NS2 is not ready for a Beta

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Comments

  • rutixrutix Join Date: 2006-11-02 Member: 58208Members
    <!--quoteo(post=1806740:date=Nov 19 2010, 10:53 AM:name=Koruyo)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Koruyo @ Nov 19 2010, 10:53 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1806740"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->IF u dont spam hydras/sentrys, its pretty good playable (i just played for nearly an hour.)
    IT feels like a closed beta to me, and guess what? it is a CLOSED BETA. Its not worse than a AAA publishers closed beta.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    ^This. Although I would have liked that they fixed the lag before going to beta though. Since without that lag the game definitely beta ready :)
  • KarbaKarba Join Date: 2006-09-23 Member: 58040Members, Constellation, Reinforced - Gold
    When fps and lag issues are solved the game is gonna be a great sucess, until this happens, this game cannot be released.
  • rutixrutix Join Date: 2006-11-02 Member: 58208Members
    <!--quoteo(post=1806809:date=Nov 19 2010, 02:21 PM:name=Karba)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Karba @ Nov 19 2010, 02:21 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1806809"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->When fps and lag issues are solved the game is gonna be a great sucess, until this happens, this game cannot be released.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Well im sure it wont be released without the fps,lag issues fixed. This is also more about the closed beta :).
  • HughHugh Cameraman San Francisco, CA Join Date: 2010-04-18 Member: 71444NS2 Developer, NS2 Playtester, Reinforced - Silver, Reinforced - Onos, WC 2013 - Shadow, Subnautica Developer, Pistachionauts
    This game <i>is</i> playable and is playable <i>right now</i>. I will not weigh in a post arguing why, I will let FRAPs do the talking.

    Live now on NS2HD is the entire UWE playtest for Build 155. It was 20 minutes long (I've chopped out only 3 minutes for rendering time's sake). The game was internet, not LAN, had people from the UK, Australia, the US and elsewhere playing, and it was <i>stable</i>, <i>playable</i>, and <i>incredibly fun</i>.

    It doesn't matter if this is an example of what happens only 50% of the time. If this happens 50% of the time, NS2 is on the right track, it belongs in Beta, and I for one cannot wait to back it up.
  • KarbaKarba Join Date: 2006-09-23 Member: 58040Members, Constellation, Reinforced - Gold
    <!--quoteo(post=1806813:date=Nov 19 2010, 02:25 PM:name=NS2HD)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (NS2HD @ Nov 19 2010, 02:25 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1806813"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->This game <i>is</i> playable and is playable <i>right now</i>. I will not weigh in a post arguing why, I will let FRAPs do the talking.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    The game is playable if you have a good pc with a 3 Ghz quadcore and a radeon 5870/nvidia 480 or better, and that's not the case of the majority of ns2 players.
  • PricePrice Join Date: 2003-09-27 Member: 21247Members
    edited November 2010
    Ehm since its beta i can start the game and play on a server with like 8 people, at every other alpha of NaSe 2 i can't.
    The lag issue is the only problem with some gameplay issues but working better as alpha!
    And the fade effect is so awesome, i feel like the guy from xmen.

    P.S. maybe they release the beta because they need money? (havok physics engine and stuff)
  • sickboysickboy Join Date: 2003-09-13 Member: 20804Members, Constellation
    edited November 2010
    <!--quoteo(post=1806821:date=Nov 19 2010, 09:44 AM:name=Karba)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Karba @ Nov 19 2010, 09:44 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1806821"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->The game is playable if you have a good pc with a 3 Ghz quadcore and a radeon 5870/nvidia 480 or better, and that's not the case of the majority of ns2 players.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    It's plenty playable on my 3ghz duo core and ATI 4850. The performance issues that occur now are mostly related to the server getting pounded/overloaded, and much less to do with the client side rendering. Granted my rig could probably still be considered medium-high range, but still... you can't expect games to cater to terribly outdated PCs. A computer that could barely handle NS1 is obviously not going to work at all with NS2 (unless NS2 was retooled to look and behave like its quite dated origins... but that's counter productive).

