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The Alpha/Beta thread

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The Alpha/Beta thread

Unread postby icycalm » 07 Jan 2020 20:27

We've been playing some alphas/betas with the clan recently and had a great time especially with GTFO, so I've warmed more to the idea in recent weeks. Before, I would have said don't play unfinished games for obvious reasons, but now, especially given that most games are forever "unfinished" in this day and age, I say try some pre-release code now and then, it's exciting, it makes you feel like an industry insider with access to stuff few have, and it's free to boot. So I've been applying for all the alphas/betas as a matter of course on all the games in the Hype section, and I am making this thread to keep people informed on what's happening in the world of alphas and betas. There's a site dedicated to them, by the way, Alpha Beta Gamer, but their coverage is spotty and their frontpage is flooded with shit no one would want to play. They do have a "Mainstream" section that's worth perusing, but even that seems to ignore most of the best games and is rarely updated: https://www.alphabetagamer.com/category/mainstream/

NEW WORLD
So here comes icycalm to save the day with the best thread on the subject ever. First off, sign up to the New World [ > ] beta ASAP if you are interested in joining the clan for this fantastic-looking domination game when it launches in the spring (you'll need an Amazon account): https://www.newworld.com/en-us/beta-sign-up

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The game will be cutthroat so the more practice we get before the official launch the better, plus it'll give us a chance to make up our minds if we like it, so that we don't end up paying full price for nothing in the worst case scenario as we've done with some of these games in the past. That's definitely a big advantage of playing pre-release code for free.

RAM PRESSURE
And then, I just got a key for RAM Pressure [ > ], an upcoming X-COM-like. Go to the official site and scroll to the very bottom and pick the free option to sign up for the beta: https://rampressure.game/

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Chances are you'll get approved immediately, but if you don't, and if you have more experience of these games than I have (which shouldn't be hard as I've only played a couple hours of the 1994 original and a couple hours of Phoenix Point), I can give you my key if you're prepared to stream the game for a couple hours to the Insomnia Twitch channel and write up some brief impressions for us in the forum after. If no one else does this I'll do it myself soon, but I'd prefer if someone with more experience did it.

And that's all I have for now, but look for this thread to become prominent on the site as I'll be updating it regularly and I invite everyone to contribute to it whenever you hear of worthwhile sign-ups.

Thread is stickied at the top of the News forum for quick access.
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icycalm
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TEMTEM

Unread postby JC Denton » 11 Jan 2020 02:29

Temtem [ > ] is MMO Pokémon, with campaign and a persistent world where you fight 2v2 I think it is. It might be worth checking out because given that you're playing against other people it might offer the challenge that's missing from Nintendo's games. I am not sure if it'll be F2P when it launches on the 21st, but either way you can try it for free before launch by joining the upcoming stress test.

Sign up for the stress test here: https://www.humblebundle.com/g/temtem

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SCAVENGERS

Unread postby icycalm » 06 Mar 2020 09:16

New team-based battle royale with survival and betrayal elements in a snow setting is having a "technical playtest" on Saturday, March 14th from 17:00 UTC to 04:00 UTC the next morning. I signed up a while back and got my Steam key delivered by email just now. Installed, and it took up about 12GB.

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Sign up here, and maybe you can get a key in time: https://scavengersgame.com/

If not, I am sure they'll send you one for the next test.

There is a confidentiality agreement and you are not permitted to stream or even so much as publish your impressions, because apparently the game is still rough. I still think it might be fun to shoot the shit with whoever happens to be online that day for a couple of hours, so I'll be there. I am going to pencil the event in our calendar. Report for duty on Discord if you're in.
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ROLLER CHAMPIONS

Unread postby icycalm » 06 Mar 2020 19:10

Closed Alpha for Ubisoft's upcoming 3v3 F2P sports game will take place between March 11 and 23. Register here for access: https://roller-champions.ubisoft.com/game/en-us/alpha

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Might be a good laugh for a couple of hours: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roller_Champions

Wikipedia wrote:Roller Champions is a 3v3 competitive multiplayer sports game played from a third-person perspective. In the game, two teams of players compete against each other to earn five points within seven minutes by throwing a ball into a goal. In order to score, a player must gain possession of the ball and skate at least one lap without being interrupted by opponents. Subsequent laps can be completed by other teammates by passing the ball to them. Players can earn more points per goal by completing more laps, though their progress will be lost when they are stopped by opponents. When one team gains possession of the ball, another team must try to tackle and knock over their opponents, though such attacks can be dodged. Players gain more followers when they win a match, which will allow players to compete in matches with larger crowds.
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PREDATOR: HUNTING GROUNDS

Unread postby icycalm » 08 Mar 2020 03:45

Predator: Hunting Grounds trial weekend set for March 27 to 29
https://www.gematsu.com/2020/02/predato ... h-27-to-29

Sal Romano wrote:A trial weekend for Predator: Hunting Grounds will run from March 27 to 29 for PlayStation 4 players with a PlayStation Plus membership and PC players via the Epic Games Store, publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment and developer IllFonic announced. Like the full game, the trial will support cross-play between platforms.

