BF2S Forums [ET:QW] Beta First Details

http://community.enemyterritory.com/index.php?q=node/75 wrote:

badman's Beta Blog: PunkBuster and the Recent Client Update
Submitted by badman on Fri, 2007-07-06 16:25.

We rolled out the Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars Public Beta Client Update a few days ago and the gameplay feedback has so far been very positive. The response to the prediction improvements in particular has been really good and the server browser fixes are something that I’m sure a fair few of you appreciate. Our in-game updating tool also worked without a hitch and all our testers were able to download the client update from within the game.

Bots have also started to appear on a few servers, and the folks at i3d are actually working on putting up several servers with 16 bots, so you guys will be able to really test them out.

Before we dive into PunkBuster, I have some good news for clans looking for servers to use for matches and practice. Several of our GSP partners are beginning to put up servers for the beta that you can book at no cost. MyInternetServices in North America and i3d.net in Europe are the first of our partners to put this in place and several others will follow shortly – keep an eye on the Community Site for the latest on this.

Now, it seems that our newly activated PunkBuster integration is causing quite a few problems here and there, with people getting kicked for version mismatches and the like. Let me take a moment to get a few tips and workarounds out there in case your PunkBuster installation doesn’t quite behave the way it’s supposed to.

The main issue that we’re seeing here is that PunkBuster isn’t updating itself correctly while you are playing on a server. Generally, if you play on a server running a newer version of PunkBuster, your local PB will authenticate with the PunkBuster master server and then download the updated PunkBuster files from the server you’re playing on. If your computer can’t reach the PunkBuster master server for whatever reason, PunkBuster won’t update and you are kicked from the server.

Sometimes firewall software, such as Norton Internet Security or Windows Firewall, can block outgoing PB packets and thus prevent your computer from talking with the master server. If you do have a software solution like that running in the background and are having this particular problem with PunkBuster, try either adding the PunkBuster services to the list of allowed programs or disabling the software temporarily, and see if PunkBuster updates itself. More information on the PunkBuster services can be found in this handy FAQ.

If that doesn’t work, you can update your local PunkBuster installation manually by doing the following. Please note that this is a workaround and not an official fix:

   1. Grab pbsetup from the Even Balance website and run it.
   2. Add Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars and let pbsetup choose the game path automatically.
   3. Add Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars again and this time provide the following path (please note that this will only work with English versions of Windows XP; you will need to adjust the folder names appropriately for localized versions of Windows:

      \Documents and Settings\YourUsername\Local Settings\Application Data\Enemy Territory Quake Wars Public Beta\
   4. Click “Check for Updates” and let it update both locations.

The guys behind PunkBuster, Even Balance, are currently working on a new revision of pbsetup that automatically finds the Documents and Settings instance of the ETQW pb folder, but for now you’ll have to add this manually.

If you have updated PunkBuster to the latest version and attempt to play on a server not running the latest PunkBuster, you will also be kicked for a version mismatch, as PunkBuster can’t downgrade itself. The PunkBuster version is displayed in the console right after you connect to the server. To see your local PunkBuster version, simply pull down the console (ctrl + alt + ~) and type “pb_Ver” (without the quotes). At this point all of our servers are running the very latest PunkBuster binaries – the current version number at the time of writing is 1.304, but this will obviously change as more PunkBuster updates are rolled out.

We’re also aware of PunkBuster crashing the game in the 64bit version of Windows XP, and a fix is forthcoming for that.

We continue to work closely with Even Balance to resolve all of these and any other issues with PunkBuster, so if you do run into issues not documented here, please let us know on the forums.

Lastly, as announced in the recent developer chat on IRC, we are currently planning to release a major revision of the Public Beta called Beta 2, which includes a brand-new map. I’ll have more on Beta 2 in a future blog update, so keep checking back for that.

Kmarion wrote:

I got it now. If you picked the wrong components like me (I accidentally put less than 512 Ram) clear you cookies and do it again. You must clear your cookies.

badman's Beta Blog: Small Client Update Coming!
Submitted by badman on Sat, 2007-06-30 10:52.

