Q
Shared on Wed, 12/06/2006 - 13:17Beta testing is something that has been going on for years in the PC world but console users just haven't had the ability to do this. With the proliferation of broadband and the ever expanding user base on Live it was only a matter of time before the software giant decided to wade into deeper beta waters and get the console gaming community involved in bug squashing. It is also no surprise that one of the first real open beta games is going to be an FPS of some repute, Halo 3.
I know, I know it's not the first beta on Live but I did say "one of" the first betas. You could have taken part of the beta for PSU but that was difficult to sign up for a pain in the ass for what you got. Shadowrun (another first-party FPS) just had a sign up for an open beta that will start this month and run until March '07 and that is where I want to draw my comparison.
First, let me explain that when I say 'open beta' I'm referring to a beta program in which everyone has a chance to be allowed to play. A 'closed beta' in my mind would be an invitation only beta in which you had no way in unless the dev knew you and asked you to participate. This may be incorrect terminology but hey, it's my blog so deal with it.
Now, I think that a beta for Halo 3 is great. It will not only allow rabid fans to get a taste and promote the hype, but it will also allow Bungie to get useful (at least in some cases) feedback from fans on how to make the MP game great from the start. We all remember the 1.1 patch that was released for H2 and fixed all the BR and grenade problems right? This should theoretically help them avoid such a misstep this time around. That's not to say there won't be tweaks because MP can always be improved but at least they shouldn't need to make any drastic changes like with the 1.1 patch. What I'm curious about is just how random being chosen for this beta is going to be. I signed up for the Shadowrun beta when I heard about it and during the signup process you had to fill out a small questionaire. The questions asked were obviously there to extract certain demographic information that FASA coud use to separate the signees into different groups. Then after that is complete they can choose certain numbers of participants from their pre-sorted demographic pools to get the type of feedback that they are looking for. It's obvious that hardcore gamers are going to give different feedback than casual gamers and FASA seems to have worked that into their beta selection process. FASA also stated that the initial group that will be chosen to begin play in December will be very small but the group size will be continually increased as the beta goes on so you could be chosen later down the line. This seems like a good system to me. It's no guarantee that you are going to be chosen but it is setup in such a way that it seems like it will provide FASA with a lot of good feedback. The Halo 3 beta signup, however, seems to be little more than a completely random choosing system. Signing up (at least for me) consisted of nothing more than logging into the website with my passport account and filling out my name, address, phone number, and email. No questions, no inquiries, no nothing. Essentially I just filled out Publisher's Clearinghouse form and stuck it in the mail hoping for the giant million dollar check to show up at my door. Bizarre!
It almost seems to me that Bungie is less concerned about the type or quality of feedback that they are going to receive from this and are using it as more of a marketing tool to keep Halo 3 on everyone's mind throughout the year until it's released. I'm not sure I like that. Like I said I like the idea of beta testing and getting feedback from the people that are ging to be purchasing the game, but it just doesn't seem that they are really putting a great deal of effort into this beta. At least not into the initial stages of it.
Another thing that is bothering me about this is that Bungie has stated that signing up for this beta is only the first way to get into it. What? There are other ways of getting into a beta? Obviously they aren't talking about sending out personal invites (although several game journalists will probably be extended this courtesy) so what are they talking about? I believe that they are referring to being able to pay to take part in the beta as it's winding down. I know that it has been all over the net the past month that the H3 beta was going to be a pay-to-play system but then with the website for signing up that seemed to dispell the idea. Unfortunately I think it is still going to be pay-to-play for those that aren't chosen out of the magical hat. While I want to play in the beta, one of the reasons is to provide meaningful feedback to Bungie that can hopefully help them shape the game into more of what I want to see. By the time they open it up for the pay-to-play crowd it is going to be less of a beta and more of a demo/hype machine. It may help them with load testing and MM tweaks but I have a feeling by that time they are going to be wrapping up the data collection from the beta testing group and just go with the information they have already collected. The pay beta will probably last 4-6 weeks at the end of the beta and then there will be no more Halo 3 until the release in November.
Don't get me wrong I still want in the Halo 3 beta. I want in REALLY, REALLY BAD! But I can't help thinking that I have an infinitesimally small chance and once I get to pay for it my voice will be little more than another fanboy crying out for changes to be made to a system that has already been determined. Here's hoping that I have a better shot at Shadowrun (which needs my help more anyway). Good luck!
