Alpha/Beta Announcement thread. Next Alpha: ???

[Ksandra]

Post here for announcements regarding the FFXIV Alpha/Beta.

THIS IS FOR ANNOUNCEMENTS of the ALPHA/BETA ONLY

Minor questions/discussions are allowed, but attempt to keep this thread as clean as possible so bg staff can edit the thread title as needed without having to sift through 100+ pages of people asking "ARE WE THERE YET?!"


Current alpha testing times:

The dates and times of the tenth test will be as follows. (All times are GMT.)

Tenth Alpha Test Schedule

Dates and Times:
Dates and Times:
Tuesday, June 15, 2010 - 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. *1
Tuesday, June 15, 2010 - 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. *2
Wednesday, June 16, 2010 - 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. *3

Thursday, June 17, 2010 - 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. *1
Thursday, June 17, 2010 - 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. *2
Friday, June 18, 2010 - 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. *3

Saturday, June 19, 2010 - 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. *1
Saturday, June 19, 2010 - 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. *2
Sunday, June 20, 2010 - 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. *3

*1 Only users with Japan-based Square Enix accounts will be able to log in.
*2 Only users with Europe-based Square Enix accounts will be able to log in.
*3 Only users with North America-based Square Enix accounts will be able to log in.

* Three test periods per day have been set in accordance with times of anticipated peak activity in each region.

Test Contents:
- Synthesis
- Gathering
- Party-Based Battle
- Loot System

[Cairthenn]

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all testers for their participation in the FINAL FANTASY XIV Alpha Test.

The dates and times of the third alpha test are as follows:

(All times are GMT)
Tuesday, April 20, 2010 - 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. *1
Tuesday, April 20, 2010 - 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. *2
Wednesday, April 21, 2010 - 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. *3

*1 Only users with Japan-based Square Enix accounts will be able to log in.
*2 Only users with Europe-based Square Enix accounts will be able to log in.
*3 Only users with North America-based Square Enix accounts will be able to log in.

* Three test periods per day have been set in accordance with times of anticipated peak activity in each region.

Test Contents:
・Quest System
・Guildleve System
・Battle System
・Basic Controls
・User Interface

* The feedback submission period for the battle system, basic controls, and user interface features has been extended to the third alpha phase in order to give testers more opportunity to voice their opinions and provide suggestions.

Login Limitations
The number of characters capable of logging in simultaneously will be somewhat limited during the beginning of the alpha test. This will gradually be increased over time as server load balancing adjustments are made. However, should a tester receive the message, “The server is experiencing unusually heavy traffic. Please try again later,” we ask that they try and log in again within the next ten minutes. Doing so will place them on a waiting list which will grant them access to the servers in the order in which they attempted to log in. Please note that testers must continue to attempt to log in every ten minutes to maintain their place in the queue.

Providing Feedback
As indicated above, the third part of the alpha test phase will cover the game’s quest, guildleve, and battle systems, as well as basic controls and the user interface. Your feedback on these aspects of the game is both highly encouraged and greatly appreciated. While playing, please feel free to submit your opinions on anything at all regarding these topics, such as game balance issues, settings that you may have found difficult to understand, and features that you felt were inconvenient, unintuitive, or required further explanation.

Feedback threads are organized by topic. Please be sure to post your feedback in the appropriate thread.

* The third feedback submission period will begin with the launch of the third alpha test and continue until just before the launch of the fourth alpha test. Posts to threads concerning the third alpha test cannot be made once this period has ended.

Replies will not be made to bug reports posted in this thread. Please submit bug reports here. Bug reports may continue to be submitted even after the third alpha test phase has ended.

The dedication and cooperation of all testers are essential to enhancing the quality of the FINAL FANTASY XIV experience. We humbly ask that you be active in your role as testers in the Alpha Phase, and encourage you to submit feedback on any issues which you feel need to be addressed.

This goes here, right?

[Cairthenn]

Also,

An update of the FINAL FANTASY XIV Alpha Version client was performed to stabilize the software.

The version update will begin automatically when the FINAL FANTASY XIV Alpha Version client is launched.
There is no need to uninstall the client.

It's a very small patch.

[FREDTHETARU]

Am I allowed to post info & pics from alpha here? :0

[SamanosukeShiva]

no, unless you work for SE or the info is officially announced by SE

[Seanr]

not to be an ass Ksandra, but you wanna put GMT in the title as well...?

[Katlan]

Login Limitations
The number of characters capable of logging in simultaneously will be somewhat limited during the beginning of the alpha test. This will gradually be increased over time as server load balancing adjustments are made. However, should a tester receive the message, “The server is experiencing unusually heavy traffic. Please try again later,” we ask that they try and log in again within the next ten minutes. Doing so will place them on a waiting list which will grant them access to the servers in the order in which they attempted to log in. Please note that testers must continue to attempt to log in every ten minutes to maintain their place in the queue.

