Page under construction.There is not yet any official word on a beta test for Diablo III.It's quite likely they'll conduct one though, during the months before the game's release.
==Will there be This page has all the info you'd want to know about the Diablo III beta test, in a Diablo 3 Beta?==Q&A style.
Blizzard has done closed betas with all of their past titles, so I'm sure D3 will be the same. They distribute copies to friends/family, media, fansites, others in the industry, etc, as well as fans from a signup form on blizzard.com. They pick the public testers semi-randomly; it's not first come first serve, though you'd never know that from the hysteria that always breaks out when a signup page goes live.
They pick people in ==Will there be a variety of locations with a variety of machine specs and a variety of interest levels. They want testers on super fast machinesDiablo III beta test?==It's not been confirmed, and on slower ones so they can find out how well it plays on a variety but Blizzard has run large scale public beta tests for every one of systemstheir games thus far. And they want rabid 16 hour a day fans, and more casual ones, since theyIt's hard to imagine that Diablo III won'll get very different feedback from each typet follow that successful path.
Their early betas were much smaller, back when they'd actually mail out CDs. (FedEx always seemed to come on Friday, the minute you were in the shower or out running errands, and you'd have to wait until Monday for redelivery.) Since War3 they've made their betas downloadable on torrents, but you have to have an valid key to play. They've used this to step up the betas over time, starting small and adding more users as early bugs and other issues are fixed. They've also taken to using their fansites to pass out cd-keys; our network WoW site had literally hundreds of cd-keys to pass out for the last WoW expansion beta. We'd obviously be happy to facilitate that sort of thing to you guys for the D3 beta, but it's way too early for any word from Blizzard on that front.
As for open betas, Blizzard ran one for D2. It was basically an online demo, with just the Barbarian and up through the Cold Plains, and anyone could download it and play if they had a valid key. (The closed beta was on a CD, and was all 5 chars and act one.) The goal was to test out Battle.net's hosting capabilities, and again, the number of people was increased in stages, until there were tens of thousands of keys given out.
There==What's no telling if they'll have an open beta for D3, since such tests are used largely to test out hardware issues and battle.net issues, and they might feel they're on top of that after the SC beta, which should run next year, sometime before the D3 beta. They might run a D3 open beta/stress test anyway, just because they can, because the D3 client is very different than the SC2 client, because it's good publicity for their title, etc.Beta Test?==
In any eventBeta tests are large scale tests of a near-finished video game. To date, word about all Blizzard beta tests have been semi-public, with website signups drawing in thousands of public testers, who join Blizzard employees, their friends and family, fansite invitees, members of the media, employees at other gaming companies, and test signups is sent out months others. Beta tests generally scale up in advancesize as they progress; starting with a few dozen testers, so there's no need then gradually expanding to worry about missing hundreds and then thousands of testers. In the old days this meant physically mailing out if you're offline for a weekendbeta CDs; these days with the beta clients being shared via bit torrent, it means passing out more valid beta CD keys.
==Tester SelectionWhat's an Alpha Test?==An Alpha test is run before the beta test, and is usually much smaller. The Alpha client is less finalized than the beta client, and is usually the first game build that's semi-complete and playable. Alpha tests are almost always private, and limited to employees, friends, and family.
An applicant's gaming experience isn't all that relevant. There's not much testers can provide in terms of game balance knowledge, playing just act 1 (or whatever) with low level characters, for a couple of months. Betas for MMOs usually run longer and have the full game, since they're so complicated, and RTS betas are all about full game PVP testing, but I'll be surprised if D3's beta follows that route. D2's certainly didn't.
==What beta tests like D3's are useful for is catching bugs and hardware issues, and optimizing the early gamepurpose of a Beta Test?==[[Image:Bnet-beta-cd. Seeing what players find helpful or confusing about character creation, early game quests, NPC interactions, using the interface, etc. And for thatjpg|thumb]]Beta tests serve multiple purposes, total noobs are as or more useful than experienced players. Experts will figure work arounds or trial and error their way past issues that newer players would get hung up depending on. which is why Bliz picks a wide variety of players, both by their computers and by their playing experience. I'd guess that if anything, they select for less experienced players via their public signup, since they know the 100s of spots that are distributed through D3 fansites (like this one) will go to more experienced, motivated, knowledgeable playersgame.
