Alpha / Beta Test Pre-Release Information
HELLGATE: LONDON PRE-RELEASE INFORMATION
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Updated: 10/18/07 @ 02:41 PM ET
Forumlink: http://www.hellgateguru.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1081
This was written by Bill Roper on the Flagship Forums back in November of 2004. Much has changed since then. We’ve seen the appointment of our Community Manager, Ivan Sulic. The advent of Ping0. The launch of the new Hellgate: London official site. The announcement of Mythos and its subsequent alpha tests. Suffice to say, we are very close to learning more about the timing of Hellgate: London’s alpha and beta testing phases.
CONTENTS
* Release Schedule
* Alpha/Beta/Demo News
* Frequently Asked Questions
* Discussion Threads
RELEASE SCHEDULE
* Closed Alpha = Late May, 2007
* Closed Beta = September 17th, 2007
* Gold = October 17th, 2007
* Demo = October 18th, 2007
* Release = October 31st, 2007 (US); November 2nd, 2007 (Europe)
Please note that the imprecise release estimates seen here are exactly that – estimates.
(Update: All of these dates have been confirmed.)
ALPHA/BETA/DEMO NEWS
* October 18th, 2007
GameDaily.com, part of the AOL network, has hosted the 1450MB Hellgate: London demo, offering gameplay within Holborn Station and access to the Blademaster and Marksman classes.
Hellgate: London Demo Hosted at GameDaily.com
This news was also sent out to our affiliates via the SAASy or “Scapes’ Alpha Alert System,” perhaps the last of the pre-release era.
Twilight of the Pre-Release Era: Some Words From Scapes
Demo = October 18th, 2007.
* October 17th, 2007
Hellgate: London has been reported to have gone gone in the press release sent out today by Flagship Studios and Electronic Arts. In addition, the release states that a limited demo of the game will be made available on October 18th.
Hellgate: London Goes Gold, Demo Available Tomorrow
Gold = October 17th, 2007.
* September 16th, 2007
While the exact date of the start of the beta testing session has been contested for the past few weeks, there are now sufficient sources to amend the release schedule with the most commonly referenced date.
Closed Beta = September 17th, 2007.
* August 8th, 2007
A press release from Electronic Arts and Namco Bandai has officially established the release dates for US and Europe.
US Release: October 31st, 2007.
Europe Release: November 2nd, 2007.
* July 20th, 2007
Fansite owners and staff were sent emails from Flagship Studios asking that they “invite ten email addresses” to be included in the alpha test. The sponsor needed to include their own email address, allowing them to bring nine others into the alpha test. The number of invites per site varied greatly and didn’t always follow the size of a site’s population. Additionally, some sites received their ten-invite emails later than others. Hellgate Guru received four ten-invite emails and Sophitia from Hellgate Italia donated at least twelve to the Hellgate Guru community.
Those who submitted their emails to www.hellgatelondon.com have also reported being slowly added to the alpha test by way of single invites sent to the submitted address. However, there doesn’t appear to be a pattern as to how the emails are being selected.
* July 19th, 2007
Alpha invitee HerrStoy confirms that the Hellgate: London alpha servers are up 24/7 much like Mythos’ beta servers are now.
* July 18th, 2007
Hellgate: London alpha invites have started to be sent out and received by community members. This was posted on the front page of Hellgate Guru, news that was sent to our affiliates via the SAASy or “Scapes’ Alpha Alert System”.
Hellgate Guru started in the middle of May, 2005. Two years and two months later, invites for the Hellgate: London alpha test started to be sent out. That’s right, members of the Hellgate: London community have reported receiving invitations. A few things to keep in mind: one, Flagship Studios is “starting slow and steady” to quote Ivan Sulic. This is not a major wave of invites but instead only the beginning. Two, we don’t know what order the invites are being sent out in. At the moment it seems mostly random, much like with the Mythos alpha test. And three, and this is the most important part:
It’s summer. It’s alpha. It’s time for the Hellgate: London community to kick it into high gear.
Rock on, Hellgaters.UPDATE:
It’d appear that the invites are going alphabetically. This wasn’t apparent at first until we started figuring invitees’ email addresses (HerrStoy’s and WiseWolf’s both start with “a”). Then you have alerith, aNi, and now Akuyazi has received an invite. The slow speed is due not only to the pace of the alpha but also the size of Flagship Studios’ database of emails submitted to HellgateLondon.com and Mythos.com. We haven’t gotten confirmation that the invites are being processed in alphabetical order but all indications certainly point to that as the pattern. We have yet to determine what merits an individual an invitation.
Known community members in the alpha test at this time include alerith, aNi, Akuyazi, HerrStoy, and WiseWolf.
* May 31st, 2007
We have received word from those at the HG:L Asia Launching Party that Bill Roper has announced that a “limited closed beta” will begin in July 2007. Additionally, invitations for the closed alpha should be sent out to Community Day attendees and those who belong to the Friends & Family group today.
