Wasteland 2 Post-funding Update #38: Beta Next Week

In the latest post-funding update for Wasteland 2, the folks at inXile, through the words of our old acquaintance Thomas Beekers, let us know that they’re on track to deliver the backers-only beta for next week. On top of that, they also show a new piece of artwork and some new interesting T-shirt designs now available at the J|nx store. Be aware that this also means that the add-on options for inXile’s store will close at beta launch, though:

We’ve been hard at work on the backer beta, working through some last niggling blocker bugs to get it ready for you, and kept you updated on @wasteland2beta and the Wasteland 2 tumblr. To catch you up: it’s almost ready: We’re fully on track to put it in your hands next week!

As we’ve said before, the initial beta rollout is the first four major areas, the associated COPS maps (smaller maps), the world map and its random encounters, and character creation. As the beta progresses, we’ll roll out more areas, though we do plan to hold LA back for spoiler reasons. We’ll have more details on the beta such as remaining known issues next week, when we launch it.

We did want to let you all know that when the beta launches we will be pulling the add-on options from the Wasteland 2 store. If you want to add any of those to your existing pledge or if you want to be able to jump in on the beta at its launch this week will be your last chance to do so!

With all late backer donations, we manually import pledge data roughly every 2-3 weeks, but we will ensure the database is up to date when the beta launches. The digital-only pre-order options will remain available though we may pull them too in the not too distant future, somewhere in time and space. Existing backers will still be able to upgrade, so as a backer you’ll still be able to move into a higher tier and get access to the beta later, it just won’t be available as an add-on.

We’re also progressing in other procedural matters as we get closer to beta. We’ve been testing both Steam distribution and the use of our CenterCode bug reporting site with a limited group of external testers, and both are looking good. CenterCode in particular will be instrumental to a successful backer beta run, it allows for bug reports to go directly into our system, so we can quickly and efficiently handle duplicates and assign bugs to the responsible developer. For our backers, it offers an easy-to-use, simple website that gives you direct access to providing us with not just bug reports, but also general feedback and suggestions. Depending on how things go we may launch the CenterCode site before the beta is out, to give you time to register, provide your PC info and get familiar with the site.