New Closed Beta (Feb 16)

[ZiZiL 7]

Duration: Feb 16 @ 6AM - Feb 17 @ 6AM (24 hrs)

 

Announcement: https://twitter.com/simcity

 

Sign up: http://www.simcity.com/beta

[GE90-115 3]

Great news!! Just registered so hopefully I'll get the opportunity. 

[efgrib 45]

"This is the same build as the previous beta. Previous items that were locked are still locked. We did incorporate a number of fixes resulting from found bugs and feedback from the first Closed Beta.We learned a great deal from our first Closed Beta and have set-up a second beta for the primary purpose of testing our servers. We have added more capacity to our servers in order to accommodate the flow of players. This beta will help us stress test them.We have implemented changes based on user feedback from our first Closed Beta. Players who participated in the first Closed Beta will notice improvements in the game when they use the zoning and road tools, alongside the hundreds of bug-fixes as well."

[commanderkai 38]

Although I haven't pre-ordered, and I'll probably wait for a price reduction before purchasing, I'm also excited to get another round in. I might as well see how the new road/zoning function will work as well.

[Sunfighter 186]

Pre-ordering gets you an auto spot in Beta 2. Honestly sounds more like this second beta is a marketing ploy to increase pre-orders.

[nhgriffith 179]

Pre-ordering gets you an auto spot in Beta 2. Honestly sounds more like this second beta is a marketing ploy to increase pre-orders.

It's a combination of that and a stress-test.

[buttonhead 9]

I didn't see anything in the FAQ's that says you are automatically enrolled in the 2nd Beta if you pre-ordered the game.  Does anyone have a source on that?

[nhgriffith 179]

I didn't see anything in the FAQ's that says you are automatically enrolled in the 2nd Beta if you pre-ordered the game.  Does anyone have a source on that?

http://www.simcity.com/en_US/beta/thankyou

For a limited time, pre-order SimCity to guarantee your spot in the upcoming beta!

[buttonhead 9]

I didn't see anything in the FAQ's that says you are automatically enrolled in the 2nd Beta if you pre-ordered the game.  Does anyone have a source on that?

http://www.simcity.com/en_US/beta/thankyou

>For a limited time, pre-order SimCity to guarantee your spot in the upcoming beta!

 

Thanks, nhgriffith!  It sounds like the Beta offer only extends to people who order the game within the next week.  I pre-ordered weeks ago.  I doubt that guarantees me a spot, but I would love to play again!

[Catchin22 299]

Q: I've already registered for the previous beta, do I need register again?

A: No, if you've already registered, you do not have to register again.

[Cyclone Boom 17,031]

OK, round two.

 

However, I think EA are missing a trick here. This second beta should only be offered to those who registered previously, but didn't receive a beta code. Since its going to be the same build, with only small enhancements, there won't be many notable differences. Even if there were, it will be hard to notice them in a restricted 1 hour period IMO.

So why not use this as a second chance for others?

 

Surely it would be best to get as many to sample it as possible.

[dylan88 5]

So since Origin was just released for Mac, does that mean the beta will be ready to go on Mac?

[nhgriffith 179]

Thanks, nhgriffith!  It sounds like the Beta offer only extends to people who order the game within the next week.  I pre-ordered weeks ago.  I doubt that guarantees me a spot, but I would love to play again!

I would hope that any account with a pre-order gets guaranteed access. It'd certainly be nothing short of a very clear marketing ploy to sell more pre-orders if the guarantee were only extended to those that pre-order between now and the 16th.

 

OK, round two.

 

However, I think EA are missing a trick here. This second beta should only be offered to those who registered previously, but didn't receive a beta code. Since its going to be the same build, with only small enhancements, there won't be many notable differences. Even if there were, it will be hard to notice them in a restricted 1 hour period IMO.

So why not use this as a second chance for others?

 

Surely it would be best to get as many to sample it as possible.

Hmm, I kind of agree with this, however the second beta seems to be more focused on a stress test of the servers. A lot more people are going to get into round 2. A lot more. Plus, it's not exactly the same build. It has all the same restrictions as the previous game in terms of the 1 hour time limit and the unavailable buildings, but some things have been changed.

[Ma8thew 77]

OK, round two.

 

However, I think EA are missing a trick here. This second beta should only be offered to those who registered previously, but didn't receive a beta code. Since its going to be the same build, with only small enhancements, there won't be many notable differences. Even if there were, it will be hard to notice them in a restricted 1 hour period IMO.

So why not use this as a second chance for others?

 

Surely it would be best to get as many to sample it as possible.

This is not a test of the game. This is a test for their servers. They don't care about fairness, they just want the required number of people to be logging into the game during the beta test.

[Jahnri 21]

The funny thing is, I get into the tests just using my IGN code. Gota love being able to buy your way in. 

[SirChick 184]

Pre-ordering gets you an auto spot in Beta 2. Honestly sounds more like this second beta is a marketing ploy to increase pre-orders.

It's a combination of that and a stress-test.

 

Hardly cos it doesn't allow multi play in a region. So its not a stress test.

[Zpike 79]

^^ FAIL ^^

 

Maxis stated in their beta FAQ that it's a stress test.  They want another shot at testing their servers after fixing bugs and making changes based on the results of the first test.

[nhgriffith 179]

Thanks, nhgriffith!  It sounds like the Beta offer only extends to people who order the game within the next week.  I pre-ordered weeks ago.  I doubt that guarantees me a spot, but I would love to play again!

