I recorded two quick videos in Shadowrun last night for you my loyal readers! I haven’t played the game much, so I spend alot of time dead - but you get the idea 
Also as stated before, the video footage is from beta which is not a representation of the final product. Not to mention that I have to record in SD, etc etc etc…
Well they just lifted the Shadowrun NDA Agreement - so if I get some time tonight I will try and put up some video and screenshots of the current state of the game. As requested in the official notice - anything I post is based on the current beta status -but you can check out the planned finished product shots Here.
Here is a copy of the notice I recieved via email today.
Hello!
Been enjoying the Shadowrun beta? Great. Now share the news! We’re lifting the NDA on coverage for and around the beta as of today. Feel free to post as much information as you like about the game. A couple of things to note, however:
· The beta is not representative of the game in its final form, as improvements are being made on a daily basis to balance the game, tweak levels, polish the interface and characters, etc. We are continuing to implement player feedback into the system and are putting the finishing touches on the title so we ask that you please keep this in mind as you share your thoughts on the beta. This is not final code.
· The art is not final in the beta and is therefore not indicative of what the final game will look like when it is finished, so in all fairness, we ask that you please make note of this in any mentions of the graphics. If you would like to point people towards more accurate art please send them to http://shadowrun.com/media/screenshots/
· Feel free to take your own screenshots to share with your readers. If you would like additional assets, feel free to contact us and we’ll be happy to provide you with what you need.
Please let us know if you have any questions!
Cheers,
Piett
Well I finally got an achievement last night during my Gears of War session last night. It was one of the pretty simple achievements - Mix it Up - where you just need to be on the winning team of the 3 different game types. It was also brought to my attention that even though I thought I was going to get a 100 kills with a [insert weapon here] achievement, that there is not one for shotgun kills - which was what most all my achievements were based on, and the one I assumed was going to rack me another achievement, so that wasn’t very wise of me I would say. Thanks to Antediluvia for bringing this to light. This concludes the dates that you can recieve an entry in the Play & Win Shooter Contest, and I believe I should get an entry for each of the 3 days . . . winning is a long shot - but it doesn’t hurt to try (and those prizes are pretty smooth).
I recently recieved my beta invitation to Shadowrun, but haven’t dedicated a ton of time to it as of yet. Of course in the invitation the NDA was restated that not much else can be said except “Yes, I am playing the beta”. So until the NDA is lifted dont expect to hear a ton more about that. You can keep track of my play time on the game in my Live Eye Profile as you can see at the moment I have only played about an hour or so. Over at 360friendspot we have about 62 current live eye members in the beta and being tracked by our tool, you can see an overview of those users at the Shadow Run Beta Profile Page
Speaking of 360friendspot and The Live Eye, last night I spent a good amount of time updating some queries after seeing a bunch of sleeping records in the SQL Activity Monitor. This was a hope that what might be causing the slowness or hanging of the site was related to SQL table locks - since I was definately getting time out errors and transactions were hanging out here sleeping. If that resolves, or at least partially resolves the performance issues - I am going to be extremely pleased, but also upset that I didnt find it sooner. I am sure there are more things to optimize - but maybe I am at least going in the right direction at this point.
Finally - Happy St Patricks day, and look for an update from my all nighter activities at a later date. Achievements and random video goodness will most likely come of it. There is A rumor posted in my comments about this all nighter being a time that they release some new content or the final 100 points - no clue what that user based it on - but I am all for it!
Two new ways to join Halo 3 Beta have just been released.
Gamerscore Blog : Microsoft Announces Two Additional Paths of Entry to Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta
Well once again the Live Eye has broken a story (at least for me). It seems two of our members have recieved a beta key for Shadowrun, and have played a total of 3 hours thus far. Maybe I will get in on one of the later waves =/
Previously we found some activity by Fry playing Pimps at Sea a while back - which gave 360friendspot quite a bit of new traffic, for those of you not aware, this is the working title of the Halo 3 Alpha. Looks like 2 of our members have access to it at the moment - I am jealous.
Well ZaaM and I decided to finally remove the “Beta” tag from the Live Eye project. Due to the nature of the project we are still going to have to have user limits on the system, and grow it slowly. At some point we might hit a physical limit on the number of users we can support, but at the moment we have room for growth. Currently we are allowing a limit of 500 users, so Get yours now!.
Well if you don’t all ready know Halo3 started accepting registrations last night around 8PM EST. It was pretty much impossible to sign up (due to server load) until about 3AM EST, no clue if they are going to do a first come first serve, random selection - or even a pay to play beta - so I still registered and will see how it turns out.
North America Halo Gamers!
Register now for future Halo 3 updates and for an opportunity to participate in the Halo 3 multiplayer public beta program, scheduled to kick off in spring 2007. Participating in this beta is an unprecedented opportunity for gamers to be among the first to experience the most anticipated game of 2007.
The Xbox Live multiplayer public beta, which is a pre-release version of the multiplayer experience of Halo 3, is scheduled for availability in spring 2007 exclusively on Xbox 360. This beta also represents an opportunity for gamers to give information that will help in the development of Halo 3. Through the resulting feedback, Bungie Studios will be able to further refine and hone the end result of the game.
Please note that in order to register* for the beta, you must be 17 years or older and a resident of the 50 United States (includes District of Columbia) or Canada. If selected to participate, you must have access to the following:
- An Xbox 360 Pro console (includes hard-drive) or an Xbox 360 Core console with hard drive
- A valid Xbox Live Gold subscription
- A valid Microsoft. NET Passport account with a Xbox Live gamertag linkedEuropean Gamers
Europe will soon have the chance to secure their place on the Halo 3 multiplayer beta, scheduled to start next spring. Keep an eye on your local Xbox community site for more details.
* Limit one registration per person/Xbox Live gamertag. If selected, your invitation is non-transferable and cannot be redeemed for cash. The beta is available in English only.
go ahead and give it a shot here
Also I noticed a small blip in live last night around 10PM EST which caused a Blind eye on my Live Eye Profile. Also xbox.com was throwing errors, and when it came back up all of my friends gamertiles were not showing and everyone had a score of zero, not sure what happened but all looks in order today.
Looks like Shadowrun is going to provide beta accounts. A day late on the news story - but looks like another game you can try and get beta access to - I just filled out the application and joined the forums, game will be available sometime in December for beta accounts.
Xbox Live’s Major Nelson : How to sign up for the ‘Shadowrun’ Beta
screenshots from the Official Site