The original Diablo beta test was called the "Battle.net Beta Test" since it was largely made to test Blizzard's new online gaming service. That the software contained the beta client of Diablo I was almost beside the point, since the game was small enough to be tested internally. The hard part was getting the online matchmaking of Battle.net functional.
==Beta Test FAQ==All computer game beta tests are chiefly used to fix technical problems. Public beta testers have an enormously wide variety of computer systems, and ironing out all of the hardware and software issues keeps Blizzard's technical crew very busy. Numerous game bugs are fixed as well, as the influx of new players invariably find ways to break the game that the company's QA department didn't discover.
from worldofwarBeta tests are very useful to companies as they work to streamline the early player experience as well.netBeta tests seldom include the entire game, but they always have the early portions of the game, including character creation and other opening content, since it's wikiessential (especially for Blizzard games) that their games are immediately involving and enjoyable. modifying soonThis is one reason companies like to pull in a wide variety of testers; noobs and dedicated fans alike.Experienced players will skip past minor glitches or confusing
How much actual game testing goes on in a beta test varies from title to title. RTS games like Starcraft 2 generally feature the entire game, but only the multiplayer portion. They can run for many months, as countless tweaks and changes are made to the unit stats as players find new ways to exploit units, and one race or another seems too powerful, or grows too weak as new techniques are developed.
=What is RPGs sometimes include the entire game client, but are usually more limited. Diablo II's beta only included Act One, and only the character skills up to level 18. The D2 team knew they'd need to make changes and tweaks and balances to items and character skills and monsters post-release, but they knew players would need longer than they wanted the beta test to run to get deeply enough into the game to offer valuable input on overall game/item/spell balance. The D2 beta was chiefly used to test out the new Battle.net features, and to test the early aspects of D2 itself. They wanted to perfect the fun factor and leveling speed and early items and skills and monsters and quests. Larger game balance changes were made in post-release patches and were based on the input and play choices of hundreds of thousands of players, rather than just a Beta test?=few hundred beta testers.
A beta test is a way to put a game through a try-out prior to its release. A beta test will usually fully test stability, balance, system component incompatibilities, and so forth. Of course, we all know Blizzard's reputation for excellence and their careful attention to detail. With a beta test, Blizzard is able to retail a version that is much closer to perfection.
==What is How long will the Alpha Testbeta test run? ==
How long a beta test runs depends on what they're using it to test out. Blizzard are currently testing might include all of Diablo III in the Burning Crusade with beta client and run a select group long and exhaustive test of friends the entire game. Or they might only include the first Act and familythe low level skills, much as they did in Diablo II's beta. The latter type of test would obviously not take as long as the former. Once this It does seem likely that they'll be testing is complete out all of the Beta test will beginBattle.net features, such as (potentially) shared stashes, trading via email, friends lists, special rare quests, not to mention the entire basic online gaming infrastructure.
==What Battle.net 2.0 is a Closed Beta? ==scheduled to launch with Starcraft 2, which is scheduled to be released before Diablo III. In theory, SC2 will guinea pig the new service and find all the bugs, which should streamline the Diablo III testing process.
Unlike previous Beta tests where fans have been invited to sign-up, Blizzard do not intend to run a similar system for the BC. Instead attendees of BlizzCon can redeem their Beta pass codes and take part in the closes testing. There will also be other opportunities such as contest to win a key to take part.
==Will there be a World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Stress TestWhen will they announce the beta test?==No dates have been given yet, nor will they until much closer to the game's release. Blizzard typically announces their upcoming beta tests some months in advance. They also give at least a month's notice on the date they'll start allowing interested parties to sign up for the test. Their sign up periods usually run about a week, and there's no preference given to people who sign up first, though you'd never know this from the massive crush of fans who flood the site the instant the sign up forms go live.
