How Need for Speed Beta Feedback Is Changing the Final Game

The recent Need for Speed beta allowed EA and developer Ghost Games to test out the technical side of the game. It also gave fans a chance to try out the series reboot and offer feedback, some of which will have an effect on the final game.

Ghost today shared some of the ways the game is changing in response to the beta. Feedback included some complaints about the rate at which you progress through the game; it didn't take long to amass a sizable collection of customized vehicles. "The economy, both money and REP, continue to be balanced and on launch you will find progression is now at a more normal pace," Ghost said.

Another area where speed was troublesome was in the actual driving--specifically, the rate at which AI-controlled racers were able to drive. "This is also something that has been tweaked and improved upon for the full release," the developer promised. "When you hit the streets of Ventura Bay at launch you'll find AI competitors aren't as propelled by rocket fuel as they were at times during the closed beta."

Additionally, the wrap editor (one of the game's many customization systems) will be adding the ability to mirror a design. It's unclear if this feature is coming due to requests or was already in the works, but whatever the case, it won't be available at launch. Instead, it'll be included in a "future content update" that is currently without a date.

Ghost is still soliciting feedback from those that took part in the beta. If you played it and haven't yet shared your thoughts, you should have received a survey where you can let the company know what you think.

It was the technical tests the developer was able to run that were the "main focus" of the beta, and in that regard the beta seems to have been a success. It offered Ghost "valuable insight into how our systems would work in a live environment, with so many of you playing at the same time."

Need for Speed--so titled because it's meant to serve as a reboot of the series--is due out on November 3 for PS4 and Xbox One, with a PC edition coming in 2016. It's the first game in the series in two years; EA skipped a release in 2014, marking the first time it had done so in more than a decade. For more on whether that year off has made a difference, check out our recent preview.