:: Updated by Hannar @ 01/20/04 06:04 pm ::

2. Beta Testing


Tue Aug 05, 2003 03:51 pm
http://www.eqii.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=57861&highlight=#57861

Moorgard wrote:

Okay, I don't, but the thing on the side makes me look somewhat official! Thanks for the welcomes, and will post again next week sometime. I know everyone wants to get into the beta. And yes, I know exactly when it's starting. I just have to find out when I'm allowed to tell you!

08-13-2003 at 01:59 PM
http://www.eqlounge.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=17218#post17218

Moorgard wrote:

The original post in this thread is comprised of incorrect information. Aside from the fact that good stuff will turn up at FanFaire, of course. I can't give you the official release dates, sorry. But beta is *not* going on right now.

Thu Aug 21, 2003 02:53 pm
http://www.eqii.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=68920&highlight=#68920

Moorgard wrote:

There is no EQ2 beta going on, secret or otherwise. No emails have been sent out about it. Period. The team tests the game internally. That's not a beta. It's playtesting for EQ2 team members only. I realize you'd all like dates for beta and release, but I'm not discussing them at this point. Our schedule could certainly change, so giving you dates that might shift again isn't a worthwhile way to manage your expectations. While it may seem on the surface that a release date is the most trivial and basic of information, really it is not. There are promotions, media spotlights, advertising, and all kinds of other things involved in the process. The date itself is part of a much bigger picture. We will take applications for beta when we are ready. When we do so, everyone will know about it. Again, I understand your anticipation and excitement, and the team is very grateful. But addressing this topic over and over doesn't help the community at this point, so I'm not going to discuss it further until we have the final announcement for you.

Sun Aug 24, 2003 01:42 pm
http://www.eqii.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=71356&highlight=#71356

Moorgard wrote:

There are going to be several phases of beta. It will start out with modest numbers, and the last phase will be quite large. You're just going to have to accept that some of you are going to get in and some of you are not. We won't have time to personally interview thousands of people to decide who is most "deserving." Giving Legends subscribers an opportunity to join it is simply one of the perks they get for paying a premium. That's just the way it is. Apart from that, getting into beta is not some kind of reward. We want useful information on how to fix/improve the game, and we will select the applicants we think have the best chance of providing that to us.

Tue Sep 02, 2003 08:27 pm
http://www.eqii.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=80266&highlight=#80266

Moorgard wrote:

cushy4 wrote: a beta is never late, it arrives precisly when it means to Oh, I like that! Aside from the typo, of course.

09-08-2003 at 12:32 PM
http://www.eqlounge.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=21201#post21201

Moorgard wrote:

The beta page hasn't changed. I'm not sure what you're seeing that looks different.

Mon Sep 15, 2003 03:38 pm
http://www.eqii.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=89224&highlight=#89224

Moorgard wrote:

Lately I've been getting more and more private messages from people listing their credentials and offering testing assistance during beta. While I appreciate the sentiment, sending me this kind of message will have zero impact on your acceptance. When we open up applications for beta, you will have an opportunity to point out any personal experience that may be relevant to the testing process. Our Quality Assurance department will go through the applications to determine which people best match certain testing phases, and will invite people accordingly. Sending me personal messages won't affect this process. It's simply not an area I'm going to be involved in. Again, I want to thank everyone for being so excited about the game. This post isn't intended to brush anyone off, but let it be known that in the future any personal messages I receive on this topic will simply be referred to this thread. _________________________________________________________ Anyuzer Edit: I'm Editing this Moorgard comment in as well from this thread which is equally as relevant. This comes up time and time again... people think they see something different about our official site and assume beta will be starting any minute now. In an effort to prevent future threads like this, at least for a while, I hereby bestow upon you the Prophecy of Moorgard: We will not begin taking applications for beta until sometime after you receive the full and complete class tree. Let this be a sign unto you. When you have the class tree, you know the time is drawing nearer. That said, it will be a while longer before you have the class tree. But until then, there is absolutely no point in starting anymore "OMG BETA IS COMING !!!11!!1" threads. And if you see any, don't believe them.