    That said, there are still plenty of optimizations that are needed (and will undoubtedly come). But stating that you need the best of the best hardware to run the game is absolutely <i>false</i>.


    <!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->P.S. maybe they release the beta because they need money? (havok physics engine and stuff)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    Charlie/Flayra stated in a gameplay session when build 154 came out that the Havok implementation was cost-free. The money issue would just simply be related to the constant cost of paid employees, freelancers, etc.

    Or they could have just felt that it was time for beta. After playing today, I can definitely agree that it feels much less alpha-y (seeing how you can actually play now).
  • antacidantacid Join Date: 2007-08-07 Member: 61821Members, NS2 Playtester
    Guys this is the FIRST beta build, its going to be a bit wonky, but its still 1000 times better than it was yesterday
  • AsranielAsraniel Join Date: 2002-06-03 Member: 724Members, Playtest Lead, Forum Moderators, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow, Subnautica Playtester, Retired Community Developer
    after testing, i think:

    it IS ready for beta :) test it, it is really better than the alpha. faster etc.
    Sure, not perfect etc, but thats why its a beta and not final. I could play the first time today :)
  • scorpydudescorpydude Join Date: 2005-03-05 Member: 43603Members
    <!--quoteo(post=1806813:date=Nov 19 2010, 09:25 AM:name=NS2HD)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (NS2HD @ Nov 19 2010, 09:25 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1806813"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->This game <i>is</i> playable and is playable <i>right now</i>. I will not weigh in a post arguing why, I will let FRAPs do the talking.

    Live now on NS2HD is the entire UWE playtest for Build 155. It was 20 minutes long (I've chopped out only 3 minutes for rendering time's sake). The game was internet, not LAN, had people from the UK, Australia, the US and elsewhere playing, and it was <i>stable</i>, <i>playable</i>, and <i>incredibly fun</i>.

    It doesn't matter if this is an example of what happens only 50% of the time. If this happens 50% of the time, NS2 is on the right track, it belongs in Beta, and I for one cannot wait to back it up.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->


    When you get private little play tests with the devs, of course you wouldn't say a bad work against them or you'll be kicked out of the VIP club wouldn't you. It's not like your very objective anymore in your you tube videos.

    While the entire community was kept in the dark about this Jostiq/NS2HD exclusive 155 build (the progress tracker still hasnt been updated) you guys were kicking around in a pre-release of it by the looks of your latest movie and now they want to push it to 'beta' because they have the fade in despite the obvious engine/server performance issues.

    The general gaming community who hasn't seen NS1 will laugh at this, walk away and spread bad publicity if they label this a beta, closed or not. What do you think the first thing is people are going to do? Do you remember the days of offense chamber walls and towers? Not to mention the fact that they still don't have a server package you can run without a steam account, as evident by the SINGLE Australian server we have.

    Urgh... whatever.
  • officerchopsofficerchops Join Date: 2010-09-11 Member: 73980Members
    I can't play this. That kinda sucks.
    Back in a month, cya later.

    perspective:

    AvP 3: I quit after literally 5 minutes (because of the ######HOUSE gameplay)
    NS2: I quit after about half an hour (because of the unbearable lag/randomly teleporting everywhere)

    so yeah, captain obvious here: focus on the playabilty/lag

    question: what % of pre-orderers bought the alpha?
    because if it's 95% then people need not worry about public relations issues. just don't release the game until it's playable.
  • kororaskororas Join Date: 2010-09-16 Member: 74043Members
    <!--quoteo(post=1806277:date=Nov 18 2010, 08:12 PM:name=w0dk4)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (w0dk4 @ Nov 18 2010, 08:12 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1806277"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I have a feeling that they are closely running out of money, hence the need to attract more preorders.. if this means that we can have a longer beta phase where the game can be properly polished, then Im all for it.

    From a traditional game development point of view I gotta agree though, I dont think NS2 is ready for beta at all.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    If this is the case, reopen alpha access, I didnt preorder but I would now.

