Editorial - Beta and You

BETA!

What a wonderful week we have had! Fanguard beta was great and from all reports, the game is coming along wonderfully. With every week that passes I am simply amazed by the new screen shots and posts by the developers. The distance shots to me are just killer. I know “killer” used as an adjective dates me, but hey, what the heck, the screen shots are killer! The personal weekly information download is never enough and only seems to make my thirst grow for more knowledge of Vanguard. But if the new information didn’t get me excited, well then, Houston we have a problem. With every week that I get more excited I also am amazed by some of the things that are posted in the forums. This week’s “amazement” stems from a couple of threads on beta.



Beta. Doesn’t it get you excited? I know beta zero and the coming of beta one gets me pumped up, but I quickly come back down to terra firma. I remember the day the VG forums were updated and beta zero was announced. People were joyous and filled with exuberance, the joint was a mad house. Affiliated sites went just as nuts. What a glorious day indeed! I think the only time there was more excitement by the people was when the actual title of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes was announced with the web page. Not only did the Vanguard forums explode, but so did other “gamer” forums with the amazement of Vanguard. This brings me back to beta and two key points.

Point One, The Plan of Time! (Yes I meant Plan)

How many of you have actually beta tested a game, or tested anything for that matter? Moreover, how many people have actually thought about the work, time, and effort that goes into beta testing something thoroughly? I get the feeling from threads on the official Vanguard forums that there are too many people out there who feel like they are entitled to beta while really not having any clue of what beta is or what is expected. All these people seem to know is that beta gives them a chance to see the game before the general public. Not only is this a dangerous notion but a reckless one as well. This despite the fact that Brad McQuaid has spoke at great length about how important beta really is to Vanguard.

Personally, I have never been involved with beta testing a MMORPG. However, I have beta tested Department of Defense software that our brave troops over across the pond use in war. And let me tell you; beta testing is not all fun and games, it is serious business. Sure I got to see some things before Fox News did, but I also logged 102 hours of testing in just one week. Over four solid days of testing items, some of which were so mundane I felt like someone was holding my eyeballs open while another person poured talcum powder on them. Other items were very important which had my complete attention and I focused so hard that I got headache after a 22 hour session. Other times I found things that were broke, sent it back to the coders, the code was sent back to me and still broken, frustrating.

What I am trying to do is give you, the avid fans of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, reading this article a very brief idea what is about to happen as it pertains to beta and Vanguard. You are helping to forge the future of one awesome MMORPG which some of us have been looking forward to since Brad and Co. left SOE for greener pastures. What a huge responsibility! Do not take it lightly.

You will spend many hours working in specific spheres that you may or may not have much interest in. Crafting may not be your forte, but you may be asked to work on it in beta. Are you really up for spending the next three or four hours of your life doing something that you really don’t enjoy? Now let us throw in school, a spouse, a career, or a family and now you have to juggle 2, 3, or 4 balls while participating in beta with Sigil.

Point Two, Mission Planning is the Key to Success!

Before the first announcements of beta are emailed off by Sigil, you should really sit down and think about what you are getting yourself into. I know I have. I have talked to Mrs. Melchizedek and my 9 year old who plays competitive little league baseball about it. We all have agreed I cannot miss any games due to beta (I have cleared the schedule for the next Fanguard if I am not deployed to locations elsewhere however). What is your situation?

Let us all be realistic, I am using EQ1 for my knowledge in this example. I could sit down at 9am on a Saturday and play until 2am that Sunday, wake up at 7am, head off to services, home by noon, play until 4, head back to services, home by 6pm and play until 2am. Oh damn, where did my weekend go, and oh yeah, I forgot to mow the lawn. “I’ll do it next weekend honey, I promise.”

While this example is 100% true and maybe to the extreme for some of you, time management will be key to being a good beta tester. How much time everyday do you plan to devote to beta? I have no idea on how much time Sigil will want out of it’s beta testers, and while I am sure it will be less than my weekend binge on EQ1, (damn good weekend though, damn good!) there will be some requirements. Once Sigil describes what they are looking for in beta testers make sure you are going to be able to give an honest effort to meet those said requirements.

The Sidebar:

Ah, the sidebar, I just love sidebars!

Congratulations to those ten, oops, I mean nine fans at Fanguard who got a beta one invite. Have a blast and make sure you post what the NDA will allow right here on Vanguard Spheres! To the other yahoo who tried to trade his beta 1 invitation away, what were you thinking!? I don’t use this opportunity to beat down someone who has obviously felt the DT of Sigil, but to illustrate that Sigil is not playing around with beta. Sigil is very serious (we can only hope Sigil is just as serious about exploiters and IGErs). They will have an NDA designed and constructed by a team of lawyers that make the O.J. "Dream Team" look like Elmo, The Cookie Monster, and Oscar the Grouch; promising to take away your house, first born, and car should you violate the NDA. Ok, maybe that example is a little extreme but from the example above, this is going to be a serious job and not so much a game.

Conclusion:

Beta one is coming and I am fired up! I am excited. I am also grounded in the reality that it is going to be a serious tasking and while I am sure I will have fun, my main job is to test things and try to break stuff. Yours should be too. Some of the tasks will undoubtedly be boring but they will need to be tested thoroughly. If you are testing, you are making the game better for me and everyone else who comes after you! Please do a good job. I cannot wait for the day that I can run down to my favorite game shop and pick up that new game called Vanguard. In the mean time, I plan to lurk the boards and report on what I see.

Please, don’t look at beta as a chance to scoop up “l337 BetA InFoZ” but as a chance to really make Vanguard: Saga of Heroes the King of MMORPGs and a home away from home like it should be. Oh yeah, by the way, that weekend mega session of EQ? It was poor mission planning on my part which cost me 3 days on the couch and an evil stare down from Mrs. Melchizedek and family. Abort! Abort!