"A very early version of a software product that may not contain all of the features that are planned for the final version."



"A test for a computer product prior to commercial release."

"Beta is going to be tweaking the game to work for a long term environment as alpha testing is going be rather short compared to beta and release versions. Beta will also be used for advertising the game and trying to bring in advertisers for the final version."

As we know, a great deal of features aren't currently implemented. Some of the more obvious are that the Logistics LAVs don't have a working Infantry Repair Module, as par their description. Another good example is the much hyped 'Crusader' and 'Pilot' suits which may or may not be coming in the next expansion, or even racial variants of all frames and vehicles.

Essentially we're playing a game that (as stated by CCP) is only implementing it's core gameplay, but is this really Beta Testing? Are we receiving all of the features slated for release in order to test them as we would in a Beta Gameplay, or is this more of a Alpha Testing with a more formal label?

Honestly, we can't blame CCP for allowing us to test out their product and provide feedback and we can surely respect the decision (otherwise we wouldn't be discussing it currently) however, there may be some confusion in the phases of which we are testing the game, but this all opinion.

It doesn't matter as long as the game is released with all of the intended features, working as intended. This thread is mostly just a public thought, and shouldn't be taken with any degree of severity. It's mostly just for idle discussion and to see where the community sits. Popcorn logic, so to speak.

So, what are your thoughts? Would you say that Beta Testing is an appropriate title? Would you say that the current state of the game is more slated for an Alpha Phase of testing? Discuss.

When it comes to MMOs, testing has to be done differently because you need 'massive' numbers and you need to do things differently - this is a staggered beta test. CCP may well have fully alpha tested all of the component parts we are playing now in-house but it needs testing by a huge audience to ensure it all fits together in every way possible. It has to be staggered (i.e. not everything tested at once), so that they can get the data they want at each stage. You can't just throw everything out there in a disorganised fashion and then hope to get the datasets that you required because everything will be all over the place and it'll be too much to handle.

When it comes to MMOs, testing has to be done differently because you need 'massive' numbers and you need to do things differently - this is a staggered beta test. CCP may well have fully alpha tested all of the component parts we are playing now in-house but it needs testing by a huge audience to ensure it all fits together in every way possible. It has to be staggered (i.e. not everything tested at once), so that they can get the data they want at each stage. You can't just throw everything out there in a disorganised fashion and then hope to get the datasets that you required because everything will be all over the place and it'll be too much to handle.

This is a late Alpha pretending to be a Beta, and no where near been an "Open Beta".

Open Beta

The last stage of game development where the game is tested for bugs, and stability. Open Beta is the finish product of a game, with "some" features missing for marketing reasons, such as ; "Cutscenes / Story spoilers"

Dust 514 is not an " Open Beta ", and i wish people stop calling it that.

Another antiquated definition that doesn't apply to persistent evolving long term MMOs.

How is Dust not an MMO right now? It has a 'massive' player base, is 'multi-player' and 'online'.

I think it's an alpha , but idk why we have a beta label.

So they set up the P2W store basically and keep some kind of a straight face about it.

People are paying for stuff and who knows how much value it will actually have when the game finally limps over the line.

This P2W stuff is ridiculous - no one forced you to pay for anything and I have no aurum gear at all and still win plenty; other people can (and do) do the same.

Think the conversation really got side-tracked so I'd like to bring it back to the actual topic and ask this:

What features would need to be included in order for this to be considered a true-form "beta"?

I will say Bananas ... but i just find out recently, that CCP don't like Banana jokes....

But to answer your question ;

We need more Core content, and not just battle testing.

Ban evasion