The trial will be available to download on March 27 in Japan at 15:00 JST, in Europe at 4:00 p.m. GMT, and in North America at 5:00 p.m. PT / 8:00 p.m. ET.

Players will be able to play solo as the Predator or team up online with three others as part of a Fireteam.


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Predator: Hunting Grounds Free Trial Announcement
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=058flT5gdOI

I penciled it in the calendar. There's no need to apply for anything, it will be available for everyone. I hope we can get some matches in with a full team over the weekend. It looks pretty good for what it is.
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BIOHAZARD/RESIDENT EVIL: RESISTANCE

Unread postby icycalm » 17 Mar 2020 04:57

https://www.allgamesdelta.net/2020/03/r ... nches.html

All Games Delta wrote:Later this month, fans can also get a sneak peek at Resident Evil Resistance, the asymmetrical 4 vs 1 multiplayer experience that is included with Resident Evil 3. In the open beta starting March 27, players have the option to take on the role of Daniel Fabron, one of the game’s four Masterminds, to run twisted experiments using various bioweapons and traps on a group of everyday civilians. In turn, players can band together as one of four of the six Survivors, each possessing a unique ability to help their team escape the experiment before time runs out. The Resident Evil Resistance open beta starts March 27 at 03:00 h ET / 07:00 h GMT / 08:00 h CET for Xbox One and PlayStation 4, and 13:00 h ET / 17:00 h GMT / 18:00 CET for Steam. The open beta will end when the game launches on April 3.


Resident Evil 3 Demo & Resistance Open Beta Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy3PLj3uStk

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I've done the math and you can find the UTC times for the Steam version on the CULT calendar. It launches the same day as the Predator game [ > ], both of them 4v1 games, but the Predator test only lasts three days, while Resistance goes on for a whole week, so I will give priority to Predator that weekend and will leave Resistance for the following week, unless of course people are preferring and playing Resistance. But I think that Predator will turn out to be the better of the two anyway, based on what they've shown. In any case, I think both will be worth a few goes at least for the laughs, so mark the dates and clear out some space in your drives and download as early as you can, so you can be ready when people decide to give the games a try. If no one else is interested I will at least try the predator and mastermind roles on my own, but it'd be nice to try out also the marines and the survivors with as many people as possible.
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THE RED SOLSTICE 2: SURVIVORS

Unread postby icycalm » 21 Mar 2020 02:52

Red Solstice 2 alpha application is up: https://us8.list-manage.com/survey?u=4e ... 27445c1b47

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This is an 8-player X-COM-like with real-time battles. You run your base as normal, and when it's time to fight you drop in real-time in a group of eight. Sounds pretty insane, and if you get in the alpha with us you can check out very soon how well it delivers, so apply asap.

Check the news thread for more info on the game: https://culture.vg/forum/topic?t=7171

And the email I received from the developers:

Ironward wrote:Red Solstice 2: Survivors - ALPHA info!

When and how does the alpha start?

As you know we have been working on the alpha for quite some time and we are working over the clock to deliver you the best possible early version of the game. That's why we have started a series of small pre-tests with a minimal amount of people to help us developers find the bugs and make the game overall better and fun.

The pre-test phase will last longer than expected, at least 1 month from now until we nail and polish everything. From that point we will start organizing and inviting more people until we reach the full alpha stage.

In order to recieve an invitation; you will need to fill in a small survey from your email so that we can see what is the best time frame we can invite people to play TRS2; note it will be a fixed amount of hours over a weekend.


Basically to get into alpha and enable us to give you a normal and appropriate time frame for you to play you will need to:

  • Fulfill this survey from your email address
    https://us8.list-manage.com/survey?u=4e ... 27445c1b47
  • Wait for a confirmation email from us that you got invited into the alpha
  • Sign an NDA that you will not record and share any information with the public
  • Wait for the Steam key that will enable you to connect to our server and play it on the designated alpha hours


See you on the field and stay safe!
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MARVEL'S AVENGERS

Unread postby icycalm » 21 Aug 2020 22:23

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Beta now available on Steam throughout the weekend: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1358 ... gers_Beta/

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110 GB full install, or 75 without the high-texture DLC (which you must manually download through Steam options). Full performance tuning guide from PC port developer Nixxes (game is heavy as fuck/unoptimized, so be warned, people are complaining in the Steam forum): https://steamcommunity.com/app/1358820/ ... 023374165/

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Archonus and I have already installed it, and Chev, Rory and recoil are downloading and will be available within the next day or so. I have dibs on Iron Man, Archonus on Hulk and recoil on Cap. Let's see which team gets to play first. CULT COALESCE!
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DUNE: AWAKENING

Unread postby icycalm » 02 Sep 2022 05:45

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You can sign up for the upcoming beta for the new Dune survival-builder/FP4X at the official site: https://dunegames.com

The little box to click on is at the bottom of the frontpage. Not very conspicuous.

I signed up, and hopefully a few of you will too so we can have a team if we all get in.
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