Open Beta Info (announcement of an announcement, so far)

[Drakhon]

http://twitter.com/aion_liv/status/3449928196

Lani is an Associate Producer for Aion.

[Drakhon]

According to people who were watching, Amboss has confirmed that Open Beta will be 1.5 in the GamesCom Livestream (http://www.justin.tv/jtvfb_539568192). And Ayase says 1.5 will be distributed via BitTorrent (http://twitter.com/aion_ayase/status/3449238022). It's a very large patch and they had trouble distributing it for KAion without BT, so that should be a good thing.

Edit: According to those people, he said it in German (he's the German Community Manager), so there is some debate on the subject.

[Gisli]

I think it is most reasonable that they would do OB in 1.5. I can so so many reasons why it is to their advantage to do it with 1.5, and no reasons not to. So I see no surprise here, and I am confident that this is correct information.

[Drakhon]

Certainly. However, given that there was no reason for them not to use 1.2 in the CBTs, it was still something we couldn't be sure about and there was no indication that they were really planning it until they showed 1.5 in the first GamesCom demo.

[Vasan]

Good news all round.

[Rayhort]

I'm so bored I'm watching preseason football games so I hope it's soon.

[Haelle]

I hope it's a week or two down the road myself...just got nice here and my cycle's been idle thanks to rain :(

[Llyweln]

Ok, Im confused.......announcement of a maybe announcement :P

[ellyiana]

I really hope this launch for open beta comes in before September 8th. School starts on that day.

[Gisli]

My guess is that they will announce OB details on Monday or Tuesday.

[Haelle]

I really hope this launch for open beta comes in before September 8th. School starts on that day.

I suppose skipping classes is out of the question? :D

[Chaelyn]

lol I would almost prefer OB to start when school does; it means my kids will be gone! MUAHAHAHAHAHAH

[Scarr]

Open Beta is a good time to get burnt out on the game lol. I advise you to just skip it unless you havnt played closed beta at all. I've already noticed a few of you all have played characters up into the 20s already. Gonna do that again, then again?

The only way an OPEN BETA would be worth continued play in my books, is if they capped the levels at 15 or so and just let everyone do whatever they wanted. Could amass money, craft, explore to a degree...

However, I've only saw one MMO do that, Lord of the Rings. Seems no point at all in PLAYING a beta that has a character wipe scheduled. (unless you havent played at all yet and want to find your class).

[Drakhon]

Well, considering OB will be 1.5, it'll be worthwhile to check out new stuff. Also, a lot of people still haven't decided on a class, so it could be useful for them.

[Vasan]

Yeah good to check out a little bit of new stuff, or try a new class briefly, but not to say have a race to grind as high as you can heh.

[Jealousy]

Open beta might be a good time to see if you're going to need to get Gameguard to make Aion playable or not. Trust me, if you're one of the affected mis-routed interneters (like I was during CB ), you're not going to want to try to play this game at release without something like Gameguard. Part of me thinks they'll fix things before OB - and certainly before release - but, then again, I've played NC-Soft games before and "competence" wasn't a word I'd use to describe them. The ridiculous state in which Lineage 2 was launched then never fixed is enough to make me a touch nervous.


- Zahasha, Asmodian cleric, armor-crafter, and cook

[Vasan]

Open beta might be a good time to see if you're going to need to get Gameguard to make Aion playable or not. Trust me, if you're one of the affected mis-routed interneters (like I was during CB ), you're not going to want to try to play this game at release without something like Gameguard.

I believe you mean gamepath, gameguard is the anti-hacker program that runs with Aion. Gamepath is supposed to help with game lag, but honestly I wouldn't trust it on my computer. Don't really want gameguard on there either, but don't have much of a choice about that heh heh.

[Drakhon]

To be fair, the fact that Gamepath solves the lag issues indicates that it is not really NCSoft's fault and so their competence level has little to do with it.

Of course, as the end user, we are paying NCSoft and only care about our experience, so in the end, there's not much of a difference.

[aishrod]

What server are you all/we going for Open beta? I was thinking Triniel, since Siel will probably be packed full

[Gisli]

Aishrod -- I was just going to send you a PM about that! We were using Vaizel in the last two CBs, but it really doesn't matter too much. I agree that we might as well skip Siel and Israphel. Zikel sounds like the neatest of the 6 current names to me. :) It is also #4 on the current list, wich might be a good place to be. Though it is last alphabetically, which could be how people see it on the screen. I'm trying to guess what is going to be a good balance at live for population. But maybe that is hopeless.

