Vanguard: Saga of Heroes Goes to Open Beta!

For those of you who have been anxiously awaiting the release of the MMORPG, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, your wait is very quickly coming to an end. As of January 5th 2006, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes is in Open Beta. Gamers that have FilePlanet accounts can download the Beta Client and start playing and testing. Gamers can also go to Best Buy, GameSpot and a few other gaming stores to purchase the pre-order box which also allows access to Open Beta (as well as the ability to enter the game 3 days earlier than anyone else who buys the game when it goes "gold").

Open Beta is a phase that Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) go through before being released to the public as a whole. Sigil Games Online, the company producing Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, will be using this Open Beta phase to finish whipping the game into shape. Players are asked to play Vanguard: Saga of Heroes and then report any bugs or technical problems they might experience so they can be fixed by the programmers. There are also several Stress Tests carried out in an Open Beta, these tests basically check to see how many people a server can handle before it starts to have problems. Open Beta is the phase where consumers get to help make a game better before it is boxed up and put on store shelves.

Being a part of an Open Beta is very exciting for most but can also be very stressful for others. Beta Testers must keep in mind that Open Beta is still part of the testing phase of the lifecycle of the game. They must expect that they will find bugs and have technical problems staying connected. I have met many Beta Testers that lose sight of the "testing" aspect of an Open Beta. They become so excited about playing a game they have been anticipating that they grow discouraged whenever faced with a problem within the game. As long as Beta Testers remember why they were allowed to enter the Open Beta phase, everything will go much more smoothly and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes will be much the better for it.

Another fun aspect of the Open Beta phase is the lifting of the NDA or the Non-Disclosure Agreement. The NDA is an agreement that Beta Testers sign that says they will not tell anyone anything about the game they are testing; not even that they are in the Beta. Lifting of the NDA allows for a flood of new information about the game in testing. With Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, we are already starting to see numerous articles pop up all over the internet with thoughts, opinions and facts about the game. This is also a time, however, when you may start to see many negative opinions on a game. Again, keep in mind that Vanguard: Saga of Heroes is still in the Beta process and that most, if not all, complaints will be resolved long before it goes to production.
If you or someone you know is interested in getting into the Open Beta of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, visit the official site for more information.