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Is
Halo 3 beta registration closed?
Yes,
phases one and two of the beta have already ended. If you
haven’t received an email by this point, then you were
not one of the lucky few.
Is
there no other way?!
If
you didn’t get in to either phase, then you can still
get in by buying Crackdown , releasing in the US, on February
20 th . Inside every launch copy of Crackdown is an invite
to the Halo 3 beta.
How
will the Crackdown invite work?
Once
the Halo 3 beta has been activated (start date is still TBD)
you simply go to the Downloads menu in Crackdown to download
the Halo 3 beta. After that, you will need to launch the Halo
3 beta from within Crackdown. You will need an Xbox 360 with
a hard drive and an Xbox Live Gold account.
I’m
an experienced beta tester with a PhD in Astrophysics and
a minor in messaging Bungie to whine about the beta. Why wasn’t
I invited?
Microsoft
did not choose beta testers based on merit, that would take
far more manpower than is realistically possible. Phases one
and two were both essentially lotteries or contests. Bungie
was not actually responsible for those contests, but rather
your local Microsoft Games Studios division. Messaging Frankie,
Sketch, KP or any other Bungie employees is futile.
When
does the beta start?
The
beta will not start when Crackdown is released. The beta will
go live when it’s ready, which should be sometime this
Spring. The team is currently busy whipping the included content
into shape. Our goal is to deliver a fun, solid game experience
though it will still very much be a “beta.”
How
long will the beta last?
The
beta will only be playable for a limited time. Exact timing
is still TBD.
Are
there multiple phases to the beta?
Not
really. The term "phase" applied to the beta registration
process. Participants from phases one and two as well as those
using Crackdown will be able to get their copy of the beta
at the same time. The participants from the Friends and Family
program may be able to start playing shortly before the others,
however.
What
can you tell me about the Bungie Friends and Family program?
Not
much, at the moment. As we've said, it's just a method for
Bungie to get some of its closest community friends into the
beta. As we mentioned above, this program will start at a
period shortly before the others, the extent of which is yet
to be determined.
How
many players are going to be in the beta?
A
lot, many thousands. Let's just say, you won't have trouble
finding a match.
How
many maps, gametypes, playlists, etc. are we going to see
in the beta?
Just
enough to get the testing data we need while providing a fun
game experience yet still leave everyone wanting more. The
exact scope is still being finalized.
Will
the party system be implemented in the beta?
Yes,
you will be able to find your friends, join their party and
enter matchmaking with them, in playlists which support parties.
Will we be seeing anything that we have not yet seen from
the Alpha screenshots (and leaks) in the beta?
There
are bound to be a few surprises in store for fans. And seeing
a fuzzy cell phone video of the alpha doesn’t even begin
to come close to actually playing yourself on an HD television
with maps that are several months further along in development.
Will
we see the function of the mysterious X button?
Yes.
Whether or not it’ll still be mapped to X is subject
to change. And honestly, it won't be all that surprising.
Just cool.
Please
tell me I get to blow stuff up with the laser.
You
get to blow stuff up with the laser. Try lining stuff up and
then firing through it all. Preferably without teammates in
or around said stuff.
Will
we all have to sign NDAs and never speak of the beta? Will
you try to contain screenshots and movies coming out of the
beta?
Nope.
In a perfect world, maybe, but it's hard enough when the participants
are just a few thousand MS employees, let alone thousands
and thousands of Halo fans. We don't expect anything in the
beta to remain a secret. The beta will be covered by a normal
user agreement, with lots of caveats about the fact that it's
not finished, only lasts for a short time and so on.
What
kind of data and feedback is Bungie looking to glean from
the beta?
We’re
looking for a lot of things. Mainly the kinds of things that
you cannot otherwise accomplish without the mass of people
we'll have, such as stress-testing all of the backend stuff
and networking. We’ll be keeping an eye on our forums
for general feedback, but the primary goal is to gain valuable
technical information that’s only possible when we have
tens of thousands of simultaneous players across the world.
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