It describes the state of development a game is at. There's pre-alpha, alpha, beta, and release candidate as far as I know. The further down the line you go, the more developed a game is.
And the closer it is to being released. Pretty much once a game goes in "beta phase" the only step remaining is launching a finished title (or cancelling the game altogether, I suppose). However, being in "beta phase" has no real meaning or binding on just HOW LONG until the game is either released or cancelled.
Beta is usually a public release to test game mechanics with people not intimately familiar with a product - Beta products (over the years) have ranged from "Damn near identical to the game that is finally released" down to "utter disaster that never should have seen the light of day" and the infamous "OMG kill it with fire!"
It describes the state of development a game is at. There's pre-alpha, alpha, beta, and release candidate as far as I know. The further down the line you go, the more developed a game is.
And the closer it is to being released. Pretty much once a game goes in "beta phase" the only step remaining is launching a finished title (or cancelling the game altogether, I suppose). However, being in "beta phase" has no real meaning or binding on just HOW LONG until the game is either released or cancelled.
No, as Moxx stated there are release candidates that come after beta. Release candidates are slight variations of what could be the final product. Usually these are all similar to the final release but have tiny differences in game mechanics or even sounds used.
It describes the state of development a game is at. There's pre-alpha, alpha, beta, and release candidate as far as I know. The further down the line you go, the more developed a game is.
And the closer it is to being released. Pretty much once a game goes in "beta phase" the only step remaining is launching a finished title (or cancelling the game altogether, I suppose). However, being in "beta phase" has no real meaning or binding on just HOW LONG until the game is either released or cancelled.
No, as Moxx stated there are release candidates that come after beta. Release candidates are slight variations of what could be the final product. Usually these are all similar to the final release but have tiny differences in game mechanics or even sounds used.
It all depends upon the company's developmental and naming schemes. Some may follow the typical alpha, beta, release candidate, etc but I know all don't.
Alpha = internal testing (only insiders get to test, and report issues)
Beta = External testing (insiders& a few selected outsiders get to test, and report issues)
Release = Everyone gets to play the fucking game
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The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn’t...
Alpha = internal testing (only insiders get to test, and report issues)
Beta = External testing (insiders& a few selected outsiders get to test, and report issues)
Release = Everyone gets to play the fucking game
So Gmail having been in beta for like...many years and everyone having access during that time was "a few selected outsiders"? Also I know a lot of Korean MMOs have Open Beta where it's hard to tell the difference between Open Beta and launch.
Alpha = internal testing (only insiders get to test, and report issues)
Beta = External testing (insiders& a few selected outsiders get to test, and report issues)
Release = Everyone gets to play the fucking game
So Gmail having been in beta for like...many years and everyone having access during that time was "a few selected outsiders"? Also I know a lot of Korean MMOs have Open Beta where it's hard to tell the difference between Open Beta and launch.
Recently beta's are being treated more like a free inside peak into the game, more like a demo than a beta. True beta's are bug/stress testing heavy and used to make the final product better in quality. That's why many true beta builds have pretty bad graphics compared to how the game will turn out, because they don't care about how pretty it is they care about if it works.
It describes the state of development a game is at. There's pre-alpha, alpha, beta, and release candidate as far as I know. The further down the line you go, the more developed a game is.
If I may add, it's not always obvious what stage a game is at by seeing it. I've taken part in at 1 alpha and a few betas but, I've noticed one seemed more/less developed than another in the same stage. It's ultimately decided by the developer.
Thanks :)! Who are the lucky ones that get to do the beta tests?
For how long have you been living under a rock? Wow. @_@;
Hahaha! forever it seems ;). There has been a lot going on in my personal life that has taken me out of the loop. I then found out recently that Blizzard was about to release D3 so I jumped back in. I really do not know much about how these things work which is why I am asking these questions. So brace yourselves because I will probably be asking a lot of silly questions lol.
So Gmail having been in beta for like...many years and everyone having access during that time was "a few selected outsiders"?
Don't forget that when you apply for a "beta", you usually are forced to accept an agreement saying that the publisher cannot be held responsible for bugs, problems and the like. So Gmail having been in beta for so long only made sure that Google would not be held responsible for any major issues that may have popped up. When they removed the Beta label, they were confident that they were ready to claim responsibility.
Companies pretty much always have their butts covered in case of bugs. Beta doesn't really have anything to do with it. Show me where in WoW's ToS (or even just D2's) that Blizzard is to be held accountable for bugs.
Hahaha! forever it seems ;). There has been a lot going on in my personal life that has taken me out of the loop. I then found out recently that Blizzard was about to release D3 so I jumped back in. I really do not know much about how these things work which is why I am asking these questions. So brace yourselves because I will probably be asking a lot of silly questions lol.
Ask away, I honestly wish I was you. Waking up the to the fact that D3 is about to land in your hands must be amazing.
I am pretty excited about it though I cannot get it just yet until I find a job. I have been looking everywhere but no one is hiring. I won't give up hope though. I am pretty patient about these things because I have been through this before. I will have the game though soon. Until then I am going to continue to read the novels and play D2.
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And the closer it is to being released. Pretty much once a game goes in "beta phase" the only step remaining is launching a finished title (or cancelling the game altogether, I suppose). However, being in "beta phase" has no real meaning or binding on just HOW LONG until the game is either released or cancelled.
No, as Moxx stated there are release candidates that come after beta. Release candidates are slight variations of what could be the final product. Usually these are all similar to the final release but have tiny differences in game mechanics or even sounds used.
It all depends upon the company's developmental and naming schemes. Some may follow the typical alpha, beta, release candidate, etc but I know all don't.
Alpha = internal testing (only insiders get to test, and report issues)
Beta = External testing (insiders& a few selected outsiders get to test, and report issues)
Release = Everyone gets to play the fucking game
Everyone with a computer.
Ok. That was silly.
Edit: damit what a rubbish 250th post!
So Gmail having been in beta for like...many years and everyone having access during that time was "a few selected outsiders"? Also I know a lot of Korean MMOs have Open Beta where it's hard to tell the difference between Open Beta and launch.
Recently beta's are being treated more like a free inside peak into the game, more like a demo than a beta. True beta's are bug/stress testing heavy and used to make the final product better in quality. That's why many true beta builds have pretty bad graphics compared to how the game will turn out, because they don't care about how pretty it is they care about if it works.
Anyone lucky person who gets in.
You can opt in with your battle.net account, and when they send out a wave of invites you have a very slim chance of getting in.
You can also enter the sweepstakes on Facebook, that is almost over though.
Also some websites, like this one, have/had contests that people can enter and might win, but the number of keys those sites get are very limited.
Other games might do things differently but this is how the Diablo III beta has gone down so far.
If I may add, it's not always obvious what stage a game is at by seeing it. I've taken part in at 1 alpha and a few betas but, I've noticed one seemed more/less developed than another in the same stage. It's ultimately decided by the developer.
Hahaha! forever it seems ;). There has been a lot going on in my personal life that has taken me out of the loop. I then found out recently that Blizzard was about to release D3 so I jumped back in. I really do not know much about how these things work which is why I am asking these questions. So brace yourselves because I will probably be asking a lot of silly questions lol.
Companies pretty much always have their butts covered in case of bugs. Beta doesn't really have anything to do with it. Show me where in WoW's ToS (or even just D2's) that Blizzard is to be held accountable for bugs.
I am pretty excited about it though I cannot get it just yet until I find a job. I have been looking everywhere but no one is hiring. I won't give up hope though. I am pretty patient about these things because I have been through this before. I will have the game though soon. Until then I am going to continue to read the novels and play D2.