Open beta will start once ShieldBattery is stable and ready for the public. An exact ETA for this is unfortunately impossible to give, but expect to receive regular updates from us as we make progress. Make sure to follow our Twitter account to keep up with the latest news and changes.

from the FAQ, linked in OP

RoomOfMush

1296 Posts

September 23 2016 18:08 GMT

#1762

What exactly would be the downside of opening up the beta? Are the SB servers not strong enough for too many people at once?

I can understand closed betas for commercial products where they dont want public joe to see an unfinished product and be turned off, but I dont think that would be a big problem in this community.

SCC-Faust

United States3736 Posts

September 23 2016 18:58 GMT

#1763

On September 24 2016 03:08 RoomOfMush wrote:
What exactly would be the downside of opening up the beta? Are the SB servers not strong enough for too many people at once?

I can understand closed betas for commercial products where they dont want public joe to see an unfinished product and be turned off, but I dont think that would be a big problem in this community.

I imagine they can't handle more idiots like me on the server. They need to recruit mods to handle the retarded BM east shitheads. But I must admit I'm trying my best to behave. OH BEHAVE.

(Picture of Austin Powers)

tofucake

Hyrule19159 Posts

September 23 2016 19:14 GMT

#1764

It's being done in groups because it's easier to manage bug fixes and feature deployments that way

FiWiFaKi

Canada9859 Posts

September 23 2016 20:13 GMT

#1765

The one thing I'm worried about once open beta comes around is people spoofing.

It's really nice having people respect their ID's since they more or less only have one account.

Hot_Bid

Braavos36382 Posts

September 23 2016 21:48 GMT

#1766

until there's matchmaking smurfing isnt an issue, and once there is im sure they can do some sort of algorithm that advances smurfs faster

reality is theres no real way to completely eliminate smurfing

FiWiFaKi

Canada9859 Posts

September 23 2016 21:57 GMT

#1767

On September 24 2016 06:48 Hot_Bid wrote:
until there's matchmaking smurfing isnt an issue, and once there is im sure they can do some sort of algorithm that advances smurfs faster

reality is theres no real way to completely eliminate smurfing

Oh, I don't care for smurfing for playing game purposes.

I just mean that if all the time you're on your one ID because you don't have another one, you'll respect it to not build a bad reputation, act like an asshole, etc. That and it's easier to know who is who.

Excalibur_Z

United States12240 Posts

September 23 2016 22:24 GMT

#1768

On the design side, we don't have any specific methods in place to differentiate a smurf from a new player (they will both move through the ranks at the same speed). I can't speak to the technical side, but that's probably where any adjustments would be made if smurfing is deemed to be a problem.

FiWiFaKi

Canada9859 Posts

September 29 2016 00:17 GMT

#1769

Come online doods, let's play some games.

Don't hurt esports.

lestye

United States4186 Posts

September 29 2016 05:27 GMT

#1770

How is development going? I hope smoothly? Not sure what kind of technical stuff goes into these platforms.

Psyonic_Reaver

United States4337 Posts

October 01 2016 05:24 GMT

#1771

It's going smooth like shea butter.

fonger

United Kingdom1218 Posts

October 01 2016 15:43 GMT

#1772

Chrome extension that'll beep every time there's a chat message in the main lobby and the tab is not active:

Extension: sbbeep2.crx
Source: sbbeep2.user.js
Manifest: manifest.json

In Chrome, go Settings -> Extensions and drag the CRX in to install.

This is just a workaround I've found convenient; works on my machine for now but wouldn't be surprised if it stops working at some stage (such as with an update, which if we're lucky might include this functionality natively anyway? :D).

Golgotha

Korea (South)8418 Posts

October 01 2016 16:38 GMT

#1773

On October 02 2016 00:43 fonger wrote:
Chrome extension that'll beep every time there's a chat message in the main lobby and the tab is not active:

Extension: sbbeep2.crx
Source: sbbeep2.user.js
Manifest: manifest.json

In Chrome, go Settings -> Extensions and drag the CRX in to install.

This is just a workaround I've found convenient; works on my machine for now but wouldn't be surprised if it stops working at some stage (such as with an update, which if we're lucky might include this functionality natively anyway? :D).

Thank you fonger

FiWiFaKi

Canada9859 Posts

October 03 2016 00:31 GMT

#1774

Just some info for tec27, and new players in general with regards to replay saving, particularly if you're running Windows 10, and don't have any iccup games on your computer before playing SB.

I saved my starcraft folder in program files (x86), but for whatever reason, the last replay would never save in lastreplay.rep. Windows 10 has a security feature that prevents even the administrator from saving files into the Program Files (x86) directory. So after playing a game, lastreplay.rep would now show up in the starcraft > maps > replay folder, which means you have no way to rename it and save it yourself.

Now I believe that if you already have a LastReplay.rep file saved there already from using iccup with one of the launches like the mca64, then I believe that you might be able to overwrite that file with another LastReplay.rep, since you're not exactly writing a new file, just modifying contests of an existing one. For whatever reason, the mca64launcher has some permissions that allow it to write in that folder, so if you played with an anti-hack launcher on iccup you'll be okay.

I struggled with this for a long time, but what you can do instead, is save your starcraft folder somewhere else, like desktop or documents, and the lastreplay will save, and then you can rename it, open it up in bwcharts to analyze, or open it up in starcraft.exe.

SCC-Faust

United States3736 Posts

October 03 2016 03:46 GMT

#1775

Matchmaking when?

[image loading]

FiWiFaKi

Canada9859 Posts

October 03 2016 04:40 GMT

#1776

I wanted someone who'd give me a challenge, don't take it harshly man <3

tec27

United States3702 Posts

October 03 2016 04:42 GMT

#1777

Just posted the latest update, here's the notes:

Replay auto-saving. No more manually renaming LastReplay.rep after every game! Oh the
technology! Replays will be saved to My Documents\Starcraft\maps\replays\ (on-site replay browsing
and watching coming soon).
Chat typing ez-mode. Press any normal key on chat screens and you'll be helpfully redirected
to the chat input. Type over there! Type over here! Just don't type with beer! (Or do; I'm a
changelog writer, not a cop.)
See the lobby list when already in a lobby. Last update's change around this was easily the
most unpopular one in the entire history of ShieldBattery so... I'm sorry, I'm so very sorry.
Some tiny visual things you probably won't notice. Loading indicator positioning is better,
dialogs without actions no longer have bottom scroll dividers (like this one!). Just trust us, stuff
looks better.
More maps. Primeval Isles, Neo Harmony, New Sniper Ridge, and Polaris Rhapsody are now in the
available pool.