Assuming there aren’t any major bugs that prove to be a hindrance, the alpha test for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn will begin on October 29th, says the game’s producer, Naoki Yoshida, in his latest “Letter from the Producer” column.
Yoshida also uploaded a few new screenshots of the game that the development team took during server stress tests. Check these out below, along with descriptions from Yoshida:
Adventurers turned up in droves to put one of the new instanced dungeons, Tam-Tara Deepcroft, through its paces.
As you can see, the new engine can handle a lot of characters at once, and I even had the settings set to high. (In case you’re wondering, everyone is sporting exclusive alpha gear for the dungeon.)
In preparation for the beta and official release versions, we’ve also been testing new content that pits large groups against enormous foes. There’s some chatting going on in the log, but the content name is wrong. (lol)
One of our staff members took a widescreen snap while we were trading blows with the mighty adamantoise.
Yoshida also adds that folks that didn’t make it into the alpha shouldn’t be disheartened—Square Enix plan to continue adding testers with each phase, so you still have a chance to make it in at a later point.
