There will be no normal closed beta for NA\EU?

[Arvalo85]

Originally Posted by kieron

Aion has already undergone extensive beta testing and will go through more before the game is released in the US and EU next year. Don't let the fancy name fool you; we will still be asking for community feedback on the game and major issues, not to mention server stress testing and other assistance. With the amount of testing that has gone before, future tests and the Preview events, we are confident Aion will be a polished and complete game when it is released.

This pretty much says there WILL be a beta or something along that sort, especially where hes talking about server stress testing. So why do so many of you seem to be depressed XD?

[Cynthe]

I'm guessing by this news that we will get a short open beta to stress test the game. I don't believe they need for anything else and I don't see the big freaking deal either. The game was made and tested in Korea we already know it's very smooth at this point and pretty much ready for release. The game has been translated or is probably mostly done by now, so what else exactly would you people like to contribute?

An open beta is to stress test and find last minute bugs before a launch, I don't believe it should be used as a marketing ploy or a free preview for people and a way for the general public to fill their blogs with rants on how much pwnage or more likely suckage the game really is... Richard Garriott commented last year (?) that they made a marketing mistake by allowing too many people in beta too easily.. He may have been right or just looking for excuses, I still agree that we should return to betas for fixing things and not try to attract the bees with a little level capped honey and 2 zones to run around in..

AoC is NOT a bad game, it's a new game, granted I wish they had fleshed out the mid to high levels more but LotrO also had this problem and no matter how many people hated that game when it came out and went back to WoW, it's still doing fine. Vanguard... Too many issues to count.

All of that said I'm happy that things are going so well, good luck to the people hoping to get into these 'previews', in the meantime I eagerly await a release sometime in winter. *cross fingers*

[dalin]

Originally Posted by Cynthe

I'm guessing by this news that we will get a short open beta to stress test the game. I don't believe they need for anything else and I don't see the big freaking deal either. The game was made and tested in Korea we already know it's very smooth at this point and pretty much ready for release. The game has been translated or is probably mostly done by now, so what else exactly would you people like to contribute?

An open beta is to stress test and find last minute bugs before a launch, I don't believe it should be used as a marketing ploy or a free preview for people and a way for the general public to fill their blogs with rants on how much pwnage or more likely suckage the game really is... Richard Garriott commented last year (?) that they made a marketing mistake by allowing too many people in beta too easily.. He may have been right or just looking for excuses, I still agree that we should return to betas for fixing things and not try to attract the bees with a little level capped honey and 2 zones to run around in..

i think some folks (myself included) were looking forward to an opportunity to contribute something meaningful during a closed beta... as it stands now, all the gameplay mechanics will have been balanced based on feedback from only one segment of Aion's total market...

based on what we've seen/read, things certainly look like they're falling into place, but it would have been nice to be able to provide our own play-tested feedback as well... then again, that would mean a further prolonged development cycle...

and MMOs are, by their very definition, in perpetual development... so it stands to reason that we will get a chance to provide feedback on things other than localization, once the game is actually launched... 450MB "patch" anyone?

Originally Posted by Cynthe

All of that said I'm happy that things are going so well, good luck to the people hoping to get into these 'previews', in the meantime I eagerly await a release sometime in winter. *cross fingers*

this is likely for the Korean market, but not the US/EU... the preview events arent even slated until 09', so at best, we'll see a release around jan/feb/mar (Q1 09')....

[slytemplar]

Originally Posted by dalin

i think some folks (myself included) were looking forward to an opportunity to contribute something meaningful during a closed beta... as it stands now, all the gameplay mechanics will have been balanced based on feedback from only one segment of Aion's total market...

release around jan/feb/mar (Q1 09')....

I agree, it's kinda like not having an input.

[Calindor]

OB may be for stress testing, but its still a test. And if things are bad, then bad words will spread about the game...Look what happened to TR and AoC, NCSoft isnt going to make that mistake, which is why I think Aion will be as polished for OB/release as most games are a year old.

[Rio]

Originally Posted by Kaycy

My point exactly. The recent games that had no open beta or trial were horrible at launch, AoC and Vanguard just to name the worst. The only reason these games had no public preview is because they were in fact horribly broken and not ready to be released yet.

I wouldn't want an open beta if every game coming out had no bugs and was perfect to begin with, but that's not the case and lately people buying games are expected to play a semi-game beta at launch until the subscription money comes in to fix it.

If I go buy a non-fiction book in a store I expect to be able to look into it before I buy it so I know what I buy, I expect the same from MMO.

AoC did have an open beta...

[Tareith]

Localization and Stress testing, that's all the western audiences are needed for. As long as I get a couple days to check it out before I buy it, I'm happy; but it's not a requirement. I've waited years for the game, not for beta.

I'd like say that I'm sure it was tested well enough in Korea, but I have my doubts. Balance issues, class appeal, quest/crafting flow...these can all be drastically different depending on the market. Translation is only one part of localizing a product and a reduced beta time over here only means there will be more growing pains come launch.

[Kaycy]

Originally Posted by Rio

AoC did have an open beta...

