Without a doubt, the beta testing experience has changed since the
beginning of the MMO industry. In a href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/66885" target="_blank">recent
article that Ten Ton Hammer released to the public, the staff
compiled a variety of quotes from present and past MMO developers while
putting these side-by-side with thoughts from the Ten Ton Hammer
premium members. Not wanting to miss the action, the BioWare Austin
developers working on href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/1422"
target="_blank">Star
Wars: The Old Republic sent over their own
thoughts on beta testing. Straight from the mind of Co-Studio VP,
Richard Vogel, this Q&A gives players a hint of what they might
expect from the upcoming SW:TOR beta test.

Ten Ton Hammer: When is
it appropriate to let a lot of gamers see your upcoming game? Does it
hurt a company to never have a truly public display before a game
launches?



Vogel: We
feel that limiting the [number of] beta testers is a good thing. We get
better data with fewer, more dedicated players and we are able to focus
test specific areas of the game. You can’t do that with tens
of thousands of players. It is a coordination issue. It is good,
however, to allow enough players into the game to make sure it can
handle the load under stress.

To read the rest of the Q&A with SW:TOR's Richard Vogel, href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/67008" target="_blank">click
here!



If you want to check out our entire beta testing article with quotes
from WAR, EQ2, and LOTRO devs, href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/66885" target="_blank">click
here!