Well patch 1.06 actually solved alot of problems, but they kinda lost the feel in First Encounters ... I still prefer'd Elite2.
Even after 10years i'm still searching for the Fabled Thargoid Ship
Can't believe there is still a £300,000 reward for the first person to give the name of the system it is in
As for beta testing... it really depends on what game it is, what company and what kinda people you know.
The Sims Online is hardly a good example of trying to get into a beta test as for AOL customers all of us were given a free opertunity to join in, everyone has been able to order a Beta CD for $5|10 for almost 2months now - and I mean literally order it.
Most tests you sign up and its more pure luck if you're chosen or not, but having a more exotic setup usually helps
Everyone has a Pentium4 or AMD 1,000Mhz+ system with GeForce card, blah blah, not many people use MatroxG cards.
For games here, they have very strick guidelines and althought Earth&Beyond was basically as good as an open beta - it is an online game and required a large base test, whereas Renegade and C&C Generals have had literally 1,000 placements worldwide for testing.
It's a lil stupid to say that getting into tests is easi because there are some game that even I can't get my hands on because they just never test outside of the company walls. Suchas Elite4 - as Frontier systems are reluctant for beta testing of ANY kind outside.
I've not even been able to get screenshots as of yet
Final Fantasy 11 has also been tricky to get my hands on... I have it but the current server is based only in Japan.
Search site as they usually have applications for Beta's just apply as everything is worth a try
Anata aru kowagaru no watashi!