I was wondering if anyone agree or disagree with the way NCSoft have made the beta schedule for AION. If you agree please state why, if you don't agree ditto.

Please take the time to read other people responces I hate virtual double posts.

Dont have the time to do this , gonna play the beta in 10 mins   :)

CY in Aion

Im At Work so Reading is all i can do until i get home AHHHH

I think it was a great move by NCsoft. Since the game has been played for nearly a year in Asia the "beta" we are seeing is more of a preview, although there were some bugs here and there to report.  So it was good advertisement and for the $5 preorder fee, on the consumer side i think it was a good deal.

They give you 3 days to play, 11 to talk about it.

I think it's a pretty clever strategy, thus why Aion is on every single gaming blog/forum right now.

i think the level cap is pretty stupid, it should have stayed at 25. they needed to give us more time to try out stuff like abyss and pvp, and it's hard to do that when you're spending so much time leveling. also, it's really pointless getting more and more levels... when our characters get deleted at the end. i understand some people have fun grinding mindlessly for hours (that's how everyone i talked to who got to 30 leveled), but some of us wanted to do other things in the beta. CAN we pvp at lower levels? yes, but it's obviously not fair to pvp a level 30 when you're 25. the only way to not suck in beta to is play 24/7, which is what we're forced to do in these weekend events.

and yes, i realized there's stuff like crafting, and messing with the market... but is that even original in aion? no. that stuff is already around in dozens of other MMORPG's so do we really need to "beta test" this stuff? the game has been out for a year in korea, i think they already know most of the bugs and such. one of the new main things i can see us testing is the pvp and abyss, which we've been given minimal time to test. maybe they should have given us characters who were already level 25, JUST so we could test that stuff out. IT'S A BETA, it's not the real game so why should we have to level up normally like we do when it comes out? to test EVERY quest??? again, they've had ample time to do that with the korean and even chinese versions.

Like WOW was, Aion is a solid game at this stage, so showing it off isn't an issue.  Its not REALLY a beta anyway since its been released for a year in Asia as everyone should know by now.   RaIsing the level cap slowly allows a controlled test. 

I think when it comes to Aion the beta is not really a "test" anymore.  They're not really testing anything.  All they're doing is giving people a chance to play the game ahead of the people who didn't pre-order.  I'm kinda glad that they're limiting the time I have to play to short bursts because even as is, I'm working my way through content and trying the things I want to try and I think if given more time to play I'd lose interest in Aion by the time it released.

To be honest, the few weekends I've had to play have already given me plenty of fun and I get the feeling that once the game goes live I won't feel like repeating this content that I've played through and thus I'm reconsidering getting the game.  I hate repetition and all I'd end up doing is running through this content again, doing all the quests AGAIN, and not getting anything new out of it.

it's just like one big cock tease

I think for the unique situation that Aion finds itself in they're doing it right.  It's not often a highly anticipated game is releasing in the US on a proven platform.  So allowing people to "beta test" what is really a preview it seems right.  One of the most common things people say about MMO's is that they won't buy it if they can't try it.

Well here ya go.  :)

So called "Beta tests" like this one are all about hype. If any testing is being done, it's on a more superficial level and is more like Delta or Gamma testing, if there even is a progression like that.

That's why REAL beta tests, such as the one going on right now with a certain indie MMO developer, are tainted by idiots that don't know WTF is going on.

Since I don't know what Aion's beta methodology is, and you didn't bother explaining it (and I can't be bothered looking it up), I'm going to say yes. I love it! It's better than chocolate! I'm building a spare room onto my house so Aion's beta methodology can move in with me and we can be best friends forever.