Wed Oct 01, 2003 07:23 pm
http://www.eqii.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=103389&highlight=#103389

Moorgard wrote:

Viper1 wrote: Im guessing that when beta is released that there will be ALOT of info posted by those who are participating. Not by anyone who wishes to continue in beta, of course.

10/11/03 12:24am
http://vnboards.ign.com/message.asp?topic=57751723&start=57760748

Moorgard wrote:

Quote: "Out of curiosity what are the rewards if any for beta testers" Helping us to make a better, more stable game.

Fri Oct 24, 2003 08:30 pm
http://www.eqii.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=123762&highlight=#123762

Moorgard wrote:

This comes up time and time again... people think they see something different about our official site and assume beta will be starting any minute now. In an effort to prevent future threads like this, at least for a while, I hereby bestow upon you the Prophecy of Moorgard: We will not begin taking applications for beta until sometime after you receive the full and complete class tree. Let this be a sign unto you. When you have the class tree, you know the time is drawing nearer. That said, it will be a while longer before you have the class tree. But until then, there is absolutely no point in starting anymore "OMG BETA IS COMING !!!11!!1" threads. And if you see any, don't believe them.

11-07-2003 at 03:19 PM
http://www.eqlounge.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=33722#post33722

Moorgard wrote:

Quote: Do you feel that Legend players should be first pick at being beta tester over long time EQLive players? Legends players are given beta access as perk. They don't take the place of other testers, nor are their opinions given any special creedence. I don't expect that Legends players as a whole will provide better or worse feedback than players of EQ or any other MMOG would. They fall into the category of the average player, and their feedback will be considered as such. They simply get guaranteed access to beta earlier than most other players will as a benefit of the service they pay for. The basis of your complaint seems to either be that other people A) are more deserving than Legends players or B) will provide better feedback than Legends players. Both are assumptions that cannot be proven with any reliability. We take the testing of EQ2 very seriously. We will be bringing in a crew of experienced testers from the very first phases of public beta. Additional public testing will roll out in phases, with more and more people being added in each wave. If the concern is that Legends players will somehow degrade the testing process, such worries are unnecessary. If the concern is an entitlement issue, then that's more of a personal complaint.

11-07-2003 at 04:43 PM
http://www.eqlounge.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=33748#post33748

Moorgard wrote:

I never said Legends subscribers would be the *only* ones in the first phase of public beta.

11/7/03 1:49pm
http://vnboards.ign.com/message.asp?topic=59224706&start=59270662

Moorgard wrote:

As I posted on EQLounge, I never said that Legends subscribers would be the *only* players allowed in the first phase of public beta. The information on eqii.com is not incorrect. Please make that clear on any other EQ2 board on which this same thread has been started.

Mon Nov 17, 2003 01:38 pm
http://www.eqii.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=137815&highlight=#137815

Moorgard wrote:

