Tag Archives: beta test

Train2Game News: The Secret World beta test takes place this weekend

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The Secret World enters its third beta test this weekend, and there’s still time for Train2Game students to register to take part.

Funcom’s MMO is based in a modern day setting, and sees players join one of three secret societies – the Illuminati, the Dragon or the Templars – as each faction battles for world domination.  To register for a chance to take part to the upcoming beta weekend, visit http://www.thesecretworld.com/

The third beta test weekend will open up a region known as The Savage Coast, along with two dungeons The Polaris and Hell Rising, as Funcom look to gain feedback from beta testers.

“We are very encouraged by both the numbers of beta registrations and the positive feedback we are getting from our testers,” said Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas.

“The fact that so many gamers want to play ‘The Secret World’ combined with the high purchase intent among testers is something we consider a very positive indicator.”

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 thoughts on The Secret World? Have you taken part in any previous beta tests? Will you be taking part this weekend?

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

Train2Game News: American McGee’s BigHead BASH enters open beta

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BigHead BASH, a free-to-play multiplayer game from Spicy Horse and American McGee has entered open beta.

Train2Game students may know American McGee as the creator of the Alice and Alice: Madness Returns, as well as working as a game designer for classic titles including Quake and Doom.

BigHead Bash is described as “a fast-paced, multiplayer online action game with console-quality graphics using licensed content. Among the content licensed includes bands, brands, comics, and games.”

“BigHead BASH is designed to bridge the gap between social-online and hardcore action games – targeting the magical ‘mid-core’,” said McGee

“Set in a toy shop, the game offers up an impressive collection of virtual toys and weapons for players to collect and fight.” he added.

You can sign up to take part in the BigHead Bash open beta here. The trailer is below.

There’s more beta testing news, and information on how it’s useful to developers andTrain2Game students, here on The Train2Game Blog.

What are your initial thoughts about American McGee’s BigHead Bash? Will you take part in the open beta?

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

Train2Game News: Guild Wars 2 beta tests taken “very seriously in terms of development strategy”

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Beta tests are very important when it comes to deciding development strategy for Guild Wars 2. So says ArenaNet lead producer Chris Whiteside on the announcement of a second beta test weekend for the upcoming MMO.

Guild Wars 2 beta weekend 2 takes place from Friday 8th June to Sunday 10th June for those who’ve pre-ordered the game.

“Your participation is even more important when you consider that we take our beta events very seriously in terms of our development strategy.” wrote Whiteside on the ArenaNet blog announcement, detailing the ways it helps game development.

“At ArenaNet, “beta event” means exactly that—it’s a development-centric event in which we test our systems, discover new and exciting bugs, and get pivotal feedback from our testers about what is going in the right direction and what isn’t.” he continued.

“We have listened intently to all of your feedback from our first Beta Weekend Event, and we’ve made great strides toward resolving many of the issues you’ve helped us identify. These include party movement into overflow servers, chat functionality, key bindings, server stability, performance, and many more that we will detail in the near future.” added the Guild Wars 2 lead producer.

There’s more about the next Guild Wars 2 beta event over on the ArenaNet blog.

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

What are your thoughts on ArenaNet’s view on beta testing? Will you be taking part in the Guild Wars 2 beta weekend?

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

Train2Game News: World of Mercenaries beta begins today, sign-ups still open

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Train2Game students can sign-up to take part in the closed beta for World of Mercenaries, an upcoming  MMOFPS from City Interactive, which begins today.

The PC shooter built using Epic’s Unreal Engine offers “fast-paced game play and a high degree of freedom of movement” where “Purists will find a new battlefield for fame and glory; casual players will be more than just targets.”

Those interested in joining the World of Mercenaries beta need to visit the official website and select ‘Apply for beta’

City Interactive say players who take part in the closed beta will have a part in helping to build Mercenaries. Earlier today The Train2Game Blog reported on how feedback from the Firefall beta has helped Red 5 Studios develop the game.

For more on beta testing, how it’s useful for Train2Game students, and opportunities to get involved with it, keep reading the Train2Game blog.

What are your initial thoughts on World of Mercenaries? Will you apply to take part in the beta?

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

Train2Game news: Mercenary Ops closed beta accepting applications

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Train2Game students can sign up for the upcoming beta for third person free-to-play PC shooter Mercenary Ops from Yingpei Games, the studio formerly known as Epic Games China.

Beta testing will begin in mid-June, with six types of competitive and cooperative game modes across a number of maps based in a near future where guns for hire fight each other. For your chance to take part in the Mercenary Ops beta, simply ‘Like’ the game’s official Facebook page.

Mercenary Ops is scheduled to launch in the summer, with the free-to-play shooter featuring micro transactions, allowing players to unlock and customise weapons. The game is being built using Epic’s Unreal Engine 3.

“Balancing is always a major concern when it comes to online shooters, especially when they are free-to-play,” said Mercenary Ops Producer Jason Sharp on the decision to hold a beta test.

“Because of this, we have committed heavily to testing the game internally and have even invited some of the world’s best professional gamers for their invaluable feedback. With the launch of our closed beta we will have the chance to garner even more feedback, this time from general shooter fans.” he added.

And for more on beta testing, how it’s useful for Train2Game students, and opportunities to get involved with it, keep reading the Train2Game blog.

What are your initial thoughts on Mercenary Ops? Will you be applying to take part in the beta?