I know, I know it's not the first beta on Live but I did say "one of" the first betas. You could have taken part of the beta for PSU but that was difficult to sign up for a pain in the ass for what you got. Shadowrun (another first-party FPS) just had a sign up for an open beta that will start this month and run until March '07 and that is where I want to draw my comparison.
First, let me explain that when I say 'open beta' I'm referring to a beta program in which everyone has a chance to be allowed to play. A 'closed beta' in my mind would be an invitation only beta in which you had no way in unless the dev knew you and asked you to participate. This may be incorrect terminology but hey, it's my blog so deal with it.
Now, I think that a beta for Halo 3 is great. It will not only allow rabid fans to get a taste and promote the hype, but it will also allow Bungie to get useful (at least in some cases) feedback from fans on how to make the MP game great from the start. We all remember the 1.1 patch that was released for H2 and fixed all the BR and grenade problems right? This should theoretically help them avoid such a misstep this time around. That's not to say there won't be tweaks because MP can always be improved but at least they shouldn't need to make any drastic changes like with the 1.1 patch. What I'm curious about is just how random being chosen for this beta is going to be. I signed up for the Shadowrun beta when I heard about it and during the signup process you had to fill out a small questionaire. The questions asked were obviously there to extract certain demographic information that FASA coud use to separate the signees into different groups. Then after that is complete they can choose certain numbers of participants from their pre-sorted demographic pools to get the type of feedback that they are looking for. It's obvious that hardcore gamers are going to give different feedback than casual gamers and FASA seems to have worked that into their beta selection process. FASA also stated that the initial group that will be chosen to begin play in December will be very small but the group size will be continually increased as the beta goes on so you could be chosen later down the line. This seems like a good system to me. It's no guarantee that you are going to be chosen but it is setup in such a way that it seems like it will provide FASA with a lot of good feedback. The Halo 3 beta signup, however, seems to be little more than a completely random choosing system. Signing up (at least for me) consisted of nothing more than logging into the website with my passport account and filling out my name, address, phone number, and email. No questions, no inquiries, no nothing. Essentially I just filled out Publisher's Clearinghouse form and stuck it in the mail hoping for the giant million dollar check to show up at my door. Bizarre!
It almost seems to me that Bungie is less concerned about the type or quality of feedback that they are going to receive from this and are using it as more of a marketing tool to keep Halo 3 on everyone's mind throughout the year until it's released. I'm not sure I like that. Like I said I like the idea of beta testing and getting feedback from the people that are ging to be purchasing the game, but it just doesn't seem that they are really putting a great deal of effort into this beta. At least not into the initial stages of it.
Another thing that is bothering me about this is that Bungie has stated that signing up for this beta is only the first way to get into it. What? There are other ways of getting into a beta? Obviously they aren't talking about sending out personal invites (although several game journalists will probably be extended this courtesy) so what are they talking about? I believe that they are referring to being able to pay to take part in the beta as it's winding down. I know that it has been all over the net the past month that the H3 beta was going to be a pay-to-play system but then with the website for signing up that seemed to dispell the idea. Unfortunately I think it is still going to be pay-to-play for those that aren't chosen out of the magical hat. While I want to play in the beta, one of the reasons is to provide meaningful feedback to Bungie that can hopefully help them shape the game into more of what I want to see. By the time they open it up for the pay-to-play crowd it is going to be less of a beta and more of a demo/hype machine. It may help them with load testing and MM tweaks but I have a feeling by that time they are going to be wrapping up the data collection from the beta testing group and just go with the information they have already collected. The pay beta will probably last 4-6 weeks at the end of the beta and then there will be no more Halo 3 until the release in November.
Don't get me wrong I still want in the Halo 3 beta. I want in REALLY, REALLY BAD! But I can't help thinking that I have an infinitesimally small chance and once I get to pay for it my voice will be little more than another fanboy crying out for changes to be made to a system that has already been determined. Here's hoping that I have a better shot at Shadowrun (which needs my help more anyway). Good luck!
Comments
Submitted by Lithium on Wed, 12/06/2006 - 20:05
Submitted by OldManRiver48 on Wed, 12/06/2006 - 14:57