is there a way to sign up for Beta Testing

[gadgetfreaky]

if so /how / where etc?

 

[Ryika]

Firaxis doesn't do open Beta-Testing, they have a team of testers.

 

[ImperialChaos]

Firaxis doesn't do open Beta-Testing, they have a team of testers.

Dang, I was hoping we could play it early. I remember a demo for Beyond Earth, but I think that was on launch.

 

[Eagle Pursuit]

Firaxis doesn't do open Beta-Testing, they have a team of testers.

By invitation only, I believe.

 

[Westwall]

Worked out well for BE.

Nyuk Nyuk.

 

[Camikaze]

One would imagine that the 'sign up' process involves posting hundreds/thousands of times about the game on internet forums over a number of years.

 

[Eagle Pursuit]

One would imagine that the 'sign up' process involves posting hundreds/thousands of times about the game on internet forums over a number of years.

And yet I still haven't received an invite.

 

[Ryika]

Being a Youtube Personality probably helps a lot more.

 

[x2Madda]

Being a Youtube Personality probably helps a lot more.

"free" PR seems to be the future.

I 'could' pay a company $1000 for a few adverts that might target thousand of people or only 10 people, who knows?

Or I could give this fan, with his 1million subscribers a free alpha/review copy and a NDA and that will cost me $0 and as you know, you can't get cheaper than free.

Time to start working on your youtube channel, buddy.

 

[TheMarshmallowBear]

"free" PR seems to be the future.

I 'could' pay a company $1000 for a few adverts that might target thousand of people or only 10 people, who knows?

Or I could give this fan, with his 1million subscribers a free alpha/review copy and a NDA and that will cost me $0 and as you know, you can't get cheaper than free.

Time to start working on your youtube channel, buddy.

As ridicilous as it sounds. Games are products, not art. THe goal of the game is to maximise it's profits you can't really be against it when you woul do the same.

Sure the quality is there too and you ensure you don't get a bad spiel because you released something unfinished.

 

[Aristos]

There is a way, actually.

Pre-ordering.

(come on guys, given the recent record of many of these companies, FXS included, most games at release feel like a beta).

 

[Drackcove]

We should make a petition for open beta testing.

 

[m15a]

"free" PR seems to be the future.

I 'could' pay a company $1000 for a few adverts that might target thousand of people or only 10 people, who knows?

Or I could give this fan, with his 1million subscribers a free alpha/review copy and a NDA and that will cost me $0 and as you know, you can't get cheaper than free.

Time to start working on your youtube channel, buddy.

This "free PR" thing isn't just the future, it's the past. Previews/early reviews in news media have been a thing in different art forms for a while now.

It's just that now the news media is made by "fans" instead of "critics".

Anyway, we don't know of any YouTube people that have gone on to be Civ beta testers, do we? It seems like the fact that beta testers can't talk about the beta would prevent any sort of publicity. (Of course people on YouTube can show they're interested in and knowledgeable about Civ in the same way certain long time posters on here have.)

 

[AriochIV]

"free" PR seems to be the future.

With "free" in quotes. At the very least you have to fly them places and put them up in hotels, and give them swag. But according to what I've been told by a publisher, some YouTubers demand cash under the table. And at present, they generate a lot more traffic than traditional website ads.

 

[Verified_Confection_Being]

We should make a petition for open beta testing.

So we can play the game for a day or 2 a month before release while it's buggy as hell?

The only reason companies still do Beta tests is to test their servers, and that only matters in big multiplayer titles. Civ just doesn't have the kind of concerns on the scale of an MMO or COD that require a beta test.

Patience You do not want a buggy game, you want a polished and perfect one. We should petition them to delay release until christmas really.

 

[Martin Alvito]

This "free PR" thing isn't just the future, it's the past. Previews/early reviews in news media have been a thing in different art forms for a while now.

It's just that now the news media is made by "fans" instead of "critics".

And in both cases, they end up being captured by the fact that they're dependent on the gaming company for benefits (monetary or otherwise) and access.

In the past, when Firaxis has wanted beta testers they got them from the community. No telling whether or not there is a private beta this time around from the outside, due to NDAs. I'm sure we'll learn more close to/at release.

The only reason companies still do Beta tests is to test their servers, and that only matters in big multiplayer titles. Civ just doesn't have the kind of concerns on the scale of an MMO or COD that require a beta test.

There is the problem of balance, which is why CIV had a largish beta featuring established community members. Whether it's worth the expense of having somebody oversee it and collate the feedback into something the devs can work with is another question.

 

[MadDjinn]

The only reason companies still do Beta tests is to test their servers, and that only matters in big multiplayer titles. Civ just doesn't have the kind of concerns on the scale of an MMO or COD that require a beta test.

uhm, the 1 million+ different hardware/software configurations for systems running the game? Any of which can cause troubles. No company has the resources to test all of those. Especially when companies may write their code to be 'optimized for...' (pick a GPU company, CPU company, etc) and not quite doing well on the other ones.

Most, if not all, game companies still do beta testing. It's just not always public. Lots do Early Access, which is basically beta testing, while others are trending back to closed betas.

 

[Verified_Confection_Being]

Sorry, i mean open beta, Beta's are of course very important XD They just don't need endless hordes of rabid fans decending when they can do that with a smaller number of dedicated people

 

[Nikolai II]

There is ways in, but it's by invitation only. I think Camikaze is right, it would help being active for years, posting in thousands, and by so showing a slight interest.

 

[SamBC]

Probably helps if those posts don't involve swearing at all and sundry or being generally disruptive, too.