As noted in yesterday’s blog, we’ve been closely monitoring the Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars Public Beta feedback and we intend to update the beta client. Since ETQW is a work in progress, whenever we want to release a new version of the beta client or something to show to press, we have to create a “fixed” build of the game for that purpose. Builds are essentially treated like a proper game release. Everything is locked down and additional changes or additions cannot be made. In the case of something like the ETQW Public Beta client, a new build is produced every single day here at Splash Damage, and those that we think will make a good release candidate go on to id and Activision for more feedback and testing. The testing process is quite extensive to ensure that the build is as stable and bug-free as it can be.

The Public Beta client build was made several weeks ago and since then, there have been over 1000 changes made to the game in source code and art assets, with significant improvements to game mechanics, maps, user interface, hit prediction and detection, and audio, just to name a few areas. Some of these aren’t quite ready for prime time yet, but we’re hoping to bring you a major update later in the Public Beta process.

In the meantime, we’re getting ready to roll out a smaller update to test a feature of Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars that we haven’t really talked about much: the in-game auto updater. When the update is released, you will be able to simply start up the game and it will automatically query the update server and grab the necessary files. This update is scheduled to go out next week and there’ll be an announcement on this site as soon as it hits the tubes of the internet, so keep an eye out for that.

Let’s go over what we have planned for this update, shall we?
Bots, Bots, Bots

The most significant addition is that the bots are now activated. Server administrators will be able to populate their servers with computer-controlled bots to fill up empty player slots. id Software’s John “Maleficus” Dean has been working on these for quite some time and we’re very excited to be able to roll them out now for our beta testers to see them in action. There’s actually a great interview with John on IGN talking in-depth about the bots, so check that out if you want to learn more about them.
Improved Prediction

One of the most talked about items on the beta forums is that aiming is quite difficult at times due to the way player and latency prediction are handled in this particular revision of the beta. You’re seeing this because our antilag features haven’t been added to the public beta yet, but our latency wonder twins Tristan “FeaRog” Williams and Gordon “digibob” Biggans have been working tirelessly on them in recent weeks and several improvements are forthcoming there. The first is going into this update and you should find it a bit easier to hit targets now. We continue to toil away on antilag and we’ll have a bit more information on what’s going on here in a future blog update.
Server Browser Fixes

We’ve got two pretty significant server browser fixes in this update, courtesy of our resident user interface commando Jared “jRAD” Hefty. The first fixes the pesky “Server is full.” bug that sometimes occurs when multiple server instances are run on the same box. Essentially, the information sent back from the server would sometimes get confused about which instance was being queried and send the wrong information back to the browser.

The second fix concerns our all-seeing ETQW master server, which happily dropped full servers off the list sent back to the in-game browser. These servers would reappear once they were no longer full, but only if the New List button was being pressed. With this fix, they won’t disappear in the first place, so you will always have the full server roster available for client-side filtering.
Server Memory Leaks

We’ve plugged a number of memory leaks in the server code, much to the delight of our GSP partners. You should see improved server performance now and we will continue to optimize the ETQW server code in order to make this thing as stable and efficient as possible.

As I said above, the game has undergone some pretty major changes since the Public Beta client was created and we’re hoping to get some of those out to you over the course of the Public Beta. We’re also going to discuss a few of them in future dev blog installments to give you an idea of what we’ve been working on here at Splash Damage.

That’s it for this installment of badman’s beta blog. I’ll see you guys on the servers!

http://community.enemyterritory.com wrote:

ETQW Public Beta Distribution Details and Start Date!
Submitted by badman on Mon, 2007-06-18 22:36.

With the Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars Public Beta approaching, we have a few more bits of information about how the whole thing is organized, how you will be able to get your key, and, most importantly, when key distribution will actually start.

First off, I know there's some concern that most of the 60,000 Public Beta slots will go to FilePlanet subscribers - this is not the case. In fact, the keys are split right down the middle, with half going to subscribers and the other half to people with free FilePlanet accounts.

