing website.Testing is also only open to people who are over 18 years of age, as Bioware is serious in finding those who will offer good bug reports to aid the development of the game. If you think you have what it takes, then cruise on over to the testing page and sign yourself up!Editor's Note: The website is getting crushed right now (for obvious reasons) so if you can't get in, just try again later. There will be plenty of time for everyone to sign up!
[Updated] Stress test Earth Eternal, get a cool hat
Are you a big fan of fantasy? Like exclusive items? How about helping to stress test games? If you answered "yes" to all three of those questions, then listen up! Our friends over at SparkPlay Media have sent over another shiny batch of 1,000 beta keys so those people who are interested can get involved with a new round of beta testing in Earth Eternal starting at 12:00 PM Pacific tomorrow. As a thank you for making it online, testers who are in at 2 PM Pacific (Saturday, September 26th) will get this special Earth Eternal hat that we think looks sneakingly like the stylish one worn by Tim the Enchanter. We're told the EE logo on the front sparkles too, so be sure to get there early! All you have to do if you want in on all the fun is to head over to the Massively code-giving-out-site-thing, read the instructions, and click the button. Or click the button and then read the instructions. It's really not too terribly hard to do - and hey, it gets you in to the Earth Eternal beta! Then show up tomorrow at 12 PM Pacific (3pm Eastern) and hang around until 2:00 PM Pacific (5pm Eastern) to net yourself one of these funky hats. With your new hat, you can then run around warning everyone about those killer rabbits and their nasty sharp pointy teeth. Hopefully they'll believe you, unlike those who doubted the word of Tim.[Edited to show updated times]
The Daily Grind: No beta, no thanks
It's pretty much impossible for a development team to thoroughly test an MMO solely with in-house QA. Because of this, they involve the community in the testing process, giving the keenest fans a chance to try a game early and play a small part in shaping its future. However, not all games will offer a truly "open" beta, where anyone can sign up and play during that phase of testing. What we're noticing is that many folks are not willing to pick up an MMO at launch these days if they don't get this unofficial free trial beforehand.This attitude is quite understandable, given a few factors of the current climate. The economic turmoil of late has caused a lot of people to think a bit harder about how they spend their entertainment budget, but beyond that, we've also seen a lot of MMOs launch in a state that many would consider "less than ready". If folks don't have a chance to get in-game and make that call themselves before launch, many are happy to cross that game off their lists (at least until they hear more about it post-launch, either good or bad). Today, readers, we wanted to find out if you have taken this stance towards upcoming MMOs. Is it "No beta, no thanks"? Even if you had high hopes for the game?
Media Molecule taking beta applications for LittleBigWater
We only have so much anticipation that we can distribute between this year's big titles -- however, we've had to move a considerable portion over to an unexpected release: The addition of water to LittleBigPlanet. We know, it's not even a game so much as a new game mechanic, but it should breathe new life into the title's million-level-strong homebrew community.Fortunately, we might not have to wait much longer for this digital precipitation to accumulate -- Media Molecule is now taking applications for a beta version of the water-infused LBP kit. You better believe we'll be there with bells on -- only, you probably won't hear them, because bells have an awfully hard time ringing underwater.
The Daily Grind: Is beta testing just free labour?
It seems 2009 is the Summer of Betas. There certainly are a lot going on at the moment: Aion, Cities XL and Champions Online are just three of the most popular currently going on but the sheer concept of beta testing is a bit of a bug-bear amongst players. There are basically two camps: those who lap up a beta and treat it is a chance to explore the newest games (and seems to include most of Team Massively) or the latest content months before anyone else. Camp number two is a little more pragmatic. For these folks, betas (while fun and exciting) are just an excuse for Company X to save some money by getting a few million free and eager quality assurance monkeys. After all they ask for detailed bug reports and the same kind of information that is asked of professionals who get paid minimum wage to play games for hours.So, readers, as you mull over your coffee and cereal this morning, I'm eager to know to which camp you see yourself belonging? Are betas just a cheap ploy to get a few thousand fresh pairs of eyes or a genuine attempt to gauge a new game? Drop your thoughts in the box below.