    I think they're just projecting a timeframe, nothing wrong in doing that. Might not really want to announce that publicly until they are certain though.
  • RuntehRunteh Join Date: 2010-06-26 Member: 72163Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    <!--quoteo(post=1806813:date=Nov 19 2010, 01:25 PM:name=NS2HD)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (NS2HD @ Nov 19 2010, 01:25 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1806813"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->This game <i>is</i> playable and is playable <i>right now</i>. I will not weigh in a post arguing why, I will let FRAPs do the talking.

    Live now on NS2HD is the entire UWE playtest for Build 155. It was 20 minutes long (I've chopped out only 3 minutes for rendering time's sake). The game was internet, not LAN, had people from the UK, Australia, the US and elsewhere playing, and it was <i>stable</i>, <i>playable</i>, and <i>incredibly fun</i>.

    It doesn't matter if this is an example of what happens only 50% of the time. If this happens 50% of the time, NS2 is on the right track, it belongs in Beta, and I for one cannot wait to back it up.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    I must say though mate, unless you have a pretty good pc (which you seem to have) most of us are out of the loop. I have had some great games even though I have to run it windowed 800x600... however, it is 'nothing' in comparison to how smooth your videos make it look. I don't have the best graphics card, granted.

    But Dual core 2.2 gig, 4gig of ram and a mobility radeon 3470 (or something) and most other games I play (they might be close to lowest settings) are much more playable.

    However, it is playable in the sense that I can enjoy it from the point of view that I can run around and have a bit of fun.

    Alone on a server it is pretty smooth, but once there are a few people it totally bombs.

    Also there are massive server problems, 4v4 crashes the server every time.

    Beta/Alpha, what do they actually mean. All anyone needs to know is the game is not complete yet. So i'm not arguing what I think a word means, i'm just happy I can have a bit of fun.
  • antacidantacid Join Date: 2007-08-07 Member: 61821Members, NS2 Playtester
    "mobility radeon 3470"


    There is your problem right there, laptops are not made to play new games.


    I run NS2 at 1920x1080 max everything 60fps. It's still buggy, but this isn't NS1, you would need at least a semi recent / real video card to run new games.
  • HughHugh Cameraman San Francisco, CA Join Date: 2010-04-18 Member: 71444NS2 Developer, NS2 Playtester, Reinforced - Silver, Reinforced - Onos, WC 2013 - Shadow, Subnautica Developer, Pistachionauts
    <!--quoteo(post=1806821:date=Nov 20 2010, 12:44 AM:name=Karba)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Karba @ Nov 20 2010, 12:44 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1806821"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->The game is playable if you have a good pc with a 3 Ghz quadcore and a radeon 5870/nvidia 480 or better, and that's not the case of the majority of ns2 players.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    I run many of my records on a GTS450, which is only a little more powerful than a GTS 250. It makes little difference running it on the 5870. Also, my cores are Phenom and NS2 is not multithreaded, so core for core you guys with Core i5's and C2D's will have superior CPU power to me.

    <!--quoteo(post=1806830:date=Nov 20 2010, 12:59 AM:name=scorpydude)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (scorpydude @ Nov 20 2010, 12:59 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1806830"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->When you get private little play tests with the devs, of course you wouldn't say a bad work against them or you'll be kicked out of the VIP club wouldn't you. It's not like your very objective anymore in your you tube videos.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    That's not a fair call. I actually copped flack from them for NS2HD[37], and I did not take it down. I am not being paid, I am not their cheerleader, I am calling it as I see it, and I am putting these videos together for the enjoyment of all. If you don't like what I do, or my optimism, don't watch me, but don't come in here and call me their ######.

    <!--quoteo(post=1806830:date=Nov 20 2010, 12:59 AM:name=scorpydude)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (scorpydude @ Nov 20 2010, 12:59 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1806830"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->you guys were kicking around in a pre-release of it<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    They played one playtest, for 20 minutes, to test a release, after pretty much not sleeping this whole week. That is a low, low blow.

    Wise men tell me I shouldn't reply to forum flame. But seriously.
  • Revi.ukRevi.uk Join Date: 2010-04-12 Member: 71354Members
    please folks just because you can play "other games" on your old ass computer doesn't mean you'll be able to have a flawless experience on a completely modern and unreleased game this is 2010-2011 we're talking about now remember. When you bought your "super-rig" that was probably 3 or 4 years ago now. Remember what games were around then? UWE need to future proof this game and by excluding the lower end of the market simply makes sure their game has a longer life later down the line.