This is unlikely The time frame for everything varies from test to test, but a hypothetical time line runs something like this:* January: Upcoming beta test announced. No time frame given.* March: Beta sign up date announced for next month.* April: Beta sign up runs for one week. Several hundred thousand fans sign up.* May: Beta start date announced for next month.* June 1: Beta test begins with the client being made accessible via bit torrent. A small number of beta keys are sent out, chiefly to friends and family and media.* June 10-30: More beta keys are sent out, dozens or hundreds every few days, depending on the stability of the hosting servers, how many hours the testers are logging, how far behind the programmers are running on their bug fix lists, etc.* July: Many more beta keys are sent out as Blizzard now know the server infrastructure required to handle test scales up in size.* August-?: More testers are added, the userbasegame is constantly tweaked with patches and fixes, rinse and repeat.
==Will the Beta cover all locations?==
From what we understand, if you have a ==Will there be an open beta test?==Beta key you will be able tests with valid beta keys required to take part no matter where you play are locatedreferred to as closed or private betas. (Most games run truly private betas before they get to the closed public beta, in which only company employees and some of their family members participate.)
==Is there an age limit for beta testers?==Open betas are often referred to as "stress tests," since the goal is not to test the game, but to test the game hosting software and hardware. The game client is usually about the size of a demo, but it can only be played online. Open betas are usually freely available to anyone who wants to download them. Beta keys may or may not be required, but if they are they're made very widely available, in numbers that scale up as the test continues.
The Diablo II ran such a stress test for several weeks after the closed beta test usually does have an age limit in keeping , since they needed to see how the Battle.net servers would hold up with tens of thousands of simultaneous connections. There's no telling if Diablo III will run such a test. World of Warcraft did not, possibly because that game's server architecture only allows for a few thousand players per realm, and Blizzard knew they'd be adding more realms as the gamegrew in popularity. Diablo III's Battle.net set up is going to be similar to Diablo II's, with just a few realms worldwide, and millions of players on each. Blizzard may therefore feel it necessary to run such a stress test for D3, though they've said nothing about that publicly. They might also run an open beta because it's anticipated ESRB ratinggood publicity for their title.
==What about multiple sign ups?==
==How are Beta Testers Selected?==Blizzard haspasses out beta keys to their friends and family, to media, to fansites, and to others in the past, limited the applications industry. They've also taken to "one per household." This means, of course, that spouses, siblings, or parent-child gaming partners cannot both receive including a redeemable beta CDcode on a card in the gift packs they give out at BlizzCon and other conventions. The reason for this is clear - to halt fraudulent applications where someone submits Everyone who attended the name of every family member 2008 WWI in his household... and Paris got a code to enter the name of every household petWoW Lich King beta, toofor instance.
==When will the Beta Test take place?==
We still do not know==Will there be a public Diablo III beta sign up?==Possibly, but nothing is definite until Blizzard announces it. All previous Blizzard beta tests had public signups, but that changed with the World of Warcraft expansion, Wrath of the Lich King. There was no public beta signup for that game; a beta code was given to all of the 6000+ attendees at the 2008 Paris WWI show, and the hundreds more added through fansites and Blizzard's friends list.
==How It's expected that the 15,000 fans attending the 2008 BlizzCon convention will I know when get a beta code for an upcoming Blizzard beta, but that's not for sure. (Those codes could be for Starcraft 2 rather than Diablo III.) If they do, that might be all Blizzard thinks they need to sign up?==test Diablo III, once they add in friends and family and hundreds more gathered from fansite contests.
If you It's likely that Diablo III will have a Beta key you can now input your code direct and you will be notified via email when the Beta will begin along with instructions on how to take partpublic signup, but it's not for sure.
==How long will the sign-up period last?==
No official word on this, although most likely the sign-up period will extend over at least ==What makes a week of time. Remember that the sign ups for the good beta are not based tester?==It depends on how quickly you get your application in, so you can take your time and sign up at any time during what the registration periodtest is trying to measure.
