Accessing test server instructions

[Olon97]

The moderator of the Test server forums has given permission to pass on the instructions for joining the server (here).

Character creation has now been enabled on the Test Realms. Please feel free to distribute your invitation emails to your friends so that they can download, install, and test the beta patch with you. You should be aware though that no additional high level characters that were not originally invited to the test will be copied over to the Test Realms. Players downloading the beta patch that were not originally invited to the test will only be able to create and test with new characters. Please also remember that any characters you create, experience you gain, or items you receive on the Test Realms will not be transferred back to the retail servers when the patch goes live to the general public.

Note anyone not officially invited will have no toons copied over and will only be able to make level 1 characters. No idea how frequently things will be wiped there.

Here is the e-mail:

Congratulations!  You have been selected as one of the testers for our new test
realm.  We invite you to experience the wealth of upcoming content available on
this realm before it is released to the general public.  New dungeon
adventures, items, and quests await you! 

You will not be able to create new characters on the test realm. Your level
55-60 character has been copied to the test realm and will be waiting for you when
you log in. Keep in mind that your characters might be erased from the test
realm from time to time. Experience earned, items obtained, or any changes to the
test character will in no way affect your original character on our retail
realms, as it is just a copy of the original. Also, the experience, items, and gold
your character gains on the test realm will not be transferred to your
character on the retail realms.

Due to the nature of this realm, there may be issues with the content.  We ask
that you report anything you feel may be a bug on the test realm forum located
at http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/board.as...=wow-realm-test. 
Technical Support is not available for the test realm.  If you experience any
technical difficulties, please follow the instructions below to revert back to the
retail version of the game.

In addition, we will not be offering GM support on this realm – please be
mindful of your fellow testers and be cautious during your play.

Please do not reply to this email.  If you have any questions, please post in
the Public Test Realm forum located at
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/board.as...=wow-realm-test.

The files you need in order to play on the test realm are attached to this
email. Detailed instructions for their use are listed here.
• Save the attached files to your Desktop or to a folder somewhere on your
computer.  These files are used to patch you up to the test version and back down
to the retail version so you can play on the retail server.
• Do not create two separate World of Wacraft clients on your machine. This can
cause caching issues and instability on both clients.
• Do not delete patch files that are downloaded. This will allow you to patch
up and back much more quickly in the future.  If you delete them you will have
to uninstall and reinstall the entire game client.

To Patch Up from 1.2.4 to 1.3.0
1. Locate the realmlistPBS.wtf file that you saved from this email. 
Right-click the file and choose Copy.  Now go to your World of Warcraft directory
(normally located at C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft\).  Once you are in the World
of Warcraft directory, go to the Edit menu and choose paste.
2. In the World of Warcraft directory, locate the file named realmlist.wtf and
delete it.  Now locate the file realmlistPBS.wtf that you just pasted into this
directory.  Right-click this file and choose Rename.  Rename the file to
realmlist.wtf.  As you can see, we are simply replacing the realm list file.
3. Log into World of Warcraft using your usual Account Name and Password.  The
game will start to download the updated patch.  This patch will launch the
Blizzard Downloader application, which will download a double patch (one file) that
contains information for patching up to 1.3.0 and reverting back to 1.2.4.
4. When the Blizzard Downloader finishes, the patch will be installed. Once the
patch is complete, log back in and you will see one or two test servers. 
Thanks to the patch, they will be displayed in green text (meaning you have a
version match).
5. Do not delete patch files that are downloaded. This will allow you to patch
up and back much more quickly in the future.  If you delete them you will have
to reinstall the entire client before you can revert back to the public version
of the game.


To Patch Down from 1.3.0 to 1.2.4
1. When you are ready to revert back to the retail version of the game (1.2.4),
locate the realmlistRETAIL.wtf file that you saved from this email.  Copy and
paste this file into the World of Warcraft directory as explained above.  Delete
the existing realmlist.wtf file and rename realmlistRETAIL.wtf to
realmlist.wtf.
2. Log into World of Warcraft using your usual Account Name and Password.  The
game will then download another small patch and will install the previously
downloaded patch (The second half of the "double patch" mentioned in step 3
above).
3. Log back in and you should now see all the retail realms listed in
GOLD/GREEN text to indicate that the client and server are matched.  The test realms
will not be visible when the retail realms are visible and vice versa.

Please do not distribute these files to other players.  While we appreciate
everyone's enthusiasm, we have selected certain players for a reason and must
maintain a safe load on the realm.  We will revoke testing rights and any future
testing invitations from those who distribute these files to players who were not
selected to participate in this test.

Please do not reply to this email.  If you have any questions, please post in
the test realm forum located at
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/board.as...=wow-realm-test.

We hope to see you online and in game!

Blizzard Entertainment

Here is the content of realmlistPBS.wtf :

Code:

set realmlist beta.us.logon.worldofwarcraft.com

Here is the content of realmlistRETAIL.wtf :

Code:

set realmlist us.logon.worldofwarcraft.com

A text editor that doesn't mess up file format / linebreaks (crimson editor / emacs / etc.) should be able to modify a copy of the existing realmlist.wtf to the above 2 versions just fine (I suspect the original is exactly the same as the RETAIL version).

If all else fails, full reinstall and don't blame me - use at your own risk. ;)

[choppedliver]

Thanks for posting this!

[ima_nerd]

What program will open the file, though? .wtf is not an extension I've ever heard of.

[Treesh]

What program will open the file, though? .wtf is not an extension I've ever heard of.
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Any text editor should. It's just blizzard being fancy - wtf stand for Warcraft text file (or something like that). ;)

[Kevin]

What program will open the file, though? .wtf is not an extension I've ever heard of.
[right][snapback]70913[/snapback][/right]

As Treesh said, you can just right click and use open with and use notepad to look at it if you want. If you want a more robust text editor you can get something like Textpad and use it. It's nice enough to add a right click extension for you so you don't have to registry edit or use the open with dialog. I had been an ultraedit user, but Textpad works nearly as well and is free.

[DarkCrown]

What program will open the file, though? .wtf is not an extension I've ever heard of.
[right][snapback]70913[/snapback][/right]

I can't resist.

Spend much time on Proudmoore (or any of the Terrible Twenty) and you'll know exactly why this is the right extension for the realm list. :)

-DC

[ima_nerd]

I can't resist.

Spend much time on Proudmoore (or any of the Terrible Twenty) and you'll know exactly why this is the right extension for the realm list.  :)

-DC
[right][snapback]70966[/snapback][/right]

Haha. I thought of just picking a text editor to open it but it was much later that I did... doh.