From the GW2 twitter: The upcoming stress test is NOT a beta event and NOT related to pre-purchase. Its intention is to help us prepare for the beta events! ^AT

A wise man responded saying that by them not calling it a beta they bypass the pre-purchase agreement to give betas to people who paid $60. I think it's pretty stupid, that means they can just have other betas that don't say weekend or aren't called betas, maybe call them Sunday gamma's and people who paid $60 don't get access.

Oh hey guys.. sky's falling again, just thought you should know.

A 6 hour stress test is a six hour stress test. My guess would be that this is to make sure they're ready for the beta test, which is later this month, and that it possibly indicates the level of participation that they had in their pre-purchase.

All of this reminds me of when people freak out over every single little detail regarding politicians (both left and right). They want full disclosure (Cash shop) and access to everything (all betas, stress tests); anything less is paramount to first degree murder.

I know there are honest questions out there, but man the Trolls are out there in force lol. I guess they got bored of playing WOW and TOR and have nothing better to do than trash GW2.

I'm not saying GW2 is the "second coming" of the mmo messiah. But I do think that GW2 has the potential of being a great game and maybe, just maybe a true competitor to the lazy fat old king that WOW has become (thanks ghostcrawler!). I guess we'll see!

Look forward to seeing ya'll in the coming beta weekends! :-p

Originally posted by Charlizzard

A 6 hour stress test is a six hour stress test. My guess would be that this is to make sure they're ready for the beta test, which is later this month, and that it possibly indicates the level of participation that they had in their pre-purchase.

That is exactly what it is.

And its smart too, Anet keeps showing us how ahead of the game they are, thats why its was so easy for me to pre-purchase. Think about it, doesnt it make more sense to do a stress test before you allow thousands of players to log in and beta test?

The answer is yes!

Folks need to learn to read and understand what they are reading.


How do I get into the beta?

Guild Wars 2 is currently in closed beta testing, which is by invitation only and under NDA. We plan to have our first non-NDA Beta Weekend Event in late April.

What is Pre-Purchase?

Customers who pre-purchase the game pay for the game in full and will enjoy guaranteed access to our Beta Weekend Events.

When do Beta Weekend Events (BWEs) start, and how many will there be?

The first BWE is currently planned for late April, and we expect to have one every month or so.

So lets say that BWE's are once a month. They still have 3 other weekends they can place "Closed Beta Events" to test whatever it is they want to test. They might close up some areas and open up others as an example. They never said that closed beta testing was going to end once BWE's started. They can actually have both running. Gasp! This is impossible!

BWE have no NDA attached to them.

Everything else(regardless of the nameS given) if it has a NDA attached to it, it is obviously NOT part of the BWE.

Originally posted by dalingrin

Originally posted by fiontar

I get what they are doing and why they are doing it. However, another example of poor PR, IMO. They should have stated before pre-purchasing began that they were planning a stress test before the first BWE that would not include pre-purchasers. Now, this stress test just seems to set precedent for them to have all sorts of beta events that occur on a weekend, but are not technically WBEs, so pre-purchase players will be excluded.

When the pre-purchase benefit says you'll be able to participate in all future beta events, it just comes off as dishonest if they start having events that look like a duck, quack like a duck, but ANet decides to call a cat instead.

I really hope that once the BWEs do start, Arenanet will give their CMs a lot more lattitude in what they can talk about, because the continual obfuscation created by their strict talking point guidlines may appear as dishonesty, when it's really just someone following the rules of their employment.

I disagree. The official FAQ says with a pre-purchase you get access to beta weekend events and they plan to have around one a month. This has been stated on their official twitter and other places also. You should expect to get to play the beta one weekend a month and they shouldn't have to explain everything else about their development model to us. 

Even the name they are using "beta weekend event" implies that they are not allowing pre-purchasers to participate in every thing they decided to test. If they wanted it to sound inclusive they would have just called it a beta.

I understand that. I also understand that there is a closed beta test that is ongoing and pre-purchases do not gain access to that. However, from a PR perspective, you never want to put yourself in a position where you have to play semantics games with customers, as some people will take it as a very sour note. If they have beta events that only occur on the weekends and include more than the full time closed beta testers, but because they don't get the official "Weekend Beta Event" label, pre-purchase customers are not included, that's going to tick a lot of people off. "Sorry, but this weekend's beta event isn't a 'Weekend Beta Event'" is an arguement that is best avoided.