Actually, in regards to this issue... from the FAQ:

Q: I’ve already pre-ordered the game through Origin, will I get a code?

A: Yes, while supplies last, Origin will be offering Closed Beta codes to those who have pre-ordered any version of SimCity. Certain exclusions apply. Visit Origin for more details: store.origin.com/simcity

http://www.simcity.com/en_US/blog/article/simcity-closed-beta-2-faq

And in that same FAQ...

Q: Why is there another beta? What’s the purpose of this beta?

A: We learned a great deal from our first Closed Beta and have set-up a second beta for the primary purpose of testing our servers. We have added more capacity to our servers in order to accommodate the flow of players. This beta will help us stress test them.

The stated purpose of the second beta is to stress test the servers. Fact of the matter is, whether or not I see other people in my region doesn't mean they can't stress test the servers. First and foremost, the biggest server problem with absolutely any online game comes with authenticaton servers. The log-in servers. This has nothing to do with playing the game at all... this is just logging in before you can even start playing in any game mode. This is the part that is more likely to crash than absolutely anything else.

Moreover, without there being other cities in my server, the beta servers are still collecting all the data from me (and more) that they'd be collecting if there were other cities in my region. They'd still collect this even after release because they're tracking my leaderboard status and keeping tabs on the values of stuff on the world market. So the input to the server is the same. The output? Normally, the server would be sending me data about other cities in the region as well as prices on the world market. Now, world market prices and leaderboard stuff, they could still do that easily (dunno if they will), but Maxis knows how big the file size is that they're going to be sending for other cities in my region. The packet they send me doesn't have to have accurate data... it just needs to be of accurate size.

[lart 3]

^^ FAIL ^^

 

Maxis stated in their beta FAQ that it's a stress test.  They want another shot at testing their servers after fixing bugs and making changes based on the results of the first test.

Electronic Arts Peter Robert Moore stated it best what these betas are all about:

 

More than 100,000 people played the SimCity beta last weekend, giving us a nice bump in

preorders, and the critical reception is shaping up well.

Watch for SimCity on March 5 in North America and March 8 in Europe.

[nhgriffith 179]

If the end all be all reason for having the beta is to boost pre-order sales, it wouldn't be a closed-beta. It'd be an open beta. How in the world does a closed-beta make sense as a marketing ploy?

(This is in reference to the first beta... which is also what the quote you used is in reference to)

[Hoipus 292]

Exclusivity. People who get in feel all special because they were picked over all of the other people who didn't get in. People who didn't get into the beta but wanted to get all jealous of the people who did. People who got into the beta talk about it all over the internet. All of this drums up interest for the game.

[nhgriffith 179]

Crysis 3 and Battlefield 3 (both EA games) had open betas. This is what EA does when they're purely after selling some extra pre-orders.

I'm not saying that selling extra pre-orders isn't part of what EA hoped to accomplish with the SimCity betas, but it's not the primary goal of these betas (at least not the first one).

[Hoipus 292]

Marketing isn't just "hey you there, I'm making this thing and I want you to buy it" via advertising anymore. Anything involving the customer connecting to the product and the brand can be considered a marketing exercise. The SimCity beta was BOTH a stress test and a marketing exercise. What kind of pure bug reporting/stress testing beta would ask people to preorder then lead them right to the page where they can do it?

[Herdervriend 46]

Clearly I am still registrered or something. Because when I open the link it says thank you for registrering or something. So hopefully I still get a change to play the beta.

[lart 3]

If the end all be all reason for having the beta is to boost pre-order sales, it wouldn't be a closed-beta. It'd be an open beta. How in the world does a closed-beta make sense as a marketing ploy?

(This is in reference to the first beta... which is also what the quote you used is in reference to)

It was a strange "closed" beta/demo, like the new one is. You could be elected by opting in to the beta, you could win one of the thousand of keys handed out to marketing partners or magazines but for an easy sure spot in the beta just simply pre-order the game to get in (like in the new beta). There was nothing closed about it. Everyone could get in, if they wanted.

[ZiZiL 7]

I also do not believe this is a marketing tool. Yes, EA had open beta's for CoD types of games but those games did not needed the infrastructure that this games needs. Considering this is a cloud based game, EA's servers do have to take pretty much all the load other than parsing graphics. The load becomes critical especially in the authentication and token generation phase since the number of transactions will be the highest. Therefore, my anticipation is that EA will grant a lot more beta keys this time to get as many users as possible. They might even give all registered users a chance to play.

[nhgriffith 179]

It was a strange "closed" beta/demo, like the new one is. You could be elected by opting in to the beta, you could win one of the thousand of keys handed out to marketing partners or magazines but for an easy sure spot in the beta just simply pre-order the game to get in (like in the new beta). There was nothing closed about it. Everyone could get in, if they wanted.

The pre-order gets you into the second (the upcoming) beta. This wasn't offered for the first beta, was it?

[ZiZiL 7]

Nope. This is something new I believe. After you enroll for the second beta, it says if you pre-ordered, you are guaranteed to get a spot for closed beta 2.

[lart 3]

It was a strange "closed" beta/demo, like the new one is. You could be elected by opting in to the beta, you could win one of the thousand of keys handed out to marketing partners or magazines but for an easy sure spot in the beta just simply pre-order the game to get in (like in the new beta). There was nothing closed about it. Everyone could get in, if they wanted.

The pre-order gets you into the second (the upcoming) beta. This wasn't offered for the first beta, was it?

First beta had this too, i.e. every pre-order on amazon came with a beta code.

[dylan88 5]

Still no Mac support..