The press release for this offer was scheduled to go out today. Due to a miscommunication, it was released prematurely (and briefly) in a Lords of EverQuest patch message. When our people realized that the patch message was up too soon, it was removed. Of course the message was quickly circulated on the Internet, but despite that fact I can't comment on press releases until they are official. So here you go. Below is part of the actual press release: Players who purchase Lords of EverQuest and register the game on SOEGames.net (using their EverQuest account) before 11:59 p.m. PST on January 3, 2004 will be eligible for a special phase of the EverQuest II beta. Additionally, current EverQuest players can receive an extra 30 days added on to the end of their current EverQuest subscription by participating in this promotion (see details below). Lords of EverQuest is expected to ship to U.S. and Canadian retail stores on December 2, 2003. ... In order to participate in the special phase of the EverQuest II beta (tentatively scheduled for Spring 2004), players must have an active EverQuest account throughout the special phase of EverQuest II beta. Players who purchase Lords of EverQuest will find an offer inside the box outlining all of the terms and conditions, as well as complete instructions on how to take advantage of this unprecedented offer. While it was unfortunate that news of this offer went out early, it was hardly what we'd consider a major blunder. Nobody was fired or locked in a stockade over it, despite the outcry of some people on this board and elsewhere. And there was no dark conspiracy behind the fact that I didn't comment on the matter; I simply can't discuss press releases that aren't officially out there yet. There seem to be two main points of unhappiness in the threads concerning this offer: first, that we have delayed the release of the game; second, that we shouldn't offer a spot in the EQ2 beta as part of the marketing of another product. In response, I'm going to point out a few facts. 1. I have been saying for quite some time now that our release date is sometime in 2004. I've posted this multiple times on multiple boards. The official FAQ on our Web site was updated to say "EverQuest II will launch in 2004" on September 12. In spite of this, some of you continued to hang your hopes on earlier release date discussions and preorder pages from online retailers. While that is regretable, I nonetheless cannot be more specific about a release date. 2. We have a schedule for when the various phases of beta start, and nothing has changed that plan significantly since I've been here. It's obviously not the schedule some of you would like, but we're not going to rush something out the door to satisfy that demand. 3. The marketing people have a job to promote our games in the marketplace, and choosing to cross-market some of them is their call. While I see no need to apologize for that decision, I should point out that the notion of using one product to market another is hardly new. It's like announcing that an exclusive trailer for a highly anticipated movie will be shown in front of another film. Is it designed to boost sales? Of course. That's the job of marketing departments. 4. The LoE offer is purely optional, as is the Legends offer. Neither of these offers (Legends or LoE) impacts your chance to get into beta in a negative way. You have *exactly* the same chance you did before, at *exactly* the same time you did before. If you choose to take advantage of one of these offers to get into beta, that's entirely up to you. If you're mad or disappointed by the company's decision to make this offer, all I can say is that it's a reality of marketing. Again, let me be clear: this does not hurt your chances to get into beta one iota. We're going to be inviting tens of thousands of players into our beta, and any Legends/LoE customers who choose to participate will be in addition to the number of regular beta invitations we're going to send out. If you're upset because we aren't releasing the game when you thought we were, then all I can say is that I've been trying to prepare you for it. I've said several times that we deliberately weren't giving a specific release date anymore--just 2004. We understand that you're anxious for the game, but we're even more anxious to deliver a quality product that is stable, solid, and fun.

Mon Jan 12, 2004 02:29 am
http://www.eqii.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=176937&highlight=#176937

Moorgard wrote:

Lycrist of Lanys wrote: (Moorgard's 500th post will be the Beta Announcement!) Apparently not.

Fri Jan 16, 2004 09:09 pm
http://www.eqii.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=182607&highlight=#182607

Moorgard wrote:

Whew, is this place hectic! Beijing is an incredible city, and the people here have been wonderful. We had press non-stop here yesterday, and today the show is open to the public. Because this was done without a lot of setup time, we opted to get a room above the floor rather than the booth. This lets us do interviews and one-on-one demos in a slightly less chaotic environment. I see it didn't take long for screenshots and info to leak out. The UI you see is an intermediate design, and is about to receive a new look in the next couple weeks. Glad to see you're liking some of the new shots and such. Wish I had more time to read the boards, but I have too much to do here! I'll post more when I get back.

Thu Feb 05, 2004 01:38 am
http://www.eqii.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=201854&highlight=#201854

Moorgard wrote:

