f13.net

Just saw this link on the b.net forums (http://www.fileplanet.com/betacenter/wow/upsells/upsell_b.shtml), in a paid advertisement no less.

I almost got it just for seeing that, then recovered from my moment of weakness to realize there were no dates -- anywhere.

Anyone w/ a fileplanet subscription care to shed whatever light you can on the situation?

Edit: Because as I understand it, many people here would like to 'demo' it before paying money.

I have a fileplanet account since I have more cash than sense at times. (Hey it cost less than an hour's overtime and there was some download I wanted a few months back.)

   Signing up it sent me a key and let me download the beta client, but said that neither would work until the 'stress test' was announced at sometime in the future.  On top of that it's only a one-week stress test.

So yeah, looks like it's just another of Fileplanet/IGN's 'subscribe to us and get into this anticipated beta, sometime' offers. If you don't have a FP sub already, it's not *like* "pay to join the stress test," that's exactly what it is.

Given that EQ2 has sworn up and down that they will release, and that we know SOE has learned that you can release buggy shit that's 1/2 complete and people will still subscribe/purchase it I fully expect them to meet that date.  

Someone's got to be at Bliz HQ ramming the notion that getting to market before EQ2 fixes whatever they fuck on release is a priority.  Particularly since they're starting to shuffle things from "We'll do that before we ship" to "It'd be nice to have" or "Well, sometime after live"

In order to evaluate World of Warcraft's account-creation process and server performance under heavy loads, Blizzard will be conducting a seven-day stress test beta in the days ahead. This test will require over 100,000 players to download the World of Warcraft stress test beta client, create an account, and log on to play when the test goes live!

To make the client available for download to such a large audience, we have partnered with FilePlanet, GameSpy's Web-based file-delivery service. Visit http://www.fileplanet.com to learn more about the World of Warcraft stress test beta and to sign up for a chance to participate in this special event.

This stress test is run on different servers than the ones you guys are playing on. Also you guys will be able to continue playing. Where the players from the stress test will be discontinued after the 7 day period. Hope that helps clear up some concerns.

Am I guaranteed a spot in the stress test by signing up here?
If you are a FilePlanet subscriber you are guaranteed a spot in the World of Warcraft stress test as long as you apply during the specified sign up period.

Can I sign up for the stress test if I am not a FilePlanet subscriber?
Yes, you can still sign up for the stress test. However, FilePlanet subscribers receive priority for stress test spots.

Why is this stress test only for North America?
Due to multiple time zone and language differences, we have decided to limit the stress test participants to the United States and Canada.

Size:2,260.5 MB

Jesus Christ, I have to delete stuff to make room.

I'm sitting here with 550gb and only 20gb free. Honestly, I have zero clue what is taking up all that space.

If it's really that big a mystery to you, just open up your drives in Windows Explorer, right click each folder, and select "properties". That'll tell you how much is in each folder and will let you narrow down where you need to be looking.

I'll put $20.00 on a "OMG Bilzzard fix LAAAAG WTF" post within 2 hours of the start of the stress test.

Seriously, the other 460 gigs or so is a fucking mystery to me. Every day I wonder what the hell is taking up all that space.

Do you have XP and that fucking awful system snapshot crap running?

I'll put $20.00 on a "OMG Bilzzard fix LAAAAG WTF" post within 2 hours of the start of the stress test.

Well, I broke down and signed up for 3 months at $15.95.  Ultimately it was the rationalization that it's about the same for an hour of overtime that did it.

Wow, I'm actually downloading something off the internet at 3Mbps.

Sure, WTF, I'll sign up. But fuck Fileplanet and Gamespy in the ass for ever inflicting Gamespy Arcade on us. I'll be damned if I'm paying them a dime.

I'm sure that since it's only 7 days and is meant to be a "blow the server up" test, the first two days will be a lag-infested shitfest full of the worst dregs of the "entitlement" crowd of Internet shitmittens ever gathered together since the days of B.net.

The game is highly polished and has a nice story line depending on your race. But besides that it brings absolutely nothing new to the genre. I've been in beta for a few months now and I'm having a hard time bringing myself to log in for more then an hour at a time. It's just so much a steriotypical elves and trolls fantasy MMORPG. The combat is average (it's very DAoC-sh) in that you find you spend the majority of your time camping some field waiting for the exact same mobs to spawn you've been killing for the passed 2 hours while you try to collect 15 slightly rare bones for your chieften and what not.

If your seriously into fantasy MMOG's, it's nicely polished with a good bit of content and things to see and you may well enjoy it.

If your sick of sword & sorcery carbon coppy fantasy MMOG's.. you probably won't like it once the initial 'wow' phase is over (no pun intended).

A lot of beta-testers really like it. But a substantial ammount are unhappy with it because it simply doesn't try to brake the mold and really doesn't improve on it either. That and the 24 hour day really chaps me. I know it isn't really dark.. but it is STILL DARK. For me, who plays in the evening, it's almost always perpetually dark for me.

What happened to SWG?

As to this game being like CoH. I disagree. It's nothing like CoH. In CoH the combat is actually fun! In this game it's the same old click on these two buttons until the mobs are dead. If your a healer type feel lucky because you now have 3 buttons to click.

