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Venice Unleashed - The Closed Beta

Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 2:40 pm
by NoFaTe
Image

First of all, we would like to congratulate our community members (and anyone else who participated) for figuring out the meaning of this 'countdown' two days prior to it's end!

For a detailed breakdown of what it meant, make sure to check this post out!

We would also like to thank Marcus "MrAssault" January for letting us use his amazing soundtrack in our teasers.
Make sure to check out his work at Bandcamp.

Now, with that being said, we think that finally the time has come to give you something that many of you have been asking for a long time, a release date.


The Release

We're glad to announce that the Venice Unleashed Closed Beta will be launching in exactly one month from now, on the 10th of October, 2014!

Closed Beta enlistments are still valid, and we will be sending out e-mails to selected users near the end of this month.

If you don't get an e-mail, don't despair!
We will be inviting users in waves, and we will also be performing key giveaways and other events that will allow you to earn a place in the Closed Beta.

We will also be providing already invited users with invitation codes, so they can have their friends tag along!


The Closed Beta

The Closed Beta will mostly be a focused beta.

That means that we will be testing specific features and functions, and developing others side-by-side.
It also means that the VU client will be narrowed down to specific functionality, with other features completely disabled.

This will allow us to narrow down possible issues that may arise in VU, and fix them efficiently and in a timely manner.

We have also noticed there's been some confusion regarding how 'closed' the Closed Beta is.

We're glad to let you know that we will not be posing any restrictions as to what you can share with others.
You will be completely free to stream, take screenshots, videos, and anything else you like throughout the duration of the closed beta.

It should be noted though that Closed Beta clients are water-marked.
This is mostly for debugging purposes, and the water-mark will disappear along with the rest of the UI when disabling it.

We will be providing more details on the Closed Beta, and instructions on how to participate, when we're closer to its release.


The Servers

Self-hosted servers is one of VU's biggest features, giving players full control over their environment.

During the first few days of the Closed Beta, we will be hosting some servers ourselves (in order to test really specific features).

After that, any user will be able to host his own server and have it be available via VU's server-list!

For more information about server hosting, make sure to check this post.

We will also be providing details and requirements on how to become a Registered/Official server provider in the near future.


The Future

Venice Unleashed is still far from a complete product, and the release of the Closed Beta doesn't in any way signal its final release.

We will continue to develop VU throughout the Closed Beta, which we will at some point open to everyone, signaling the release of the Open Beta, followed by the first release.

Venice Unleashed is far more than a simple emulator or a simple mod.
It is the product of collaborative work and love by us for the community.

Our ultimate goal is to make VU a sandbox, a completely free and unleashed environment where you will be able to create entirely new content and experiences and share them with others.

We're still a long way from there, but with your support we know we'll be able to go even further!


Special Thanks

Venice Unleashed wouldn't have been possible without the help of several people, who we would like to thank deeply.

Even though writing all of their names down would probably make this server run out of memory, here's some of them:

Our Staff
Timse
Frankelstner
z3r0w
David "Cherry" Trap
TeknoGods
MordorHQ
dudeinberlin
Markus "MrAssault" January
Convery
and many more...

And of course, all of you, our community!

This wouldn't have been possible without your support, so thank you!

Re: Venice Unleashed - The Closed Beta

Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 2:43 pm
by zesty
Finally all waits are almost over, now we have a date and until that, we shall enjoy in hype :D

Re: Venice Unleashed - The Closed Beta

Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 2:46 pm
by mouz
So... what are the Christmas keys for, now?

Re: Venice Unleashed - The Closed Beta

Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 2:50 pm
by NoFaTe
mouz wrote:So... what are the Christmas keys for, now?

You will be able to redeem any keys you have before the Closed Beta starts.
We will be providing instructions on how to do so in the near future.

Re: Venice Unleashed - The Closed Beta

Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 3:05 pm
by Kerrigan
zesty wrote:we shall enjoy in hype


EVERYONE FREAK OUT NOW!!!

Joke aside. It's good that the waiting has come to an end finally and most important NoFaTe proved that the project is not vaporware, extinguishing all pessimism about the project in the end.

Re: Venice Unleashed - The Closed Beta

Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 3:07 pm
by Rodney
Meh.

Re: Venice Unleashed - The Closed Beta

Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 3:07 pm
by AlexEe
Cool

Re: Venice Unleashed - The Closed Beta

Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 3:36 pm
by RaZ_HU
Nice news, sadly I don't have CB key :D

Re: Venice Unleashed - The Closed Beta

Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 3:38 pm
by MD5T00L
My birthday is the day before release date for the closed beta, I'll have a nice birthday?

No one knows... :cry: :cry:

Re: Venice Unleashed - The Closed Beta

Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 3:47 pm
by MAGIC
Ok, guys. No FUNSERVERS for you :[
But yeh, pretty cool!