Found this article on Gamespot. Anyone here make it?


There's a list of about 60 names, i'll put em up for ya. If people complain, i'll edit it out or mods can.

Brent Akins
David Ault
Dimitri Ayvazian
Peter Bian
Jason Bickerstaff
Kelly Borys
Terry Bowen
Steve Buchi
Nickolas Burger
Dennis Carpenter
Boomer Carter
Jason Cope
Marla Copeland
Michael Craft
Will Culbertson
David Daniel
Mark Davoli
David Della Bitta
Doni Farkovits
Marco Gandolfo
Trent Gronholz
Rob Groskreutz
John Hamilton
Mike Hanson
Scott Hathaway
George Hermey
Chad Hoelzer
Brett Jones
Brian Kent
Christian Keur
David Krause
Stuart Kuhn
Wess Lovell
Richard Maher
Tim Marconi
Jeremy Matthews
Shea Mcfarland
Cory McPherson
Jonathan Meaneyq
Jim Otto
Nicholas Riggs
Michael Santo
Robert Schinbeckler
Michael Schloss
Ray Schreckengost
John Schwarting
Alex Shinpoch
Jason Skewes
Craig Stalbaum
Chad Staup
Justin Stewart
Josh Wallace
Chuck Warner
Chris Warner
Keith Welch
Isaac Westfield
Joe Wiederman
Brett Wiese
Jamie Winsor
Selvin Wright

So what is this game that getting into the beta is supposed to be some sort of prize?

You haven't heard of City of Heros?

Bah, didn't even know they were doing a beta giveaway. I've been watching mmorpg.com's contest.
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ooh John Hamilton. If I didnt know better, thats my friends uncle I think. Same last name, so not sure. Ill ask him.

damn! my names not on there.

Neither is mine Kroe...but read my blog.

So what's the deal with the pre-sale thing?
Fry's has a bunch of the boxes for this and Lineage II out, and I thought they both said priority entry to the beta. When do they kick in?

www.coh.com/pre-order.html

Quote:CoH Pre-Order Box
City of Heroes Pre-Order Boxes are now available for online ordering at Electronics Boutique, GameStop, Best Buy, and CompUSA! Want to pick up your copy in a store? The boxes will be on shelves at most of these fine outlets in the next few weeks.
There's cool stuff waiting for you – and you'll only find it in the City of Heroes Pre-Order Box. Check out what we've included !

Exciting cinematic trailer
Game screenshots
Electronic version of the City of Heroes Comic Book
Exclusive concept art
Paragon City map
Beta testing invitation (the only guaranteed way to join the beta test is through our registration process in the pre-order box)
Unique Prestige Character Power
Bonus pre-order items available only from CompUSA or Gamefixx.com.

Bawls ™ Energy Drink
Cool 3D City of Heroes/Lineage II Cup
$10 Gift Card
The included Prestige Power enhances your character's appearance and visibility with a very cool effect— so you can let your hero stand out from the crowd! The Prestige Powers you receive will depend on the individual retailer and are available for all characters on your final activated City of Heroes game account. They are inherent powers, meaning you will not have to choose them during the character creation process.


The beta they're talking about now is closed beta opened only to those who signed up on their message boards from a long time ago, and maybe promotions ran by affiliates or marketing partners.

According to CoH's site pertaining to beta testing:

Quote:Within the next couple of weeks, the first batch of Public Beta invites will go out to community members who previously registered on the City of Heroes Forums. These invitations are based on a number of factors, beginning with original signup date. A chunk of those first registered for the forums will be plucked from our database, checked for recent activity, and then invited randomly in groups of 100. The process will start slowly and ramp up, but eventually, everyone registered on the City of Heroes forums prior to November 1st 2003 will be considered. While we appreciate and welcome interest in the City of Heroes community and are happy to see new members on our forums, it is important to note that signing up for the forums at this point will have no effect on being chosen for beta testing.

It's my understanding that GameSpot's list of beta testers is different than the ones Cryptic Studios picked. The ones on the list above are GameSpot fans picked by them for their own promotional purposes. Cryptic picked their own crop of beta testers based on the message board sign up list. So in other words, even if your name isn't listed above, you could still be selected for beta assuming you signed up on CoH boards a while ago.

So Kroe, I'd say check your email. Edited by: Nyssa Rainwhisper at: 3/8/04 10:37 am

Nyssa's right, the list I posted are just the winners of Gamespot's contest. But if you had signed up on the boards or at contests at other sites, you still have a chance to get in.

Oh, and Nyssa, that pre-order box sounds sick. That's a lot of stuff to give out for a pre-order. Is it $10 to pre-order?

Hmm, not to my knowledge, Thwick. Pre-order to my knowledge is $49.99 and given the price, I assume that once the full version is released, you get it at no additional charge. To my understanding, pre-ordering is essentially buying the game in advance (prior) to release, and as a reward for pre-ordering, you're guaranteed a spot in the final stages of beta testing (I would guess for the purposes of stress testing their servers) plus all the other goodies listed, and many places such as Best Buy is offering free shipping on the pre-order.

I believe EBGames has the release date listed as 4/27/04.

Here's something I just noticed:

If you buy your game from Gamefixx.com/CompUSA, you get the additional bonuses, and a $10.00 gift card, BUT, it also costs $10 more to pre-order from them. LOL So I guess it boils down to, is it worth $10 more for the special effect around your character's body that pretty much only says, "hey, look at me! I paid $10 more for my game!" Edited by: Nyssa Rainwhisper at: 3/8/04 12:52 pm

Quote:LOL So I guess it boils down to, is it worth $10 more for the special effect around your character's body that pretty much only says, "hey, look at me! I paid $10 more for my game!"

All of the pre-orders come with the special effect. There are various effects. Which retailer you choose to pre-order from determines which effect you get. (Pics)

Quote:To my understanding, pre-ordering is essentially buying the game in advance (prior) to release,

It depends on the retailer. At Best Buy, you can just buy the disc if you want. Edited by: Cantatus at: 3/8/04 7:05 pm

Ah ok, Cantatus. Thanks for clearing that up for me. Still though, unless I'm missing something else, it seems ordering from CompUSA is kind of a rip off. They give you $10 but it also costs $10 more. That or you're paying $10 for a cup and a drink.

Don't suppose any of you guys know what those special pre-order powers do do ya? Edited by: Nyssa Rainwhisper at: 3/8/04 1:21 pm

Quote:The included Prestige Power enhances your character's appearance and visibility with a very cool effect— so you can let your hero stand out from the crowd!

That's what is says on the pre-order page. Probably like those staves in EQ that looked really neat but did nothing whatsoever for you.

pre-ordering should only cost $10 - buy the $10 box, and you're guaranteed an open beta spot. then, when the game comes out, I assume you either bring your receipt or box or something back into Best Buy (or wherever) and you get $10 off the game if you choose to buy it. at least, that's how it is supposed to work.

I believe CompUSA is the only place that says it'll only charge $10 to your credit card when you pre-order. No other listed merchants says that.