MMORPG Beta-testing

[Olgar Shiverstone]

I just got an offer from Atari to beta some MMORPG named Horizons: Empire of Istaria (obviously, I've never heard of it). I'm not a MMORPG player, so I haven't participated in one of these betas before (and I can't find any information about it, either).

Can anyone who's done this before give me an idea of what might be involved? If it were a SP game I'd be all over it, but a MMORPG ... I'm not sure I want to invest the time that I suspect might be required.

 

[gariig]

Usually just play. I did Asheron's Call and that's all I did, if you find a bug report it as best as you can. Normally they want beta testers to find small problems, you do that by just playing. A few thousand people playing are bound to find a whole slew of bugs VS 25 guys trying to get work done. So have a blast and enjoy the FREEdom.

Gariig

 

[John Crichton]

I just got an offer from Atari to beta some MMORPG named Horizons: Empire of Istaria (obviously, I've never heard of it). I'm not a MMORPG player, so I haven't participated in one of these betas before (and I can't find any information about it, either).

Can anyone who's done this before give me an idea of what might be involved? If it were a SP game I'd be all over it, but a MMORPG ... I'm not sure I want to invest the time that I suspect might be required.

I'm beta testing FFXI right now and I was a tester on Star Wars Galaxies. With PC beta tests you play an unfinished build of the game that gets patched every few weeks and you report bugs you find. Sometimes testers are asked to test specific things such as combat, missions, etc. but they let you know about this. Give it a shot and if it stinks just stop playing.

 

[Tsyr]

pose hates you, has been wanting to beta test Horizons for over a year

 

[Maraxle]

Yeah, I did the Asheron's Call one too. Just play around and give as clear of bug reports as you can.

 

[netnomad]

I just got an offer from Atari to beta some MMORPG named Horizons: Empire of Istaria (obviously, I've never heard of it). I'm not a MMORPG player, so I haven't participated in one of these betas before (and I can't find any information about it, either).

Can anyone who's done this before give me an idea of what might be involved? If it were a SP game I'd be all over it, but a MMORPG ... I'm not sure I want to invest the time that I suspect might be required.

I have beta tested many games (UO, EQ, AC, AO, DAOC, AC2, SB and SWG) and they all have a few things in common: They want you to find bugs and provided feedback on what's "fun".

It's not for everyone however. It can be really frustrating and you have to a detailed when submitting bugs reports. On the plus side you get to see a game grow over time, you get to play it before anyone else does and your can have input can have an impact on the feel of the game.

-NetNomad

 

[2d6]

I got one of those too.

I also did AC1, SB and SWG.

It's easy, play the game, have fun, and report bugs.

The most important thing tho is follow the instructions they give you.