Now, the ETQW Public Beta client will not work without a valid beta key. With that in mind, your next question is undoubtedly "How the *bleep* do I get a key?" Aside from the fact that this is a family-friendly blog and I won't have that kind of language around here, it's pretty straightforward: There will be a special Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars Public Beta mini-site going up on FilePlanet that will be available throughout the key distribution phase. When you log into this site with your FilePlanet account and keys are available at that time, you'll get your key along with a download link for the beta client.

Let's move on to the actual distribution phase of the beta. As you're reading this, the beta is being released to a very limited number of select FilePlanet subscribers - we're calling this the sneak peek phase. Essentially, we're using this to test the delivery process and to see if there are any last minute showstopper issues. If you are a FilePlanet subscriber, you may get the chance to partake in this.

If the sneak peek goes well and no catastrophic issues crop up, we will move on to the actual key distribution phase. This is going to last several days and on each day we will make available a number of beta slots through the aforementioned ETQW sub-site on FilePlanet. During the first three days of this process, keys will be available to FilePlanet subscribers only. This will be followed by two days of keys for anyone with a free FilePlanet account.

The best part, and I've been waiting five paragraphs to say this, is that Day 1 of key distribution is currently scheduled for the middle of this week. That's right, the first batch of keys for the Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars Public Beta will go out in just a few days! FilePlanet's ETQW sub-site will be going up that same day.

Now why are we spreading these out over several days instead of throwing all 60,000 keys out at once? Simple: We want to make sure that as many people as possible get the chance to obtain a key and we feel that scheduling a predetermined number of keys to go out each day is the best way to do this. We're also going to be gradually ramping up the number of available keys with each passing day, so as time goes on, more keys are passed out per day. This allows us to steadily increase the load on our back-end infrastructure, making sure we can effectively test that.

Of course, a multiplayer beta is useless if there are no servers to play on. Towards that end, we've been working closely with a select number of Game Server Providers to get servers for the Public Beta up in North America, Europe, and Australia. We will continue to work with GSPs around the world to make sure Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars servers can be found in every major territory when the game ships.

One last thing: We will definitely keep you updated throughout the various phases of the Public Beta roll-out, so be sure to check the site regularly to find out the latest. If you have an RSS reader, you can grab our feed right here to stay up to date on all things ETQW.

http://community.enemyterritory.com wrote:

Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars Public Beta First Details
Submitted by badman on Sat, 2007-06-16 19:15.

At long last, we are delighted to confirm the impending Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars Public Beta. The ETQW Closed Beta has been going extremely well and yielding excellent results. We want to give more people the opportunity to give us feedback on the game so we’re going to open a Public Beta with 60,000 slots available. This way we’ll be able to test many more combinations of hardware, RAM, CPU, graphics card, drivers etc. than we’ve been able to ourselves, and also get a better idea of how the game plays for the general gaming public.

The Public Beta build will consist of a single map named “Sewer”, which is part of ETQW’s Pacific Campaign. Set in Japan, the map revolves around a Strogg base hidden in, well, a sewer. It’s an interesting mix of outdoor and indoor, vehicle and infantry combat, deployables and counter-deployables and good old-fashioned FPS combat.

If you’d like to help us finish ETQW, we’d really appreciate your participation. If you want to just play a game for free you may find it a frustrating experience. This Public Beta is not the Demo - it’s not the finished game, but an opportunity to get feedback from a large group of people while testing stability and performance on a wider range of hardware combinations. The Public Beta will also collect some information on your hardware configuration, so you shouldn’t apply unless you’re comfortable with that.

When the Public Beta opens, participants will be sent their unique license code that is required for play. As we don’t have the infrastructure necessary to download tens of thousands of clients, we’ve asked FilePlanet to help us distribute these license codes along with the beta clients.

A fixed number of beta slots are being set aside for Fileplanet subscribers, so if you already have a FilePlanet subscription, you’re in the front of the queue. The rest of the slots will then go to those with free FilePlanet accounts. To be clear: You don’t have to pay anyone anything to participate in the ETQW Public Beta. It’s up to you if you want to pay FilePlanet for use of the improved download services they provide.

We will reveal more details on the Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars Public Beta, including the official start date, in the near future. Hope to see you all online very soon!

Last edited by Xblade-3o5- (2007-07-06 17:38:48)