Open/closed Beta

[Fightingfirst]

Im not really planning on buying soulstorm so I don't see any way of getting into the open beta. What I was wondering, do companies usually forebid images, information etc. being told on forums by people who are actually playing the open or closed beta versions? I know most information will have come to light by the open beta but they might of foregot about some information.
Also, once I have the answer feel free to lock the thread

[kasrkinsquad]

Closed betas will 99.9% of the time have a NDA. Open betas are different though they may have a NDA but there is a time limit on it or have no NDA at all.

Once they announce the details I will be buying Soulstorm.

[Sturmtruppen]

im def not buying Soulstorm just to play the beta... didnt they have a contest or something for closed CoH betas?

[Fightingfirst]

Whats NDA?

[Makenshi]

Non Disclosure Agreement.

[jon_the_d]

It means you agree to not disclose things. If you do you can get sued and executed, or something.

[Servius]

Sorry, guess I'm out of the loop. What's the connection between Soulstorm and getting in on the closed beta?

[Shaitan]

Those who own Soulstorm will get into the closed beta for DoW2, I think.

[stopgap]

i own it, ive been looking around, they say you get into A beta, not which one, so some probably (those with better comps or w/e) get into closed, the rest, open.

[Sword_Monkey]

We are not yet aware of any specifics on the matter. We know that there will be a closed beta, and that people who own Soulstorm will be getting a chance to get in on it. We don't know if every Soulstorm owner will get in or if there are enough places for everyone.

However the beta will most likely, in fact almost certainly, employ use of an NDA agreement for anyone wishing to participate and will be a condition of entry. Relic have done this before and it can be expected to happen before.

Relic will then most likely release info as and when they please on the game specifics, the NDA will serve to give them control over the flow of information and also means that anything we see that doesn't make the final game doesn't get leaked to the public and raise everyone's expectations, or even lower them if the feature is deemed detrimental to the game.

I don't see any point locking this just yet, there's still discussion potential and we may sometime soon hear some details on the beta and this'd be a good place to discuss. Though I'm not getting my hopes up.

[Croaxleigh]

The speculation that I'm most inclined to agree with is that the Soulstorm beta will be an initial multiplayer beta... that'll leave the "really closed" beta for balance purposes to a smaller group of testers, the initial MP beta to the Soulstorm owners, and then a larger open beta/demo closer to release. Seems like a lot of testing, but given the bugs that slipped through with both DC and SS I can see Relic wanting to make sure that there aren't any major problems with the DoW2 launch.

[jon_the_d]

seeing as DOW is a big new game, and not a seocnd or third expansion, I wanted to ask how buggy CoH was on release, as I think that is what we should be comparing DOW2's production to. was CoH very buggy on release? did they sort it quickly?

[Blackheart]

Despite people's claims that CoH before OF was awesome and then OF ruint it, it was in need of patches, like all Relic games, somewhat buggy and unbalanced. Were definitely issues that needed immedient fixing.

[Akranadas]

I'd say the SoulStorm thing gets you into the open beta. Generally the close beta is a smaller affair, as I think CoH's closed beta had a max of 500 people in it, and it was mostly only to find bugs and nothing related to balancing the game (which a lot of people in the beta failed to realise, and such they missed lots of bugs).

My experience with both lots of CoH betas (Closed, Open, OF, vCOH) is that they are handled quite well by Relic so I wouldn't be to worried about the betas failing to much. And quite a lot of ideas suggested in the beta make it into the original game (I and a few others suggested the context sensitive music idea, so either Relic listened to us or they already planned it )

[Oakwarrior]

How long does the Soulstorm offer last? If I can buy it in a month then do I get into the DoW2 beta guaranteed? Nobody knows, right?
It just asks for your Soulstorm key then right? Or something? Yeah again I guess nobody knows, 'cept for Relic and stuff.
Ahh I can only hope I'll get my hands on SS soon
And DoW2.

[Imperial Dane]

Well it probably lasts until the sign up period expires or something like that.

I'd imagine they'll pick from a bunch of the soulstorm owners, and probably have some among other sites, like fileplanet for example.
But all in all, sounds a bit like the RA3 scheme.. a lot actually.

[Fightingfirst]

Well I have no intention of buying Souls Storm but definately will buy DOW2 regardless of reviews. Is closed beta generally reserved for pros or people with high automatch ranking? Well looks like ill be waiting for more news like every one else and playing COD4

[Kane935]

COD4 ftw!