==What Many would-be testers like to stress (in hotly-debated forum posts) that they would be great testers since they play a ton, are very experienced gamers, etc. That may be true, but the mistake such players make is thinking beta tests are primarily about game balance. That's an aspect of such tests, but far from the only one. Blizzard wants a wide variety of testers: varied computer systems, varied locations, varied play experience, and varied game interest. They know rabid D3 fans will play endless hours, and probably find some bugs. They also know that such players will learn how to control the minimum system requirements game very quickly, and will not be for the Beta Test?==slowed by unclear help guides, cumbersome controls, and other such minor difficulties that can stymie new players.
The system requirements Beta tests, especially those (like D2's) that do not include the entire game are likely largely about optimizing the early game experience. Seeing what players find helpful or confusing about character creation, early game quests, NPC interactions, using the interface, etc. And for that, total noobs are as or more useful than experienced players. In fact, since Blizzard usually distributes hundreds of beta slots to their fansites, and they know those slots will be the same as the original WoWdistributed predominately to rabid fans, they might actually favor more newbie testers amongst those who sign up from their public website form.
==How many testers will there be?==
With over 6000 attending BlizzCon and numerous other sources of ==What countries are included in the Beta keys we would expect about 10,000 to start. However Blizzard has not given figure.Test?==
==Who else will be included This isn't known in advance. Past Blizzard tests have initially been US or North America only, since they usually start with just some hosting servers in the tester list?==US. As greater server stability is achieved, more testers, from more locations, are allowed in. Blizzard has also been known to run beta servers in other countries where they expect a lot of players. It's quite likely they'll run a Korean Stacraft 2 beta, for instance.
In addition to the public testers randomly selected from the sign ups, the test will also include members of the media, Fansite Program members, and friends and family of Blizzard employees.
==If I was a previous Is there an age limit for beta tester for Blizzard, will I have a better chance of being a tester this timetesters?==Yes, in accordance with the game's age limit ratings, or expected ratings.
Only if you are already on the Blizzard's friends list.
==Is there Can I sign up multiple times?==Blizzard usually limits the sign ups to one per household. They want a wide variety of players to try out the beta, and have no way to increase my chances of getting know if there are ten people with different computers in the Closed Beta?==same house or not.
Not really. You need to have an access key.
==How long after signing up Are there minimum system specs for the Beta Test?==Usually there is some minimum cut off point, but since the whole point of such a test is to see how wide a variety of systems the game will it take run on, Blizzard tries to learn if I made keep it?==fairly generous.
No way of telling. It used to take about a week to get the word out to those who made the beta, but it is likely to be longer for the Burning Crusade.
==How many testers will I learn if I made the beta listthere be?==Early Blizzard beta tests were limited to just the 1000 beta CDs they pressed and mailed out. More recent tests with downloadable clients have grown far larger, and there will likely be many thousands or even tens of thousands of testers for Diablo III. Not everyone starts on the first day, of course. Tests start small and scale up, with more testers added over time as the server stability improves.
Winners of a beta spot will not be listed on the Blizzard site. Instead, they will each receive an e-mail telling them they have been selected.
==Will If I was a previous beta tester for Blizzard, will I have to pay for the Betaa better chance of being a tester this time?==Only if you are already on the Blizzard's friends list. They do keep a list of good testers from past games, and add people to it when they reliably report numerous bugs, but the names on this list are kept private.
Blizzard has never charged for players to Beta test their products.
==Will Is there a way to increase my chances of getting in the Closed Beta be downloadable?==Aside from marrying a Blizzard employee or becoming one yourself, you could try attending BlizzCon or other such conventions, since they've been giving out cards good for future beta test slots at such events. Admins of popular fansites and employees of major gaming info sites usually get beta slots as well; sometimes they even have extras to give out to site regulars. There's no way to increase your odds of being chosen from the public sign up period though, since the criteria Blizzard uses to pick such people varies, and is largely random.
