The Kickabout League Beta logo.
The members beta for kickabout was the second beta and it opened to members on the 9th June 2009. It ended on the 17th June 2009.
The newspost[]
When it first came out the newspost read:
In a first for FunOrb, we have decided to release a beta version of one of our games. The game we’ve chosen, Kickabout League, has been in development for a year, and has been a major endeavour for us. The beta version is available to FunOrb members. To play Kickabout League please choose one of the following servers: our European server or our U.S.A. server. For stress-testing purposes, we recommend starting on the U.S.A. server.
The key information on the Beta is:
* Any member can take part in the Beta simply by playing the game.
- If you have any feedback on the beta version, a Kickabout League feedback thread has been set up in the Members Only Forums (quick find code 44-45-21-30010).
- The servers will be shut down no later than Monday, and may go up and down without warning as we fix issues during that time.
- The Beta has been extended and will now be shut down on Monday the 15th of June. The game will not be available to play after that time.
- All game data from the Beta will be reset before the game is fully launched.
- Achievements, ratings, orb points, orb coins and orb downloads relating to Kickabout League have all been disabled.
- The full version of the game will launch a few weeks after the Beta has closed, depending on how much development work is required.
We’ve decided to launch the game in a closed beta in order to stress-test the servers, and to get some usage data before we put the game live. Kickabout League is a real first for us, providing real-time, browser-based gameplay on the Java platform. The real-time nature of the game means that it is dependent on an adequate internet connection, and lag may cause some unusual behaviour in the game. This is likely to be intentional on our part, though, as the server adjusts the client’s game state to compensate for lag.
This may mean you notice things like the ball or players teleporting around a little, and we would like to know how this affects your enjoyment of the game. The more feedback we’re able to receive on any potential issues, the better the final game will be, so please be sure to post your comments in the Members Only Forums, where we have a special sticky called 'Kickabout Beta - Feedback' (quick find code 44-45-21-30010).
As always, and above all else...
Have fun ;-)
Mod Korpz
Mod Korpz's 1st post[]
Although it said it would be closed on the following friday Mod korpz later posted this on the forums:
Hello all,
Due to popular demand and the fact that we are testing a few changes we've made, the Kickabout League Beta will be extended and will now close on Monday next week (15th of June).
So continue to have fun.
Mod Korpz
P.S. Woot 600th developer thread
Mod korpz's 2nd post[]
Later he then posted this:
Hello All,
We've needed to extend the beta slightly for a couple of reasons which I wont go into now. Suffice to say that tomorrow the game will be taken off line whilst we fix the last issues and set up the live servers.
Sorry if this has inconvenienced anyone (although I'm not sure how it might have done that).
Mod Korpz
Closed down[]
It was finally closed on the 17th June about 3 days after it was supposed to be.
Mod Korpz's 3rd and final post[]
Mod Korpzs final post read:
Okay all.
The Kickabout League Servers have been shut down now. Hopefully we will have the game back in its live state in the next 2 weeks. Thank you all very much for your participation and feedback.
Mod Korpz
The final newspost[]
The newspost that announced its closure read:
Extra time is over and the whistle’s been blown on the Kickabout League beta. It’s now time for us to have a bit of a post-match discussion to see where we can improve our game.
A big thanks to everyone who participated in the beta, and who provided feedback – it’s been a big success and we’ve received some very useful comments. This will allow us to give the game some additional polish, and iron out some bugs, before the full launch of the game in the (hopefully) near future.
Mod Korpz Head of FunOrb
Trivia[]
- Some moderators after logging in on the moderator beta found they could still change their rating by playing rated games.
- Many things such as achievements were disabled which left players feeling a bit cheated as they had nothing to show they played the beta.
- The instructions on the game just said WIP (which stood for work in progress).
- Jagex Moderators changed the game whilst in-game. They sometimes changed the ball, they changed it into The torquing hamster, a tennisball, a basketball, a beachball, an asteroid, a burning asteroid and an atom.
- Jagex moderators also changed the appearance of thier players into things other players couldn't! Mod socrates' player was seen shiny, invisible and just an outline, Huge and able to run faster, with his arms outstretched running like a plane and at one point he even made his player do the moonwalk!