Ouch, that's pretty harsh

[mai ikari]

(All times are PDT: GMT -7:00)
Tuesday, April 20, 2010 – 3:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. *1
Tuesday, April 20, 2010 – 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. *2
Tuesday, April 20, 2010 – 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. *3

The GMT had me terribly confused.

[FREDTHETARU]

no, unless you work for SE or the info is officially announced by SE

i think u have this thread mistaken for this one: http://www.bluegartr.com/forum/showthread.php?t=92160

[SilverBreeze]

Am I allowed to post info & pics from alpha here? :0

At the moment, you can't. Because of the NDA you can't really use this thread or make a new thread for Alpha pictures/videos/information or whatnot. It would be great if we could have a separate thread for that kind of information but right now we can't. I know a lot of you guys are kinda frustrated with how cluttered the forums are at the moment but you have to realize there's rules we have to abide with as well.

Right now it's best to just keep everything in the speculation thread.

[FREDTHETARU]

Whats the purpose for this thread then?
Announcements like when the next alpha test is, isnt really an official announcement, its an announcement just to testers, so posting that information is also in violation of the NDA?

But, either way, the time in the title of the thread is wrong ;P test is tomorrow, tuesday april 20th
and not from 1 - 5 ;P

[Ksandra]

Whats the purpose for this thread then?
Announcements like when the next alpha test is, isnt really an official announcement, its an announcement just to testers, so posting that information is also in violation of the NDA?

But, either way, the time in the title of the thread is wrong ;P test is tomorrow, tuesday april 20th
and not from 1 - 5 ;P

mostly because as I sated in the op, too many people were asking when the next alpha was. I don't think SE will get upset with us mentioning it, since it gives no game info. Mostly trying to organize as best we can.

edit: also only going to post the NA times: P

[Cairthenn]

Character Deletion Redux:

During the alpha test that occurred on Apr. 15, 2010 at 10:00 (GMT), due to characters logging in with corrupted data, there were several server issues and many had trouble connecting to the alpha test. Therefore, we regret to report that in order to resolve this issue, a number of characters with corrupted data have been deleted.

If you find that a character was deleted, we humbly request that you please create a new character.

We apologize to all testers for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your understanding in this matter.

[Khamsin]

edit: also only going to post the NA times: P

I might recommend using NA time zones, too, then. Can we have PDT in the title, instead?

[SephYuyX]

EST onry.

[Satyr]

so to be clear the NA test is April 20th 6-10pm PDT correct?

[Khamsin]

so to be clear the NA test is April 20th 6-10pm PDT correct?

Yes.

[Kachi]

At the moment, you can't. Because of the NDA you can't really use this thread or make a new thread for Alpha pictures/videos/information or whatnot. It would be great if we could have a separate thread for that kind of information but right now we can't. I know a lot of you guys are kinda frustrated with how cluttered the forums are at the moment but you have to realize there's rules we have to abide with as well.

Right now it's best to just keep everything in the speculation thread.

I read something recently on the subject, but not sure if it applies to the NDA rules (not sure if it was a California state law or federal law, either) but basically it was a law that said that a website that allows submissions from the public cannot be held legally accountable for what content a user posts, and that any legal action taken must be against the users themselves.

Not to say that you shouldn't be complicit with SE's requests or anything, but I'm under the impression that you don't really have to. Though they could then probably get a court order for the IPs of the users in question if they wanted to seek restitution. Somehow I doubt they'd go that far, but ah well.

Just thought it was interesting and semi-relevant. If you have a lawyer friend maybe they could confirm and you'd have a handy retort to any C&Ds that happen to find their way to you, should you ever so choose.

[Ksandra]

I might recommend using NA time zones, too, then. Can we have PDT in the title, instead?

you people.

I read something recently on the subject, but not sure if it applies to the NDA rules (not sure if it was a California state law or federal law, either) but basically it was a law that said that a website that allows submissions from the public cannot be held legally accountable for what content a user posts, and that any legal action taken must be against the users themselves.

Not to say that you shouldn't be complicit with SE's requests or anything, but I'm under the impression that you don't really have to. Though they could then probably get a court order for the IPs of the users in question if they wanted to seek restitution. Somehow I doubt they'd go that far, but ah well.

Just thought it was interesting and semi-relevant. If you have a lawyer friend maybe they could confirm and you'd have a handy retort to any C&Ds that happen to find their way to you, should you ever so choose.

It's still doesn't matter because while it may not have any legal ramifications we do have some gaming company sponsors that we'd rather not lose over it.

[Razdom]

I'm not even sure where to post this because of the 3 confusing new threads but is there any news on how the JP alpha's going after the first hour?