Anyway, back on topic. What's this all about closed beta and soulstorm? If thats true, Ill need to rebuy the game off my friend (who I gave my copy of SS to since it was so boring).

[Versian]

Aun: Apparently owning SoulStorm gives you a chance of participating in the a Beta test of DoW2.

Topic: I wonder what the criteria are for choosing the Beta Testers from SoulStorm owners. It would be awesome to have all SoulStorm users (of course, not limited to them) in the Beta, but odds are only a limited number will be in. I'd really like to get in the Beta, so I wonder what criteria we must "fill out".

Any thoughts?

[Croaxleigh]

This thread does not exist for you to bitch and complain about Soulstorm, or to weigh in on whether Soulstorm is worth the money. Please keep it on-topic, folks.

[Sword_Monkey]

Betas do benefit from experienced players and even professionals. However Relic will have an in-house team, or recruit locally for such a task. The purpose of the betas we'll be hearing about will be to stress test servers and gauge the popularity and effectiveness of the armies and their components in non-competitive play.

For instance it'd be all well and good if tournament level players could handle an extremely complex race that relies on heavy micro skills or multi-tasking, but this would not benefit casual play. Relic have to seek a balance, and they've done so before with DoW, both Standard and QS players, Automatchers and casual players have reasons to play and every race is largely playable at every level. (Excluding a few teething issues for the two new races prior to the coming patch.)

I'm currently thinking that Soulstorm ownership will gain you access to a from of open beta, in that a number of places will be opened up prior to the full release of the beta for Soulstorm owners to lay claim to. Basically we get to call shotgun on places before non-owners do.

However it could be a closed, private beta. I just doubt it now.

[Pocktio]

On the subject: CD keys. Will the beta relate to date of purchase of SS? Can Relic check and see if you've bought SS for the game or whether you bought it the day before the beta just to get in it. The way I see it the people who bought SS first and actually play it should get priority to those who buy it just to get in the beta.

[Dazz]

Once you get SS you need to register it at THQ.com

[SubakuGaara]

first thing, the more people in the beta the better. we don't want another buggy mess.

second thing, pc game prices drop over time. relax.

[loop]

I thought getting SS guarentees you a place in the beta, where's this "chance" stuff comming from?

[Pocktio]

There is no guarantee, it's just a marketing ploy in all likelihood.

[Drunkspleen]

first thing, the more people in the beta the better. we don't want another buggy mess.

Yeah, the more people in the beta the better our chance of having players who actually beta test, rather than just trying to get their hands on a game early, I'm not saying you can't want it early, but if you are lucky enough to get it early the least you can do is hunt out every bug you possibly can.

I'd say the SoulStorm thing gets you into the open beta. Generally the close beta is a smaller affair, as I think CoH's closed beta had a max of 500 people in it

given the number of DoW fans who say they refused to buy Soulstorm (my poor Dark Eldar are lonely) there's probably about 500 copies out there atm :P

[Versian]

I googled this theory of yours up. SoulStorm has appeared in the top 10 selling games lists of several webpages. Sure the charts are only weekly, but I really doubt only 500 people are playing this expansion set.

Maybe several don't play online. I can't play Online. I keep getting this "CD authentication failed" message when I try to join the lobby. Dark Crusade has no problem and neither does vanilla DoW or WA give me any issues. Only SoulStorm.

[forinax]

Yeah, the more people in the beta the better our chance of having players who actually beta test, rather than just trying to get their hands on a game early, I'm not saying you can't want it early, but if you are lucky enough to get it early the least you can do is hunt out every bug you possibly can.

That's what open betas are supposed to be about but despite DoW vanilla having an open beta it was no less buggy than WA, DC or SS. The last two were tested in a closed beta by players who were specifically chosen by Relic. You can't expect such a small group (we were about... 20?) to find every bug possible. And since the DoW community has always whined about balance, it became the primary objective of tests. And the result was more than satisfying; something that would be impossible to achieve if 500 people started flooding the forums with complains about balance and their stupid ideas on how to fix them. That's why I believe Relic might hire the old team again for DoW2 closed beta to benefit from its experience.

As for the major bugs revealed in SS - it is a company's duty to expect such discoveries after release and be prepared to make a hotfix addressing the most important issues asap.