Enhanced Gmail Plug-in for BlackBerry now in testing
It's no secret that using Gmail on a BlackBerry is a painful experience -- since the built-in mail client has shamefully broken IMAP support, your only real choice is a variant of the same Java-based Gmail app that runs on ancient featurephones, and that rules out direct integration with either contacts or attachments. Yeah, it's sad, but hope is in the air, as RIM's apparently beta testing something called the "Enhanced Gmail Plug-in for BlackBerry," which promises to bring things up to speed. Features are said to include Conversation View, support for labels, stars, and archiving, and full mailbox search -- you know, Gmail. Of course, it would be even nicer if RIM would just sack up and bring proper IMAP support to the most famous messaging platform in the world, but we'll take what we can get.[Via BerryReview]
Enhanced Gmail Plug-in for BlackBerry now in beta testing
It's no secret that using Gmail on a BlackBerry is a painful experience -- since the built-in mail client has shamefully broken IMAP support, your only real choice is a variant of the same Java-based Gmail app that runs on ancient featurephones, and that rules out direct integration with either contacts or attachments. Yeah, it's sad, but hope is in the air, as RIM's apparently beta testing something called the "Enhanced Gmail Plug-in for BlackBerry," which promises to bring things up to speed. Features are said to include Conversation View, support for labels, stars, and archiving, and full mailbox search -- you know, Gmail. Of course, it would be even nicer if RIM would just sack up and bring proper IMAP support to the most famous messaging platform in the world, but we'll take what we can get.[Via BerryReview]
Get your keys for the third Aion beta weekend, before they're gone
It's going to be another weekend of angels flying around the world, except this weekend you're going to get to choose which side you want to support! Yes, that's right, it's the third weekend for the Aion beta test.This weekend's testing focus will be on both the Elyos and Asmodian sides and testers will be able to progress all the way up to level 20. No more getting capped at 10 just after you grab your wings! The test's doors open tomorrow, July 2nd, at 12 PM PT / 3 PM ET.If you haven't gotten your key for the beta yet, run on over to Fileplanet and grab one! Sadly, at the time of this post, there are no more keys left for standard users, but Fileplanet subscribers still have the opportunity to grab an entrance into the beta. Oh, one more thing -- these keys are for North American users only.
The Daily Grind: Do you wish test realm characters could be transfered to live realms?
I regularly play on testing realms (it is in my job description after all) but my biggest gripe is that I can never get that enthusiastic about it because I know I will lose my characters. Last week we told you about the open beta for Atlus Online's MMO Neo Steam: The Shattered Continent and the interesting news that characters created could be kept and resurrected on live realms. Now this is pretty revelatory stuff. Any one who has played an MMO on a test realm knows that you can usually copy your toons over in order to rest higher level content but there's no way to re-transfer them home after your done. They just get deleted along with the server.My problem with this is I am less likely to do quests on a test realm because I don't want to slog through them again later. At the same time it's nice to get the chance to use a premade from a different class to see how they play. However I do think that if more companies were to follow Atlus' example (however implausible it might be for the bigger MMOs) that people would be more inclined to hang around after the beta ended. What do you think, constant readers? Would you play (insert upcoming MMO title here) for longer than the beta if you got to keep your carefully crafted toon?
The Daily Grind: Do you prefer a structured or sandbox beta?
Betas are fun. There's that awesome feeling of specialness, you (and a few others) have been chosen to join an elite group to try out the next biggest MMO of the year. Then there's that feeling of adventure, the chance to look at a new vibrant world, immerse yourself in lore and craft a unique character. Sometimes, you even get a chance to offer feedback and actively help shape a new virtual world. Most betas are sandboxes and involve lengthy periods where you can play to your heart's content. You get a specific number of zones to play in and you can wander where you will, choose professions and do quests. But some, like Aion, are structured and designed to test a specific faction or zone, they are usually shorter, deployed in stages and much more focused. I want to know whether you prefer being left to your own devices over a period of weeks or months. Alternatively do you prefer having a shorter but more intense period of play when you are given the option of playing a specific faction? Do you prefer to choose your class or just explore and see what the world has to offer? Drop your thoughts in the comment box below.
Aion: Tower of Eternity: Preparing for the beta
I know I'm going to sound like a broken record but the Aion beta is coming. Here at Massively Towers we've gone Aion crazy since we found out about it and even gave away a batch of keys to two hundred lucky readers. Yes, all around Europe and North America people are opening their inboxes to find magical golden (in a metaphorical sense) keys which allow them access -- however briefly -- to the mystical world of Atreia. The beta, which is taking place between Friday and Monday, is the first of an ongoing series and each will examine a specific aspect of gameplay. This first jaunt introduces the angelic Elyos and the starting zone of Eltnen, you will be able to level to 20 and try any of the four main classes (which then branch out into two subclasses as you level up).
