Announcing Our Next Closed Doors Playtest
Coming July 25th: Our Second Great Palian Stress Test!
The hits just keep coming from your ol’ pal Palia! 🎷
Last week, we held what we referred to as Our Biggest Playtest Yet! This was our very first Stress Test, where we were testing Palia’s ability to “handle a huge number of online players” at the same time. We are pleased to report that we were VERY successful at stress testing Palia - so successful, in fact, that very few players actually got to play Palia! By stressing our servers at such a large volume, we were able to identify exactly the areas we need to focus on to make the best possible experience for Beta. Now, it’s time for us to announce…
Stress Test 2: Prepping for our Beta
Before we swing open the doors for Beta, we want to welcome back everyone who joined us for the first Stress Test - as well as thousands more new testers! - to challenge our improvements and help us make Palia even better for our Beta. We’ll be once again testing the strength of our Palian muscle on Tuesday, July 25th, 2:00pm - 6:00pm PT.
On July 19th, we will be sending an email from welcome@e.singularity6.com to everyone who has joined us for a past playtest, as well as many more new testers. We will be sending all Stress Test 2 invites at once, so there is no need to keep checking throughout the week.
While we wish we could invite everyone, this test is unfortunately still limited. But please be sure to create your Account for Beta now!
A quick note: Once you receive your invitation to Palia via email, it will direct you to your account creation page. When you create your account, please update your email opt-in settings in the Subscriptions section to make sure you receive all emails from us moving forward. Otherwise, you will not receive further instructions!
And finally: This Alpha Stress Test, like our other Alpha tests, is strictly under NDA! Please do not share your experiences, screenshots, thoughts, etc. outside of the (soon to be very large) group of playtesters!
What We Learned From The First Stress Test
The first Stress Test was incredibly helpful to us. We do tests like this to learn early and fail quickly, rather than doing it after we launch the game. Here’s a few of the things we learned and a few of the changes we’re making:
- We’re updating the way our play button works to prevent temptation to button smash
- We’re fixing bugs and improving our our login service
- We are adding better mechanisms for us to control traffic – so we can slow down a Thundering Herd!
- We’re adding more redundancy to our system so we are more resilient to single servers going offline
- We’re going to be doing a lot more testing over the next few weeks! This will include:
- How the game behaves with a large amount of players
- Getting the game back online quickly if it gets tired and needs a nap
… and this is just a partial list of what we’re changing as a result of the first Stress Test!
F.A.Q.s
I’m a returning Alpha Tester! Do I have to sign up for this test too?
Nope! All Alpha Testers are being invited back for this test!
I’ve already signed up on the website but I’ve never been invited to test! Do I need to sign up again?
If you've already signed up for our playtests, there is no need to sign up again! But since you’re here, be sure to create your account early for our Beta starting in August of this year.
Is there anything I can do to increase my chances of getting in?
As with our other playtests, we can’t guarantee an invite, but thanks for sticking with us! We really appreciate it.And we can’t wait to see you soon in Beta!
I received my email, and accidentally messed up my account somehow/forgot my password/released a hoard of Chapaas into my computer room! Help! What do I do?!
Oh no! Okay, don’t panic. Please reach out to our incredible Player Support team and they’ll help get you sorted through any account or Chapaa-related issues.
The hours of the Stress Tests aren’t friendly to my region :(
We wish we could hold many more early peeks for players all around the world! Sadly, we had to choose a time that would ensure all of our developers are awake and alert to help support our test. We hope to see everyone in the Beta in just a few weeks!
Why are your Alpha tests under NDA?
Have you ever worked on an exciting project, something you thought was really cool, and you didn’t want to show it to anyone before you felt really good about it? It’s like that. We’re really excited about what we’re building in Palia but we want to make sure it’s ready before everyone sees it.
What can I expect? How do I get ready?
This is a great question that we can’t answer fully without risking too many SPOILERS, but here’s a quick little primer: You can expect a cozy multiplayer experience in a magical new world with a bunch of new friends. You can expect some technical abnormalities (™), visual bugs (™), and maybe even A Return of The Void (™). And, probably, some surprises! It’ll be great! Let’s find out together! You can expect a bunch of laughs. You can definitely expect to be a part of testing a new game and helping us get it a little further along toward being open to everyone!
Please remember to read your email to make sure you’re completely prepared!
Will the results of the Stress Test 2 impact the Beta release?
As we’ve mentioned elsewhere, even the Beta is still a test! For this reason, we are holding strong to our dates in order to continue learning and growing.
Why start Beta if you still want to hold Stress Tests?
Palia as a game is in a good state; what we need to meaningfully test is our systems, support, and services across the board (as in, the “stress” stuff).
We Won't Know If We Don't Try: It’s hard to test a mass global game if we don’t have a mass amount of players logging in, globally! We've tested gameplay, cosmetics, onboarding; Everything we have left to meaningfully test is at scale. Opening to even more players in Beta is the best way forward to grow multiplayer, events, and all the features we want to invest in for Palia's success.
We are moving forward knowing there are risks, but must accept those risks to overcome them. 💪
We are excited to start building the long-term future, knowing the short-term will be our favorite blend: Hype & Chaos!
Hey, I watched the trailer! This isn’t like a normal MMORPG!
You’re right! It’s a Cozy MMO! While it’s still a multiplayer game, Palia leans more toward the cozy side of gaming - think decorating your house, cooking and crafting, and exploring a fascinating new world. If you want to learn a little bit more about what playing Palia is like, we have these blog posts to check out here:
want to connect with fellow Palians? Be sure to join our Discord, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok to connect with the Palia community!