DCUO- will be out November 2. Can apply for beta on main site now.

[UnSub]

SOE hasn't really thought to answer that, other than to point at the iconic power tree and suggest he gets a lot of powers from there.

[Simond]

Sunlight is natural, right? 

[UnSub]

Massively interview with Chris Cao.

When asked about what powers are available for players:

Well we aren't going into all the details just yet. In fact, this week we found some things that [made us] fundamentally change the way some powers work. We are actually going to [give a list of powers] once we are pretty certain that they aren't going to radically change.

It's just under two months til launch, still no announcement of a public beta date (open or closed) and large changes are going on behind the scenes regarding basic gameplay features. Ooo, launch is going to be fun.

EDIT: DCUO will also be on SOE's Station Pass.

[Triforcer]

They said beta would start first week of August.  I'm betting that's the exact time someone who actually codes said, "um, this game is 18 months from being ready for release."

So, cue the two month delay (my prediction) to get 18 months of work into about 3 months.  

[eldaec]

SOE hasn't really thought to answer that, other than to point at the iconic power tree and suggest he gets a lot of powers from there.

Origin doesn't need to have any more impact than it did in cox.

I imagine superman and joker are considered 'meta' origin because they 'just do' have powers, and the main impact will be on mission text/cutscenes which won't refer to magic or technology.

I doubt this is SOEs biggest concern on DCUO right now.

[Shatter]

Yeah this has fallen into the scary category.  No beta to speak of at the moment meaning OB will be too short so a lot of problems will make it to live and many systems just wont get the testing they should.  Tie into that what sounds like some fairly signifigant changes to basically one of the most important parts of any MMO(Abilities) this close to launch.  I was willing to give SOE a fair shake but so far all I see with this is the same ole same ole.  Its likely the best thing this game will ever be was that trailer. 

[HaemishM]

Beta still hasn't started in full yet? Two months away? AND they are changing fundamental aspects of the game design?

Proper fucked.

[Tearofsoul]

Unless they push back the release date, otherwise ...... 

[Kageru]

If you know the game stinks no point in letting people have a good sniff before you've got their money.

I'd not be surprised if the open-beta is also timed (like APB), limited and primarily promotional. I also expect we'll be seeing this approach a lot more. Especially in the wake of APB exploding.

... I'm old enough I remember when SoE were relevant :(

[Sir T]

Actually a fair amount of info in the wiki page. Wall of text warning

[UnSub]

Jens Andersen says (on Facebook) don't plan on getting into the beta, just get ready to buy the game. (Link to a forum post)

JENS ANDERSON We've simply been really busy finishing the game. We've announced our release date so I would plan around that date and not assume you will get an opportunity at beta. Then you will either get the game when it releases and if you get a peek early it's gravy.

EDIT: Because I think I'm a bit of a broken record on DCUO - I'm interested in it as a title, but also this is the supposedly experienced SOE publishing a title using some fairly big geek IP and going out to both PC and PS3 at (theoretically) the same time. That it appears to be going completely against the grain of what a good MMO launch cycle should be, it's piqued my interest. Piqued.

[HaemishM]

Yeah, your beta? Get ready to pay for it. 

[Triforcer]

How is this piquing your interest?  Its obvious this isn't some sort of Machiavellian revolutionary new launch strategy, its "oh shit oh shit oh shit, this REALLY is 15 months from release" panic. 

[Lantyssa]

This is the same company that decided to make Clone Wars a pretty Club Penguin instead of Free Realms in Space.  If past behavior wasn't sufficient, I think we can safely say they are clueless and do not like money hats.

[UnSub]

How is this piquing your interest?   

I like superhero MMOs.

Also, outside of the indie MMOs who were probably too stretched to afford a beta, this is the first MMO I'm aware of where just months from launch the devs are still pussyfooting around basic in-game information, such as what crafting will be in the game (from Chris Cao):

I like crafting. As Lead Designer of EQII, I worked to put in a dedicated crafting progression and product path. It made sense for the game and it built on the tradition Everquest had established.

As the Game Director of DCUO, I chose to pursue the ‘DC’ (Detective Comics) part of the universe with investigations and collections. They made sense for the game and the tradition of the DC Universe. But they are not ‘crafting.’ You can’t kill a deer in DCUO and make a hat out of it.

But you can scour the alleys of Gotham to find clues left behind by The Riddler. You can leap from roof-top to roof-top as you search for scattered sections of Brainiac’s technology. And you can listen to news reports by Lois Land and Vicki Vale that tell tale of nefarious goings-on.

In DCUO, you’re making your own superhero or super villain. You’re crafting your own legend.

WTF was that? What kind of crafting IS in DCUO? What do you get out of it? It sounds like STO's memory alpha system - find salvage trash, give it to an NPC who turns it into an item. It wasn't very popular there.

I could be completely wrong and SOE has been running a secret closed beta that was knocked out all bugs and tested the gameplay, but for a title that will be the first major MMO on a console in a long time, SOE are certainly going about things in a funny way. Beta hasn't even been confirmed as happening yet - no date set - while the marketing budget for this title appears to be less than $20, given the reliance on Facebook, Twitter and devs showing off the same areas of DCUO over and over and over again. There are no official forums.

A lot of people were disappointed with ChampO. If DCUO goes as expected, I think there will be about 10x the reaction from outraged fanbois - especially PC fanbois who find out DCUO PC version is an afterthought.

[Malakili]

So, basically the reason we are confused is because you say "Is it obvious?!" and then list a bunch of reasons to stay away from the game like the plague.

[UnSub]

So, basically the reason we are confused is because you say "Is it obvious?!" and then list a bunch of reasons to stay away from the game like the plague.

To date, I definitely think DCUO is a title to be avoided at launch.

