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The StarCraft II beta was a testing phase of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. It opened on February 17, 2010[1] and closed on July 19.[2]

The purpose of a beta is to have a large number of users testing for bugs. Blizzard also used the beta to test StarCraft II's multiplayer balance. Blizzard expected to make changes once a week. In order to process the large volume of feedback, some information was collected by surveys.[3]

History

The release of StarCraft II had been delayed to mid-2010[4] to give adequate time to prepare battle.net.[5]

The beta itself opened February 17, 2010.[1] In April 2010 the Macintosh version of the beta became available.[6]

After the initial wave of invites, which included both those who opted-in and those who received beta keys,[7] more players will be added when use drops or they need to test more users.[8] Blizzard did not release the beta in different regions individually, as they set up beta-testing infrastructure in each region.[9]

Blizzard traditionally offers 40,000 beta keys, but expectations for StarCraft II were larger.[10] Blizzard aimed for 10,000 players online at one time during the beta.[11]

The second and third waves were released on February 23 and March 6, 2010.[12] Beta testers were given an additional key so they could invite a friend in March 2010.[13]

On March 25, 2010, the beta database was wiped, removing characters, friends lists, profiles and ladder/league placements.[14] The process was repeated on April 22[15] and again in June.[16]

Phase Two

The first phase of the beta ended June 7, 2010.[17] Phase two of the beta began on July 7, 2010[2] and ended on July 19.[2][18][19]

The second phase was open in Taiwan and South Korea (rather than a closed beta as elsewhere). South Korea will have access to the full game a few days early.[20]

Features

StarCraft II beta was downloaded from a tester's battle.net account.

StarCraft II beta was multiplayer only and contained some battle.net 2.0 features (such as the friends list and party system). Cross-game functionality was not immediately present.[21]

Access to the Galaxy Map Editor was made available in April 2010.[15]

Voice chat was available between users and users could move together as parties, in a feature taking some reference from World of Warcraft.[22]

Beta Requirements

  • Windows XP SP3/Vista SP1/Windows 7
    • 2.2 GHz Pentium IV or equivalent AMD Athlon processor
    • 1 GB system RAM/1.5 GB for Vista and Windows 7
    • 128 MB NVidia GeForce 6600 GT/ATI Radeon 9800 PRO video card
    • 1024x768 minimum display resolution
    • 4 GB free hard space (Beta)
    • Broadband connection[23]
  • Mac® OS X 10.5.8 or newer
    • Intel® Processor
    • NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT or ATI Radeon® X1600 or better
    • 12 GB available HD space
    • 2 GB Ram
    • DVD-ROM drive
    • Broadband Internet connection
    • 1024X720 minimum display resolution
  • MAC Recommended System Requirements:
    • Intel® Core 2 Duo processor
    • 4 GB system RAM
    • NVIDIA® GeForce® 9600M GT or ATI Radeon® HD 4670 or better[24]

Patches

Opportunities

Beta Opt-In

As of May 6, 2009, beta candidates could download a program which will scan their system and determine if it's capable of dealing with the StarCraft II beta.[25]

A large percentage of beta testers were selected due to their computer specs to test the game on numerous hardware types.[26]

The date which a potential tester opted-in played no role in the selection process.[27]

Beta testers were be added in phases, by region.[25] North America and Australia will be first.[28] Blizzard plans to have all regions tested within a month of the start of beta.[21]

Beta Keys

Main article: StarCraft II beta key

Beta keys are a code which enabled gamers to participate in the StarCraft II beta.

Codes received at WWI 2008 and BlizzCon 2008 can be used for StarCraft II beta keys.[25] Approximately 20,000 beta keys were given away at BlizzCon 2008.[26]

There were opportunities at BlizzCon 2009 as well.[29]

More Opportunities

Beta key opportunities included:

  • BlizzCast contests
  • Future Finding Jim Raynor screenshots (will be announced when it starts)[30]
  • StarCraft II trivia
Fansite Beta Key Opportunities
Main article: Fansite Opportunities

Fansites will provide opportunities to win beta keys.[30]

Other Opportunities

On March 29, 2010, Blizzard allowed PC baangs in South Korea to allow customers to play StarCraft II's beta without beta keys.[31]

In late April 2010 it was announced that Gamestop allowed customers to preorder the game with a $5 deposit, and receive a beta access key.[32]

