Gratz on the invite mate, still waiting for mine :(

Have you tried the benchmark, that should tell you if your PC will handle it or not.

Sign in here mate, Se account page or Beta site

Thats assuming you remember your log in details.

Woooo! nice!!

Also, I got into the Beta on PC but bloody hell, I dont think my PC can handle it :S

Nomura on Versus XIII:

- All the screenshots in the interview are captured from the game running in real time.
- The movement of the clouds in the game are controlled by the physics engine in the game.
- The game employs an open field concept, so you can travel anywhere except into mountains.
- The encounter system is a mix of random and visible encounters? (Confusing point, the blog doesn't seem clear either.)
- Battles are seamless. The only loading in the game will occur when moving between very large areas. They're aiming for the ultimate in seamlessness.
- Objects along the paths of roads can be destroyed.
- Most people will not believe their eyes when they see the high quality of the battles in motion.
- The staff are highly motivated now.
- There will still be improvements and more polish on the visuals made, the visuals in the screens are the game running at the moment.

- You'll be able to use a car as promised. You can exit it and move on foot at any time as well.
- Enemies will be visible on the field, and while some enemies are wandering around, others will suddenly appear and surprise you. (This clarifies what the random and visible comment meant, and it also confirms that game will be similar to FFXII in that sense.)
- Nomura says they're planning for a big unveiling of Versus at some point, but he doesn't really give any deadline for it.
- There will be some announcements at TGS of titles which have not been revealed at all yet.

The staff are highly motivated now.

If your pc can't handle it, and you wont play it, can you please pass it to me?

My pc can handle it with no problem, and I will really like to try this beta. :D

Changes from Alpha to Beta by Elmer @ (ZAM)

Famitsu.com posted a short list of the main differences players can expect as Final Fantasy XIV moves into the beta phase. According to information given at E3, we are only a few short weeks away, so let's take a look at what we can expect!

* The Effect Gauge, which influenced the accuracy and power of an attack, has been removed.
* Along with the removal of the Effect Gauge, the function of the Action Gauge has been altered. Previously, the player would need a full Action Gauge to execute a command, whereas now commands instead consume a specific portion of the gauge.
* The Action Menu, where players can customize their list of actions, has been expanded to 30 slots. There are 10 slots allocated for Traits (class-specific characteristics) and Abilities (crafting-specific characteristics)
* The "Physical Bonus" system, which affects HP/MP, stats and elemental affinities, has been changed. Now, HP/MP rise automatically along with the player's level and only stats are customizable. Also, the list of stats has been adjusted from 8 to 6. Elemental affinities have been separated and will now require the use of "Elemental Bonus" points to increase.
* Throwing weapons have been added and can be equipped and used with the "Throw" action.
* Left/Right Ear 1 and Left/Right Finger 2 equipment slots have been added.
* New abilities can be set when a shield is equipped.
* Distance and orientation relative to the enemy will have more of an effect on the battle.
* The amount and variety of Guildleves has increased.
* The level cap has been increased.
* Players can now consume items.
* Food has been introduced, which is used to temporarily strengthen a player character.
* A number of changes have been made so the menus and chat logs are easier to read and navigate.

This update comes from FF Reunion. The Square Enix fan site reports the following bits, presumably based off various flying get sources from Famitsu and Dengeki, both of which seem to have some major Square Enix media this week:

The Versus screenshots show a fight with a weaponized Behemoth in a city.
Square Enix will be showing an unannounced title at TGS. Given the context, I think this means a Nomura game.
Nomura says that the Versus visual quality will improve even beyond what's shown in the new screenshots.

Game Jouhou has updated with a few additional Versus XIII details from either Famitsu or Dengeki.

Apparently, the included screens show a massive wilderness scene. Also included is a battle scene that's set in a city modeled after Shinjuku, and a scene showing a gasoline stand.

Says Nomura about the game's world, "If you try to go all the way to the end, it's truly far."

Also from the Nomura interview:

The game's cloud effects use real physics calculations
The world is an open field, and you can go everywhere except for the mountains
The battles are seamless
The game's encounter system is both random and symbol-based (meaning you can see enemies in advance). Hmm... what could this mean?
The game's world is mostly seamless, although there are some load points when you switch between the massive areas.
You can destroy objects that you find on the road.
The quality of the combat scenes is so high that people will not be able to believe it when they first see it.
The staff is excited about making the game.
Nomura also confirms that the screens in the magazine are all realtime, captured off the PlayStation 3. Of course, this won't mean much until we can actually see the screens...

