As we near the end of our third Closed Beta, many players wonder how we will progress into Open Beta and then beyond into Official. To clear up some misconceptions and get everyone on the same page, please not only read the below but pass this information around, especially in-game.
1. For the last couple of days, there have been a number of leveling events and drop parties. As of now, the leveling event is over and no other players will be leveled up. Those who were leveled should have been given enough experience to reach level 190, if and only if they replied correctly to the sign up thread. No one else will be leveled for the rest of Closed Beta or ever again for that matter in Turf Battles. Drop parties may continue to the end of Closed Beta 3 but will not continue into Open Beta.
2. Closed Beta 3 will be wiped at the end of the week or shortly thereafter, however this will also be the last time Turf Battles is wiped. If some sort of game-stopping glitch is discovered in OB or Official expect a roll-back or if serious enough, indefinite downtime.
3. Game Managers or Product Managers will not be running the majority of events during OB or Official, instead the Game Sages will be doing the bulk of events, including “Newbie Training” type events, drop parties for minor prizes or other fun events. We may gain prizes from the GMs to pass out to the players, but we will be doing the bulk of any new events.
4. New Game Sages will be selected on a “required” basis, with spots opening as the game grows or if a GS drops off. However, you must apply properly at the first of the month when an opening is announced, as all GS selections are done. Most GS that apply will be told by the end of the month whether they have been selected by an email sent to the email attached to your Aeria Games account. Game Sages can be from any country, however you must be able to speak English with a certain degree of mastery.
5. Suggestions for content updates to make the game more like the previous Turf Battles and fix problems are are already on the desktop of the developers. We are waiting for additional information and final judgment from them to announce what they will be. Once we know what has been solidified as a definite upcoming update, we will be sure to let the players know. The only reason we do not tell everyone what we have already suggested to the developers is to prevent high expectations for content that may not ever be approved or may take a long time to implement. However, we have taken what have been some of the primary concerns of the players to the developers, so the changes that are coming are ones the players can approve of.
6. Additional content has been scheduled to be added to Turf Battles that already exists in the Korean version, also known as Sephiroth after we have reached Official, so new content should be expected to continue being added for months to come. This will be in addition to any updates we suggest to the developers that players want to slowly bring back some of the positive aspects of the older version. But we should not expect to get everything back, at least not for a very long time if at all.
7. Once Open Beta begins, shortly after the wipe of Closed Beta (within a month), please do not expect any changes to the game. No major patches or updates will be added in the interim between CB3 and OB. During Open Beta, we can probably expect to see some updates, but only after they are tested on the Test Server. When Open Beta changes to Official, there will be NO wipe and players can expect no major changes between OB and Official besides the announcement of Official.
8. The Item Mall can be expected at the end of Open Beta or once Official starts and items will be able to be purchased off the Aeria Games Turf Battles website and transferred to your character’s inventory. Make sure you have room in your inventory and that you are not online when you buy the items.
9. Any additional bugs should continue to be posted either on the forums (or if the issue is of immediate importance or of a serious nature, by using Contact Us on the Aeria Games website). Game Sages can also be contacted in-game in you wish to report a bug quickly, or want to show how a problem is being abused.
10. Stability issues and actual problems in the game take a higher priority to content updates and game-play so things like Lag, Disconnects, Bugs, Glitches and other abuses are much more important to take care of. This is why so much time has been spent on lag and why Closed Beta 3 has continue so long into January.