Also, Amazon.com gave away beta keys with a pre-order of Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty ($59.99 + S&H).[33]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Avarius. 2010-02-17. StarCraft II Beta Is Now Live! Battle.net StarCraft II Beta Forum. Accessed 2010-02-17.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lylirra. 2010-07-07. StarCraft II Beta Phase Two Begins. Battle.net StarCraft II Beta General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2010-07-13.
  3. 2010-02-25. BlizzCast: Taking You Deeper into the World of Blizzard: Episode I3. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2010-02-25.
  4. Mike Morhaime, StarCraft Legacy staff. 2010-02-10. StarCraft II Beta Later this Month. StarCraft Legacy. Accessed 2010-02-10.
  5. Cydra. 2009-08-05. StarCraft II Update. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2009-08-05.
  6. Zarhym. 2010-04-28. Latest News - Mac Beta Client Available. Battle.net StarCraft II Beta forum. Accessed 2010-04-30.
  7. 1) The first wave will include both opt-ins and those who have/won codes.
    2) If you are interested in beta, you can still opt-in, and potentially be invited into the first wave.
    Karune. 2010-02-11. Beta selection questions(for clarification) Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2010-02-11.
  8. Dustin Browder. 2009-06-29. G4TV Interviews Dustin Browder nearing Beta. Blizzplanet. Accessed 2009-06-29.
  9. Dustin Browder. 2009-08-14. [1]. Blizzard. Accessed 2009-08-14.
  10. Chris Sigaty, Eric. 2008-10-23. StarCraft 2 EURO Press Conference. StarCraft Zine. Accessed 2009-02-08.
  11. Dustin Browder, Patrick Garratt. 2010-03-09. Interview: StarCraft II’s Dustin Browder on the beta, GDC, and finally going home. VG247. Accessed 2010-03-09.
  12. Medievaldragon. 2010-03-06. StarCraft II Beta Wave 3 Invitations Sent. Blizzplanet. Accessed 2010-03-06.
  13. Webnet. 2010-03-18. Starcraft 2 Beta: Invite a friend. StarCraft Source. Accessed 2010-03-18.
  14. Bashiok. 2010-03-25. StarCraft II Beta Full Reset Complete. StarCraft II Beta General Forum. Accessed 2010-03-26.
  15. 15.0 15.1 Nethaera. 2010-04-22. Patch Notes - Beta Patch 9. Battle.net StarCraft II General Beta Forum. Accessed 2010-04-22.
  16. Bashiok. 2010-06-04. Patch 15: Leagues & Ladders Placement Battle.net StarCraft II General Beta Forum. Accessed 2010-06-04.
  17. We previously announced that the first phase of the StarCraft II beta test would be coming to a close in all regions on Monday, May 31. In order to prepare for the final phase of beta testing, we plan to extend the current phase in all regions until Monday, June 7. After this date, the beta test will be unavailable for several weeks while we make some hardware and software configuration changes for the final phase of the beta test and the release of the game. We plan to bring the beta test back online for a couple of weeks prior to the game’s launch to complete our testing. We’ll have more details to share about when this final phase will begin at a later date. We’d like to thank all of our beta-test participants for your enthusiasm, dedication, and valuable feedback during the beta test, and we look forward to hearing more of your thoughts on the StarCraft II beta test as the game’s July 27 launch approaches. Nethaera. 2010-05-28. StarCraft II Beta Test Schedule Update. StarCraft II Beta General Forum. Accessed 2010-05-28.
  18. Lylirra. 2010-07-16.StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty Beta Test Draws to a Close. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2010-07-17.
  19. Zarhym. 2010-07-20. What A Long, Strange Trip It’s Been. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2010-07-20.
  20. Bandreus. 2010-06-26. Korean Event Aftermaths, Beta Phase 2 and LAN play. INC.Gamers. Accessed 2010-06-28.
  21. 21.0 21.1 Zhydaris, StarCraft Legacy staff. 2010-02-11. Italian Open QA; Beta now Global Release; Mac Support to Come Later. StarCraft Legacy. Accessed 2010-02-11.
  22. 2010-02-17, Medievaldragon, interviews Starcraft II Team celebrating closed beta launch (Rob Pardo & Chris Sigaty). Blizzplanet, accessed on 2010-02-18
  23. Datth. 2010-02-18. System Requirements explained in detail. Battle.net StarCraft II Beta Technical Support Forum. Accessed 2010-02-18.
  24. Medievaldragon. 2010-04-29. StarCraft II Beta Client for Mac Released. Blizzplanet. Accessed 2010-04-30.
  25. 25.0 25.1 25.2 Xordiah. 2009-05-06. StarCraft II Beta Test Opt-in (second post). Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2009-05-06.
  26. 26.0 26.1 As you would expect, a lot of people opted in for beta. Additionally, there will be a large capacity for players on beta. During BlizzCon in 08, approximately 20k visitors got beta keys to Blizzard games, which could be used for StarCraft II.

    We want to get as many people who have promised keys in as early as we can. Nonetheless, we will also have a large percentage in based on computer specs, to adequately test the game on several hardware types as well.

    I would wait until beta starts to see if you've gotten a key in the first wave if you are only buying a computer for beta. Though don't forget - betas lead to game launches :)
    Karune. 2010-02-11. Blue Please Answer (not beta date related). StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2010-02-11.
  27. It doesn't matter at what point you opted in. Those dates will not be considered when the names are taken out of the pool of people that opted in. So someone opting in today will have the same chance of getting into the beta. Xordiah. 2010-02-11. Mac, to be found in the closed beta as well? (post 27) Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2010-02-11.
  28. Yup - North American region will start beta first (includes Australia). Karune. 2009-05-26. The beta is probably taking so long because. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2009-05-26.
  29. There will be beta key opportunities surrounding BlizzCon as well. More info will revealed in time :) Karune. 2009-08-14. Karune is back!?. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2009-08-14.
  30. 30.0 30.1 Karune. 2009-03-17. StarCraft II Beta Key Opportunities. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2009-03-17.
  31. Leord. 2009-03-29. StarCraft 2 Beta for Everyone in Korea. IncGamers. Accessed 2010-03-31,
  32. Shawn. 2010-04-21. Starcraft II Beta Access Available With GameStop Preorder. Gaming Union. Accessed 2010-04-26.
  33. Amazon staff. Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty. Amazon. Accessed 2010-04-27.
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This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Software release life cycle#Beta

The list of authors can be seen in the page history of Software release life cycle#Beta.

Wikipedia content was licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License prior to June 15, 2009 is. Wikipedia content from June 15, 2009, and StarCraft Wiki content, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported).
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