Testing stages
From HammerWiki
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In commonly defined terms, the process goes something like this:
Announce → Alpha → Early Beta → Closed Beta → Open Beta → Release.
WAR is currently in the closed beta testing stage of development.
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[edit] Testing Stages
[edit] Alpha
Is the very early testing stage, carried out purely by internal Mythic testers.
[edit] Early Beta
Brings in testers from outside the company, mainly people already known to Mythic - friends, family, quality testers from other games, GOA employees, and so on. This stage usually involves a couple of hundred people. This stage is sometimes referred to as "Friends and Family Alpha".
[edit] Closed Beta
Is where the community starts to get involved. Closed beta invitees will be chosen from a list which takes into account computer system specs, community involvement, subscription to the newsletter, and previous game experience. Competition winners will also be invited to take part at this stage, as long as they meet the eligibility requirements. The closed beta will be split into a North American beta and a European beta - to sign up, either visit the official Mythic site or the GOA site at war-europe.com. Not everyone will be joining the closed beta at the same point, instead the number of people involved will be gradually increased over time. Note that in this stage testers must sign a Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA - a legal document stating that they will not disclose details about the game to others) before being allowed to test the game, meaning that for legal reasons only those aged 18 or over can take part. The NDA was lifted on 19 August 2008. [1]
- Guild Beta
- is the section of Closed Beta where large numbers of people from Guilds (associations of gamers who play Online games together and often achieve world firsts and prominent positions in games) are invited into the Closed Beta. Like all other Beta testers, these Guild members must sign an NDA.
- Preview Weekend
- Friday, August 22nd thru Monday, August 25th. This is an invitation only event open to Beta players and those receiving an invitation from Mythic.
[edit] Open Beta
Unlike some MMOs, the Open Beta won't be entirely open for WAR, where anyone can download the game and hop in. Instead, everyone who pre-orders the Collector's Edition should get a chance to take part in the final beta testing stage, as well as winners from big media promotions and a host of new people selected from the ranks of those who signed up for the newsletter. Anyone who pre-orders the Standard Edition from Mythic's selected retail partners will also receive access to Open Beta and Head Start.
The new Mythic Account Manager web site [2] became active on 15 August 2008. People with pre-order codes or beta codes can create a WarHammer Online account. Open Beta client download began 18 August 2008 via Fileplanet. [3] Open Beta will start on September 7th, and will run for a week. FilePlanet [4] is currently offering a limited number of open-beta codes for their paying customers.
- Live Head Start
- is a special stage of the game offerd to those who pre-ordered either the Collector's Edition or standard version of the game. Those participating in the head start may begin playing the official retail and live version of the game before anyone else. It is yet to be determine as to how far in the future the head start will take place before release.
[edit] Release
The game is scheduled to ship on September 18, 2008, with a simultaneous release in USA/Canada, Europe and Australia/New Zealand. WAR is also scheduled for launch in Russia, in early 2009.
[edit] Current Progress
During the last few months of 2007, the focus of the Closed Beta was on "Focused Iterative Testing" to selectively test different specific parts of the game without overloading testers with too many distractions. The development teams working on the game were able to provide the community with regular updates on their progress. Testers finished up the major RvR phase of the testing schedule, making sure that the core game systems are firmly in place before extra features were added. Currently, the Guild Beta is in progress.
- Beta Update - Part 1
- Beta Update - Part 2
- Beta Update - Part 3
- Beta Update - Part 4
- Beta Update - Part 5
- Beta Update - Part 6
- June 2008 Newsletter with Guild Beta Announcement
