Thread: Is there gonna be Beta Testing for RoR?

Well we can now pre-order RoR and we know that RoR is coming out in September 5 2012.
Soruces:
http://lorehound.com/news/e3-2012-lo...ions-revealed/
http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/the-lord-of...1224992p1.html

So that being stated, when is beta testing? I wanna see Turbine ..New area 3x bigger than Moria omg
Also if there is any beta, is it going to be invites only or public?

Sapiance did mention a beta in one of his posts (don't remember which one), and mentioned it would be sometime during the summer.

From what I remember, I think it will be similar to the RoI beta: Invite only, with pre-ordering increasing your chance of an invite.

Patience is the name of the game all around I think. Information will come out on its own schedule. As far as I'm concerned, there is no rush to pre-order. Buy today, buy tomorrow, buy September 4th...the cost is the same, and the product is the same.

Originally Posted by Ecsmyth

Sapiance did mention a beta in one of his posts (don't remember which one), and mentioned it would be sometime during the summer.

From what I remember, I think it will be similar to the RoI beta: Invite only, with pre-ordering increasing your chance of an invite.

Patience is the name of the game all around I think. Information will come out on its own schedule. As far as I'm concerned, there is no rush to pre-order. Buy today, buy tomorrow, buy September 4th...the cost is the same, and the product is the same.

i thought it was like a guarentee to get in.. or is that for legendary

Originally Posted by RunKeep3r

i thought it was like a guarantee to get in.. or is that for legendary

There are no guarantees to get in. Only improved odds by pre-PURCHASING.

I doubt there's even going to be a way to apply for consideration for access for non-preorder folks... Maybe I'll get lucky and win a beta key in some contest... I doubt Turbine thinks much of me at the moment with some of the stuff I've written.. the interviews with Tentonhammer are a step in the right direction but there's still some communication that needs to happen before I decide to pre-purchase.

When I'm under a NDA I respect it though, and that's more than I can say for a lot of people who were in the last one.

Originally Posted by RunKeep3r

i thought it was like a guarentee to get in.. or is that for legendary

Nobody can say for certain, but if it's anything like last year's Rise of Isengard, then no. I know plenty of people who pre-ordered the most expensive package back then, and yet they did not get into the Isengard beta program. It's random.

Before the RoR beta... there will be (should be) testing for 7.2 (nominally first week in July release) and 7.3 (nominally first week in August release).

Will those two releases happen? Only WB/Turbine knows, and so far, they have not said anything, and barely implied it.

Will an RoR beta be in beta for an "extended" period of time -- or just "two weeks" as has been the recent scheme?

Only time will tell.

As for participation in an "RoR Invitational Beta" -- historically Turbine has looked at past beta participation, including bugs submitted.

After the RoI beta fiasco -- morphing from a closed beta to a wide open situation unexpectedly -- it's anybody's guess what WB/Turbine will do next.

It's pretty clear that with the RoR announcement keyed to E3, that "things have changed." (Not to mention Steam and Gikiu.) WB Games is clearly calling the management shots now. (A very different aspect than the "technical" part of building a release.) And many people on the forums and chat are describing the RoR "teaser, pre-order" release," "a live beta." Will that be the pattern for future "updates?" One would hope not -- but no one on the outside knows.

We can only wait to see when the Patch Server for Bullroarer comes up again -- what is in it, and who can access it.

And, again from recent experience, announcements are likely to come from Twitter or Facebook postings, not emails or the Forums.

I thought they looked at the another beta you have been in.

The problem with invitation Beta's is that there are a lot of people who are not 'testers' and won't /bug problems because they treat it as a preview first and foremost.

Whether BR is a preview or a test server is still sketchy to me, but I treat it as a test server.

Hopefully this time I get an invite...

i always report bugs in beta yet i have always been here since 2006 yet i havent received my invitation yet and its showing bullroarer is down ???

angel

No software development system releases production code these days without testing. You can be sure there is internal and external testing. I have participated in a number of these things over the years. It is unpaid work for the external testers, so yeah Bullroarer is a test server. Some people do a better job finding (luck mostly) and reporting bugs. I have filed several since coming to this game two years ago, some I found on live and others found in open betas (basically anyone who desires can download the Bullroarer client and participate in bug hunts when the server is open). There is a closed, invitation only program for those with the willingness to put in time and effort to find, report, and submit meaningful feedback. Search for the Palantir program on the forums, read over the requirements and submit an application.

Quality and quantity of feedback matters. Put in your tuppence. Who knows, Turbine's developers just might incorporate your ideas.

There will be Beta testing for Riders of Rohan on Bullroarer.