    In short; upgrade your computer.
  • RuntehRunteh Join Date: 2010-06-26 Member: 72163Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    I know my rig is at fault, but if things don't scale that well I will be a little disappointed (remember that there were minimum specs for the alpha, and even mine are reasonably above those). But i'll be glad that I put money towards a good cause.

    Yeah, jokes aside. Not everyone has to money to start forking out for new graphics cards :( Unemployed graduate atm :(
  • Bobby is going homeBobby is going home Join Date: 2010-04-11 Member: 71323Awaiting Authorization
    Well, from first playtests I can see the improvements but biggest problem right now is server performance.
    Aside this it has improved even from 154 /imho
  • MuhownageMuhownage Join Date: 2010-11-19 Member: 75017Members
    About the question if its ready for beta or not i´ve to say im totally satisfied with what we got as beta.
    it is playable imo (it sucked me in the "woa NS!" feeling after 2 mins already). ofc it doesnt have all features but except the server memory leak it feels really smooth.
    i never thought that i could get it to reasonable fps with my 8800GTS512 but what do i have to say? 50 fps with 10 players on 1680x1050 with quality high. :)
    and more testers means more bugs being found, more improvements are sent to the team etc. i cant see anything bad in releasing it to all ppl who have presaled ns2
  • FocusedWolfFocusedWolf Join Date: 2005-01-09 Member: 34258Members
    <!--quoteo(post=1806830:date=Nov 19 2010, 09:59 AM:name=scorpydude)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (scorpydude @ Nov 19 2010, 09:59 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1806830"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->When you get private little play tests with the devs, of course you wouldn't say a bad work against them or you'll be kicked out of the VIP club wouldn't you. <u>It's not like your very objective anymore in your you tube videos.</u><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    I haven't been watching his videos to the point that i could agree with your conclusion, but if your right then it makes me wonder if the devs invited him in this way precisely for the purpose of quelling and/or controlling and/or influencing his point of view in future vids. I.e. what happens if NS2HD gets mad? (Reference to the movie “Sphere”).
  • NurEinMenschNurEinMensch Join Date: 2003-02-26 Member: 14056Members, Constellation
    NS1 had lots of lag and frame rate issues in the early days. It was pushing the HL engine to the max, and most people's machines back then didn't have the power to maintain high frame rates. In short: Early NS1 was a lag fest. But the issues got fixed over time, and people got more powerful rigs. 10 years later we can play NS1 at 500 fps, but that cannot be the measuring stick for a completely new game that's still in development, can it.
  • zexzex Join Date: 2009-10-07 Member: 68978Members
    <!--quoteo(post=1806813:date=Nov 19 2010, 02:25 PM:name=NS2HD)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (NS2HD @ Nov 19 2010, 02:25 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1806813"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->This game <i>is</i> playable and is playable <i>right now</i>. I will not weigh in a post arguing why, I will let FRAPs do the talking.
    Live now on NS2HD is the entire UWE playtest for Build 155.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    It's a nice video but dude, as far as I can tell from the in-game menu at the start, you're playing a 4v4 game... and you have to know that most of the problems people are having increase as more players are added. I really hope you'll consider, now that anyone who buys the game will be able to play it immediately, including relevant information about bugs and performance in your videos rather than putting a positive spin on everything. Real talk.
  • LazerLazer Join Date: 2003-03-11 Member: 14406Members, Contributor, Constellation, NS2 Playtester
    Have had a couple rather stable games but as just about everyone has mentioned after a while the servers will climb in memory usage and crash. The connection issue seems to be mainly related with everyone trying to join games at once and it could be part of some lag too. Either way this patch has definitely worked the best of all patches so far for me. Going beta already was a huge shock but at least once the memory usage gets fixed and enough people start hosting servers this should get really fun fast.
  • PaiSandPaiSand Join Date: 2005-01-07 Member: 33487Members
    My rig:

