Probably it’s about the kind of feedback they want.
I suspect, that they first want a bunch of players to give them feedback on hardware and software problems with the game (and maybe to test the spec requirements) to prepare the Beta.
And the “real” Beta would be about Gameplay and Balance feedback.
I’ve been playing alot of betas it seems lately. I can provide feedback and stuff, if that’s what they are looking for. I honestly just want to play it. I’ve been wanting too for a long while.
If i were to decide on testers, I’d give preference to those that are frequently active on the forums. Maybe that’s even the case, but they don’t mention it to avoid meaningless spam.
-raises hand- That would be me.
We will see. I expect the rollout of the first testing access right after PAX.
People have expectations and these days Betas are thought of as Demos.
BTW. Did Battleborn reach Beta status of the development or is it still Alpha ?
For anyone not aware of what a Tech test is in comparison to a Beta, hopefully I can expand on that a bit more.
Beta’s and Alpha’s are done for 1 specific reason, and that is to test the game itself. Bug hunting is practically the name of the game, and players are let loose into the game in the hopes that they find minor bugs and report them. (Major bugs hopefully got squished before this, so that’s why you hope they only find minor ones.) As well as this, for something like Battleborn a Beta would also provide a lot of raw data that Gearbox can use to check on things such as balance and popularity. It is kinda like market research if anyone is aware of the business world.
Now, a Technical Test is done for a entirely different reason. While reporting bugs is still helpful, that is not the name of the game this time. For any game that relies on a Multiplayer Server, Tech Test’s are vital as the whole point is to push the servers to and beyond their limits. In fact, I am sorry to tell you guys this, but if the Tech Test goes like they pretty much all normally do, the game servers will crash. A lot. But that is the whole point. Giving a small window for people to play the game, while reducing the control to the amount of people who can join the servers, pushes them to an extreme and beyond. Once Gearbox can find the breaking point, they can then from there try to push the breaking point further, or decide that it is at a good point, they just need to add controls into the system to stop it going past that on release. And that is the true aim of a Tech Test. It is preparing for when the game releases, getting ready for that huge inflow of people onto the servers, and making sure it does not break them. If anyone has played Diablo 3 on launch, you know how painful broken servers can be.
TL;DR Beta is about fixing the game. Tech Test is about breaking the servers, almost like breaking in a new pair of shoes. Rather get blisters a few weeks before Prom night than wear painful shoes and kill your feet on the night, right? 
By the way, found the date that was mentioned during the PAX Prime Panel, Everyone who signs up for the Closed Technical Test before October 15th will get Priority when it comes to who gets into the Test.
I thought I recognized this somewhat from my time playing MMO’s, but I wasnt exactly sure.
This is a stability test in other words I guess - if so we can expect multiplayer (PVP) =)
MMO’s employ this technique a lot, as you can imagine.
Gave it a shot. Don’t think I am exactly qualified for this but trying doesn’t hurt. Would certainly like to help out a bit.
Only thing I kinda want to know now is whether there will be broadcasting/recording restrictions on this Test. I would love to stream the whole test, dunno how long it is but if it’s like, a weekend I will probably stream. All 48 hours…
I seriously hope those countries at the top aren’t the only ones chosen, or that is some serious mistake that Gearbox is making, are they seriously not gonna include people from big countries of Europe? What’s up with that?
this is just a server load test, so they really need to test the countries where they have servers. I’m sure when beta opens it’ll be for everyone.
So they have a server in Spain but people from Portugal, which is right next to it can’t join?
seems legit.
Would certainely help keeping my sanity if it just between regulars from these boards.
Registed for the PS4 version technical test early in the morning when I saw it on IGN.com. Already pre-ordered my copy of this game and want to see how it plays. So excited for Battleborn.
Can’t wait for the beta, Battleborn looks amazing…
I just want to remind everyone here who has signed up, this is a Technical Test and not a Beta. That most likely will mean that the playing experience through the test will be way below optimum and probably be very laggy or even just have server crashes. Now, I can’t say that for certain, but that is pretty much the normal expectations of a Technical Test.
So, while it is awesome that we are gonna get our hands on the game a bit earlier, please try to remember that if you are lagging and finding it impossible to play, that is the normal for this kind of thing and actually is what GBX are wanting to happen, it is the whole goal of a Technical Test.