New Final Fantasy Versus XIII Info Coming at TGS
I believe there were some reports during E3 of The Last Guardian making an appearance at this year's Tokyo Game Show. Well it won't be carrying the PS3 all by itself! Famitsu has an article on Final Fantasy Versus XIII this week, complete with new screenshots (finally!) and a Tetsuya Nomura interview! It looks like Nomura confirms some announcements for the game at TGS!

Joining a lengthy interview on Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded, this week's Famitsu has a significantly shorter interview with Tetsuya Nomura on Final Fantasy Versus XIII.

Most of the discussion focused on three new screenshots. It will be a bit tough to follow most of this summary without seeing the screens for yourself, but here are some textual descriptions.

1. A scene of main character Noctis standing on a cliff, looking out over a vast field, with a highway directly below, a desert clearing in the distance, and mountains in the far distance. The caption for this notes that you can walk as far as you can see.
2. A scene of Noctis standing in front of a gas station. In the caption for this scene, the magazine notes that one of the themes of the game is a "road movie."
3. A scene of Noctis facing off against a giant creature in a city-like scene. The visuals here look extremely modern -- you can see crosswalks and even bike lanes marked off on the road below. It looks like an in-game version of Tokyo, except for the giant beast.
The screens are all taken off real hardware, Nomura said. The game currently runs at the quality shown in the screens, said Nomura, and they'll be improving the visuals even further.

Not only are the screens real time, but they represent the perspective from which you'll play the game. The camera angle is for the most part what's shown in the screens -- from a third person view. They were originally considering switching to an overhead view when you moved into the outside world, but ended up keeping the the world as an open field in order to keep you close to the action.

Of course, actual screenshots will have menus and icons. According to Nomura, these bits were removed because they did not want to let details on the game out.

Nomura shared some details on a screen-by-screen basis.

Regarding the gasoline and field screen, Famitsu noted that the game's sky color is finely detailed. Nomura said first that they're using true physics calculations for the movement of the clouds. He also noted that it took the staff a while to determine the visual direction they would take with the game. They could do all sorts of different visual styles by changing such things as filters and sunlight color.

Regarding the field screenshot, Nomura said that the field is an "open field," meaning you can walk through "nearly everything" shown in the field screenshot except for the mountains. He also said, "If you want to go to the end, it's truly far."

Regarding the city scene with the beast, Nomura pointed out that the beast is a military-use behemoth. It has a giant sword on its back.

The city scene is actually a battle screen. Normally, it would have a command menu and other information.

The menus and prompts aren't all that's missing, though. Noctis is shown fighting the behemoth by himself. In the actual game, you'll fight as part of a party. The reason the party members aren't shown in the screen is because Square Enix has yet to officially reveal the weapons and clothing for these characters.

Famitsu noted of the battle scene, the "Shinjuku cityscape is real." The model for the area, said Nomura, is the surroundings of Square Enix's Shinjuku office, right down to the bicycle markings on the street.

The three areas shown in the screenshots are all connected. The screen with the field and the screen with the gasoline stand are from the same location. The field extends out from the rear of the gas stand. These two areas are located immediately outside the city depicted in the battle screenshot.

It all looks like a pretty large area for what appears to be the game's prologue location, Famitsu noted. No need to worry, though, as Nomura revealed that you'll have access to a car. You can board and disembark your car whenever you like. Take your car out into the field area, and you'll eventually approach the submerged area that was shown in past promotional trailers.

It looks like you'll encounter monsters out on the field. Some will be roaming about, with Nomura citing an example of a behemoth walking around on a hill in the distance. In other instances, monsters will appear quickly.

In this week's "Flying get" column, there was a bullet point about the game featuring both symbol and random encounters. I presume this is where these points come from. Nomura did not specially mention symbol and random encounters, though, so it may be a bit too hasty to picture an RPG-like system.

Asked if the field and battles will be seamless, meaning no loading or screen transitions, Nomura said that the battles will be for the most part seamless. When you move between large areas, and when there are event cut-ins, there may be some loading, although the staff is trying to make the game as seamless as possible.

The magazine closed off by asking Nomura when we can expect additional Versus XIII details. This is still a ways off, he said, but he added "We're making preparations for a big announcement."

It's supposed to be slow paced, its not a twitch WoW clone ... plus the game servers are in Japan you make the game too active and fast paced, latency is guna kick you in the teeth.

Still its much faster than FF11, and as with any RPG its hardly fun to watch someone else playing.

Alpha has finished now anyway, I believe Alimo bought himself a new graphics card though so he could play.

and that stupid Graphics Card has yet to arrive! GRRRRRRR!!!

Ok cool :P no problem :D

I really want to try this beta. I'm still hoping they will send me an invitation.

MTYF