Aion beta keys now in the wild, US beta confirmed
The Aion beta is fast approaching but you all knew that, right? Well confirmation came last night via the official NA Community Twitter page that keys for this weekend's event are now being distributed to thousands of lucky testers who took part in numerous giveaways. But that's not all. A couple of hours later aion_liv updated with a link to yet another beta giveaway, this time at MMORPG.com confirming there will also be a US beta this weekend. However every one of the 5000 keys they were offering had gone in a matter of hours.US players will be able to take part in their own beta test which follows the same lines as the EU: the chance to roll an angelic Elyos and level from 1 to 20 while exploring the zone of Eltnen. The US beta will begin at 12 noon PST on Friday, June 5, 2009 and conclude at 12 midnight on Sunday, June 7, 2009. More information about entering the US beta and respective giveaways can be found on the game's NA official site.If you use Twitter and don't yet have a key to either beta, don't fret as both the Liv in the US and Ayase in the EU are tweeting about any beta giveaways so you might want to add them to your follower list, along with the game's producer Brian Knox and, for those in the EU, German Community manager Martin Rabl. If you have already entered a giveaway for a key - such as the one we held earlier in the week - you might also want to keep one eye on your inbox and keep checking you spam folder just in case.
Choose my adventure with WoW.com profiles
We're all still slaving away on WoW.com, finding bugs and filing feedback. To help that process along, we're going to try a little experiment. I'm going to level a character from level 1 to level 80, and all of it will be documented on my WoW.com profile. The hook is that you guys are going to decide most aspects of this character, such as race, class, and talent spec.Such things will be determined largely via polls right here on the front page of WoW.com, where I'll be giving weekly updates on my progress along with what I've learned about the class and the world and any other observations I might have. If you want a little more detail on the process such as where I'm going, what I've done, and any other little notes I make via the Adventurer's Note feature, you can follow that on my profile. If you don't dig our profiles portion of the site, hey, no problem. You'll still get weekly updates right here on the blog until I'm level 80.There are two polls: Race and Class. I will play whichever choices are the most popular. If the chosen race can't actually be the chosen class, I'm going to go with whatever is the most popular class that I can actually play as that race. The polls are below, and there's a little more information behind the cut underneath them.Update: Polls will remain open so those who voted can still see the results, but as of May 22nd, Gnome Warlock won the polls and the adventures have begun.%Poll-30341% %Poll-30352%
Earth Eternal opens sign ups for closed beta test
Interested in running around a browser-based MMO fantasy world filled with over 22 races? Yes? Then you need to get over to Earth Eternal's website and sign up for their recently announced closed beta test!Earth Eternal is an an MMO that's all about what happens when humanity ceases to exist and the Earth is roamed by beasts of myth once more. It's also free to play and will run on almost any computer thanks to a client that runs inside of the browser, similar to Cartoon Network's FusionFall. Players will find a wide variety of features available, including multi-classing abilities, customizable housing in the form of "groves," and a design emphasis on small groups rather than huge raids.There's still no release date announced for Earth Eternal, but we're guessing that with the closed beta happening so soon, there can't be much time left before the release date is fully confirmed.
Microsoft puts the kibosh on Windows 7 beta downloads
Sadly, the day we were all expecting has come to pass: Windows 7 beta downloads are no longer available from Microsoft. Originally, the plan was to limit downloads to 2.5 million users, but due to popular demand and to help ease traffic on The Pirate Bay's website (just kidding) the company later offered unlimited downloads which (after providing a couple generous extensions) lasted until yesterday. But don't worry -- if your download got interrupted, you have until Thursday, Feb. 12 at 9:00 PM PST to finish the job; and folks who have finished their download can still register a product key or look up an old one on the download page.[Via The Register] Further reading: #saleschart { border: 0px solid #333; border-collapse: collapse; } #saleschart td { padding: 7px; border-bottom: 0px solid #ccc; vertical-align: top; margin: 0; line-height: 1.3em; font-size: 100%;} #saleschart th.bottomrow { border-right: 1px solid #333; } #saleschart tr.features1 { border-top: 1px solid #333; } #saleschart td.bottomrow2 { border-right: 1px solid #333;} #saleschart th { font-size: 100%; font-weight: bold; text-align: left; padding: 4px; background: #f3f3f3; border-top: 1px solid #333; } Microsoft extends Windows 7 beta downloads to February 10 Good news for those of you who haven't yet snagged a copy of the Windows 7 beta -- Microsoft's decided to extend the beta download period to February 10th. Windows 7 multitouch: it's a gimmick (for now)We've spent some time with Windows 7 Beta's new touch and multitouch features this week, and came away largely disappointed. Windows 7 Beta in-depth impressionsWe finally gathered together all our thoughts and impressions of the OS into one meaty pile of words and screencaps. Windows 7 install roundup After resting up and settling into our post-CES golden desk chairs, team Engadget got busy at installing Windows 7 on pretty much anything they could find.