A new client will have to be downloaded once you have been notified you made the Beta test. The client is fairly large from what we understand, more than 1 Gb.
=During =How long after the Beta Testsign up period will those selected be notified?==This varies greatly. There's usually at least a month or two between sign up and the start of the test, and selected testers only find out when they get their beta key emails. Since these notifications are sent out in waves, some testers will necessarily find out long before others.
==What is the goal of the beta?==
It depends on what Blizzard wants to get out of it. At some point it will be ==Will I have to test pay for the servers from a multitude of locations and through various Internet connections. Initially however, it will most likely be Beta?==Blizzard has never charged for players to Beta test the game itself, with issues such as balance, skill effectiveness, and more. Testers will be given a better idea of the goals when the test sign ups begintheir products.
==Who can use my beta? Can I let my <spouse>, <significant other>, <friend?> do some of the testing?==
==Will the Beta be downloadable?==Yes. The days of mailed out CDs are long past, since Blizzard restrict one account per household runs such large tests and the game clients are huge. Beta test clients these days are usually so it is likely other members of your household several gigs in size, and can use your account. Be warned thoughtake quite a while to download via torrent, account sharing is never a great ideaeven for fast connections.
==What will I be asked to do in the Beta Test?==
Most likely==What's a Beta Test like?==Generally, test just like playing the game for stability on , albeit online only and with more bugs and server downtimes. There's no special procedure to follow, once you've got the server client downloaded and comment on game contentyour beta key working. You will be asked to just start it up and play the game as if it were in full release. If you ==How do I report bugs?==Beta tests always have technical difficulties (system crashes, error messages, disconnects, objects appearing bug reporting mechanisms built in strange places or characters moving or behaving strangely. There is usually an ingame command to send a message about a bug, etc.) and log files are compiled as you will file an error report with Blizzardplay, recording the game state and hardware/software issues. For comments you would like to make There are usually private beta testing forums on game balancethe official site, you will be given an address to which you may e-mail themwhere testers can discuss the test and post technical issues.
==Will the beta change as I participate?==
Constantly. Beta tests usually have a new patch almost every day, with minor and major changes, bug fixes, and more.
Often the beta will be patched, and you will learn if there has been a patch when you connect to the World Of Warcraft servers.
==How much of the whole game will be in the beta?==
Unknown. The D2 beta included Act One, and all 5 characters, but only half of their skills.
Unknown at this time. However it will likely include all the new game features.
==Will I be able to talk about the beta test?==
Beta testers are usually limited by an NDA, at least initially. Beta clients are, by definition, not final and not perfect, and companies don't want testers complaining publicly, posting screenshots of the non-final game, or giving out secrets and surprises in advance. The NDA is usually lifted towards the end of a beta, but not always.
Participating in the beta is a tremendous honor, and in return for that privilege, Blizzard will ask that you agree to a Beta Tester License Agreement.
There will be a on of legalese that basically allows Blizzard absolute control over all aspects of the game - descriptions, names, content, screenshots, and the lot. In theory, they could prohibit beta testers from disclosing anything, but in practice, Blizzard has historically taken a much kinder, gentler role and has allowed fansites to use screenshots and to write in great depth about the beta test in progress. There are limits, though, and Blizzard has the final call on what is and isn't allowed from its testers.
==Does Blizzard expect testers to play a certain number of hours?==
No, though they'd appreciate it if you played enough to find some bugs and give some useful feedback. Players who can't play, for technical or other reasons, are useful as well, since Blizzard wants to know what's stopping you.
Giving up your life is not a requirement of the beta test. However, really only those who can devote a good chunk of time to the test should apply. The thrill of getting accepted for the beta shouldn't exceed or even equal the thrill of doing the beta. One criteria for a beta tester is patience, and the willingness to put up with temporary inconveniences (and no, we don't mean "no sleep, and no food" inconvenience :-) ) such as laggy gameplay, disconnects, and not becoming too attached to a character, simply because - all together now - it's a test!