I also understand the semantic gymnastics that the CMs find themselves engaging in while working hard to respond to the community, while only sharing information they are authorized to release. I don't fault the CMs, but I can recognize that putting them in such a restrictive situation causes them to appear  to be engaging in spin, semantics games and obtuse use of language, which most people, in most situations, will percieve as the traits of a very dishonest person. (Imagine if a retail sales person communicated in such a manner. Most people would take about 30 seconds of it before walking out and finding some where else to make their purchase).

All I'm saying is it may be time to re-examine the restraints put on the CMs which make it almost impossible for them to communicate with the community in a manner that doesn't feel like it's full of the semantics games, spin and inability to answer simple, self evident questions that one might expect from the very worst of politicians and poitical spin-doctors. A short list of things they can't talk about would be better than a short, limited script of things they can talk about.

As to this specific beta stress test event, it should have been anticipated that a.people would hear about it b. some people would resent that pre-purchase customers are not included in the opportunity, even if it is just a 6 hour stress test. It would have been preferable to talk about it before it was leaked, explain why it doesn't include pre-purchase customers and assure pre-purchase customers that there are not going to be a lot of future, limited beta events that they will not qualify for.

Judicious use of secrecy and an active effort to be more forthcoming on things that doesn't really benefit from secrecy would serve Arenanet a lot better than obssessive secrecy for the sake of secrecy.

I'm highly surprised no one has broken out the "but i'm a paying customer!" tear filled rant yet.

Originally posted by Adalwulff

Originally posted by Charlizzard

A 6 hour stress test is a six hour stress test. My guess would be that this is to make sure they're ready for the beta test, which is later this month, and that it possibly indicates the level of participation that they had in their pre-purchase.

 

That is exactly what it is.

And its smart too, Anet keeps showing us how ahead of the game they are, thats why its was so easy for me to pre-purchase. Think about it, doesnt it make more sense to do a stress test before you allow thousands of players to log in and beta test?

The answer is yes!

Exactly.  If they didn't, I can hear the whiners now.  "Why didn't they do a stress test before the BWE's?  Duh!  Even if they weren't going to open it up to all pre-purchasers, even a 1st grader would know to give it a good check first.  This game is way over-hyped, and Anet are a bunch of tools with no sense at all.  GW2=fail."

Does it really matter? It's a 6 hour stress test. Chances are the game will be barely playable due to lag and such.

Hopefully the info Anet collects during the stress test would mean a smooth BWE for the rest of us.

Originally posted by AmbrosiaAmor

Folks need to learn to read and understand what they are reading.


How do I get into the beta?

Guild Wars 2 is currently in closed beta testing, which is by invitation only and under NDA. We plan to have our first non-NDA Beta Weekend Event in late April.

What is Pre-Purchase?

Customers who pre-purchase the game pay for the game in full and will enjoy guaranteed access to our Beta Weekend Events.

When do Beta Weekend Events (BWEs) start, and how many will there be?

The first BWE is currently planned for late April, and we expect to have one every month or so.

So lets say that BWE's are once a month. They still have 3 other weekends they can place "Closed Beta Events" to test whatever it is they want to test. They might close up some areas and open up others as an example. They never said that closed beta testing was going to end once BWE's started. They can actually have both running. Gasp! This is impossible!

 

BWE have no NDA attached to them.

Everything else(regardless of the nameS given) if it has a NDA attached to it, it is obviously NOT part of the BWE.

This ^

But hey, not all of us care to read what we're getting ourselves into.

Originally posted by Livett

I'm highly surprised no one has broken out the "but i'm a paying customer!" tear filled rant yet.

That's basically what this thread is.  No one bothered putting on their comprehension helmets when reading ANet statements so now they're unjustifiably pissed at nothing.  Again.

Originally posted by Eir_S

Oh hey guys.. sky's falling again, just thought you should know.

Dude, the egg sitting on the wall fell and all the king's men could not put him back together!

The Horror! The Horror!

Originally posted by Eir_S

Originally posted by Livett

I'm highly surprised no one has broken out the "but i'm a paying customer!" tear filled rant yet.

That's basically what this thread is.  No one bothered putting on their comprehension helmets when reading ANet statements so now they're unjustifiably pissed at nothing.  Again.

Never underestimate the Rage of the Nerd, for the Vengeance of the Neckbeard runs red with the ferocity of rage! It's like emotions roll a natural twenty and the anger demon is unleashed, now roll a savings throw versus stupidity. HA! You lose!

Originally posted by fiontar

Originally posted by dalingrin

Originally posted by fiontar

I get what they are doing and why they are doing it. However, another example of poor PR, IMO. They should have stated before pre-purchasing began that they were planning a stress test before the first BWE that would not include pre-purchasers. Now, this stress test just seems to set precedent for them to have all sorts of beta events that occur on a weekend, but are not technically WBEs, so pre-purchase players will be excluded.

