so how does one "beta"

[Reaperassault]

easy enough question, anybody got some answers

[kilevvri1]

Well usually you just play the game, if you have any bugs to report or issues there is usually a reporting procedure to get them taken care of. All these are assessed by the developers and either incremental patches are made or a Beta 2 or all fixes are made then added to the Gold Master, very common nowadays then a patch is made at release to fix issues inherent in the Gold/Retail release.

AFAIK

Y'all chip in if I missed anything. The biggest part of Beta testing is making sure to actually report bugs even if you know someone else has, it gives them an idea of how annoying a particular bug or exploit is making it a greater priority. In concept its ok, in practice developers have deadlines to me with their publishers so anything can happen between Beta & Gold.

[Vinzalf]

Originally Posted by kilevvri1

Y'all chip in if I missed anything. The biggest part of Beta testing is making sure to actually report bugs even if you know someone else has, it gives them an idea of how annoying a particular bug or exploit is making it a greater priority. In concept its ok, in practice developers have deadlines to me with their publishers so anything can happen between Beta & Gold.

That's pretty important because a bug may not be exclusive to just a single set of circumstances and finding exactly what went wrong with another person's perspective may be very helpful in determining the true cause of a bug. This could lead to the problem being fixed instead of the particular set of circumstances being fixed.

I've beta tested many games, though mostly rpg type games, I always consider it my responsibilty to scrutinize everything and report it. The trick is you need to provide constructive criticism. Don't tell them how to fix it, give them exactly the information they need. Don't heckle them or whine about it. As a current Helpdesk staff and former GM for an old and disabled mmo, Clarity is important. You're more likely to be ignored if the message is filled with gobbledegook.

Do your best to cover anything and everything you can think of. Think like you're trying to find loopholes. Play like a cheater/exploiter and provide constructive comments on what you find.

Try to have fun.

[Reaperassault]

thanks for that

also how would you get beta keys for this game, do you have to watch the publisher/developer's site and see if some more are released or what?

[Vinzalf]

Beta Keys are generally given out in many different ways. Promotions, Sign-ups, Contests, and third party groups.

Being a member of TG is a good start, quite often guilds, clans, fansites, and communities are given a number of invitations.

Past Reputation with a developer or producer of a game can be influential in you being let in, but they look for those who actually produced some beneficial information for them, and usually not just once or twice but throughout.

The most people sign up on the game's official website. Depending on the game this particular signup is for stress testing the game, or having a close-to-launch number of people playing at one time to make sure the servers can handle the number. Not just exclusive to mmo's because server browsers may crash as well. The official website signup is more often than not simply for the stress test period which is usually at the very end of a beta or shortly prior to gold release.

The stress test period can serve an advertising purpose as well, because often any NDA you agreed to upon agreeing to participate has been lifted or lightened, Meaning people can talk about it at that point (as if they don't anyways). It just usually builds some excitement about the final product almost being ready to ship.

Check as many fansites or large general gaming sites for potential invites. (i.e. Fileplanet/gamespy or ign) these types of sites are often given exclusive privileges, as in a huge number of beta keys (usually given out in the form of contests or raffle-typed randomness), a short exclusive beta for only their members (though usually pretty polished at this point and only for publicity).

It may also help already having a game registered with the production company. I got plenty of chances to participate in the Tabula Rasa beta test which I declined because I was into other games, and didn't want it spoiled when it went gold. I got those because I had been a longstanding account holder with NCSoft which also managed the accounts for City of Heroes/Villains. Had played Lineage and Dungeon Runners for a period as well. They're constantly throwing beta invites for games they produce to their members.

[Zoopy_T]

If you want to get into more of the popular betas you'll have to get a premium fileplanet subscriptions. Many larger organizations give "first dibs" keys to fileplanet before opening them freely to the public.

I always thought this was a bad approach since most people just grab betas as sort of a "free game demo" and use it to determine purchase instead of actually testing and reporting bugs.

Check the big fansites like total<insert game here> (http://www.totalgamingnetwork.com/ffow.php), they are a large group that usually give away beta keys.

[CingularDuality]

Originally Posted by Zoopy_T

I always thought this was a bad approach since most people just grab betas as sort of a "free game demo" and use it to determine purchase instead of actually testing and reporting bugs.

Agreed. Although I think most of these types of betas seem to actually be release candidates that they just use for one last beta test and/or stress test.

Most beta tests will spell out what they want in a bug report. Usually it's your DXdiag and what happened in-game. Check to see if you can repeat the bug and put that in your bug report. Stick to the facts that a software dev would be interested in (keep opinions to yourself when it comes to bug reports), but don't be afraid to describe things in-game as you would to a fellow gamer. If they ask for play test opinions, that's where you can let loose with your rants and raves.

[Reaperassault]

I maned up and got it from fileplanet, anyone else have it from there?

[UnDeaD77]

Originally Posted by CingularDuality

Agreed. Although I think most of these types of betas seem to actually be release candidates that they just use for one last beta test and/or stress test.

Most beta tests will spell out what they want in a bug report. Usually it's your DXdiag and what happened in-game. Check to see if you can repeat the bug and put that in your bug report. Stick to the facts that a software dev would be interested in (keep opinions to yourself when it comes to bug reports), but don't be afraid to describe things in-game as you would to a fellow gamer. If they ask for play test opinions, that's where you can let loose with your rants and raves.

This is the first beta I've been in, thats a "true" beta. From Fileplanet. The dev's even stated it was not some trial to get people hyped basically.