=Post Beta=
==How long will the Beta Test last?==
Unknown. It depends on how much of the game Blizzard is testing, how well Battle.net 2.0 is running with Starcraft 2 before the D3 beta begins, etc. At least two or three months is a conservative estimate. Some betas run for half a year or longer.
However long you are told the Beta will last, you're probably best off doubling it. Blizzard like to take their time with tests, however, they do plan to release the expansion this year so this test may be shorter than previous Blizzard Beta tests.
==How will I know when the beta has ended? Will beta testers be given notice before the testing ends?== Blizzard will issue an announcement - by e-mail to all testers and/or via their website. Testing usually ends when Blizzard announce Usually the game has gone to manufacturing or 'Gone Gold'. ==What does it mean when a game "Goes Gold"?== "This means that a Gold Master has been released to the CD plant for replication. Within end of a few days silver proof CDs are sent from the plant to our QA group were we do a final check to ensure that no anomalies have been inadvertently introduced into the CD or the code. When the silvers are approved, then the replicater starts pressing the CDs that are then shipped to our operations plant for insertion into the final box. Once the completed package comes off of the production line, it test is shipped to stores." Blizzard General FAQ - January 2000 In other words, Gold means: All done, final, finished, completed, ready to print. We talked to the man who carried one of the Gold CD of StarCraft to the replication facility. When we asked if he had it announced some weeks in a locked briefcase, chained to his wrist, he laughed and said "No, but I admit, I was kind of nervousadvance."
==How soon after the Beta closes will the game be on store shelves?==
This also depends. Some beta tests run right up until the release date, with the information from them being used for post-release patches. Others end weeks earlier, or are replaced by open beta/stress tests.
Blizzard has been releasing games in a world wide fashion since Diablo II. This means that they wait until the game is on shelf stores all across the world before releasing the game. It usually takes a couple of weeks for the game to get through distribution and into the stores. That should finally be some good news for our friends down under who, due to how the international date line works, will see the release date before anyone else.
==Will I get a free game for being a beta tester? Are there any other rewards?==
No free game. Sometimes top testers are credited in the game manual or online credits, and you might earn your way onto Blizzard's beta tester friends/family list, but the sneak peek at the game is the reward for most.
No. Testers are the chosen, the few, the very, very lucky. To have the privilege of seeing the game before it is released, to have the chance to play a role in its finalization, is "reward" enough. For every tester who is able to participate, there are 30, or 50, or 250 other gamers who would like to do so. So for those of us who have tested, that is enough. And for those who sign up to test, that should be enough. Full stop.
==Do I get keep my beta character in the final release?==
No, beta characters are always wiped from the servers before the final game. The clients are incompatible, items and skills change, it's not fair to give some players a headstart, etc.
Unlikely. You could not keep your characters following the last WoW Beta test.
==How do I get on any "Special Tester Lists?" Might I get invited back to test another time?==
There is really no way of telling how to accomplish this. Blizzard has certain individuals whom they seem to tap to test successive games, but for the most part, they go for a broad cross section of the gaming population, and then include the media, some fansite reps, and of course a list of "Friends of Blizzard" as well as family members. Perhaps just being the best tester you can possibly be will earn you a certain notice. Or maybe you'll just get your reward in heaven. :-)
==How do I make a good impression?==
A few qualities of an exceptional tester include: testing regularly and thoroughly, reporting each and every bug you find (don’t rely on your buddy to "send that one in"), providing all the requested details of the game and incident (date, time, location, whatever they ask you to provide) which will allow Blizzard to replicate the error in-house.
A good tester will go out of his/her way to test things, not just "play the game through and wait for a crash." Beta testers won't catch everything - hence all Blizzard games have been patched - but beta testers have been known to reveal, and in some cases solve, issues of balance, and bugs of uncountable numbers.
In addition, being polite and helpful in chat never hurts. Blizzard is in the beta chat nearly all the time, sometimes anonymously, and they do notice helpful, nice people.
[[Category:FAQs]]
[[category:beta Test]]
[[category:Basics]]