Ok whatever, that wans't my point. Most reviews were contradictory to what was actually in game in AoC and people were mislead. Without being able to test it no one can be sure what Aion is like to play.

A Korean beta does not compensate for not having a EU or a North American one.

Vanguard went through very closed beta in NA and it supposidly was great, people bought it and it was complete trash.

It's sceptisism but with reason. I'd like to know what I buy before I do.

[Cynthe]

Originally Posted by Calindor

OB may be for stress testing, but its still a test. And if things are bad, then bad words will spread about the game...Look what happened to TR and AoC, NCSoft isnt going to make that mistake, which is why I think Aion will be as polished for OB/release as most games are a year old.

There you go that's what I think, there's no need for an intense EU/US beta other then the preview and stress test. Whoever's lucky enough to get in will be able to try and test the game just fine, I also don't think these will take very long...

A Korean beta does not compensate for not having a EU or a North American one.

Explain to me how so? The only difference I see is language and western market's input. Which they will get very soon via these trials at PAX ect... What other things could we provide feedback on that they don't already have is what I'm not understanding I guess?
Our western way of looking at things? Is it so different then the eastern way of looking at games nowadays?

As far as I know, and I hate repeating this over and over, but western games are tested heavily with the western market's help and localized and distributed later on to other parts of the world with maybe a short test beforehand. Apparently this is the treatment we are getting and I don't find it so strange at this point in time. Maybe in a few years beta test will be more global.. I don't know, I have no idea how difficult this would be.

Note: the try before you buy attitude drive me nuts, if you want to wait to see if it's worth your time then wait, but pushing for a free slot just to see if it's your thing before launch is on the selfish side. Not that I haven't done the exact same thing, trust me I have and will continue to so at every opportunity, however I'm not going to actually suggest this is a good thing, imo it's a waste of a beta slot. Now if the devs want to launch a free download and preview event for everyone for a limited like GW then yay, I hope that's the case especially since the game seems so stable it would be the smart thing to do.

[Kaycy]

Originally Posted by Cynthe

A Korean beta does not compensate for not having a EU or a North American one.


Explain to me how so? The only difference I see is language and western market's input. Which they will get very soon via these trials at PAX ect... What other things could we provide feedback on that they don't already have is what I'm not understanding I guess?
Our western way of looking at things? Is it so different then the eastern way of looking at games nowadays?

Huh? If they block EU IP how are people here supposed to test the product?

If I go buy a book in a store I expect to be able to touch it and see for myself if the information in it pleases me. I however won't be buying it if the store keeper tells me I can't see it because people in Korea have done this for me and approved of it.

How is this concept so hard to grasp?

[Cynthe]

It's hard to grasp because all you want is a free preview, and I don't think that's a good enough excuse for an EU/US beta. Preview maybe, but not a full blown beta.

[Kaycy]

Originally Posted by Cynthe

It's hard to grasp because all you want is a free preview, and I don't think that's a good enough excuse for an EU/US beta. Preview maybe, but not a full blown beta.

I want a free preview like any other game or product yes, so I can test a product without wasting money like I did on AoC and Vanguard. That's not an excuse, it's a principle.

Someone in Korea testing a product has very little to do with this. I'm sure a lot of things Korean players find good I could care less about. A beta test or a free trial gives people the chance to see the product before purchase and make an informed decision.

[Arvalo85]

Originally Posted by Kaycy

I want a free preview like any other game or product yes, so I can test a product without wasting money like I did on AoC and Vanguard. That's not an excuse, it's a principle.

You do realize that the more people say things like that the less likely we are to get a beta or preview AT ALL. They want people to buy this game therefor they put out beta to help find bugs before release not so you can find out if you like the game before you buy it. Betas are full of bugs that alone makes people less likely to buy it anyways.

Betas are for the company to test stresses and bugs within the game not for you to stop yourself from spending money on a game you wont play.... i really wish you guys would stop saying that....

[Calindor]

Almost all MMO's have trials, and all had free open betas.

P.S. we get no say in the developing of the game...when its released, we'll bring up some complaints...well too bad the new expansion is getting released next week in korea, so we cant change anything, but you'll get the new expansion in a couple of months.

[Kaycy]

Originally Posted by Arvalo85

You do realize that the more people say things like that the less likely we are to get a beta or preview AT ALL. They want people to buy this game therefor they put out beta to help find bugs before release not so you can find out if you like the game before you buy it. Betas are full of bugs that alone makes people less likely to buy it anyways.

Look, I'm not at the mercy of NCsoft. I'm not here to test or fix a game, before or after release. If I buy something I want to know what I'm buying. That's why games have free beta's or previews before launch, if you use them to fix games, great, most people use them to see if they like the game or not and to make a decision based on that.

If I buy clothing in a store I want to try it on. Because a lady in South Korea liked it does not mean it will fit me does it. I'm not buying something blindly, be it a game or any other product. The game is far from release date, there is no good excuse why people can't preview it. If NCsoft does or doesn't isn't of my concern but it will influence my decision on buying or not because I don't buy things I can't try out, not in the least if it's tested by another continent instead of my own.