Tag Archives: beta test

Train2Game News: End of Nations closed beta details and developer diary released

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Trion Worlds and Petrogylph have released details about the upcoming closed beta for their MMORTS End of Nations, along with a developer diary discussing the key ideas behind the game.

The first End of Nations closed beta event will run from Friday 20th July through to Sunday 22nd July and will feature a variety of large and small maps across several different terrain types.

Those interested in taking part in the End of Nations closed beta can apply to be a part of it here.

Meanwhile, the End of Nations ‘When Titans Join Forces’ developer diary sees staff from both studios involved in producing the game, including Trion Worlds CEO Lars Buttler and Petrogyph president and co-founder Mike Legg, discussing their project.

Subjects covered include include the two studios working together as a team, bringing innovations to real time strategy and online gaming, and how they believe End of Nations is the world’s first AAA quality free-to-play game. Watch the developer diary below, here on The Train2Game Blog.

There’s much more about End of Nations, the importance of a beta to game development and QA Testing in our huge interview with Trion Worlds Senior QA Tester Karl Tars.

And be sure to keep reading The Train2Game Blog for more developer diaries and opportunities to take part in beta tests.

What are your thoughts on End of Nations? Will you be applying to take part in the closed beta?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: Guild Wars 2 release date and final beta weekend revealed

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Guild Wars 2 will officially launch on Tuesday 28th August, with a final beta test taking place over the weekend of 20th July.  ArenaNet have made the announcement following a Guild Wars 2 server stress test earlier this week.

“This is an incredibly momentous day for the studio and for me personally.” said ArenaNet co-founder Mike O’Brien.

“ This journey began in 2007 when we first announced that we were beginning work on Guild Wars 2 and that you wouldn’t be hearing from us for a while. Then in 2010 we unveiled our manifesto for Guild Wars 2: a living breathing online world that challenges convention, that’s designed for fun instead of grind, and that brings social interaction to a new level in an online world.

“Through all the long hours and hard decisions, we were bolstered by the knowledge that we were not in this alone. All along you’ve been there for us, cheering us on, supporting us when we needed it, testing early versions of the game, and above all, giving us your honest feedback every step of the way. Guild Wars 2 is a better game for all of the work that our community has put in.” he continued, adding remaining development time will focus on QA Testing.

“Now that we’re just two months away from launch, we’ll spend our remaining time optimizing, polishing, and balancing the game, to ensure that we provide you with the best launch-day experience we possibly can.” O’Brien concluded.

ArenaNet recently posted an in-depth blog about the importance of testing in ensuring Guild Wars 2 is fun.

There’s more Guild Wars 2 news here on The Train2Game Blog.

Have you been taking part in the beta weekends? How important do you feel they are to development?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: Shootmania closed beta begins soon

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FPS Shootmania from Ubisoft and Nadeo is entering closed beta in the near fure, and you can sign-up to be a part of it.

The free-to-play shooter comes from the makers of Trackmania, and will allow players to create and share their own levels.

Those interested in taking part in the Shootmania closed beta can register their interest on the official website up until Monday 2nd July.  The level creation tools could be of particular interest to those on Train2Game courses.

Get a taste of Shootmania in the trailer below, right here on The Train2Game Blog.

There’s more beta testing news, and information on how it’s useful for developers and Train2Game students, here on The Train2Game Blog.

What are your initial thoughts on Shootmania and its level creation tools? Will you be applying for a place in the beta?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: F1 Online: The Game enters open beta

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F1 Online: The Game from Codemasters has entered open beta and you can sign-up to take part.

The free-to-play browser based game lets players race as a Formula 1 driver and manage a team around iconic tracks including Monaco, Spa and Silverstone.

You can sign-up to take part in the F1 Online: The Game open beta by visiting https://www.f1onlinethegame.com/

Codemasters has released a launch trailer to go alongside the beginiging of the open beta, which you can watch below here on The Train2Game Blog.

There’s more beta testing news, and information on how it’s useful for developers and Train2Game students, here on The Train2Game Blog.  Be sure to keep reading for the latest from Codemasters.

What are your initial thoughts on F1 Online: The Game? Will you be taking part in the open beta?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: Paradox Interactive announce A Game of Dwarves closed beta

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Paradox Interactive will be holding a closed beta for their upcoming strategy and management title A Game of Dwarves, and you can apply to be a part of it.

In  AGame of Dwarves, players build, dig and conduct research in a randomly generated dwavern settlement, as you build your dwarves up from being poor and weak to master craftsmen,all the while defending yourself against various enemies.

To apply to take part in the Game of Dwarves closed beta, simply visit Paradox Interactive’s signup page and enter all of the required details.  It could provide a great opportunity for Train2Game QA Testers to use their skills.

The beta scheduled to begin on Friday 13th July, with the selected applicants receiving more information nearer the time. A Game of Dwarves is pencilled in for release towards the end of the year.

Get a taste of A Game of Dwarves in the trailer below, here on The Train2Game Blog.

There’s more  beta testing news, and information on how it’s useful for developers and Train2Game students, here on The Train2Game Blog. And be sure to keep reading for the latest news from Paradox Interactive.