I don't have details pertaining to player selection or the exact structure of the Beta (I'll leave that to the powers that pull the strings), but I can at least say that there will be Beta for RoR prior to its release. I am very excited for it and can't wait to hang out with many of you and see what you all have to say (and what bugs you report!)

Originally Posted by xRaina

There will be Beta testing for Riders of Rohan on Bullroarer.

I don't have details pertaining to player selection or the exact structure of the Beta (I'll leave that to the powers that pull the strings), but I can at least say that there will be Beta for RoR prior to its release. I am very excited for it and can't wait to hang out with many of you and see what you all have to say (and what bugs you report!)

I'm looking forward to it. I need to see the beta in action before I decide whether to buy it or not.

Originally Posted by Jonin

I'm looking forward to it. I need to see the beta in action before I decide whether to buy it or not.

Unless of course, they only invite those who pre-purchased

Originally Posted by xRaina

There will be Beta testing for Riders of Rohan on Bullroarer.

I don't have details pertaining to player selection or the exact structure of the Beta (I'll leave that to the powers that pull the strings), but I can at least say that there will be Beta for RoR prior to its release. I am very excited for it and can't wait to hang out with many of you and see what you all have to say (and what bugs you report!)

Bullroarer = preview server.

Meaning that once it hits BR, it's 99% sure will be in the live servers.

Originally Posted by RicardoFurriel

Bullroarer = preview server.

Meaning that once it hits BR, it's 99% sure will be in the live servers.

Let's not confuse Bullroarer with Beta. Beta, despite taking place on the Bullroarer server in the past, is a very different thing (and Bullroarer is a test server, not a preview server. We changed that a couple years ago.).

Things I can say definitively about beta...

• It will start later this summer.
• Pre-purchasing Rohan will definitely put you at the head of the line.
• No one is 'guaranteed' a beta invitation so don't take it personally if you aren't invited.
• Invitations will be what we call 'rolling'. Meaning if you didn't get in at the start, it doesn't mean you won't get in later (keeping in mind the comments above, obviously).

If you can tell us:
Will there be any selection pool for players who don't wish to pre-purchase but wish to express an interest? Or even especially want to express an interest after pre-purchasing? Obviously the only way such a selection of players can exist is if you present an opportunity to present themselves.

Presumably you'd take a subset of players from each of your various player type pools to get a wide sampling of feedback
Pre-purchased, didn't pre-purchase etc.


Vip, Not a VIP.
Spent Cash on RoI.. etc.

DDO offered guaranteed beta access with their expansion purchase. This was something that added some value to the pre-purchase option, and it could do similarly here.

Originally Posted by TheNightAngel

Unless of course, they only invite those who pre-purchased

Well in the past they usually do invite those guys first, but I'm not one of those guys this time. I can only hope I get in to see if I want to buy it, otherwise, it's wait for a sale, however long that will be.

Originally Posted by Sapience

Let's not confuse Bullroarer with Beta. Beta, despite taking place on the Bullroarer server in the past, is a very different thing (and Bullroarer is a test server, not a preview server. We changed that a couple years ago.).

Things I can say definitively about beta...

• It will start later this summer.
• Pre-purchasing Rohan will definitely put you at the head of the line.
• No one is 'guaranteed' a beta invitation so don't take it personally if you aren't invited.
• Invitations will be what we call 'rolling'. Meaning if you didn't get in at the start, it doesn't mean you won't get in later (keeping in mind the comments above, obviously).

Sapience, what's the status for copying characters on former Codemasters servers onto bullroarer? I would love to test the content and file bug reports if necessary, but I don't want to create a new char on bullroarer and craft jewelry and weapons and so on just for testing.
Why can't EU players copy their characters to bullroarer, where is the problem and why has it not been fixed yet?

Thank you.

So my understanding is that there will be both:

• Beta (picked players) first
• Bullroarer (free for all) later

Is that right?

Also is there a way to get a invite for the beta without doing the preorder. Iwa slucky enough to get a code last year through another website and had such a great time in the beta that I preordered right away.

In other words Sape whos bottom do I gotta pucker up to lol

Being in beta a few times. Just remember. What done in beta stays in Beta. Untel the game released or released to Open Beta. I remember hearing alot of people got ban last time. Because people where telling MMO reviews and such. So if you are pick follow the rules.

Originally Posted by Celt_Ainvar

Being in beta a few times. Just remember. What done in beta stays in Beta. Untel the game released or released to Open Beta. I remember hearing alot of people got ban last time. Because people where telling MMO reviews and such. So if you are pick follow the rules.

Yep, don't break NDA

Originally Posted by Ela89

Sapience, what's the status for copying characters on former Codemasters servers onto bullroarer? I would love to test the content and file bug reports if necessary, but I don't want to create a new char on bullroarer and craft jewelry and weapons and so on just for testing.
Why can't EU players copy their characters to bullroarer, where is the problem and why has it not been fixed yet?

