Teldan
BdW-Administrator
David Bowman hat in den IGN Boards einige Fragen zur Beta und speziell zur Phase III beantwortet:
I’ve attempted to answer all of the questions that were posted to this thread. Thank you all for your support.
[more]On login preparation, I'd be curious to know how many actual computers you use just for login... "Slashdotted" (slashdot.org prints a story, and its 1000s of readers jump to the included link and the link's server tanks) is what will likely happen. I'm guessing, but I would say 20 computers to handle logins?
Our authentification process shouldn’t be described in any kind of detail in public. We are aware of the demand both on opening day and the first Friday evening after launch. We would be naïve to think that we won’t have some problems because almost every other product has, but we have the advantage of having watched their launches and hopefully learned to be prepared for large initial demand.
Is Beta 3 the last beta (with increasing number of participants) or will there be an open beta? (with my luck I'll only be able to test in this one)
Is there a cost associated with receiving the beta CDs? if so, will there be a way to download the client?
Beta III will slowly increase in participants over its duration. We establish goals for each Beta stage rather than timetables. When the goals are met, the Beta stage is over and the next Beta stage begins. It is very likely that there will be additional Beta time after Beta III is done, since we have additional goals to meet beyond what is currently scheduled for Beta III. Some of the goals are public; such as server loading, other goals rely on player behaviours being observed and adjustments being made without the players knowing (thus throwing off the observations).
There is no cost associated with Beta I, II or III stages. We have borne the cost assuming that when we are done we will recover that development cost through improved customer satisfaction. Horizons is a retail product that will be sold through retail channels. We have not ruled out future downloadable formats, but as of now there is no download planned.
Along the same lines as the previous post, is snail-mailing the CDs necessary to meet the objectives of Beta III or is there another reason not to allow them to have a downloadable alternative? Also, did the number of Ask AE questions relating to Beta III influence your decision to post or were you planning on doing this once you had enough information to make it worthwhile to post (not an accusation, especially since you could've chosen to ignore all questions about it. Just wondering if the Ask AE had that kind of impact)
Due to the large download size we did not want our participants to have to attempt to download for Beta III. However, since we have made significant changes to the content and client since the Beta III CDs were originally burned, a significant download is now part of Beta III participation; so that didn’t turned out as planned.
I continue to attempt to read all of the posts on all of the Horizons sites of which I’m aware. I prefer to post when I’m certain of my information rather than speculating, so I was waiting to get the second shard installed and have testing begin. I know that can be frustrating for those who’d prefer speculation.
One quick question: with the fact that you are still in early beta 3 being known now, does that mean that there's a possibility you will be adding participants when the ones who have already been selected get their CDs?
It in no way impacts this since we’ve always clearly stated that Beta III is incremental and that not all participants have yet been selected. Only approximately one-seventh of the final Beta III participants have been selected and notified.
Watch out for the gnomes inside the server clusters. You'll need to pay them mithril coins to get them out... >_<
We made our first Gnome related hot-fix yesterday due to a crash bug… you may be right.
To bump another person's question. Will there be more ppl added to BetaIII or will it just be the ppl that have already been notified?
To extend my answer: there are several thousand people who have yet to be selected and notified.
Didn't the pizza's arrive for you guys yet?
Papa Johns is on our speed dial. They are thinking of opening a franchise just for us.
As stated above, are you still planning an open beta?
We have not made any announcement concerning an Open Beta. When we have worked through our current goals and have planned our next stage of Beta, we will announce details.
Only question re beta3 that I have is: who do I bribe to get in it?
Just be sure that you’ve signed up at www.betatests.net and that your information is current. Especially your email contact since it is used to communicate Beta information.
It's nice to hear from you David. I'm sure this post will put away alot of the worries/fears the people on these boards have been experiencing as of late. Let us know more about Horizon's state if you ever have a spare moment in the future. News never hurt anyone...well...unless it's bad news of course
I will be sure to share both the good and bad news with you. When I’m sure of what is occurring and as long as it doesn’t preempt the fine folks in marketing, I’ll be happy to talk about it.
Thank you for the update, it has informed me of what I needed to know. Should keep me at bay for a few weeks. *timer starts* - you've got 3 weeks to get open beta ready, or another update. (heh)
I’m sure you are kidding since we’ve not made any announcement about dates outside of our still scheduled Fall release. And if that were to change, we’d let you know as soon as we were certain. We want a stable, enjoyable release in your hands as soon as possible, but only then.
I also wanted to ask if you guys intend on giving out buddy keys to beta testers.
Our current Beta participants know to have anyone they feel would be good in Beta sign up at www.betatests.net. It doesn’t give them an advantage during selection except that they can’t be selected if they don’t sign up. We are trying to give everyone that meets the minimum requirements an equal chance to participate in Beta.
Thanks for the update, Where and When should we start directing bribes to get into the Beta?
www.betatests.net: And just to let you know, if you’ve been selected for Beta and aren’t active, your position will be given to another person.
This shows one thing: If you cry enough, they will post...
Incorrect, just ask my two children.
1 question. I realize that the beta 3 participants have already been selected. However, since they were selected some time ago, are you going to re-issue the emails that were sent to them or just go with what you have and snail cd's? I'm sure that some of them have moved on, died, been bribed to go away on long non beta vacations to open up spots..so on.
Incorrect, see the above posts…
ok 2 questions - Other games have in the past allowed entire guilds into beta. Is AE planning on doing that or is it a random selection basis?
Everyone who signs up at www.betatests.net has an equal chance of being selected as long as they meet the minimum requirements. Just in case that is confusing, go to www.istaria.com and see our currently posted minimum specification for a guideline.
