I have participated in only one beta as of now, which was Everquest 2. I was an avid EQ 1 player much as I was and still am an avid D2 player. I actually transfered to the "Legends" EQ 1 server in order to be accepted into early EQ2 beta. For those of you who are not familiar with EQ, that was a server with expanded in-game content, and higher GM to player ratios, among other things. The downside was that it was also almost $40 dollars a month if I remember correctly.
After being a devoted player of Everquest for almost 3 years I can honestly say that I was more than extatic about being able to be a part of the beta of EQ2. Unfortunately, my experience really had a negative impact on my feelings about the world of EQ.
In beta, (and for that matter for a long while after release in my opinion) the game was broken, flawed, and unfinished. At this point your probably thinking, well of course... it's a testing phase. I knew full well that I was going to be playing a non-polished game and I was ok with that.
Logging in to unstable servers to try to complete buggy quests in a limited area of the game put such a sour taste in my mouth about the lore, gameplay, and immersion level that I was never able to fully recover and ultimately ended up really not caring for EQ2.
Im not sure if I ever would have liked the game, but I genuinely feel that had I not been a tester, I would have been able to at least give it a fair shot. When I initially started playing both D2 and EQ I was thrown headfirst into a well developed online community, in a stable play environment which I think contributed largely to why I played the games and enjoyed them for as long as I did.
In the end, I guess, what I'm trying to say here is that this is a game that I have been waiting for since highschool, (im 24 now) and I will echo the same sentiment that many have expressed in that I am willing to wait for the actual release of the game to start playing. I wont compromise what could, and hopefully will be my love for a great game that I will play for years to come.
Has anyone else had similar experiences testing? Possibly even just a particular incident with poor game design decisions that have led them to leave a game? If I was given the opportunity to participate in testing, I can honestly say that I would respectfully decline. What do you guys think?
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After being a devoted player of Everquest for almost 3 years I can honestly say that I was more than extatic about being able to be a part of the beta of EQ2. Unfortunately, my experience really had a negative impact on my feelings about the world of EQ.
In beta, (and for that matter for a long while after release in my opinion) the game was broken, flawed, and unfinished. At this point your probably thinking, well of course... it's a testing phase. I knew full well that I was going to be playing a non-polished game and I was ok with that.
Logging in to unstable servers to try to complete buggy quests in a limited area of the game put such a sour taste in my mouth about the lore, gameplay, and immersion level that I was never able to fully recover and ultimately ended up really not caring for EQ2.
Im not sure if I ever would have liked the game, but I genuinely feel that had I not been a tester, I would have been able to at least give it a fair shot. When I initially started playing both D2 and EQ I was thrown headfirst into a well developed online community, in a stable play environment which I think contributed largely to why I played the games and enjoyed them for as long as I did.
In the end, I guess, what I'm trying to say here is that this is a game that I have been waiting for since highschool, (im 24 now) and I will echo the same sentiment that many have expressed in that I am willing to wait for the actual release of the game to start playing. I wont compromise what could, and hopefully will be my love for a great game that I will play for years to come.
Has anyone else had similar experiences testing? Possibly even just a particular incident with poor game design decisions that have led them to leave a game? If I was given the opportunity to participate in testing, I can honestly say that I would respectfully decline. What do you guys think?