MS quiet on new Halo beta

By Robert Purchese Published 13 August, 2007

Evidence says otherwise.

Microsoft has remained quiet on rumours that another Halo 3 beta test is currently getting under way.

Word spread after keen-eyed Live gamers spotted others playing something called Halo 3 Epsilon, supposedly later confirmed as a new build of the title by an unhelpfully anonymous email.

According to the mysterious note, Epsilon will let you battle across six multiplayer maps, play custom games, enjoy a single co-operative campaign level, use the Forge feature and get to tinker with the full Saved Film functionality.

Unfortunately it looks as though this will be a closed affair for a select few, but with the game a little over a month away, we can quite happily wait.

Halo 3 recently became the fastest-selling pre-ordered game ever, soaring past the huge one million mark last Thursday.

Pop over to our Halo 3 gamepage to see what all the fuss is about.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (28) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Arcadiian #1 5 years ago

    But BioShock. :o

  • Dizzy #2 5 years ago

    Yea this is only for the "official" testers.

  • lambtron #3 5 years ago

    Lucky sods ;).

  • Dizzy #4 5 years ago

    >Lucky sods ;).

    Well the other millions of us won't have to wait long won't we ;-)

    /gets ready for the Halo emo whiner gang.
    Edited by Dizzy at 13/08/07 @ 11:37

  • Fernando #5 5 years ago

    i still dont get the hype for halo, i mean i thought the original's SP was a bore fest :(, maybe its the multiplayer?

    Gimme a half life instead

  • Edward_Gamer #6 5 years ago

    OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Bioshock is 100% worthy of ALL of the Awards it has EARNED at the Videogame Industry Trade Shows for the last year!!!!!!

    At the 2006 E3, we all know that THREE GAMES completely DOMINATED all of the AWARDS: Those games were Gears of War, Mass Effect, and Bioshock.

    Bioshock is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!!!!!

    Just play the demo and you will see for yourself!!!!!

    NUFF SAID!!!!

    Now I DEFINITELY see why this Bioshock Xbox 360 game has already received "Perfect," reviews!!!

  • Dizzy #7 5 years ago

    >Edward_Gamer

    You might be in the wrong thread here ;)

  • cooper #8 5 years ago

    @Edward_Gamer:
    You're not very good at what you're doing...
    Plus, Bioshock doesn't need your shilling anyway.

  • GamesConnoisseur #9 5 years ago

    I am just as deliriously happy to be able to have BioShock and Halo 3 in a short period of time! Both will keep me happy for good few months!

    Methink Halo 3 will prove better replayability due to MP factor and BioShock to take GOTY.

  • DrunKao #10 5 years ago

    *joins Bioshock party currently underway across the internet*

    The Bioshock demo needs to be spammed everywhere. No matter how unrelated the topic is.

    Download the Bioshock demo now. If you only have a PS3, buy a 360 or upgrade your computer. It will be worth it!!

  • mcmonkeyplc #11 5 years ago

    Errrm this is not BIOSHOCK...but it's welcome to take some hype, just like Haze.

    Take the hype away from Halo 3, im sure Bungie wont mind.

  • Steroyd #12 5 years ago

    Nah I have a history of not enjoying GOTY games for some odd reason.

    Still interested in it though.

  • Moz #13 5 years ago

    I again struggle to see what the fus is about when it comes to halo,

    I quite like Halo2 single player.

    But Halo multiplayer is so slow!!!!! HL2 multiplayer so much better

  • Lutz #14 5 years ago

    Epsilon is one of the internal builds of Halo3; it's in this weeks podcast.

  • penhalion #15 5 years ago

    I wouldn't envy them. Official testers always have the experience ruined for them because they get to see all of the game in a disjointed fashion. When the final game comes out they are usually sick to death of it or already know what to expect.

    As a developer I find that I rarely play our products. When i do play it's litterally for publicity i.e. a "meet the developers online" session where we know the game so well we whip anyone stupid enough to play us.

    For instance we and the testers will already know that you can jump from seemingly impossible point A to point B. We will already know it takes 4 hits with weapon Y before it kills you. How close a grenade has to land to frag someone etc. etc.

    My point. Don't envy official testers, rather pity them. You the gamer always ends up experiencing the game as it was intended. Without knowing already what's waiting around every corner.

  • ciaran036 #16 5 years ago

    wow. Just a month! We have to wait just a month whilst PS3 owners have to wait for months and months to get their hands on anything that's even good!

  • Freek #17 5 years ago

    Edd, the key to being a good plant is subtlety.....

  • zuljin #18 5 years ago

    @penhalion
    "My point. Don't envy official testers, rather pity them. You the gamer always ends up experiencing the game as it was intended. Without knowing already what's waiting around every corner. "

    I beg to differ. I think seeing a game fresh has its disadvantages. You "assume" too much. When you're playing something you work on or a beta, you continually see improvements, work that everyone on the project does. And if a game is really good in a beta I usually end up buying it anyway.

    I think my point (albeit badly made) was that you tend to notice all the little improvements more...

  • alpha-0ne #19 5 years ago

    MS and Bungie only..

  • FunkyRenegade #20 5 years ago

    On Major Nelson's blog last night it said
    "Last seen playing Halo 3 Epsilon 3 hours ago"

  • bdc #21 5 years ago

    ITS NOT A FUCKING BETA ITS AN EPSILON.

    ALPHA BETA GAMMA DELTA EPSILON

    GET IT IN YOUR HEADS. GOD. EUROGAMER OFF MY BOOKMARKS NOW. TRAVESTY I TELL YE.

  • SBfistfun #22 5 years ago

    "My point. Don't envy official testers, rather pity them"

    The fact that you end up living in near poverty is also something to keep in mind.

    Having to apply for tax credits just to make ends meet ain't particularly fulfilling!

    As a great man once said to me "You'll only spend it"

  • Dizzy #23 5 years ago

    Obviously Epsilon is just the code name for RC1. Do you guys have to go emo over everything? I suggest masturbating some more!

  • Fairlane #24 5 years ago

    post nr. 5 before a Halo whiner showed up - that actually good

  • Dr.Mott #25 5 years ago

    Does anyone else think that Edward Gamer and Mike Mgoblue are one and the same?

  • penhalion #26 5 years ago

    @zulin

    Reallydoes't work like that. You have to play through the same sections again and again with the inmprovements added. That doesn't change the fact that Monster A comes through door B EVERY time. Take for example this recent experience I had.

    I developed a new lighting solution for a level and thelevel designers replaced the lighting. The testers then had to re-play the level with the new lights in place and note any issues they came across. A day later we added some bloom effects to the shaders. The same testers played through the same levels again and noted the effect the bloom had. Some of the testers can now play the newly lit levels in a record 2 minutes! Watching them play, you see them switch weapons BEFORE the encounter that will benefit from that weapon. Go back for extra ammo because they know it's scarce past a certain doorway where a wall collapses.

    It's not a glamour job testing games and it's not really that much fun after the 10th run through a level. Only non-testers ever think it involves playing new and exciting games all day long.
    Edited by penhalion at 13/08/07 @ 17:03

  • Yossarian #27 5 years ago

    people inside and outside of Bungie have been playing various versions of Halo 3 both before and after the public beta, in various capacities. there will not be another public test

  • reddevil93 #28 5 years ago

    @ciaran

    wow the PS3 criticised by an xbot in a thread about halo.Never saw that one coming.

    /turns sarcasm off