What's the point?
The beta test simply serves as a marketing tool as all the invites are given to Youtubers who are all contracted to say, 'this is an early version - the full release will be updated' and then the full game releases and it's still full of the same bugs and glitches from the past five years.
The version that the content creators get is not the beta. The purpose of the beta is for any issues with graphics or bugs with the game to be reported to the devs with sufficient time to fix before the release of the full game.
Beta are a very valuable resource for game companies to offer to those in the community who wants to help.
@BauerFormulaOne The reason there's still bugs and glitches in the game from 5 years ago is because most of the invites go to randoms who don't know what they're getting into and don't really give proper feedback. They just sign up because they think beta = early access to full game, and then when they realize what it actually is they only play for an hour or two and uninstall.
Seeing as how you have to sign an NDA to get access to the beta this has absolutely no value to Youtubers & streamers since any footage they posted would be quickly taken down, they would probably get a ban from their platform, and EA would take legal action so...
As @Cpayne32 said the version the content creators get is not the beta being referenced here.
@TheRagebeard wrote:@BauerFormulaOne The reason there's still bugs and glitches in the game from 5 years ago is because most of the invites go to randoms who don't know what they're getting into and don't really give proper feedback. They just sign up because they think beta = early access to full game, and then when they realize what it actually is they only play for an hour or two and uninstall.
Seeing as how you have to sign an NDA to get access to the beta this has absolutely no value to Youtubers & streamers since any footage they posted would be quickly taken down, they would probably get a ban from their platform, and EA would take legal action so...
Hmm... While I agree that a depressingly high number of players treat closed beta as a sort of early access, I do not agree at all with the underlined part.
For two reasons.
1) We're overestimating the scope of the beta here again. The game is done, no major decisions will be revisited and no chore systems will be overhauled. What is left open for a beta like this is the fine stuff regarding handling model and the unforeseen interactions that come from the exposure to the whole gamut of consumer hardware. A CTD error here and there, that's mostly it.
The beta main practical purpose is to inform the content of the day 1 patch.
There's no testing of a new contract renewal system that may be changed depending on the beta feedback. Or a "hey, did you notice that the My Team car gets broken once you upgrade everything you can upgrade up to season 3?" left open to any significant degree of rework.
2) Devs are fully aware of all the legacy bugs. Legacy as in bugs that reoccur year in and year out or every other year.
Even being the minority, those beta testers that get (and read) the memo do a damn good job of flagging the new and unforeseen bugs.
The legacy and deeply problematic bugs are all due to the devs' inability to get the necessary (re)work done under the current release schedule and business structure.
There always are waves of toxic players that hit the forums and social media with abuse or useless feedback. This wave will hit us again soon. Those guys are irrelevant compared to the core and loyal player base. Put your ear to the ground and you'll probably spot even the real F1 personnel that have been playing these games for years! Mechanics and engineers with old accounts that post with that special hint of "ooh, this one knows his torx screw from his flat-heads"
It's unfair to lay that on the community's shoulders. The sorry state of the franchise is 110% up to EA and Codies.
This will be your first F1 beta, right? You'll see.
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