    Mother: Asus M2A-VM
    CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+
    RAM: 2Gb DDR2
    Video: nVidia GF 9800 GT (512 Mb GDDR3)

    With that I can play smooth on Internet, even playing from Argentina, which is why I have high ping. I still have some lag and I got a lot of "Connection problem detected", but that looks more a server issue and not a client issue.
  • Andrew_e1Andrew_e1 Join Date: 2005-01-07 Member: 33331Members, Constellation
    Spent 10 mins in the beta and its all I needed to realize that this is what the first alpha should've been. Probably even PRE-alpha.

    As soon as I joined I kept getting "connection problems" and when I finally got in, I couldn't move, it took like 1 min so I could start moving and after that it was
    a lag fest.

    I joined marines and the first thing I notice, just as I have done in all the previous alphas, is the dreaded machine gun sound loop. Everyones clipping, aliens shaking everywhere.

    I had the lowest ping on the server "35ms" and it felt like 700-800ms...

    My specs

    i7 920
    6gb ram
    hd5870
    win 7 x64


    I'll be back in 2 months.
  • ArcadianArcadian Join Date: 2008-11-30 Member: 65617Members
    edited November 2010
    <!--quoteo(post=1806851:date=Nov 19 2010, 10:03 AM:name=NS2HD)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (NS2HD @ Nov 19 2010, 10:03 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1806851"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=1806830:date=Nov 19 2010, 08:59 AM:name=scorpydude)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (scorpydude @ Nov 19 2010, 08:59 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1806830"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->When you get private little play tests with the devs, of course you wouldn't say a bad work against them or you'll be kicked out of the VIP club wouldn't you. It's not like your very objective anymore in your you tube videos.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    That's not a fair call. I actually copped flack from them for NS2HD[37], and I did not take it down. I am not being paid, I am not their cheerleader, I am calling it as I see it, and I am putting these videos together for the enjoyment of all. If you don't like what I do, or my optimism, don't watch me, but don't come in here and call me their ######.

    <!--quoteo(post=1806830:date=Nov 19 2010, 08:59 AM:name=scorpydude)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (scorpydude @ Nov 19 2010, 08:59 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1806830"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->you guys were kicking around in a pre-release of it<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    They played one playtest, for 20 minutes, to test a release, after pretty much not sleeping this whole week. That is a low, low blow.

    Wise men tell me I shouldn't reply to forum flame. But seriously.
    <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool's back.
  • botelhoruibotelhorui Join Date: 2006-11-02 Member: 58192Members
    <!--quoteo(post=1806955:date=Nov 19 2010, 07:29 PM:name=Andrew_e1)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Andrew_e1 @ Nov 19 2010, 07:29 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1806955"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Spent 10 mins in the beta and its all I needed to realize that this is what the first alpha should've been. Probably even PRE-alpha.

    As soon as I joined I kept getting "connection problems" and when I finally got in, I couldn't move, it took like 1 min so I could start moving and after that it was
    a lag fest.

    I joined marines and the first thing I notice, just as I have done in all the previous alphas, is the dreaded machine gun sound loop. Everyones clipping, aliens shaking everywhere.

    I had the lowest ping on the server "35ms" and it felt like 700-800ms...

    My specs

    i7 920
    6gb ram
    hd5870
    win 7 x64


    I'll be back in 2 months.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    same situation here, ill be back, someday bye...
  • ArcadianArcadian Join Date: 2008-11-30 Member: 65617Members
    edited November 2010
  • AlignAlign Remain Calm Join Date: 2002-11-02 Member: 5216Forum Moderators, Constellation
    <!--quoteo(post=1806970:date=Nov 19 2010, 07:52 PM:name=Arcadian)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Arcadian @ Nov 19 2010, 07:52 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1806970"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool's back.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Never heard that one before. What's it mean?
  • juicejuice Join Date: 2003-01-28 Member: 12886Members, Constellation
    I've played multiple games now and the server crashes before anyone gets fades. But skulk vs marine is a slide show, so they might as well all have blink!
This discussion has been closed.