Mass Effect 1 beta - Does it exist?

[Prometheus]

I don't know if any beta exists on disc, but I figured someone here might know the answer to that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SvHHO5ksNg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fD79J...eature=related

These videos show the various changes that Mass Effect went through before it was released. Changes include:
-Shepard's face looks different, yet is still voiced by Mark Meer.
-Ashley wears Phoenix armor similar to the final one, but her face and voice is completely different.
-HUD is different, in both videos.
-Inventory menu looks better, in my opinion.
-Ability to control squad members in battle.
-Galaxy map looks a lot more bland/unpolished.
-New areas, but ones that exist in the final version don't look much different.

These are not all of the differences, just some of the ones I noticed at quick glance. Does anyone know anything about its possible existence?

[WizTunechi]

Probably locked up for so no one can't get their hands on it

[Museman]

It's probably out there, but I don't think there is too many people out there with their hands on it.

[Joseph_Capelli]

a mass effect beta wqould be nice for my collection,but i am pretty sure its hard to get a copy.

[Prometheus]

I'd love to own an actual copy of a Mass Effect 1 beta. As rare and possibly nonexistent as they are, I doubt I'd ever be able to see one in person. Oh well, I'd still play the hell out of one should someone be willing to release it for the community.

If there are any (ex)BioWare employees out there that know anything but don't want to post it in a public forum, please feel free to send a PM. I promise everything can be kept anonymous and confidential, should you wish.

[Borman]

Just find out if they sent the press copies. That goes a long way.

[Prometheus]

Press copies? You mean like copies used for e3 and other press conferences?

There was a thread here awhile back which had an unknown Mass Effect disc. Link: http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30190

Could this be a press copy? I've been trying to contact the owner, but I haven't received a response. I get the feeling that disc is exactly what I'm looking for, but as of right now, I can't say for sure.

[Borman]

Press as in builds sent to magazines and websites.

[Decapicitated]

Preview/Review build should exist?

Isn't this the process for all games?

I have the ME3 alpha/beta which was accidently ...... by Microsoft. It doesn't work anymore though.

[Prometheus]

I have the ME3 alpha/beta which was accidently ...... by Microsoft. It doesn't work anymore though.

At least not until someone patches it. Not that it does me any good, as I believe it can only work on dev/jtag 360s, and I own neither.

[Decapicitated]

At least not until someone patches it. Not that it does me any good, as I believe it can only work on dev/jtag 360s, and I own neither.

It was buggy anyway, it crashed freqently. I actually played it legitly on my Xbox 360 untill Microsoft decided to make the application delete itself. I do have the files though.

I just don't know why Microsoft have the power to delete my Xbox files It makes me rather scared.. What else do they have access to? This is privacy invasion!

They turned off the servers so it won't work online anymore. There are several online checks which need to be bypassed which isn't really worth the effort since it freezes.

[Prometheus]

It was buggy anyway, it crashed freqently. I actually played it legitly on my Xbox 360 untill Microsoft decided to make the application delete itself. I do have the files though.

I just don't know why Microsoft have the power to delete my Xbox files It makes me rather scared.. What else do they have access to? This is privacy invasion!

They turned off the servers so it won't work online anymore. There are several online checks which need to be bypassed which isn't really worth the effort since it freezes.

Microsoft deleted it off of hard drives? I thought they made it corrupt itself. Either way, that's definitely an invasion of privacy. They should not have the ability to alter any files on your hard drive, especially when the game in question was obtained legally. I see no reason to delete it off of hard drives anyway since it was rendered useless by the online server check. It was a given that people would back it up once it was leaked, so I find Microsoft corrupting/deleting it off of personal hard drives to be a bit excessive.

As for all the glitches, isn't that part of the fun? It's not like beta builds are final, so there could be all kinds of things not in the retail version. BioWare even said they might make changes due to the somewhat recent script leak.

[Decapicitated]

Microsoft deleted it off of hard drives? I thought they made it corrupt itself. Either way, that's definitely an invasion of privacy. They should not have the ability to alter any files on your hard drive, especially when the game in question was obtained legally. I see no reason to delete it off of hard drives anyway since it was rendered useless by the online server check. It was a given that people would back it up once it was leaked, so I find Microsoft corrupting/deleting it off of personal hard drives to be a bit excessive.

As for all the glitches, isn't that part of the fun? It's not like beta builds are final, so there could be all kinds of things not in the retail version. BioWare even said they might make changes due to the somewhat recent script leak.

Yes, they actually forced my console to delete the beta itself. It also happened to other users who reported it on the forums. Others it came up as a yellow (!) saying corrupted. The game was definitly obtained legally, they 'accidently' put it on there, we downloaded it because we thought it was a 'treat' since the actual dashboard was delayed itself. I also backed it up and tried to re-inject it to my hard drive and it comes up corrupt. I don't know who they think they are... It was fun to play for the hour but it's gone now ;]

[Prometheus]

Just find out if they sent the press copies. That goes a long way.

Sorry for the late reply, but how do I find out if any were sent? Would I have to hope someone eventually speaks up, or is there someone in particular that may know?

[Joseph_Capelli]

I am pretty sure it exist ME 1 betas or previews with some differences.They normally send their discs to press people or magazines to test them,so someone must own a disc,maybe hidden in a safe..lol:lol:

[browzers]

I think all beta versions of games make it onto discs.....

[LEo]

I think all beta versions of games make it onto discs.....

Not exactly, I have a friend who did play testing in MS, they load everything onto the hdd in big beta tests. No discs what so ever. Unless you are in the dev team and did what bungie described as "take home test discs" seen on a Viddoc, probably just a devkit signed version of the game to test at home, probably burned on simple over the counter media and not on pressed discs as they say.

[Prometheus]

I think all beta versions of games make it onto discs.....

Not necessarily. For example, the Mass Effect 3 beta that was leaked was not on a disc. Plenty of betas of unknown games have been found on hard drives, such as Sonic Extreme (the skateboarding one, not to be confused with Xtreme) so I don't think all betas make it onto discs.

To clear up any confusion, when I said "exists on disc" I should have said "exists in some physical form not totally destroyed or corrupted". I'm sure at some point it was on a disc, but we can't say for certain what happened to it. Is it locked away at BioWare? Is it sitting in someones collection? Was it destroyed? That's what I would like to know.

[Prometheus]

Does anyone have any opinions of the disc in the tread I linked earlier? This one: http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30190

I've been trying to contact the owner, but I still haven't received a response. I sent a PM back in October and I also sent a message to an eBay user of the same name over a month ago. I can't tell if my messages aren't going through, or if I'm being ignored. Does anyone happen to know this user or have an idea of what the disc is?

[Decapicitated]

Does anyone have any opinions of the disc in the tread I linked earlier? This one: http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30190

I've been trying to contact the owner, but I still haven't received a response. I sent a PM back in October and I also sent a message to an eBay user of the same name over a month ago. I can't tell if my messages aren't going through, or if I'm being ignored. Does anyone happen to know this user or have an idea of what the disc is?

He never got those messages because he last logged in 2010. I had a similar problem trying to contact someone on here but they seem to have left. Log in every now and again but ignore. o.o Good luck anyway, maybe Ebay's the best way to go