RihkotixInvisifists wrote: http://www.sonyonline.com/corp/company_info/bios.jsp doesnt have moorgard on it... Yet! Altruis wrote: but why is it so hard to just let us know approximately how long beta is being delayed or moved up? Because any delay in the current climate is viewed as a failure. If we aren't taking signups for beta right now, some people say it must mean our game isn't going to be done this century or won't be fun or can't be as good as some other game that isn't out yet either. Sorry, but it doesn't help anything to say when beta signups might begin, only to say when they will begin. And I'm not going to say anything about that just yet. Some of you want a "state of the game" address to reassure you that things are still on track. The reality is that I've been giving such statements in pieces that simply haven't surfaced yet. I talk about the state of combat in a blog that hasn't turned up (and if it doesn't soon, I'll simply post the information in another format). I discuss the fun factor of the game in an IGN Q&A that should show up on Friday. Screenshots show more and more improvement and give evidence that our world is alive with NPCs. The little glipse of the UI you saw on the China pic shows we have made huge strides in that area (okay, the pic doesn't really convey that so well, but I'm telling you that we have ). As Anyuzer once pointed out, you guys know an awful lot about the mechanics of the game. Giving you much more would spoil a lot of the fun of discovering things for yourself. However, I do understand that you want new information on a consistent basis, and that is something we're working on delivering. But setting up that process takes time and effort, and believe me I've been spending a lot of both lately. I think the results will be worth the current relative lull. I wish I could do something more concrete to reassure you that your faith in our team and in this game is not misplaced. But any words I can write would pale in comparison to seeing the game in person for five minutes. I'm being completely honest when I say that the game has come incredibly far in the time that I've been on the team, and as an EverQuest fan I have not a single doubt that we will prove worthy of the name. There's more I wish I could say, and even more I wish I could show you. All I can say is that soon the time will come when you will judge for yourself. EverQuest II will ship in 2004. It will be a very fun game. And when you can walk around and see the new Norrath, all the waiting will be nothing but a distant memory. Oh, and in answer to your question: Mat'hir Uth Gan wrote: What I would really like is a link (or post) to data that will tell me exactly what his job is... This is what I do.

Wed Feb 11, 2004 01:41 am
http://www.eqii.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=209347&highlight=#209347

Moorgard wrote:

Our sites use a content management system that was designed back when there was only a single site to support, and the code is definitely showing its age. That software is gradually being replaced with new code which will be much more robust, but until then you will continue to see occasional downtime and glitches. Please stop getting your hopes up that a blank page means some big announcement is coming. As in the past, when we have something important to report on our site I will make posts on all the major EQ2 forums directing you there. So you can stop camping our site in hopes that you will be the first to see a beta signup page, because it's not going to work that way. Feel free to paste the above paragraph into the next thread that turns up on this subject.

:: Updated by Hannar @ 07/03/04 02:09 pm ::

03-15-2004 11:05 PM
http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=general&message.id=2321#M2321

Moorgard wrote:

Beta has not started yet, and we have not announced a date for it. Those who took advantage of the LoE offer will be contacted via e-mail before their phase of beta begins. Locking this thread, as I will lock most beta threads.

03-16-2004 07:46 PM
http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=general&message.id=5089#M5089

Moorgard wrote:

No, posting a lot on message boards will not get you into beta.

04-05-2004 05:24 PM
http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=general&message.id=33720#M33720

Moorgard wrote:

Once again, we're happy that people are interested but we haven't announced beta dates yet. Locking.

Tue Apr 13, 2004 11:47 am
http://www.eqii.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=256288&highlight=#256288

Moorgard wrote:

Are we going to scour the boards looking for people who we think would make great testers? No, we will have people apply for beta through our website. That said, I know a lot of folks on these boards and remember the kinds of things people post. There are some posters from these forums I will make sure get into beta, not just as some kind of reward but because I believe they would help make the game better. Of course there are others who have proven they would not be so helpful, and I will remember them with equal clarity.

04-30-2004 09:53 AM
http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=general&message.id=66493#M66493

Moorgard wrote:

I'm glad many of you LoE folks are getting your e-mails. If you haven't gotten it yet, please don't panic. With the way the automated e-mail system works, there can be wide gaps between when the first person gets it and when the last person does. Again, please visit www.station.com and make sure your e-mail address is correct. If for some reason you don't get an e-mail this weekend and you know you fulfilled all the requirements for the LoE offer, we'll help you out on a case-by-case basis. I'll post an address for you to write to if you don't get a confirmation e-mail this weekend. And as for those who don't like the LoE offer, this is not the thread in which to complain about it. Any such messages in this thread will be deleted, and people who don't abide by this warning are pushing their luck.

