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World of Warcraft Stress Test Beta Signups Open

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the sneak-a-peek dept.

erax0r writes "FilePlanet has been given 100,000 World of Warcraft stress test beta accounts. Sign up for a FilePlanet paid account to be given a beta CD key which will be activated a later date. Blizzard has also composed a FAQ for the stress test." If you're not a FilePlanet subscriber, and with the exception of this I don't know why anyone would be, you have a chance of getting in the stress test, but forking over the cash guarantees your spot.

9 of 83 comments (clear)

  1. save some money by saqq · · Score: 5, Informative

    For anyone who was planning on forking over 15.00 use this link to save you some money! (7.90)

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  2. I know why by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    " If you're not a FilePlanet subscriber, and with the exception of this I don't know why anyone would be"

    Let's see: nice quick downloads, early betas of Tribes, Worlds of Warcraft, Warhammer, etc. Instead of waiting 2-3 days for a reliable bittorrent of a game file, I can get it in a shorter period of time.

    1. Re:I know why by sevensharpnine · · Score: 3, Informative

      Yes, and you can contribute to the crass stupidity that is Gamespy. Their planet sites have often refused to post news regarding non-hosted mods (if you want your release on Gamespy, join up and serve their ads). They've also worked hard to stop third-party browsers from letting you browse online games by getting exclusive contracts will game devs. And Fileplanet has (I don't know if they still do) allowed people to download files that they were never given permission to host for fee (HL maps, models, etc.). And then you have to factor in the large amount of game ads that accompany their "reviews"--I can't prove that they sell high scores, but I highly suspect it.

      So yeah, if you think this is ok, then go ahead and pay them for your precious betas. But don't come here thinking you're so smart and getting a great deal by paying for the things the rest of us get for free. Some of us have a baseline standard of business practice we apply before we spend our money somewhere. Some others are just useless fucking tools.

      This all assumes, of course, that you're not some bottom-feeding astroturfer. Given the history of Gamespy, that wouldn't surprise me.

      --
      "God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh." -Voltaire
  3. What are they testing? by KDR_11k · · Score: 5, Informative

    Considering FilePlanet's average performance this is more of a stress test on FilePlanet rather than WoW.

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    Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
  4. Re:About stress tests by MistaE · · Score: 2, Informative

    I was under the impression that the beta servers that are used for currently testing the game are no where near the capacity of the actual servers that will run the game when it goes live. I also remember reading somewhere that beta testers and stress testers will be on different servers, so this confirms my suspicions.

  5. Re:US only by Guppy06 · · Score: 3, Informative

    "Stress test" to me sounds like "Let's see what happens when everybody is on at the same time." It's easie for that to happen if everybody lives relatively close to each other longitude-wise.

  6. Re:About stress tests by kwerle · · Score: 2, Informative

    Every time they release a new beta (new patch set), the servers go wonky for days. That's the way it is with beta software - and is why they're testing it in beta.

    I certainly hope they are planning on using the current beta as the stress test. The servers are now fairly stable.

  7. Back on Track by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Not sure anyone read the FAQ, but you don't have to pay to get in on this Stress Test. The people that pay get the first crack at the signing up, but they are/have opened it up and anyone who wants to (subscriber or not) can download the stress test and play for 7 days when they open it up. As there are ~100,000 openings (I have no idea how many subscribers Fileplanet has that are interested), I imagine everyone that wants to will get a crack.

    This isn't a beta test; Blizzard is just seeing what it looks like to have 100,000 people playing WoW instead of 6,000.

    As for stability, the Beta servers are pretty solid right now and always seem to be ~3 days after a patch. Also, keep in mind that it has been officially stated that these patches are only lightly QA'd during beta as they just want to get the content in. When in production, all patches will be given the typical Blizzard polish.

  8. Who wants my key? by mixtape5 · · Score: 2, Informative

    I have one of the keys for getting in the game for free but wont be using it. Anyone who wants it can have it. Email me at hckymanr@yahoo.com and I will send it to you :)

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    WoW: Scheod 70 orc warlock on Shadowmoon