Beta?

I was wondering the same thing. I just pre-ordered the game itself but would love to get the beta version to get a preview.

I was assuming that the beta would be released on April 24, as indicated on the Political Machine website. If the date changed it would be great to get a simple update on the official website or forum.

I guess they're neglecting this site in order to get the new Gal Civ II expansion out. It would be nice to have some communication from them though.

Ok, checking on the main Stardock forums I found this thread. https://forums.stardock.com/309510

Looks like beta's been delayed, but no word on how far back it's been pushed.

I agree.

it was supose to come out right after release of the GC expasion at thats what i was told when i emailed them.

Can anyone from Stardock give us an update? Clearly the 'release schedule' hasn't been met. I don't mind the wait, but wouldn't mind a bit of info.

Sorry to say this, but because of the lack of updates/communication from Stardock on this game, I cancelled my preorder last week. It looks good and everything, but it is very unlike Stardock to not give any progress reports or updates. They never announced on the front page of the game that the betas were pushed back, they haven't announced or predicted when the new beta will be, or even if there will be one since we're getting so close to the announced release date. They seem more interested in creating pages on social networking sites (twitter, facebook) which have the exact same (lack) of information as the main site.

Maybe when it's released I'll purchase it, but this silence made me uneasy about my preorder. I wish Stardock luck with the rest of the development, and like I said, I might give it a shot when it's finally out.

The non-communication thing is very unusual for Stardock. Would be nice to know what is going on...

I was hoping to at least get a beta before I leave for Vietnam June 13. Now it looks like I won't be able to play TPM 2008 until mid July. I had planned to show it to some Vietnamese people I know. However I do have to be discrete. They are fascinated with our political system. This game would be a huge hit among a certain group there. I was planning to leave them my CD of TPM 2008 and then buy myself another copy when I return.

I might be able to download the final version while I am in Hanoi, but I have to decide if this might get me in trouble. Also I could not give the download to my Vietnamese friends.

Please Stardock, send me something before June 13. Don't let me rot in some foreign jail--or worse--lose my laptop, just for downloading your program in a communist country. (Probably being a little dramatic--but you never know.)

I'm totally shocked at the fact that we don't have the beta or have no heard anything from Stardock. This is new for them, they've always had good communication. So how about someone from SD looking at this and letting us know whats going on?

Kyle

I'm not sure of the exact day it was released. However I was able to download the beta via Impulse on the 24th of May. Have a look in the games tab of Impulse.

how do you download the beta?

Download a copy of Impulse, then provided you've pre-ordered go to the "My Games" tab where you should see "The Political Machine 2008" select it and install.

I downloaded the program and clicked on my games. It said that I had no applications in this category. I could not access the Polticial Machine 2008 even though I preordered it.

I preordered late last night and there's nothing relating to Political Machine 2008 appearing on Impulse yet.

I'm guessing I have to register it by putting in the serial code in "My registrations". I dont have this code yet, only an order number.

Hoping to receive a serial number via email today, but if not then perhaps I've missed the chance for beta access.

I pre-ordered over a month ago and have not recieved a serial... I doubt the beta has been released yet. If it will ever be who knows?

So Jinksy has got it but nobody else has, that seems quite odd.

No go for me either. Had preordered the disk+digital download back on 4/6.

I just wish someone on the inside would give some official update. Even a vague one like "The beta will be released as soon as Clinton realizes she's lost the nomination." would be nice.    If the beta is to remained closed, that's fine too... just give us an idea of the release schedule. I know they're hard at work on TPM2008, but it wouldn't take long to just throw up something.

This is just plain strange. I've been playing it for the last few days without a problem. I'm not sure why I've got it before anyone here has; I pre-ordered it the first day I saw it listed on TGN so maybe its based on the processing of orders - not sure.

One thing I have noticed is that in Impulse the icon for political machine 2008 is the TGNET icon. Possibly someone goofed and I'm not supposed to have it just yet. If that's the case, well I must have been lucky.

The beta seems quite stable and playing with the bubble head dolls is fun. Hope someone else receives it shortly as I went to the online multi-player section and the silence is deafening.

I sent an email to stardock sales. The sales department will send a reply promptly. Unfortunately when I have emailed them in the past their prompt replies are that they do not know anything. I told them someone had downloaded a beta via impulse but I could not access the beta. Here is what they replied.

Hello,

A public beta is not yet available for Political Machine 2008. The person you speak of may be part of a small group of testers. When a public beta becomes available, you will receive your registration information.

Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Regards,
Melissa
Stardock Sales

I wasn't aware of anything relating to a small group of testers. I just booted up impulse and there it was.

I just had a look at the version number: 0.90.006 with a date of 5/23/2008 so there must be at least someone else with it now.

Same here. I have the game. I pre ordered it on the 5 of may I think. Maybe a bit earlier. Booted impulse up because I stopped using star dock and there to my surprise was PM2008. Been playing and loving it even tho I can't save a game.

I'm having a bad computer day.

I had written a nice long response and then my computer hung (freaking Thinkpad hangs if it's not plugged in).

Anyway...

Long story short:  We're not going to be able to do the open beta like we had hoped.We're pretty bummed about that as the public betas are our favorite part of the development process.  Due to the tigher than expected deadline, we've been burning the midnight oil (I'm finsihing up a 40 hour day) to get it done so that it can hit shelves on June 17th.

I'll put together a guided tour. It's just so much better than the original.

Yea, the hours right now we're putting in are beyond anything we've ever done.  We'll be more online when the gold is looking close to being ready.

Indeed. I should clarify that we do have it available for a handful of people who have TGN accounts.  But we have no formal beta program.