2009-08-14: Open Beta Begins!

Open Beta Begins!

Calvin Crowner

14 Aug 2009 17:48:04 EST

Greetings!

It’s official—Open Beta has begun! Join your fellow Britannians as you venture into the Stygian Abyss on our Retribution server. Explore all that Ter Mur, the Underworld and the caverns of the Abyss have to offer.

What do we need from you? Data, and lots of it!

Our stalwart and tireless closed beta testers have been hard at work already helping us to reach this milestone, but now the time has come to let loose all the steely denizens of UO’s community—let all citizens’ voices be heard!

What can you expect?

Part of testing is stress testing. This means we want to have so many people on the servers that they’re bursting at the seams. Why? Because it helps us catch issues we might not normally see. If problems arise, never fear! We’ll be standing by to ensure that any downtime is minimal, so you can get right back to testing!

This is BETA—Bugs Emerge. Take Advil.

However, beyond the morass and sulfurous steam of bugs and lag lays the Promised Land of the UO’s 8th Expansion. Fight the good fight, and help us deliver it with valor.

There are LOTS of features and systems we want you to focus your attention on, so equip your + 2 Magnifying Glass of Indiscriminate Assessment (+5 vs. Arachnoids and EMs!)

The system where we need the most focus is Imbuing. While we want you to travel the world listening to the new soundtrack, slaying monsters, trying the quests, and simply exploring … we would also like to get more input on the system we feel will impact UO the most as a whole. We are updating this system daily, so please be thorough and detailed in your feedback.

We will be collecting player input the entire time, and have a Stratics House of Commons chat planned for mid-week to gather constructive feedback that will enhance the overall game-play before the final release of Stygian Abyss. Keep an eye on the UO Herald for more details!

As you explore, be sure to take a minute to fill out the introductory survey found HERE. From these surveys, we can better measure how your play experience changes throughout the Open Beta Test.

It’s also worth noting that there are some goodies we’re holding close to our chest. We’ll have a publish during Open Beta week based on current feedback from internal testers, as well as initial feedback over the weekend that we feel has merit—so keep an eye out for updates.

Oh, and by the way, The Slasher of Veils cannot be killed. Don’t try. He is my favorite. So stay away. You will die. Oh yes. You will … die.

Two final notes:

You do not need the enhanced client to play the retail version OR to play on Retribution. We spent a lot time making certain that the content is playable with a special version of the Classic Client, which you can download HERE.

This is not the final release of the game. This is Open Beta testing to collect even more information from more people..

The devs are currently on Centerian time. It’s a 37 hour work day … so one of two things can happen … :) (Name that movie.)

See you on Retribution!