* May 22th, 2007
Flagship Studios’ current plan is to conduct a small, closed alpha before beta testing begins. The alpha will be invite-only and will start with the Friends & Family group. All signs point to the Hellgate: London alpha progressing as the Mythos alpha did with additional invites sent out with subsequent alpha test sessions. While not confirmed, it is plausible that a sign-up for alpha will be posted on HellgateLondon.com (again, this is not confirmed).
Patience, my friends. We’re nearly at the precipice. Relish in your anticipation as you will remember it for as long as you play Hellgate: London. Come the game’s ship date, you will be able to count yourself amongst the pre-release constituency of Hellgate Guru and a grassroots member of the Hellgate: London fanbase.
* February 14th, 2007
While information on the Hellgate: London alpha and beta is still pending, the Mythos Friends And Family alpha has enjoyed two successful test sessions. For more on Mythos and to sign up for future alpha tests, please visit Mythos Guru.
* January 5th, 2007
Bill Roper has offered the following statement with regards to the start of Flagship Studios’ “Friends And Family” Hellgate: London alpha test period:
“Things are going exceptionally well with Hellgate: London. We’ve been continuing our weekly play days, and have been increasing the starting levels of characters each session as we delve deeper and deeper into the content. Things have been moving along at such a good pace that although we anticipated starting our friends and family alpha testing at the end of 2006, we elected to continue our internal testing up until the holiday break and then give the team a couple of weeks of much-needed rest. We wanted to make sure that we could get specific game play elements in before the end of the year and that everyone had time to recharge their batteries before we move into external testing in 2007.” - Bill Roper
Reference - Official Website
* November 16th, 2006
Both Ivan Sulic and Bill Roper confirm that closed beta is set to begin in Q4 2006 and that it will “ramp up” in Q1 2007.
Reference - Hellgate Guru
Reference - IGN
* June 9th, 2006
Ivan answered a few posts on 4hellgate.de:
Q) Some HG Pages say, you have said, there would be 100 Betakeys getting out of in the next time… is it true or just a joke?
A) When the beta happens we’ll distribute more keys than that.Q) Is there a good chance for “normal” players to get a beta-key in future?
A) Most likely. Our higher-ups are under the impression that we’ll need to do both a closed and open beta.
Reference - 4hellgate.de
* May 25th, 2006
Ivan Sulic: “Bill [Roper] has said that there will likely be both a closed and open beta.”
Reference - The Amazon Basin
* May 18th, 2006
Before you post that new thread asking when beta is or how to get in: DON’T! This stickied thread will provide all that we know on the subject. Please note that all of this information is very subject to change. Related Thread
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
* WHEN?
NEW:
Alpha started in mid-July, moving into beta a month later. The beta servers are still open and invites are still being sent out to those who apply at HellgateLondon.com.
OLD:
The Hellgate: London alpha servers opened to a very small group of testers in late May, 2007. Community members from Hellgate Guru and two German fansites reported receiving invitations to the alpha test on July 18th, indicating a new wave of invites and a broadening of the alpha test.
OLDER:
Thus far, all we know is that the beta is scheduled to begin sometime during early 2007.
* WHO?
NEW:
The invitee pool was increased drastically when Hellgate: London pre-order boxes hit stores. These boxes includes invites into the Hellgate: London beta, brought into the test in relatively regular waves. Numerous invites have also been sent out to those who applied via HellgateLondon.com, perhaps as part of a new effort to try stressing the beta servers.
OLD:
Initially, only a select group of testers were invited to the Hellgate: London alpha test. As of July 18th, that group has broadened to include community members. All of these invitees are part of the Friends And Family program and are being invited alphabetically. Ivan Sulic has commented, saying that the invites are “starting slow and steady” at this point in time.
OLDER:
Even less is known about this. Roper made mention that Flagship Studios would be looking to the grassroots community to populate the beta. A small, closed “Friends And Family” alpha test is going to occur prior to the beta testing period.
* HOW?
NEW:
The “OLD” answer is still true, just now for the beta servers. The NDA is still in effect.
OLD:
Access to Hellgate: London’s alpha is being granted by way of an emailed invitation to the test. It will be very similar to the Mythos alpha in that a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) must be agreed to in order to participate in the alpha test. The alpha server operates 24/7 unlike the Mythos server which would only be up once or twice a week for a few hours.
OLDER:
Our best assumptions are that it will begin with an invite-only closed test using a limited-access server. Whether it will evolve into an open test, we do not know. It is safe to guess that a strict non-disclosure agreement (NDA) will be applied to it.
DISCUSSION THREADS
Hellgate: London Alpha/Beta News - Link
“Hellgate: London Alpha Invites Being Sent Out” - Link
The “Beg For Invite” Thread - Link
Beta testing? - Link
Top Ways To Get Into Beta - Link