When the pre-purchase benefit says you'll be able to participate in all future beta events, it just comes off as dishonest if they start having events that look like a duck, quack like a duck, but ANet decides to call a cat instead.

I really hope that once the BWEs do start, Arenanet will give their CMs a lot more lattitude in what they can talk about, because the continual obfuscation created by their strict talking point guidlines may appear as dishonesty, when it's really just someone following the rules of their employment.

I disagree. The official FAQ says with a pre-purchase you get access to beta weekend events and they plan to have around one a month. This has been stated on their official twitter and other places also. You should expect to get to play the beta one weekend a month and they shouldn't have to explain everything else about their development model to us. 

Even the name they are using "beta weekend event" implies that they are not allowing pre-purchasers to participate in every thing they decided to test. If they wanted it to sound inclusive they would have just called it a beta.

I understand that. I also understand that there is a closed beta test that is ongoing and pre-purchases do not gain access to that. However, from a PR perspective, you never want to put yourself in a position where you have to play semantics games with customers, as some people will take it as a very sour note. If they have beta events that only occur on the weekends and include more than the full time closed beta testers, but because they don't get the official "Weekend Beta Event" label, pre-purchase customers are not included, that's going to tick a lot of people off. "Sorry, but this weekend's beta event isn't a 'Weekend Beta Event'" is an arguement that is best avoided.

I also understand the semantic gymnastics that the CMs find themselves engaging in while working hard to respond to the community, while only sharing information they are authorized to release. I don't fault the CMs, but I can recognize that putting them in such a restrictive situation causes them to appear  to be engaging in spin, semantics games and obtuse use of language, which most people, in most situations, will percieve as the traits of a very dishonest person. (Imagine if a retail sales person communicated in such a manner. Most people would take about 30 seconds of it before walking out and finding some where else to make their purchase).

All I'm saying is it may be time to re-examine the restraints put on the CMs which make it almost impossible for them to communicate with the community in a manner that doesn't feel like it's full of the semantics games, spin and inability to answer simple, self evident questions that one might expect from the very worst of politicians and poitical spin-doctors. A short list of things they can't talk about would be better than a short, limited script of things they can talk about.

As to this specific beta stress test event, it should have been anticipated that a.people would hear about it b. some people would resent that pre-purchase customers are not included in the opportunity, even if it is just a 6 hour stress test. It would have been preferable to talk about it before it was leaked, explain why it doesn't include pre-purchase customers and assure pre-purchase customers that there are not going to be a lot of future, limited beta events that they will not qualify for.

Judicious use of secrecy and an active effort to be more forthcoming on things that doesn't really benefit from secrecy would serve Arenanet a lot better than obssessive secrecy for the sake of secrecy.

They should rename their closed internal betas to Delta's.  :)

Originally posted by aesperus

Originally posted by AmbrosiaAmor

Folks need to learn to read and understand what they are reading.


How do I get into the beta?

Guild Wars 2 is currently in closed beta testing, which is by invitation only and under NDA. We plan to have our first non-NDA Beta Weekend Event in late April.

What is Pre-Purchase?

Customers who pre-purchase the game pay for the game in full and will enjoy guaranteed access to our Beta Weekend Events.

When do Beta Weekend Events (BWEs) start, and how many will there be?

The first BWE is currently planned for late April, and we expect to have one every month or so.

So lets say that BWE's are once a month. They still have 3 other weekends they can place "Closed Beta Events" to test whatever it is they want to test. They might close up some areas and open up others as an example. They never said that closed beta testing was going to end once BWE's started. They can actually have both running. Gasp! This is impossible!

 

BWE have no NDA attached to them.

Everything else(regardless of the nameS given) if it has a NDA attached to it, it is obviously NOT part of the BWE.

This ^

But hey, not all of us care to read what we're getting ourselves into.

+2  Come on people.  You look silly when you act like they haven't distinguished the difference between the two. 

     AH yes the old "buy your way into beta" ploy......What a great boon that has been to the industry...... I guess anything to make a dollar goes nowadays.

your pre purchase gets you into access into all "Beta Weekend Events" This does not say your prepurchase gets you into all Stress test or normal closed beta, so please stop thinking you got jipped out of something becuase you didnt.

Stress test is for previous beta testers only - and has nothing whatsoever to do with pre-purchasing.

I think we will get a beta weekend last weekend of this month for pre-purchasers.

Anyone who opted in for beta testing can be selected for this 18 hour stress test. Its not just for the old timers. - Also would just like to point out that stress testing isnt very fun and for the most part a terrible first introduction to a game.