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

Train2Game news: LittleBigPlanet PS Vita beta open for registration

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LittleBigPlanet

Train2Game students can register to take part in the upcoming LittleBigPlanet beta on PlayStation Vita.  The goal of the beta is to get feedback from players about the overall experience of the game.

Those interested in taking part in the LittleBigPlanet Vita beta need to go here for a chance to be selected. Of course, you’ll need to be a PlayStation Vita owner, or someone to plans to buy one in the near future, in order to take part.

LittleBigPlanet Vita is being partially developed by Middlesbrough studio Double Eleven, where Train2Game student Darren Price has been on a work placement.

As previously reported by The Train2Game Blog, over six million community created levels have been produced by LittleBigPlanet players.  There’s more about LittleBigPlanet here.

And for more on beta testing, how it’s useful for Train2Game students, and opportunities to get involved with it, keep reading the Train2Game blog.

Will you be applying to take part in the LittleBigPlanet PS Vita beta? Are you still using the level creation tools of previous games in the series?

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

Train2Game news: Team 17 announce Worms Revolution closed beta

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Train2Game students have the opportunity to sign up to participate in the upcoming closed beta for Team 17’s Worms Revolution.

Worms Revolution is the latest title in Team 17’s long running turn based series, which will feature different classes for the first time. Players will be able to build teams with up to four types of worm, with the soldier, the scout, the heavy and the scientist all offering unique abilities and tactics.

To apply to take part in the Worms Revolution closed beta, you’ll need both a Steam and Team 17 forum account. Once you have those, apply to take part in the beta by emailing wormsbeta@team17.com with ‘Worms Revolution Beta’ in the subject line.

For more information, see the Worms Facebook page. Worms Revolution is scheduled for release later this year on PC and consoles, with the closed beta beginning in the new few weeks.  You can watch the Worms Revolution announcement trailer below.

As previously reported by The Train2Game Blog, Team 17 believe that there’s never been an easier time to be an indie game developer.

And for more on beta testing, how it’s useful for Train2Game students, and opportunities to get involved with it, keep reading the Train2Game blog.

What are your thoughts on Worms Revolution? Are you a fan of the series? Will you apply to take part in the beta?

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

Train2Game news: Diablo III open beta reached 300,000 simultaneously players

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Train2Game students will know how important beta testing can be to game development, and with the Diablo III open beta taking place last weekend, Blizzard got a big test for their upcoming title.

Over 300,000 people were playing the Diablo III beta at the same time, with many more joining in throughout the weekend.

“I think we peaked at around 300k concurrent. Total users? I don’t know… a lot.” Blizzard community manager Bashiok posted to Twitter.

Diablo III is released next month.

Beta testing is an excellent way for Train2Game students, especially those on the Games QA Tester course to practice their bug hunting skills. In a recent interview with The Train2Game Blog, Brawl Busters developers Rock Hippo told us that beta testing is “crucial” to the game development process.

For more on beta testing, how it’s useful for Train2Game students, and opportunities to get involved with it, keep reading the Train2Game blog. There’s more Blizzard news here.

Did you play the Diablo III beta? Tell us about it.

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

Train2Game news: Gabe Newell praises advantages of fan feedback to developers

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Fan feedback is one of the greatest assets available to game developers. That’s according to Valve co-founder and managing director Gabe Newell in an interview with Seven Day Cooldown.

“What I think is best for the industry is that games developers used to be very far away from their customers,” said Newell.

“Nowadays you can have a game developer talking to a customer while they’re playing a game and fix an issue, or improve the experience, and do that in a matter of hours, if not minutes.”

Game developers often use beta tests to get fan feedback ahead of full game releases.

The Valve co-founder said fan-feedback about video games provides better opportunities to make customers happy than it does feedback about films.

“Steven Spielberg is pretty much screwed. By the time he gets feedback on his movie, it’s too late. He’s done. Everything he could do to make customers happy, he’s lost that opportunity by the time he can get reactions from his customers.”

“The closer developers are to their customers, and the more the line blurs between both, that gives us a gigantic advantage over any other entertainment field.” Newell added.

Listen to the full Gabe Newell interview on the Seven Day Cooldown podcast.

Train2Game students can get some great advice from Gabe Newell about being successful by focusing on your customers here on The Train2Game Blog. You can also get a fantastic insight to life at Valve thanks to the recently published online employee handbook

Keep up to date with the latest news from Valve here on The Train2Game Blog..

What are your thoughts on Newell’s comments about fan feedback? Is getting more and more important in game development?

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

[Source: Develop]

Train2Game news: Diablo III enters open beta weekend

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Train2Game students can play Diablo III this weekend, as Blizzard has announced an open beta will be active from today through until Monday. The purpose of the Diablo III open beta is to stress test the servers ahead of next month’s release.

Those interested in taking part in this weekend’s Diablo III open beta need to log in to or create their Battle.net account at http://www.battle.net/, then download the game client from here. Diablo III beta testers can team up with friends and play all of the game’s five classes up to Level 13. A full FAQ on the beta is on Battlenet.

Beta testing is an excellent way for Train2Game students, especially those on the Games QA Tester course to practice their bug hunting skills. In a recent interview with The Train2Game Blog, Brawl Busters developers Rock Hippo told us that beta testing is “crucial” to the game development process.

For more on beta testing, how it’s useful for Train2Game students, and opportunities to get involved with it, keep reading the Train2Game blog.

Are you looking forward to Diablo III? Will you be taking part in the open beta this weekend?

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