Well I hate to say it but we won't get months of beta. None of the progression servers that have spun up for EQ had beta longer than a month, and I would expect the same will go for these servers. Due to they are not willing to make a lot of code changes in order to get progression done "right". They will however probably do everything they are capable outside of that to make it as nostalgic as possible. Best we are going to get. And it is better than not at all IMO.
And regarding beta length. They have to play it right. Too long and old players will return and, if they don't like it, leave if they think the real launch with changes is months off. Too short and it goes to live unbalanced and pointless. I reckon it needs 4-6 weeks minimum though.
They probably don't want people A.) getting sick of it before it even launches and/or B.) getting so invested in their beta characters that they cry and wail when it's time to nuke the servers for official launch. That's my guess anyway. Plus, once it officially launches, the stragglers, those on the fence, and those who were late to the party (inactive old players who have finally heard about the official launch through the grape vine and MMO media outlets) will join in subbing as well.
Exactly what I'm thinking. Seems like they did well on EQ1 progress servers and just rushed this one out
It's still a lot better than nothing at all, especially for the future of open PvP! And I'm guessing that even if the Isle of Refuge is that "exploring other...options" starting area that Kander mentioned in passing early on, it probably won't be in until launch. It's going to take some time to do that. Anyone expecting a stat revamp, a gear revamp or an AA revamp is going to be disappointed, but they'll do the things they said they would at least: get rid of BGs, PvP gear, flyers/leapers, guild halls and prestige housing, revamp the fame system as closely as they realistically can to launch-era and then slow ground mount speed to 40%-50% as well. They also mentioned re-enabling procs and doing another class balance pass, and those two will probably occupy much of the testers'/devs' time in the weeks til the end of this month and the launch of the TLs.
So? All that means is that they were honest with us up front about what could be accomplished due to the original code being long gone. Where does it say they have to have a bunch more things you want done just waiting in the wings that they've held out on and not told us about? And as far as server launch times go, they're probably not going to know that until tomorrow (and even when they announce a time, it may well run over anyway). Launching new servers in any MMO is an event that frequently runs late, and then the first thing that happens afterward is that the login servers get overwhelmed and crash, lol. Welcome to every MMO that ever was! It's only beta anyway, though; no characters nor even their names will be held over for launch. Everything will be wiped. Caith said that again today.
At this point, we're less than a day away from launch. Pretty sure they're at the point where they leave the rest up to us to discover. There is no point in a beta if they tell us everything that's in it. I'm sure some of it is even supposed to be a surprise of the sorts. As for members only, a very large portion of this game is free to play, and truth be told, I don't want a ton of free to play players going onto the PvP server and screwing it up (again) and causing it to turn into another Nagafen. There will be a rather large amount of players going in and testing it, with most of them knowing exactly what to look for.
That definitely worries me a little bit but it is what it is. PVP TLE is going to need more time... a month minimum I hope... but the longer the better imo. PVP TLE will need most of the PVE changes the PVE TLE server will have... PLUS a ton of other ones specifically for PVP only.
Untrue. They went live on the 7th and stayed up till like the 20th. Either way my comment said less than a month and that was including the betas for the previous progression servers. Flippy and Vulak which had like 3 and half week betas back in 2011
I wonder how f2p players may screw the server? f2p is just great thing to jump in, realize that you're hooked and buying AA after it. I have no clue how ppl are playing with f2p accs for EQII. Those restrictions are ridiqulous
-------------- I stand corrected, you are right Hyiero - it was for 14 days. Either way, Beta isn't what it used to be, but some period for immediately obvious bugs etc is something. The actual class balance and 'out of era' quality of life issues are super important as well.
sub only + cash shop sub only I have a friend who I could convince to try out beta, but he doesn't have a sub and he won't get one for sure and I'm not selling your product for you.
Making the servers F2P would be shooting themselves in the foot. How would DBG make any money at all from that? They won't sell from Marketplace They won't sell expansions/campaigns They won't recieve subs. Please don't be silly. If people want pure F2P, they can play the normal servers.
It seems the majority of people don't have an issue with the real servers requiring a sub, like your post suggests. The issue is whether the few week long beta that gets wiped should require a sub. To me, it's about what would make them more money. Having a free beta might make more people come back and later convert to a paying subscriber if the beta is a success.. Making it paid guarantees immediate income but may reduce overall playerbase, but at least they have money from those who paid to try it out. Seems like daybreak is taking the pessimistic approach to the success of these servers.
Debatable really. If people are interested in coming back, they are more likely to spend $10 for a try, than not at all. 1 week free Beta - People come along, realise they don't want to continue, leave and 0 revenue. 1 week Subbed Beta - People sub for $10. If they want to walk away, they still have 1 month subbed for and have 4 weeks to have their opinions changed. Of course DBG is pessimistic. They have to break the trend of the past few years and why people left in first place.
You also have to take in to account that if DBG runs certain polls to get decisions from the community on those servers for what they would like to see at launch during the beta. If you allow free to play then these polls are essentially useless seeing that it is very well that majority of people that played during beta will not sub during live. But if you subbed to get into beta you have a burning desire to play on these servers again. These are the people who DBG is really making them for, so the input they got from the polls would be somewhat accurate if that was the case. The way I see it is I pay $15 dollars for a meal at a restaurant that I've never had before, there is a chance I may not like it and then my money is a wash. But if I like it then I have been rewarded with a satisfying experience. Same goes for these servers.