Forum post of the day: Don't be bothered by bugs
I don't really need to tell you that WoW has been a little rocky since patch 3.0.8 launched. The forums are filled with players who are angry and threatening to cancel their accounts. There are some that think we need to give a Blizz a break.Snagger of Quel'dorei pointed out that there are risks involved in launching new programming. The PTR cannot quite grasp the effect of millions of users. I've experienced bugs in new software releases in many areas. Everything from the Windows XP security bug in service pack three to software developed for my employer that regularly crashes the computer. We come up with work-arounds and the the developers work to resolve the issue. What we're experiencing is not unique to WoW. If you're missing out on your favorite WoW activity, try something else: run battlegrounds, work on reputation, help some lowbies, roll a healer.
PTR character copy is up...for now
If you want to copy your characters over to the 3.0.8 PTR I would do it soon, as in the next few minutes. The copy is currently up and working via the account management page at worldofwarcraft.com (go there yourself and navigate to account management as to ensure there's no trickery involved in links, etc...)The PTR client is not available to be downloaded yet, but we'll let you know when we hear that it is. Expect that to be anytime, probably before the end of the business day on the west coast.There's a good bit of changes to check out over at the PTR 3.0.8 patch notes. Be sure you do so and stay tuned to WoW Insider for more analysis of specific class changes.
Breakfast Topic: So you're in the Beta now too
If you've hopped onto the Beta realms recently, you may have noticed the heavy lag that's been going on ever since the last wave or two of testers were accepted. If you are one of those testers who entered so late in the process, then you, like myself, might be finding that despite your best efforts, the lag does tend to color your opinions and feedback about the various quests. Personally, I try to add into the comments section that I might have rated the quest as more fun had I not died twice, failed to pick up the items faster than the characters with whom I was competing, or spent what felt like forty minutes trying to kill X number of mobs. Nonetheless, while certain experiences seem so novel and interesting, others can drive players right back to the live realms because they get sick of investing so much time and effort into something that simply does not work with so much lag, or listening to the complaining and counter-insulting that goes on in the chat channels. Are you stuck wishing you'd been able to enter the Beta when the population was more stable? Are you forging on, or have you mostly forgotten about your key and chosen to wait until release on November 13th? Were you an early tester who is now annoyed with the increase in lag and annoying behavior?
Stargate Worlds beta "just a few weeks away"
Cheyenne Mountain/FireSky's Stargate Worlds beta test plans seem to be on track. At the Leipzig Games Convention, Studio Head Dan Elggren told the press that the beta would start in "early September/October." If you were worried that wouldn't happen, it might be time to stop worrying and start signing up (if you haven't already); there's an announcement at the official website saying that the closed beta test is "just weeks away."No further information was provided. We just got the above and a reminder to sign up. Since it's just the closed beta, though, you're not very likely to get in too terribly soon what with 200,000 applicants and all. That probably shouldn't upset you too much, since early closed beta tests tend to be about as playable as Ultima IX: Ascension.Hardcore Stargate Worlds fans will of course ignore these words of wisdom, because that's the kind of crazy gamers can proudly be.
Beta realms down tomorrow for maintenance
The Wrath beta realms are down as I type this. Not news, I know, for those who are actually in the beta. The realms seem to be unavailable frequently. I chalk this up to the nature of beta testing. However, today we actually got a heads-up on planned maintenance downtime, scheduled for tomorrow at the same time the live realms will be offline. Now, this is news to me because so far the patches to the beta have been released without any announcement. In other words, the only way I've found out updates were coming was that when I try to log on, and then I end up waiting an hour for everything to download and install. So now I'm intrigued. Will we need to install another beta patch after maintenance? Will the beta now move to planned maintenance instead of spontaneous crashes? (Okay, wait, that last question was just crazy-talk.) Or -- maybe the announcement of planned maintenance mean that the beta realms are ready for the release of patch 3.0.2 and all of its dreamy barbershop and achievement goodness! Oo, I can't wait!UPDATED: According to the beta forums, the beta realms will be offline starting at 9:00AM Pacific time September 9th 2008 for one to two hours.