I can't answer about the character copy, but I can tell you that -- other than for your Toon's ego, there is no benefit to it.

With the E&G Tavern it is possible to create a new character (at any level) and gear it up with everything you could possibly want. In most all cases, that will be far superior to anything you had previously on an "in-game" character.

The only thing which makes the E&G "difficult" is that it takes time -- probably about 2-3 hours to actually go through all of the options available to you! Yes, there are that many, with just the armour and LIs alone!

The end product can be as maxed-out a character as you want. Want to check out the Quests "at level"... fine, just level your created character to some level below where you want to test. You can level-up your crafting skills in the same manner.

You get plenty of Gold and TP to spend! You can even start-up a kinship.

There is a new set of instructions as a sticky in the Bullroarer Forum -- "New Guide to the Eyes and Guard Tavern" -- which contains all the DETAILED instructions necessary. It was completely re-writen recently so that it matched the current version on Bullroarer.
Also read the follow-up instructions for the most recent update -- The Eyes and Guard Tavern - Available. One assumes there will be some kind of similar description for the next test run.

As I recall, the only thing which is not available in the E&G as such, is "Traits."

How do i (we) apply for access on BR for RoR? Ive pre ordered the expansion, got VIP sub and a BR game client downloaded. I still doubt ill get selected as im on a "former" EU server.

We (old Codemaster costumers) can still not edit our "my character settings" and guess we never will for some weird reason (well not that weird ofc as its time consuming to fix it i guess and theres no money in it beside a happy costumer?). I therefor doubt we (the peeps from the old EU servers) get access to RoR on BR as i just feel we are not part of the "family" besides the fact Turbine wants our money but still "disowns" us (like having each update / patch daytime in Europe restricting our game time while it doesnt affect US players that much in the early hours).

Originally Posted by Valamar

I can't answer about the character copy, but I can tell you that -- other than for your Toon's ego, there is no benefit to it.

With the E&G Tavern it is possible to create a new character (at any level) and gear it up with everything you could possibly want. In most all cases, that will be far superior to anything you had previously on an "in-game" character.

The only thing which makes the E&G "difficult" is that it takes time -- probably about 2-3 hours to actually go through all of the options available to you! Yes, there are that many, with just the armour and LIs alone!

Thank you for your help, but I've done this a few times, I know how to level up a character in the tavern.

But what you wrote is exactly what I meant. It takes a lot of time, just for one character. I have four level 75 toons that I use for raiding and when there are changes made to those classes or to instances/raids then I want to test those changes and not spent hours creating and equipping characters although I already have them at level cap and equipped.

Also, if it is so easy to level up a character on bullroarer and meaningless to copy a live character over, why introduced turbine the character copy in the first place?
My only question is: The service is available and works for American servers, why do they not fix it so former CM players can use it too?

Originally Posted by Ela89

The service is available and works for American servers, why do they not fix it so former CM players can use it too?

That my friend is something i think you will never see.

Once it was noticed we, the Europeans, could not use "my character settings" (where i assume the Americans have the toon they transfer to BR?) it was released info that this would be fixed at a later stage as the main focus was to get everyone merged over from CM to Turbine (since some had problems with their accounts) - fully understandable at the time ofc. The problem - getting the old CM accounts into Turbines "my character settings" - was more severe than first assumed though and since it was not a big thing for them ("not a game breaker") they lowered the importance of this and even believe they said it would never happen (though i cant confirm that as i cant find the post).

Originally Posted by Ela89

Why can't EU players copy their characters to bullroarer?

Bullroarer is a NA character data format server. It can't understand a EU character. Bullroarer thinks EU characters have suffered fatal corruption.

Originally Posted by Ela89

why has it not been fixed yet?

Turbine management has not allocated the resources to resolve the issue. We as customers see at least three issues:

1) Some of the web service features do not work for EU kinships and characters because their data is not understood by the web servers.

2) Character transfers across the EU - NA border are not possible.

3) EU characters can not be copied to Bullroarer.

There are several ways to solve the issue. All of them require Turbine management to assign the resources and dollars to make it happen. Which has not happened. No idea if or when it ever will happen. These are the obvious choices:

1) Write a tool that can convert the existing EU databases to NA format. Run the tool against all the EU servers. Deal with the customer complaints when the tool screws up some of the data. You can never test all the edge cases.

2) Write a EU to NA and a NA to EU character converter. Embed these converters into the character transfer tooling and process.

3) Take the EU to NA character converter developed in 2. Embed this converter into the Bullroarer character copy tool making sure that it only gets invoked if the home sever is a EU format server.