Not trying to confuse anyone, just watching a title I think will be a trainwreck. But then maybe everyone else is in a supa-sekret beta and DCUO is actually the best game evah.

[Margalis]

As I said earlier, this has a shot at being the worst MMO of all time from what I've seen.

[Shatter]

Any bets on what they will jam into their CE?  Supercape?  Ring?  Jar of lube?

[Sir T]

A really rad mask that mysteriously removes your eyes.

[Lantyssa]

A blindfold sounds like a brilliant idea!

[UnSub]

Chris Cao releases a cool story bro video: "Jim Lee and I and Jens just played DCUO and it was awesome! Here, let me tell you about it!".

Jens Andersen pops up on Facebook to say that console games usually don't have public betas and they work out fine.

Word Will, we agree. But also keep in mind we are an action console game and an MMO mixed together. So, we want as much beta testing as possible but we also take the best practices of console games which usually don;t run beta testing what so ever, they use internal testers. And those game's turn out just fine. :)

Basically what I am trying to say is that a quality game is a quality game whether or not it has 1 year of beta or 1 month. The foundation has to be there for beta testing to make a difference. Ours is there, I see it everyday. Beta testing is always helpful but only as helpful as the testers in it. If people are simply looking to play the game for free before it launches then a year long beta test won;t be much better than 1 month beta test.

(Post I'm pulling this from).

There's also a few comments in there that the internal SOE testers test "avidly" on PCs and things work fine in SOE offices spread out over the US.

 

[HaemishM]

 

[Kageru]

That's some pretty concentrated stupid there. Badly restating the old forum chestnut of "most beta players are just there to play the game" without realizing that watching how they play the game, what they complain about and how fast they consume content (or avoid it) is valuable insight even if they don't file that many explicit reports. Also that internal testers have a lot of pressure against saying the game is shit... especially if it is.

I hope this fails because I've not seen people both deserve it and invite it to this extent for quite a while.

[Modern Angel]

Oh this one's going to be fun when it launches.

[Margalis]

It's increasingly common for multiplayer-centric games to include betas, including Reach and the new MOH.

[Malakili]

It's increasingly common for multiplayer-centric games to include betas, including Reach and the new MOH.

I remember Bad Company 2 beta, and I think that game benefited a lot from the feedback they got, even though a lot of the changes actually game in the first big patch after launch anyway.

This whole "oh yeah, we got this, don't even worry about it" is, I have to imagine, just to get people to buy the box.  Remember, this isn't going to have a monthly fee, so if they manage to move lots of boxes, they're in decent shape.

[Shatter]

Chris Cao releases a cool story bro video: "Jim Lee and I and Jens just played DCUO and it was awesome! Here, let me tell you about it!".

Jens Andersen pops up on Facebook to say that console games usually don't have public betas and they work out fine.

Word Will, we agree. But also keep in mind we are an action console game and an MMO mixed together. So, we want as much beta testing as possible but we also take the best practices of console games which usually don;t run beta testing what so ever, they use internal testers. And those game's turn out just fine. :)

Basically what I am trying to say is that a quality game is a quality game whether or not it has 1 year of beta or 1 month. The foundation has to be there for beta testing to make a difference. Ours is there, I see it everyday. Beta testing is always helpful but only as helpful as the testers in it. If people are simply looking to play the game for free before it launches then a year long beta test won;t be much better than 1 month beta test.

(Post I'm pulling this from).

There's also a few comments in there that the internal SOE testers test "avidly" on PCs and things work fine in SOE offices spread out over the US.

 

What a dumbass

[Goreschach]

Stand by for Truly Epic Lulz.

[Sir T]

Will this be an Infinite or a Final Crisis?  

[Slyfeind]

So there IS a secret build that fixes everything. WHEW.

[UnSub]

Rumours are that DCUO has sent out its initial beta invites. If you've registered for the PC, check your inbox.

[UnsGub]

Jens Andersen

Beta testing is always helpful but only as helpful as the testers in it.

Classic blame the testers line.

What feedback one chooses to act on and the execution of the change is where success or failure is going to be had.

[Pendan]

Jens Andersen pops up on Facebook to say that console games usually don't have public betas and they work out fine.

Word Will, we agree. But also keep in mind we are an action console game and an MMO mixed together. So, we want as much beta testing as possible but we also take the best practices of console games which usually don;t run beta testing what so ever, they use internal testers. And those game's turn out just fine. :)

Basically what I am trying to say is that a quality game is a quality game whether or not it has 1 year of beta or 1 month. The foundation has to be there for beta testing to make a difference. Ours is there, I see it everyday. Beta testing is always helpful but only as helpful as the testers in it. If people are simply looking to play the game for free before it launches then a year long beta test won;t be much better than 1 month beta test.

(Post I'm pulling this from).

There's also a few comments in there that the internal SOE testers test "avidly" on PCs and things work fine in SOE offices spread out over the US.

This level of stupidity is hard to believe. I could maybe understand it from a company putting out their first MMO but this is the same company that insisted for months that the EQ Shaman ability worked fine because their own internal testers confirmed it. Hundreds of complaints later they finally figured out their internal testing methods did not work and they really did have a bug when not auto leveled.

Besides the obvious thousands of different PC hardware and software differences from real users as opposed to a console it also very hard to test 1000s of different connection speeds at the same time. I bet things run really well when your internal testers have less than 10ms ping times to the server.

Lastly I would like to point out how well EQ2 did against WoW with a tenth of the beta period time. You are supposed to learn from the past.

[Sky]

I can't count how many times I've seen devs say that external testing has uncovered issues nobody noticed in internal tests. I hope the NDA is enforced through launch, that would be the cherry on the trainwreck pie.