04-30-2004 12:21 PM
http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=Non-Gameplay&message.id=6941#M6941

Moorgard wrote:

Whatever Ubisoft announces on their site has to do with the betas THEY are running. The International section of the FAQ applies to the beta that SOE is running. International What countries is beta open to other than the US? Citizens of any country are free to apply for the EverQuest II beta, with the understanding that the beta will be conducted in English. Will there be betas localized in any region other than the US, or will players of all languages play on the same server? Our distribution partner, Ubisoft, will be conducting international beta tests on localized servers in languages other than English. Those betas will be managed by Ubisoft, and they will make all announcements regarding the timing of localized beta programs. Will the NDA (non-disclosure agreement) apply to people outside the US? The NDA will apply to everyone who enters the beta program.

04-30-2004 03:32 PM
http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=Non-Gameplay&message.id=6939#M6939

Moorgard wrote:

I'm having the message on our beta page clarified. The June 1 registration is for those Europeans who wish to participate in Ubisoft's localized beta. That beta has a separate application process. There is nothing preventing Europeans from applying for the SOE beta on May 3.

5/29 11:34pm
http://vnboards.ign.com/message.asp?topic=69618227&start=69618802

Moorgard wrote:

Consider it shot down. All "my friend is in beta already" stories are bogus. Nobody outside SOE can even connect to our EQ2 servers at this point. The player summit EQ is doing has nothing to do with our game; it's about recent and forthcoming EQ expansions.

06-08-2004 12:08 AM
http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=Non-Gameplay&message.id=9463#M9463

Moorgard wrote:

It was announced in advance of the US beta application that there would be a localized European beta run by Ubisoft. Anyone who wanted to participate in the Euro beta just had to wail a little longer to apply. We'll presume that those people who applied for the US beta really do want to be in it, and their applications will be evaluated accordingly. We will not respond to email or PMs asking us to delete US beta apps in favor of European ones, nor will we respond to email or PMs saying things like "Well I'd prefer to be in the UK beta but I'll take a US slot if that's what I'm offered." We simply don't have the bandwidth to handle requests like that.

:: Updated by Hannar @ 07/12/04 05:39 pm ::

07-09-2004 05:08 PM
http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=general&message.id=148544#M148544

Moorgard wrote:

Please don't take this as me being coy, but the answer is "As long as it needs to be." We are not locked into a specific timetable at this point. We have goals that we want to meet with each phase of beta, and when those goals are met then we will move onto the next phase. We'd rather our beta phases be based on goals and desired features than on dates. Certainly we have dates in mind, but since we can be flexible there's no point in locking ourselves down yet.

07-09-2004 10:36 PM
http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=general&message.id=148784#M148784

SilverNine wrote:

orgard" SilverNine wrote: Another thing that is completely unproductive is the "Friends and Family" phase. Here is my request for the moderators/developers/whoever... I have been playing Everquest for along time on two accounts: Please remove my beta eligibility! Actually, this phase of beta is arguably the most productive. Bear in mind that "friends and family" is merely a name. It consists not only of pals and second-cousins, but people we've known for a long time that have tested other games for us and who we know will provide valuable feedback. It's people we can trust to do a good job and to be honest with us about what should change. And with a controlled number of players who are dedicated to the testing process, we can secure accurate data that is extremely useful. Inviting tens of thousands of random applicants has its uses too, and when we get to a point where we need that type of feedback we will do it. But to suggest that the beta process we have laid out will somehow result in a poorer quality of feedback than a completely random sampling drawn from hundreds of thousands of applicants simply can't be proven. And I hate to say it, but just because someone is active on a message board doesn't mean they will be a great tester, either. There are plenty of people who frequent these and other boards who simply want to use beta as a means to decide whether to buy the game when it comes out or not. But in any case, I'll comply with your request and withdraw whatever Station names you applied to beta with. Just PM them to me and it will be taken care of. That offer is open to anyone, by the way.

:: Updated by Hannar @ 08/01/04 07:33 pm ::

07-27-2004 09:57 PM
http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=tech_support&message.id=21490#M21490

Moorgard wrote:

Information on performance is covered by the NDA. The first phase of beta is called friends and family; it is currently underway and has been for a little while now.