If you’re like myself and looking forward to EA/BioWare’s new Star Wars MMO and anxiously awaiting it’s release, you should pray for a successful beta test these next two months. The release date will be determined to some degree by the results of the testing, which is – in my mind – a very sound decision.
One of the things they are working on is optimizing their servers and although past experience has shown that no amount of testing can truly prepare a developer (especially a novice MMO developer) for the stress of a popular launch, the fact that this is one of their points of emphasis is a good sign.
“[The launch date] is definitely tied to the beta test feedback that’s ongoing and so far, so good. We feel good about the date that we’re heading towards but you’re right, you could have a Crazy Ivan show up in the September/October beta test and be like, ‘wow, I’ve got to fix that,”
– Frank Gibeau
This kind of focus and dedication is almost a BioWare trademark anymore. Another company with a similar tact, Blizzard, released a fairly popular MMO as I recall. They’re still projecting a Q4 2011 release date so let’s all hope the beta goes well. You can sign up for a chance to join the beta here, so you can lend a hand yourself. Just remember the hardest part about testing: it’s not an early chance to play a game – you’re there for a reason.
Alphasim out.
