Hello Larian!

As a long time Divinity fan, I can't tell you how excited I am for a new entry into the series. With that said, I guess I need to ask the question: Will there be a possibility of participating as an Alpha or Beta tester--or, on that note, will there be a public Alpha/Beta at all?

I don't want to list all of the games I've been an Alpha/Beta tester for, but needless to say... it's a lot. I would love to add this game to that list, not only for bragging rights, but to help test the game for bug and make it the best it can be!

So, for everyone here (I know I can't be the only one who's curious), can we expect an Alpha/Beta of any kind?

I apologize ahead of time if this has been asked in another forum or answered in an interview of any sort.

Thanks!

IIRC, there was closed beta-testing for Beyond Divinity back then, for some, um, "old good members" of the forums, so it might be this way again. Not everyone will make into this tight group, though, and I don't think there will be public beta-testing.

The in-house beta testing sessions (for the original release of Divinity 2, as well as BD) were open to those who could physically get to Larian Studios. Nothing has been mentioned about public betas for DC or D:OS.


Welcome to the forum.

Oh yes, right, what Raze said - it was open for those who was able to visit studio, hmm. Kind of unfair to all others so I hope things will change for D:OS.

yes..I can get there! make it so, make it so ! =D

Well now, it would be a long trip from the US but then again.. I think visiting Belgium is on my "bucket list" and what better reason to visit than to do some game testing

Thanks for the welcome Raze!



While I'm saddened to hear that the beta tests in the past were on-site only, I definitely understand the reasoning. Here's hoping that you'll do a public testing (if only a small selected group)!

Big shout outs to all of you other Divinity players! Anyone else hoping they'll do a public test?

I am fairly certain that most people hope for a public test. I know I do, but I won't be heartbroken or surprised if they don't.

The distance is a bit much, so the in house beta will be left to dwelfusis it looks like Represent us well dwelfusis.

I'm very doubtful for a public test. The closest we will get is a demo a month or two before release.

As said before, the only way to test is to physically visit Larian. This is how testing has been done since 2001 prior to the release of Divinity: Sword of Lies (a.k.a. Divine Divinity).

Astral Projection won't work either as there are some left over ghosts from the first game that will beat you up.

I wonder if it is possible to make a special "copy-protected" test version (via a code or something) that beta testers over the whole world can ask for, download it and install it. A special code in the test version makes it possible to test the whole game for a fixed time period (let's say 2 or 3 months). After that time the test version can never be started again. If the tester try to break the code, his/her computer might blow up ... so you are warned !!

Of course the tester need to write down all his/her comments and must answer questions the Studios asked for etc etc ... so it si TESTING, not only having fun and don't do a thing to help make the game better, bugfree, etc etc ...

And if a tester meet a bug he/she can report this via e-mail to Larian Studios so they can fix all bugs and maybe, if needed, make 1 or 2 times a patch for the "test version" ...

Just my thoughts, not sure if this is possible ?
I'm from Belgium so I CAN go to the studio myself, but I find it weird other people not from Belgium "remain in the cold" if you can understand what I mean ?

We're actually thinking of doing some kind of closed public beta test to stress-test the multiplayer parts of the games, but haven't figured out yet exactly how we're going to approach it. Once we do, we'll be sure to let you know

I wonder why so many people want to be testing nowadays ? This started around the turn of the millennium ... And since then, the pleas of people to allow some beta testing have - in tendency - rather become louder than quieter ...

I don't understand wh people are so much keen on testing ? I really don't know.

Okay, it *can* be fun, but it is mostly work, imho.
You need to have your eyes open all of the time.

I only like testing IF it bring more quality to a game since more people give their comments etc ... can improve the quality, maybe give the developers new ideas to include etc etc ...

For me testing = working ! It's a serious quest to do and require/demand the full investment of all my abilities to be a valuable tester to which the dev's have something to !

Indeed, eyes wide open !
Only if they ask to "mark" the quality to the sound tracks I close my eyes and listen ! But I have full confidence in Kirill Prokovsky's abilities to make again beautifull sounds ... !

Yeah, making sure to document and take screencaps requires much more of my attention than normally playing. Of course with a turn based game, combat bugs would be easier to spot, I wouldn't be mashing buttons trying to stay alive and take a screencap.

The beta I was in 2 months ago was a lot of work, and it was a small one (about 60) that turned into a large one for one weekend (about 500) when they opened it up. They got a huge amount of feedback, and I imagine wading through reports has been a bit scary. It did help them decide on some things though.
This last one left me antsy, it seemed to elevate my inability to wait for the actual product. :P

I've seen some games use Steam for alpha/beta testing. I'm not sure what all you'd have to do as far as discussions with Valve, but I have seen it, so maybe that's a possibility? Plus, that adds the added protection of Steam keys and DRM.

Because this is the best opportunity and moment to suggest some changes you find reasonable and want to see in the final version. Much harder after the release.

I have been testing games for quite some time now. In my experience, when a company really listens to their testers and has a productive alpha/beta, the game usually comes out much more polished and bug free. People who are really passionate about a certain game (or game series) want to help in any way they can. This is usually in the form of testing.

Without a good alpha/beta, you end up with a game like Dungeon Siege 3 that failed completely. 20 minutes of multiplayer testing would have resulted in them knowing their system was garbage for PC players. But, you live and (hopefully) learn.

I know what you mean, but in some forums I often get the feeling as if some people rather take this as a possibility to play a game for free.

lol, trust me, for some alpha/beta tests, you could hardly call it "playing" for free.

Play leaked Crysis 2 for free. Tell me how much did you enjoy it.
Same applies to alphas/betas.