Avian Gamers Network :: View topic - To delete Beta or not to delete beta, that is the question

WoW Retail install

Straud13 asked if anyone knew if we will have to reinstall using the retail version, or if opening the current install we have will download the updates and be good to go?

I thought to put a lot of people's minds at ease I would share some info from an email I received, :

Blizzard via email wrote:

The version of the Beta you have installed on your machine will actually be more current than the retail version, so a patch will not be necessary. Once the retail servers are live, you can input your key, create an account and begin playing.

I'm sure that makes a lot of people happy to know they won't be wasting time on the first day downloading a patch.

That is really freaky. Guess they put them onto disks early? Good that you can use the beta client but I thought usually these games were caught up patch wise by the time the are launched.

Hmm yeh, I always figured they would have the designs and whatever ready to go on the disks and then hold off to printing them until the last second they could. That way they make sure the most stable/ready product is on the disk right away though I guess that isn't the case.

Author:	Cyrus Rex [ Sat Nov 20, 2004 1:00 am ]
Post subject:	To delete Beta or not to delete beta, that is the question
The Warlocks Den wrote: WoW Retail install Straud13 asked if anyone knew if we will have to reinstall using the retail version, or if opening the current install we have will download the updates and be good to go? I thought to put a lot of people's minds at ease I would share some info from an email I received, : Blizzard via email wrote: The version of the Beta you have installed on your machine will actually be more current than the retail version, so a patch will not be necessary. Once the retail servers are live, you can input your key, create an account and begin playing. I'm sure that makes a lot of people happy to know they won't be wasting time on the first day downloading a patch.

Author:	WarRedd [ Sat Nov 20, 2004 1:24 am ]
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That is really freaky. Guess they put them onto disks early? Good that you can use the beta client but I thought usually these games were caught up patch wise by the time the are launched.

Author:	Cyrus Rex [ Sat Nov 20, 2004 2:02 am ]
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I do not know the disk printing industry. How long does it take to print disks and have them on store shelves? It has got to take more that 7 days. Beta ended a week before release, and the last patch we got was the day beta closed… It seems like the version we downloaded would be more up to date than any disks printed and shipped for release. To me with GameSpot, and EB having such a shitty JtL release, it seems like JtL might not have gotten their disks printed in time, why else would so many stores be all screwed up on release day. If I saw my competition make mistakes, I would do what I could so as not to repeat those mistakes. Odds are these printing dates were scheduled way in advance, so I am not so sure that it was strategy more than it was just normal planning. From my experience, you normally want to delete beta files so that you can have a clean install. I was just about to delete my beta today for that very reason. Luckily I got distracted and never got around to doing it. With 500k joining beta in one day, I rather press my luck with the old beta files than hoping for enough bandwidth to DL a big patch. I have a strong feeling that all the account starting, patching, and other support servers will be taking a pounding on release day.

Author:	Master Edward [ Sat Nov 20, 2004 5:01 am ]
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WarRedd wrote: That is really freaky. Guess they put them onto disks early? Good that you can use the beta client but I thought usually these games were caught up patch wise by the time the are launched. You have to submit ot he gold candidate kinda early, often for review by the publisher, the gold master goes out to the presses, you get the first few disks back from the presses to test them. All this takes several weeks, so it is not not much of a surprise that the last Beta client is more current than the CD version. Often there are some last minute changes on the server infrastructure that make it necessary to download a new version anyway.... Edward

Author:	Cetera [ Sat Nov 20, 2004 1:58 pm ]
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As Master Edward said, it does take quite a bit of time. It also depends on how many discs you need to print. I believe (I could be wrong) that when it is announced that a game has "gone gold" that all the prior authorizing and review of the printed test gold discs has been done. It usually takes about 2 weeks for the final masters to be mass produced, including burning of the discs, then the silk screening of the discs (may happen in the reverse order there) and then the packaging, boxing, and shipping.

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Author:	tobiasds [ Sat Nov 20, 2004 2:30 pm ]
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This would have been nice to know before I deleted the client. I might still have the actual download so I can reload it prior to launch day and then just patch it when I get my cd key.

Author:	Golga Bolg [ Sat Nov 20, 2004 3:00 pm ]
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I suppose now I'll keep it and see if it works first. Then reinstall if need be.

Author:	WarRedd [ Sun Nov 21, 2004 6:58 pm ]
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Hmm yeh, I always figured they would have the designs and whatever ready to go on the disks and then hold off to printing them until the last second they could. That way they make sure the most stable/ready product is on the disk right away though I guess that isn't the case.

Author:	Flyoc [ Mon Nov 22, 2004 1:33 am ]
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WTF ! /me starts downloading the beta again

Author:	Master Edward [ Mon Nov 22, 2004 5:48 am ]
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WarRedd wrote: Hmm yeh, I always figured they would have the designs and whatever ready to go on the disks and then hold off to printing them until the last second they could. That way they make sure the most stable/ready product is on the disk right away though I guess that isn't the case. With MMOGs it's practically a given that you have to download a huge patch on opening day, so why waste time setting up procedures to minimize that? Edward

Author:	TheMole [ Thu Dec 02, 2004 8:59 pm ]
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Was anyone able to play WoW without installing the retail version? I am using a game pass with my Open Beta client and whenever I launch WoW.exe it just displays a black screen and then minimizes. Nothing happens. EDIT: Nevermind, I rebooted my computer and the problem fixed itself. Downloading the update now! See you all in game tonight!

Author:	WarRedd [ Fri Dec 03, 2004 2:15 am ]
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Yeh I used my beta client and didn't even take the disks out of the packets. Only all my characters are standing in their shorts each time I join a server which could be a side effect? Everything runs perfectly though.

Author:	Cyrus Rex [ Fri Dec 03, 2004 2:18 am ]
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WoW runs perfectley from beta. No CD install required. I did it that way with 2 PCs so far. The naked characters are due to something related to the server downtime a week ago. The Devs said it will be fixed ASAP (few weeks)

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