Source: http://account.mortalonline.com

Beta testing and gameplay

The Beta is starting July 20 with the features from Combat Beta active, as well as a few new ones. The very first steps have to do with architecture, back-end and network-performance. To begin with, we are aiming to test:

MO Updater (auto-patching system)
Account System, Login, Logout
Character Creation (The “human family” only, like Tindremenes, Khurites etc, male and female)
General Network and Server stability and speed
Crowd congestion tests
Seamless World-streaming
Updated Prediction System
Sound
Client System Performance

This is not very fun from a gameplay-perspective, although crucial from a technical standpoint. To make you run around in the world and have some feeling of purpose in this crude beginning, we are also testing:

Attribute balancing, basic Skill gain (a few example skills)
Further real time PvP, Melee and Archery Combat testing and balancing
"Vendor-crafting" (you bring resources to a vendor, who then crafts stuff for you according to your instructions, like in Combat Beta). The Skills and GUI (Graphical User Interface) for the "real" crafting is still in development
Very basic resource-gathering (refining, prospecting etc will be in together with crafting later on, meaning at the moment you will get magically pre-refined resources when mining, etc)
Fundamental AI-behavior, a few creatures
World traversing, Swimming and Combat Swimming
Around 32km^2 of the Myrland continent
Basic banking (global at first, local if we manage to get it in before this weekend)
Local chat (no languages)
The Flagging System (complete with temporary insta-guards in guard zones)

That's it. Nothing more, nothing less. These first important steps will be the foundation of the game, and updates will come quickly and at a regular basis once we are confident most of the above is working in the new massive environment.

Please also remember that both your possessions and your Characters can be wiped from the server at any moment, and that this may happen several times during the Beta.

You're in for a rough ride, but we are excited for those of you who want to embark on this journey with us!

That is what you will get, no less, but also no more, next Monday.

I thought it was important to post before the first "ZOMG I payed 90 euros and theres nothing in the game" whines arrive. People who bought the game now to be in beta did it fully knowing what they would get, so unlike "other" games, there's no room to complain, the devs were 100% honest and announced it clearly.

Well it sounds like what Darkfall was like AT LAUNCH :D

Originally posted by Papadam

Well it sounds like what Darkfall was like AT LAUNCH :D

Haha yes, but some people will still complain even though this time, the devs clearly said that there wouldn't be a lot in the game at the start.

I'm very interested in reading the future reviews about several things still:

- How does the world feel, is it hand crafted, full of details, immersive ?

- Is resource gathering fun, I mean, more fun than darkfail's "stare at a rock" one ?

- How is crafting, can you really customize weapons as it was told in several interviews?

- How is combat, are the controls responsive, is there a direct relation between your keypresses and what happens on the screen?

- How is the UI for now?

- How do skillups work, the devs pretend they evaded the "darkfail trap" which made people macro, how did they achieve that?

There's already a lot to learn from this beta, about how the devs intend to manage their game.

I really hope this game pans out. This is my last chance at a UO fix for the foreseeable future.

I read this also.  Regardless there are going to be people thinking they bought the full game and that it is exactly what the game is launching with and flooding the internet with fail threads.  There is no way around it...

Originally posted by Brif

[Mod Edit]

There won't be tons of things to try out haha.  As long as you know it's basically a very featureless beta and you are actually paying to help make it the game we all want and you get something out of assisting the devs then I am sure you will enjoy it.  There will be hundreds of people who don't care about that and just want instant gratification who will raise all kinds of hell.  You can point them to this post to show them how stupid they are, but they will just ignore it and flame on.  People are hardcore on the internet... hardcore dumbasses.

Yeah, the only thing they will not be able to do is to cry it's a scam.

It can't be a scam since the devs very clearly announced what the first beta wave will be about, so everyone did perfectly know what they were purchasing for such high prices.

I can sell bags full of horse shit for $100 each, as long as I warn people that there's only horse shit inside, it's not scamming. And horse shit is good for your garden ;)

EDIT and PS: I just realized my comparison was a bit misleading. I don't pretend MO is horse shit, I just used it to illustrate my example, nothing more.

Originally posted by The_Korrigan

Yeah, the only thing they will not be able to do is to cry it's a scam.

It can't be a scam since the devs very clearly announced what the first beta wave will be about, so everyone did perfectly know what they were purchasing for such high prices.

I can sell bags full of horse shit for $100 each, as long as I warn people that there's only horse shit inside, it's not scamming. And horse shit is good for your garden ;)

EDIT and PS: I just realized my comparison was a bit misleading. I don't pretend MO is horse shit, I just used it to illustrate my example, nothing more.

Hehe, true. And your reminder is to be aplauded. But even if you explained in a hundred languages that the bag is actually full with fæces equinum a.k.a. the stuff which comes out of a horse's backside and if you made a brochure with illustrations and odeur samples to make it as clear as you possibly could,.... there will still be a few folks crying foul and making a fuss about it since they really did expect cheeseburgers somehow. Humanity is hopeless in that sense.

