But personally i hope that there won't be any sort of public beta. I say that the fewer people that ES has from outside their office test it the better.
I have this feeling towards betas for strategy games because i like to feel like everyone starts out on the same level. I like the feeling of competition from the start, and not being left out while people talk about the beta on forums. While watching people over at MFO's EE website and EE Heaven post strategies weeks (or whatever it was) before i could ever get my hands on the game i developed this DEEP DISLIKE for betas. I just hate feeling left out and behind the game, which is what that beta and the WC3 beta did.
This feeling i have is especially resonant in strategy games because they take thinking and learning. The learning in strategy games is also not a linear one, where you just build on to what you already have with little pieces at a time. The learning curve of a strategy game IMO more or less resembles an exponential curve, where at the beginning you have to learn small things, but over time you are able to make huge leap upon huge leap once you start getting the general hang of things. At least this is my experience from aok and ee, and i would hate to see a small elite have such a huge advantage that didnt come from completely their own work.
I know youre probably thinking that im just writing this because i wont get a beta copy if there is one, but i truly would like it if the whole community started off on equal foot.
Anyone have any thoughts on this