Will you apply to take part in the A Game of Dwarves beta? What are your initial thoughts on the game?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or here on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: Guild Wars 2 holding server stress test next week

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ArenaNet are holding a short beta test for Guild Wars 2 next week, as the MMO gears up for launch later this year.

The server stress test will take place on Wednesday 27th June from 6pm through to 10pm and is accessible for anyone who’s previously taken part in a Guild Wars 2 beta test.

Developers ArenaNet recently discussed the importance of testing in determining how fun their MMO sequel is.

There’s more beta testing news, and information on how it’s useful for developers and Train2Game students, here on The Train2Game Blog.  There’s more on Guild Wars 2 from ArenaNet and NCsoft  here

Will you be taking part in the Guild Wars 2 stress test? How important is this process in the development of MMOs?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum,

Train2Game News: The Secret World holding open beta this weekend

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The Secret World, the upcoming MMO based in a modern day setting is holding an open beta this weekend, which means you can get involved!

Funcom’s MMORPG sees players join one of three secret societies – the Illuminati, the Dragon or the Templars – as each faction battles for world domination, and you’ll be able to test it out for yourself from Friday 22nd June through to Monday 25th June.  You can sign up take part in The Secret World open beta here.

“This marks the first public opening of the massive, persistent player vs. player war zone where over two hundred players clash in adrenaline-fuelled battles for power and world domination! Stonehenge and Eldorado are also opening up, allowing smaller groups of players to fight for control over the power held within these legendary locations.” reads the announcement from Funcom.

“This is the final Beta Weekend before launch on July 3rd and we are ending with a bang. Everyone who has ever registered for The Secret World beta will get access to this final Beta Weekend. This is also true for anyone who has not registered yet but still registers by Friday, June 22nd.” they add.

There’s more beta testing news, and information on how it’s useful for developers and Train2Game students, here on The Train2Game Blog. There’s more about The Secret World here.

Will you be taking part in The Secret World open beta? Have you been part of one of the closed tests?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: ArenaNet on the importance of testing in making Guild Wars 2 fun

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QA testing and beta tests are hugely important when it comes to designing Guild Wars 2 to be as fun as possible.  That’s according to a huge blog post by ArenaNet, which discusses how they’re determining what will make their upcoming MMO – which isn’t based on a subscription model – successful and fun.

“When looking at content design for Guild Wars 2, we’ve tried to ask the question: What if the development of the game was based on…wait for it…fun?” writes Guild Wars 2 lead content designer Colin Johanson, in a highly informative piece.

He says QA Testers play a large role in development at ArenaNet.

“We ask our QA team to ask this question when they test everything that goes into the game. When they play an event, they don’t just file bugs, they write suggestions and ideas for how to make it better.

“I’ve never heard of a game company where the QA team is so integrated into the development process, where they can enact and impact change on a daily basis in the game. They aren’t just testers, they are developers who help make every part of the game better” said Johanson, adding that many Guild Wars 2 designers started in QA.

“As a result of allowing our QA team to be so involved in the development process, it helps us find people with amazing minds for design based on their feedback and suggestions. Many of our current content designers on GW2 originally started their careers in our QA department” he said.

The Guild Wars 2 lead content designer also discusses how important beta tests and player feedback are to development.

“We added surveys to the game that occur after you finish story steps, renown regions, events, and dungeons. Each of these asks players a few simple questions, but the most important question we always ask? “On a scale of 1 to 5, how much fun was what you just did?”

“From this, we print out giant reports of survey information, then meet as subteams and target the content that isn’t scoring well on “the fun factor” before brainstorming, together, on how to make that content more fun and exciting.”

There’s much, much more on how ArenaNet judge fun when designing Guild Wars 2 in the blog post, which should make interesting reading for anyone on a Train2Game course.

There’s more on Guild Wars 2 here on The Train2Game Blog.

What are your thoughts on how ArenaNet determine what’s fun? Is the fact that a number of their QA Testers have moved into design roles encouraging for you?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: Phantasy Star Online 2 open beta begins this week

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Phantasy Star Online 2 enters open beta this week, and you can get involved.  You can sign up to take part in the beta test by downloading the game here.

Those taking part in the Phantasy Star Online 2 open beta, which begins on Thursday 21st June, will be able to reach Level 30 as the game is tested before its planned full release as a free-to-play title this summer on PC, PlayStation Vita and smartphones.

41,500 players took part in a test of SEGAs MMO last weekend producer Satoshi Sakai revealed, say Siliconera.

There’s more beta testing news, and information on how it’s useful for developers and Train2Game students, here on The Train2Game Blog.

Will you sign up to take part in the Phantasy Star Online 2 beta? Were you a fan of the original?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: Register to take part in Paradox Interactive’s War of the Roses Alpha now

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Paradox Interactive are accepting sign-ups to join their War of the Roses Alpha, but hurry, because the short registration window closes this afternoon!

The open sign-up means anyone who manages to register will get to play the Alpha.

The publisher is looking for extra people to help test their upcoming medieval combat title, based during the 15th century wars between York and Lancaster that ultimately led to Henry VII becoming King of England.

Sign up to take part in the War of the Roses Alpha here.

There’s beta testing news, and information on how it’s useful for developers and Train2Game students, here on The Train2Game Blog. And be sure to keep reading for the latest news from Paradox Interactive.

Will you sign up to take part in the War of the Roses Alpha?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.