Beta
From Hellgate Times Index
Contents |
General
The Hellgate:London Beta has yet to begin and all signs point that it may not begin for another little while. However, the process prior to Beta, an Alpha, is supposedly set to begin very soon, but no one really knows if this is meant to be interpreted as 'imminent' or simply an open ended 'soon'. Regardless, Hellgate London's release still on track for a late summer release, one can expect to see both a small closed alpha and larger beta to occur at some point during the summer if all things go according to plan.
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South Korean Beta
The South Korean closed beta is set to begin in early July. This bodes well for fans around the world, as others should have their chance to join the Hellgate London Beta shortly.
Selection
The selection process for the beta is unknown, but many Flagship studios team members were part of Blizzard for many years, hence one can probably look to Blizzard's beta practices to get an idea of how testers are typically selected. From my limited experience with Blizzard's betas, typically the process is completely random for the most part. However, the press and usually fansites have access to the beta as well. Considering that a beta would be potentially available to anyone that applies (not just long-awaiting fans), one's chances of being selected via the random draw are pretty slim. However, many developers (including Blizzard) have often opted to give fansites and press sites a small number of beta seats to hand out via their own draw/competition. This method tends to favor veterans, as fansites tend to be biased towards veteran members over those who only joined in hopes of snagging a seat/sneak peak. It is not clear if Flagship studios will also use this technique.
What is an Alpha?
The Hellgate London alpha is set to begin shortly. An Alpha is a small test that occurs prior to the Beta and usually involves developers and a small number of external testers such as members of the press and potentially fansites and veterans community members. The only experience I have had with an Alpha was with Guild Wars, which actually lasted a very long time. However, the Hellgate alpha is not expected to last longer than a few months (at most) if one is to have a beta and a final game release by the end of Summer 2007.
Update 02/06/07: The Hellgate London beta is set to begin very shortly and the Official Alpha Site is now active. Invitations should be sent out soon.