CoH is extremely good combat and little else. WoW is fairly good combat and some extra stuff thrown in like camping and farming. It has a lot of cool areas to explore but as far as XP gain goes.. it's almost entirely 'Go see so-so/Get quest from so-so/Go kill 30 of these in this little field/Come back for your nice new dagger of pwnage. Ok thats a little simplified lol. The game world is rather large. It's no where near SWG's size, but it's got a big landmass with a lot of different things to see. Like I said, fantasy MMOG lovers will probably love it. Those tired of carbon copy fantasy MMOG's probably won't.

There are also a lot of freeware programs out there that will catalog a drive for you and give you all sorts of breakdowns by directory to help you find what is going on.

Anyone download this and try installing it?

Everytime (3 tries) I download, I get some corrupt .zip

Your application to the World of Warcraft Stress Test Beta has been accepted.


These keys are on a first come first serve basis and the current pool of keys have run out. You have been put on a waiting list. We will have more keys available soon and you'll receive an email on how to claim your Stress Test Beta key when they're available.

My only guess for why they'll be running the stress test on a separate server would be that their production hardware probably shipped in and they want to give it a proper shakedown.

The World of Warcraft stress test beta is just a day away. Hundreds of thousands of gamers applied for the stress test this past week, and FilePlanet was up to the task, issuing over 100,000 accounts and providing the stress test beta client for download. With the signups and downloads complete, we are just about ready to welcome these gamers into World of Warcraft for the very first time.

Starting tomorrow, September 2nd at 12:00 noon PDT, stress test beta participants will be able to create their World of Warcraft accounts and begin playing the game. Their participation will help us optimize our account-creation and server infrastructure, and enable us to deliver the best online experience possible when the game launches later this year. We want to thank everyone who applied for the stress test beta, and we look forward to seeing the new testers online tomorrow when the stress test beta starts.

Selected stress test beta participants should keep an eye on their inboxes for an email containing further instructions. For more information on the World of Warcraft stress test beta, please check out our FAQ. To get a head start on learning how to play World of Warcraft, take a look at our beta strategy guide.

Ohh great. Company coming into town and then I'm off to a wedding on the 7th-10th.  

I hope 3 days of the absolute worst conditions for playing the game will be enough decide whether it's good or not.

Guess we won't get the emails till they open the registration page for the stress test.

How fucking spoiled are the beta brats that they can't have a rough week to test the game? Bnet crowd may be worse, but the current testers overall are prickish enough.

Just got my email, the registration page won't be up for about 45 minutes though.

With WoW being shown at Game Stars Live in London, Blizzard's President Mike Morhaime made the following statement regarding the game's progress:

"We're pleased to announce that World of Warcraft is nearing completion. When we set out to create a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, our goal was to give players an incredibly dynamic online gaming experience filled with endless possibilities while expanding the scope of the Warcraft universe. We look forward to accomplishing this goal with the release of World of Warcraft."

e’re looking for the greatest of heroes to step forward and demonstrate their skill and valor. If you can prove your worth by becoming the most powerful members of your faction classes, then you could win the chance to continue your adventures in Azeroth beyond the completion of the stress test!

Blizzard will be holding a competition during the stress test to determine the three highest-level characters per class in both the Alliance and Horde factions. At the end of the stress test, three players of every Horde class and three players of every Alliance class will win entry into the World of Warcraft closed beta test. In the event of a tie, total experience accumulated will determine the ultimate winners.

In the interest of fairness and in accordance with the World of Warcraft Beta Test Agreement and Terms of Use Agreement, players are not allowed to share accounts. Any character that has been leveled up through shared playtime by multiple players will be disqualified from the contest.

The competition will run through the entire duration of the stress test. At the end of the stress test, Blizzard will notify 48 lucky winners of their acceptance into the closed beta test.

Blizzard will be holding a competition during the stress test to determine the three highest-level characters per class in both the Alliance and Horde factions. At the end of the stress test, three players of every Horde class and three players of every Alliance class will win entry into the World of Warcraft closed beta test. In the event of a tie, total experience accumulated will determine the ultimate winners.

Wow.  What a way to endorse catassing for the next seven days.  Go Blizzard!  Wouldn't a more constructive competition something like the person who submits the most detailed and accurate bug reports?

We expect that you may have difficulty reaching the WoW registration pages. In the initial hours of the signups, demand for accessibility may sometimes cause you to receive an error of this sort. Please be patient and keep trying so we can get lots of stress on the account creation pages. Thank you for helping to make our stress test a success!

The whole stress test thing turned me off too.  Different servers?  Why?  How fucking spoiled are the beta brats that they can't have a rough week to test the game?  Bnet crowd may be worse, but the current testers overall are prickish enough.  Too bad the same can be said of all MMOGs. Pretty much dooms the genre.

Wow.  What a way to endorse catassing for the next seven days.  Go Blizzard!  Wouldn't a more constructive competition something like the person who submits the most detailed and accurate bug reports?

I see it as a clever way of checking if the treadmill is indeed too short, like many have complained.  If someone hits the level cap, then expect a HUGE increase in leveling time in the next patch.