Halo: Reach Forum
This topic has moved here: Subject: Apparently the majority doesn't understand what a BETA is.
  • Subject: Apparently the majority doesn't understand what a BETA is.
Subject: Apparently the majority doesn't understand what a BETA is.

I hunt for the Prophet of Contentment, the San 'Shyumm that murdered my son, and stole his birthright, his Energy Sword. They call our species Heretics. They claim to all that our tongues sting, our words a vile poison that feeds on the unworthy. I have seen the true face of Heresy. The head of a gallant warrior lay on the ground. His neck scorched and blistered, scarred by his own blade. I shall retrieve the weapon, and drive it through that bastard's heart! Punishment for his sins is nigh.

Ok, I am seeing alot of posts and such that all say the same thing. "Halo Reach has a Beta so it MUST be a whole new style of gameplay." Or "Its going to be totally different from 3, they need the Beta to test out the new gameplay."

Now, here's what I am gathering, most of you think that the reason they need a Beta is because Reach WON'T be like normal Halo, and you know what? Your WRONG. Not so much about the new gameplay, that is a full on possibility, you are wrong because that is not WHY there is a Beta.

The REAL Reason there is a new Beta is because Halo Reach is on a whole new game engine, does this mean it won't be like Halo? NO, Halo CE, 2 AND 3 were ALL on different game engines, and only Halo 3 had a Beta.

Betas are used to test games for GLITCHES, and IMBALANCES. This is why Halo 3 had a Beta. Halo 2 was rushed, and the shipped product was full of errors and glitches, and I'm guessing it was on the day Superbounces were discovered that Bungie said "Thats it, we are Betatesting EVERY game from now on." That means EVERY Game, every time they make a new engine, the code has to be rewritten from SCRATCH, the whole game has to be made from NOTHING. This is why different glitches arise in different games.

Now that I have explained that a Beta DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH NEW GAMEPLAY. I am going to explain why Halo 3 ODST WONT have a Beta.

Halo 3 ODST will not feature a Beta for ONE reason. It is run on Halo 3's engine, using Halo 3's programming, so a Beta is unnecessary. They don't need to fix what they know is not broken, and ODST doesn't have any real multiplayer anyway.

OK, so do you guys understand what a Beta is now? Do you understand that if they made a BRAND NEW FPS, with AR STARTS, and the SAME WEAPONS AND VEHICLES AS HALO 3. They would STILL need to Beta test it because they used a NEW GAME ENGINE?

If you don't reread everything I said here with that fact in mind.

Peace Out.

  • 08.03.2009 12:33 PM PDT

They are probably going to use the Reach Beta to test to see how Reach theatre and Reach Rendered Videos work. Since they just came out with rendered videos for Halo 3, it makes sense to kill two birds with one stone and test both at the same time for Reach so that rendered videos are availible on release of the game.

  • 08.03.2009 12:36 PM PDT

I hunt for the Prophet of Contentment, the San 'Shyumm that murdered my son, and stole his birthright, his Energy Sword. They call our species Heretics. They claim to all that our tongues sting, our words a vile poison that feeds on the unworthy. I have seen the true face of Heresy. The head of a gallant warrior lay on the ground. His neck scorched and blistered, scarred by his own blade. I shall retrieve the weapon, and drive it through that bastard's heart! Punishment for his sins is nigh.

Posted by: Hylebos
They are probably going to use the Reach Beta to test to see how Reach theatre and Reach Rendered Videos work. Since they just came out with rendered videos for Halo 3, it makes sense to kill two birds with one stone and test both at the same time for Reach so that rendered videos are availible on release of the game.

Excellent, Excellent, see? This is the kind of thing a Beta can be used for! New game comes out, Bungie needs to test Render-to-Video in the new game, so they release a Beta to test it.

[Edited on 08.03.2009 12:39 PM PDT]

  • 08.03.2009 12:38 PM PDT
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You're completely right OP and I agree with what you said.

  • 08.03.2009 12:47 PM PDT

Character Artist -- Electronic Arts

yes and no.

Each studio has a different development cycle.
Bungie for instance has Epsilon, Alpha, and Beta and I'm sure more trivial names.

The studio I work in only uses Alpha and Beta, but we treat them completely different.
Alpha starts with a game playable start to finish, then we shovel in all the assets and fix bugs in the second half (we have a very long Alpha). Beta (for our studio) is reserved for fixes aimed at Severe crashes, or Milestone blockers. Art is completely locked off in this stage.

As for Bungie, I have no idea what goes on the art side during beta. But, "Beta" when it is accessible to the public is generally to test the waters with balance and stability. Not to look for and report bugs.

[Edited on 08.03.2009 12:54 PM PDT]

  • 08.03.2009 12:52 PM PDT

I hunt for the Prophet of Contentment, the San 'Shyumm that murdered my son, and stole his birthright, his Energy Sword. They call our species Heretics. They claim to all that our tongues sting, our words a vile poison that feeds on the unworthy. I have seen the true face of Heresy. The head of a gallant warrior lay on the ground. His neck scorched and blistered, scarred by his own blade. I shall retrieve the weapon, and drive it through that bastard's heart! Punishment for his sins is nigh.

Well, even then, in a whole new game engine, the Balance and Stability will need to be tested, whether or not the game is the same, or similar, to previous games in the series. Hence, Beta. I'm not saying it's impossible that they are making a whole new style of game, just that that isn't the reason behind the Beta.

Also, Glitches (such as getting out of Valhalla with the Banshee) arose in the Halo 3 Beta, and were later fixed, so I am assuming they have it in their minds that the Public Beta will rack in a list of errors they missed for them to fix before shipping.