So yes, we should pick one and all just go there.

[aishrod]

Hmmm Was Vaizel at a decent population during Closed beta? Triniel was, I don't know about Zikel and its population, however I think any of those 3 will have a decent pop in OB and a good/high POP at launch

[Gisli]

For us leveling up in CB, Vaizel was fine in the sense that we saw people around, but if we wanted to avoid them due to competition, we generally could switch channels and get some privacy. What that probably means is that it was actually low pop. I think in OB, all servers are going to have higher population than CB. And these first 6 servers will probably all have big populations at launch. So I don't think population is an issue (aside from Siel and Israphel, which we already know are going to be way crowded and with guilds we might want to avoid).

So where does that leave us? Ordering on the server name list, how the name sounds, and whatever we know about guilds that have announced their destinations. Just not that much information right now to decide between the remaining 4 servers. And it probably doesn't matter right now. Except that if we pick something, there might be some irrational inertia to stay there if the decision remains fairly arbitrary.

[aishrod]

I think for OB perposes that Zikel would be a good choice. As you said it sounds good, and OB population will be larger and all servers will probably have a decent population.

After OB we can always choose a different server if we wish.

[Gisli]

OK. Zikel it is! Unless we hear different from some community that we want to join (Aionroleplayers, which doesn't seem inclined to name a OB server, or perhaps We of Phoenix Throne).

[Korasia]

um, why switch servers for ob when we have characters on another server?

is there an asumption that they will have a char wipe beforehand?

[craemma]

As for as i know all toons from CB are already wiped.

[aishrod]

yes, all characters have been wiped

[Drakhon]

is there an asumption that they will have a char wipe beforehand?

It's not an assumption. There will also be a wipe after OB, of course.

[Gisli]

Well, its an assumption in that we believe what they tell us. :)

[Drakhon]

Well, yes, but by that definition most of the knowledge that any given person claims to have would be classified as assumption.

[Gisli]

Hey, if it were Mythic, nobody would believe them! :)

[Isak]

[/URL]
Press Release:

Players are now one step closer to the release of the year's biggest massively multiplayer online (MMO) game, Aion.

Within the next four weeks, NCsoft will treat North American and European gamers to two opportunities to jump into the world of Aion and explore Atreia as Asmodian or Elyos characters ahead of its release in North America on September 22 and Europe September 25. Aion's Open Beta Test featuring version 1.5 will take place September 6 - 13 and will include numerous Western enhancements, including improvements to Aion's innovative character customization with a host of Western styles, as well as new zones, instances, skills, quests and continued game balancing and improvements. Open Beta will retain a level cap for both Elyos and Asmodians characters at 30 allowing players to focus on getting to the same level so they can explore the lands of Atreia together, as well as the Abyss.

Players who have preordered Aion will be treated to a Pre-Select and a two-day Headstart period giving them the opportunity to explore, organize and progress through the game prior to the official launch. Pre-Select will take place on September 18, while Aion's Headstart will begin September 20. Players can still participate in the Aion's Pre-Select and Headstart programs by [URL="https://secure.ncsoft.com/cgi-bin/Store.pl?dnv=9027436344&action=toggleCategory&mode=&category=14&language=en"]preordering (http://www.aionsource.com/forum/news-announcements/40608-dates-announced-aions-open-beta-pre-select-headstart-programs.html) the game through several participating online and brick-and-mortar retailers, including Aiononline.com, Amazon, Best Buy, EB Games Canada, Fry's Electronics, GameStop, Steam and Target.

Unlike any MMO before it, Aion is a uniquely crafted online experience where flight offers much more than just a way to explore the landscape - it is a strategic and integral part of combat, quests, and exploration. Players will dive into battle and plunge through thousands of unique, story-driven quests, all while trying to save a world literally shattered in half from centuries of brutal conflict. Using one of the most flexible and in-depth character customization systems ever featured in an MMO, players will be able to create genuinely distinct characters and explore a visually stunning world of ethereal beauty brimming with otherworldly inhabitants, mysterious enemies, and ancient secrets.

For more information about Aion go to http://www.aiononline.com (http://www.aiononline.com/).