Thank you for your questions,
David Bowman[/more]
I’ve attempted to answer all of the questions that were posted to this thread. Thank you all for your support.
[more]On login preparation, I'd be curious to know how many actual computers you use just for login... "Slashdotted" (slashdot.org prints a story, and its 1000s of readers jump to the included link and the link's server tanks) is what will likely happen. I'm guessing, but I would say 20 computers to handle logins?
Our authentification process shouldn’t be described in any kind of detail in public. We are aware of the demand both on opening day and the first Friday evening after launch. We would be naïve to think that we won’t have some problems because almost every other product has, but we have the advantage of having watched their launches and hopefully learned to be prepared for large initial demand.
Is Beta 3 the last beta (with increasing number of participants) or will there be an open beta? (with my luck I'll only be able to test in this one)
Is there a cost associated with receiving the beta CDs? if so, will there be a way to download the client?
Beta III will slowly increase in participants over its duration. We establish goals for each Beta stage rather than timetables. When the goals are met, the Beta stage is over and the next Beta stage begins. It is very likely that there will be additional Beta time after Beta III is done, since we have additional goals to meet beyond what is currently scheduled for Beta III. Some of the goals are public; such as server loading, other goals rely on player behaviours being observed and adjustments being made without the players knowing (thus throwing off the observations).
There is no cost associated with Beta I, II or III stages. We have borne the cost assuming that when we are done we will recover that development cost through improved customer satisfaction. Horizons is a retail product that will be sold through retail channels. We have not ruled out future downloadable formats, but as of now there is no download planned.
Along the same lines as the previous post, is snail-mailing the CDs necessary to meet the objectives of Beta III or is there another reason not to allow them to have a downloadable alternative? Also, did the number of Ask AE questions relating to Beta III influence your decision to post or were you planning on doing this once you had enough information to make it worthwhile to post (not an accusation, especially since you could've chosen to ignore all questions about it. Just wondering if the Ask AE had that kind of impact)
Due to the large download size we did not want our participants to have to attempt to download for Beta III. However, since we have made significant changes to the content and client since the Beta III CDs were originally burned, a significant download is now part of Beta III participation; so that didn’t turned out as planned.
I continue to attempt to read all of the posts on all of the Horizons sites of which I’m aware. I prefer to post when I’m certain of my information rather than speculating, so I was waiting to get the second shard installed and have testing begin. I know that can be frustrating for those who’d prefer speculation.
One quick question: with the fact that you are still in early beta 3 being known now, does that mean that there's a possibility you will be adding participants when the ones who have already been selected get their CDs?
It in no way impacts this since we’ve always clearly stated that Beta III is incremental and that not all participants have yet been selected. Only approximately one-seventh of the final Beta III participants have been selected and notified.
Watch out for the gnomes inside the server clusters. You'll need to pay them mithril coins to get them out... >_<
We made our first Gnome related hot-fix yesterday due to a crash bug… you may be right.
To bump another person's question. Will there be more ppl added to BetaIII or will it just be the ppl that have already been notified?
To extend my answer: there are several thousand people who have yet to be selected and notified.
Didn't the pizza's arrive for you guys yet?
Papa Johns is on our speed dial. They are thinking of opening a franchise just for us.
As stated above, are you still planning an open beta?
We have not made any announcement concerning an Open Beta. When we have worked through our current goals and have planned our next stage of Beta, we will announce details.
Only question re beta3 that I have is: who do I bribe to get in it?
Just be sure that you’ve signed up at www.betatests.net and that your information is current. Especially your email contact since it is used to communicate Beta information.
It's nice to hear from you David. I'm sure this post will put away alot of the worries/fears the people on these boards have been experiencing as of late. Let us know more about Horizon's state if you ever have a spare moment in the future. News never hurt anyone...well...unless it's bad news of course
I will be sure to share both the good and bad news with you. When I’m sure of what is occurring and as long as it doesn’t preempt the fine folks in marketing, I’ll be happy to talk about it.
Thank you for the update, it has informed me of what I needed to know. Should keep me at bay for a few weeks. *timer starts* - you've got 3 weeks to get open beta ready, or another update. (heh)
I’m sure you are kidding since we’ve not made any announcement about dates outside of our still scheduled Fall release. And if that were to change, we’d let you know as soon as we were certain. We want a stable, enjoyable release in your hands as soon as possible, but only then.
I also wanted to ask if you guys intend on giving out buddy keys to beta testers.
Our current Beta participants know to have anyone they feel would be good in Beta sign up at www.betatests.net. It doesn’t give them an advantage during selection except that they can’t be selected if they don’t sign up. We are trying to give everyone that meets the minimum requirements an equal chance to participate in Beta.
Thanks for the update, Where and When should we start directing bribes to get into the Beta?
www.betatests.net: And just to let you know, if you’ve been selected for Beta and aren’t active, your position will be given to another person.
This shows one thing: If you cry enough, they will post...
Incorrect, just ask my two children.
1 question. I realize that the beta 3 participants have already been selected. However, since they were selected some time ago, are you going to re-issue the emails that were sent to them or just go with what you have and snail cd's? I'm sure that some of them have moved on, died, been bribed to go away on long non beta vacations to open up spots..so on.
Incorrect, see the above posts…
ok 2 questions - Other games have in the past allowed entire guilds into beta. Is AE planning on doing that or is it a random selection basis?
Everyone who signs up at www.betatests.net has an equal chance of being selected as long as they meet the minimum requirements. Just in case that is confusing, go to www.istaria.com and see our currently posted minimum specification for a guideline.
Thank you for your questions,
David Bowman[/more]