Is it true beta only lasts a few hours?

Can anyone direct me to this information or anything relevant related to it? I've been hearing a lot of talk but never seen anything official.

So how many total hours is it going to be? I thought it would be open beta weekend, where you can play all weekend long, and then they bring it down during the week, and the next weekend it's open for playing again.

Thanks for any info.

The first phase specifically the servers won't be up 24/7. From the second phase on, they will be online all the time.

Only the final phase is an "open" beta.

http://entry.ffxiv.com/beta/detail_na.html

Under the heading "Beta Test Schedule"

Quote:

---

The beta test will be divided into four phases. During phase 1, the game will only be available for a few hours on specific days, but availability will be increased in subsequent phases. A more detailed testing schedule will be posted on the Beta Tester Forum.

---

That is all of the official information we have.

*edit* Steve beat me :(

Thanks a lot for this, I guess that's all we know for now, I wish phase 1 had passed without me knowing it, and we are on the verge for the next phase. But now I can't wait to start playing.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Hycinthus

Thanks a lot for this, I guess that's all we know for now, I wish phase 1 had passed without me knowing it, and we are on the verge for the next phase. But now I can't wait to start playing.

---

Make sure you're actually sending feedback while you play, if you run into a problem don't just ignore it
You probably know this but just saying

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Hycinthus

Thanks a lot for this, I guess that's all we know for now, I wish phase 1 had passed without me knowing it, and we are on the verge for the next phase. But now I can't wait to start playing.

---

The beta is not a game demo. The point is to help the dev team find problems so that the launch goes more smoothly.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Alhanelem

The beta is not a game demo. The point is to help the dev team find problems so that the launch goes more smoothly.

---

I know you.. From somewhere but by a different name. eorzeapedia.com maybe?

Anyway. I agree 100%. People need to treat beta like a test, not a demo.

More than half the alpha forums were people playing the game just to play treating it like a demo..

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Alhanelem

The beta is not a game demo. The point is to help the dev team find problems so that the launch goes more smoothly.

---

However the later phases and the open beta are like a demo to promote the game. I am sure they will have promotions on game related sites to give out keys because they want people to try the game.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Zumi

However the later phases and the open beta are like a demo to promote the game. I am sure they will have promotions on game related sites to give out keys because they want people to try the game.

---

The final phase is pretty much a publicity/hype thing. However the first phases are more genuinely about smoothing out the rough edges and helping the devs gather data that is difficult to gather with just a squad of in-house testers.

What I'd like to know are the times. If it's only a few hours a day how is that going to work with JP/NA/EU?