unused beta codes should...

really no use in having inactive beta testers, will not only mean less beta keys for active users, but also less test/evaluation since that is ultimately what a beta is about.

+1 nice idea ..... but what if the person who gets key is on vacation(talking about one week less or more) and do not have access to mail or to download the game ?

ps: maybe someone mentioned this i did not browse all pages just first 2 ....

!bump

i love reading these posts about people QQing becuase they want a beta code ... Get over it , it's a game , it's not going to kill you if you dont get in right now . Same shit happened with APB's beta all forum discussion halted to "QQ i was original player you should give me key for this reason" . Stop with the whining and wait , all topics regarding keys should be insta locked by the mods
/rant end

could you guys stop saying "GGG"

it always remind me of "German Goo Girls" and I feel a little sick

This may have been discussed elsewhere in this thread. If so, sorry, but at least I'll reiterate.

While I understand and mostly agree with the OP's suggestion (also coming from a programming background), I'd alter it a bit.

Do the time based check to see if they've joined the beta yet. If not, *don't send their key to someone else*, rather, send a brand new key to a known active user. Invalidating the old key is bad on the user experience (they might be on vacation, or haven't checked that email, or maybe it went in spam and they didn't realize but soon will, etc).

Now, the main thing here is the devs will have a target number of players they want playing at any time. They're probably already sending out the number of keys based on how many they think will be "wasted" (not used) and how many will be used, and ideally that would hit the target.

They can still hit that target though if they send out less keys overall, do the "send out more for each that isn't used in X period", and assume some small percentage of the unused become used within a week or so (resend those invitations periodically).

While this method would give the devs about the same number of active players at any point, it would also make all the rabid fans here on the forums wanting to get in (myself included) more chances.

I understand getting your name out to the masses in order to even give this free game a chance to survive, but don't underestimate word of mouth coming from the people here :) Turn those inactive invitations into active ones!

tldr:
1. Devs will have a target number of players they want playing the beta at any point. This is "number of players they expect to accept invite" - "number of players they expect to not accept invite" = "target number of players they want playing".
2. Decrease the number of invites going out. We don't want to turn all non-accepted invites into accepted invites because then they won't hit their target.
3. For non-accepted invites, after a period of time, send an invite to a known active player (but don't send the same key as before, keep that key valid, and send a brand new key).
4. All your biggest fans (the ones on these forums) have a much better chance getting in and you still get the chance to send out the emails to the other people.