[Edited on 08.03.2009 1:05 PM PDT]

  • 08.03.2009 1:02 PM PDT

I'm sure Halo:CE and Halo 2 had betas, all games have them. Halo 3 had the only public beta.

Halo 3 also needed a beta for multiplayer testing. The reason Halo:Reach will need a beta, all new multiplayer Halo to enjoy until we need Master Chief again. Halo 3:ODST does not need a beta because it's the exact same multiplayer we are playing right now.

[Edited on 08.03.2009 1:17 PM PDT]

  • 08.03.2009 1:14 PM PDT

An opinion should be the result of thought, not a substitute for it.
- Jef Mallett

Halo 3 operates off of a heavily modified Halo 2 engine. I don't know about Halo CE's engine but I do know that not all 3 games are different engines.

  • 08.03.2009 1:16 PM PDT
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Posted by: Sp4rt4n119
Thank you sir, that was an epic rendition of this topic.


Posted by: Xx KNOX xX
and how!

Halo 2 had an alpha testing stage, but it wasn't open like Halo 3's Beta stage and not many people other than those who were in it know about it. Footage from it shows a few things taken out of the game, namely the Mongoose. [The mongoose was actually intended to be in Halo 1, but the driving programming was never made correctly, and turning while going top speed almost always results in tipping it. The unedited Halo 1 mongoose can be used on some Halo custom edition maps]

When people say it needs a Beta because it is an entirely new game, they mean that it uses a new engine, they just don't use that term and they don't mean that it is going to be Team Fortress Halo.

  • 08.03.2009 1:17 PM PDT

I hunt for the Prophet of Contentment, the San 'Shyumm that murdered my son, and stole his birthright, his Energy Sword. They call our species Heretics. They claim to all that our tongues sting, our words a vile poison that feeds on the unworthy. I have seen the true face of Heresy. The head of a gallant warrior lay on the ground. His neck scorched and blistered, scarred by his own blade. I shall retrieve the weapon, and drive it through that bastard's heart! Punishment for his sins is nigh.

Posted by: RifleMan Joe
Halo 3 operates off of a heavily modified Halo 2 engine. I don't know about Halo CE's engine but I do know that not all 3 games are different engines.

Halo 2 and 3 were on different Game Engines, but they both shared the Havok Physics Engine. Which has been used in games like Guitar Hero, Tenchu, and Wall-E.

[Edited on 08.03.2009 1:22 PM PDT]

  • 08.03.2009 1:21 PM PDT

Known by some, but not by all.
Soffish: Do not eat!
TWP Assistant Director.

A Beta is the second letter in the Roman Alphabet. The first being an Alpha...

  • 08.03.2009 1:22 PM PDT

I hunt for the Prophet of Contentment, the San 'Shyumm that murdered my son, and stole his birthright, his Energy Sword. They call our species Heretics. They claim to all that our tongues sting, our words a vile poison that feeds on the unworthy. I have seen the true face of Heresy. The head of a gallant warrior lay on the ground. His neck scorched and blistered, scarred by his own blade. I shall retrieve the weapon, and drive it through that bastard's heart! Punishment for his sins is nigh.

Posted by: Delta 15t
A Beta is the second letter in the Roman Alphabet. The first being an Alpha...

This is in relation to Video Games. Also, it would be more accurate to say the Greek Alphabet.

[Edited on 08.03.2009 1:24 PM PDT]

  • 08.03.2009 1:23 PM PDT

Posted by: Fos Tis Krisis
Posted by: Delta 15t
A Beta is the second letter in the Roman Alphabet. The first being an Alpha...

Greek, actually.

Owned.

  • 08.03.2009 1:24 PM PDT

Known by some, but not by all.
Soffish: Do not eat!
TWP Assistant Director.

Posted by: Fos Tis Krisis
Posted by: Delta 15t
A Beta is the second letter in the Roman Alphabet. The first being an Alpha...

Greek, actually.


I stand corrected...you are correct...

  • 08.03.2009 1:24 PM PDT

I hunt for the Prophet of Contentment, the San 'Shyumm that murdered my son, and stole his birthright, his Energy Sword. They call our species Heretics. They claim to all that our tongues sting, our words a vile poison that feeds on the unworthy. I have seen the true face of Heresy. The head of a gallant warrior lay on the ground. His neck scorched and blistered, scarred by his own blade. I shall retrieve the weapon, and drive it through that bastard's heart! Punishment for his sins is nigh.

Actually, going back further in time, the term Beta, is used to name the second letter of the Ugaritic Alphabet from around 1500 BC.

[Edited on 08.03.2009 1:48 PM PDT]

  • 08.03.2009 1:48 PM PDT

How to spell "space"?

S-P-ACE! SPACE!

Posted by: Hylebos
They are probably going to use the Reach Beta to test to see how Reach theatre and Reach Rendered Videos work. Since they just came out with rendered videos for Halo 3, it makes sense to kill two birds with one stone and test both at the same time for Reach so that rendered videos are availible on release of the game.

Yep. Figure out all the problems before release.

Fo Tis Krisis is right, and his thread is well thought out. I hands you a cookie..

  • 08.03.2009 2:39 PM PDT

ODST Does have a beta, its just not a Public beta, Bungie selected a very few amount of players to play the beta, its only for the campaign though

  • 08.03.2009 2:46 PM PDT
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Exactly. People need to know that having a public beta for a game does not correlate with game genres. Just because Reach is going to have a public beta does not mean that it'll be a class based game (or something like 256 v 256 multiplayer, etc). I'm not saying Reach won't, but don't use public betas as an assumption for totally different gameplay.

  • 08.03.2009 3:01 PM PDT