Originally posted by Papadam

Well it sounds like what Darkfall was like AT LAUNCH :D

Yep, atleast MO is honest with what will be in right now, no AV fail..

Weii, cant wait til Moday!

Gee an actual beta like I used to test years ago (albeit for free LOL).

Even at  this stage the game sounds more hardcore the that carebear game from Greece.

Can't wait, this actually sounds like the old days of actually testing not just inviting a bunch of loosers to PLAY your game as an early release so that they could learn how to exploit before the game even launched.

Originally posted by Vaylla

Gee an actual beta like I used to test years ago (albeit for free LOL).

Even at  this stage the game sounds more hardcore the that carebear game from Greece.

Can't wait, this actually sounds like the old days of actually testing not just inviting a bunch of loosers to PLAY your game as an early release so that they could learn how to exploit before the game even launched.

Actually, I can guarantee you there are "losers" who bought the game and will exploit whatever they find and keep it a secret. There are those kinds of people in all walks of life.

Originally posted by Zyllos

Originally posted by Vaylla

Gee an actual beta like I used to test years ago (albeit for free LOL).

Even at  this stage the game sounds more hardcore the that carebear game from Greece.

Can't wait, this actually sounds like the old days of actually testing not just inviting a bunch of loosers to PLAY your game as an early release so that they could learn how to exploit before the game even launched.

 

Actually, I can guarantee you there are "losers" who bought the game and will exploit whatever they find and keep it a secret. There are those kinds of people in all walks of life.

Aw but the fundamental difference is this early in a beta the loosers tend to quit very soon. They can't get any advance information when the game is this rough around the edges.

Yes there are some that will stick it out, but as I have seen over my last 15+ years of software testing, most people want instant gratification and true Beta testing is work, not play.

As we get closer to open beta things will change, and open beta / stress test is the worst time ever. I tend to stay out of the fray during that time period and just wait for release.

Originally posted by DarkPony 

Hehe, true. And your reminder is to be aplauded. But even if you explained in a hundred languages that the bag is actually full with fæces equinum a.k.a. the stuff which comes out of a horse's backside and if you made a brochure with illustrations and odeur samples to make it as clear as you possibly could,.... there will still be a few folks crying foul and making a fuss about it since they really did expect cheeseburgers somehow. Humanity is hopeless in that sense.

They are already doing it before the beta even started :p

From the things being tested, looks more like "alpha" than "beta".

That being said, nice to see them on thier way.

SV is run by geniuses.  Normally you have to pay people to test your software, but they've found a way to make the testers pay them.

I think I'll puke with the first, "OMFG!!@!! they deleted my character!!one!" Thread.

I'm fully expecting some idiot to cry at the first wipe.
Even expecting it I'm still going to puke.
Violent projectile vomitting that will completely cake my monitor; preventing me from responding.

Actually DF had more at launch than MO will have at launch.

I thought that was obvious for a long time actually. As things are now DF is leaps and bounds from what MO will have at launch.

The only thing I am realistically giving MO is if they have those minimum features fleshed out that's its perfect and the combat much more engaging, able to hold the players. That and graphics perhaps.

If its good though the playerbase will stick with it and give the devs time to achieve the game's potential, perhaps in 6 months to 1 year after launch. I'm rooting for em from a PVP perspective.

Originally posted by Einstein-DF

Actually DF had more at launch than MO will have at launch.

 

I thought that was obvious for a long time actually. As things are now DF is leaps and bounds from what MO will have at launch.

Considering we still don't have a launch date for MO, this is pure speculations from a trolling darkfall fan ;)

Originally posted by The_Korrigan

Originally posted by Einstein-DF

Actually DF had more at launch than MO will have at launch.

 

I thought that was obvious for a long time actually. As things are now DF is leaps and bounds from what MO will have at launch.

 

Considering we still don't have a launch date for MO, this is pure speculations from a trolling darkfall fan ;)

As far as speculation everyone and their mother is "speculating"  about every mmorpg on this site. It's just my realistic "perception" of how things will turn out.

Part of the reason I enjoyed DF is that I never overhyped myself for it and realistically believe the game itself is outstanding besides the grind. I'm going into MO (although I didnt buy it) with the same attitude: i'm expecting the features stated but not more (as in the 5 other continents promised) and will expect there will be hacking and big flaws in balancing.

You wont get from me the discusting downright trolling that some people do on the DF forums do  (as in 3 or 4 people all with 15 posts stating that "they cant find NPC only thing I can do is run & jump")

What I stated is not trolling and never will be, I was honest in my opinions.

No matter how "rich" the features list of a game, each feature requires a minimum amount of polish in order to be enjoyable. DF failed on all levels, by both providing much less than advertised, and terribly implementing  the few things they did include in release.

If MO provides this starter list with decent amount of polish on each feature, I think it will have a successful launch.