Mortal Kombat 11's release is getting closer and closer - it'll be out just next month in North America - and to prepare for its launch, developer NetherRealm Studios is hosting an online stress test. Sadly, it looks like Switch owners will be missing out.
Taking place from 15th - 17th March, the test will allow lucky fans who have registered for a place to jump in for a small taste of the action, helping the development team to fully optimise its online gameplay. The game's publisher, Warner Bros., has shared an FAQ to provide fans with more info, confirming that the stress test will only be available to players on PlayStation and Xbox, just like the pre-order beta testing.
What platforms will the Online Stress Test be available for?
The Online Stress Test will be available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4 Pro, Xbox One and Xbox One X.
The test was already limited to fans in North America only anyway, and only some of those who register are set to be selected so your chances were already pretty slim. If you're eager to get your hands on the game, it looks like you'll just have to wait for its full release later down the line.
Are you itching to try the game out for yourself? Do you wish you could join in with the stress test on your Switch? Let us know in the usual place.
[source mortalkombatgamessupport.wbgames.com, via nintendosoup.com]
Comments 82
Still no shaggy.
It won't happen, but a man can dream...
Well, that sucks. Strange that they seem to be leaving out the PC version as well. Makes you a bit suspicious as to the quality of the PC and Switch ports since NetherRealm seems so intent on keeping them out of sight...
Here's hoping that at the very least they show more of the Switch version later on.
I'll buy this on Switch, but I don't like how it's being handled so far...
Switch Online is pretty stressed as is.
Smash is a lag session.
Splatoon has frequent disconnects.
Mario Tennis literally pauses gameplay on a regular basis.
I feel like Nintendo Online should have remained forever FREE.
Next thing they’re going to tell us is that the Shao Kahn pre-order bonus won’t be for the Switch too.
This doesn't bode well for the Switch and PC port.
Fed up with all these Beta stress tests anyway; never can seem to get a game in! The only successful ones from my memory have been Splatoon 2!
That's totally okay Warner Bros. but don't be surprise if angry customers call you to complain about the crappy online server issue on the Switch and PC cause you're too lazy to let other people test it out. I mean c'mon I get the part about you too lazy to test out a feature but too lazy to let someone else do it for you?
Definitely giving this a go on the one X
What do they mean with "stress test"? Can someone explain?
@sikthvash Well that's kind of the point though. It's less of a demo and more of a way for developers to see where their netcode is broken so it can be fixed before launch.
This went from a day one to a wait and see what the reactions are.
@Zach777 I rarely ever get lag in Smash, almost never get disconnected in Splatoon 2.
Sounds to me like you need a word with your ISP.
The title of the article sounds a bit off... Is NL host ing the Stress test. If I was the publisher of NL I'd be a bit more respectful of the readership and Nintendo Switch owners.
@Zach777 I don’t care that Nintendo is charging for online access but I definitely think that there should have been some serious improvements since it’s release.
I won’t ever buy this game but I think it’s crazy that they’re not taking advantage of potential customers by not putting their network test on Switch also. It mostly makes me wonder why which makes me think it’s just not as impressive as it should be.
I hope no one is surprised by this.
I mean, if the biggest complaint about the game is lack of a network test, I'd say we're in pretty good standing.
The full game is coming to Switch. And no lack of network test or beta is going to change that.
They are afraid of showing us the switch graphics ;P
lol that switch respect as of right now...from all the major companies
@The-Chosen-one It's basically one or several final test runs, of a game's online performance, as well as an opportunity for the participants to comment and report on gameplay features and/or any possible bugs they might encounter during several moments in the game, such as in-menu, during single player combat or online multiplayer.
EDIT:
That's also where the moniker/name stress test comes from: playing it until it breaks, or not, hopefully...
@Zach777 Maybe pony up to upgrade that dial up connection.
That means it will run perfectly without hiccups on Switch, and they aren't concerned at all, right? ....right? xD
I think that people commenting on how bad Switch support is, should read the article again: even on the included platforms, they will only select a generous handful of people to participate in the stress test, from probably thousands who registered, so all other gamers on Xbox and PlayStation are also unable to join in, and on top of that, European and Asian gamers are left out as well, so it really isn't as bad as you people think it is...
In any case, it's most definitely not a "oh no, they screwed over Switch owners again" situation.
If it's part of the NSO service I get why they're skipping. It'd prob totally unsell the game. Smash is horrible online. If I didn't abso love the gameplay mechanics of Smash I would not play it online ever.
@Zach777 sure it’s not your end? I haven’t played Splatoon in awhile but it very rarely disconnected for me. And Smash literally only lags for me if I am facing someone with a poor connection. I just remove them from the arena and the problem is solved. Never once had lag when playing with friends either, it definitely gets tied to individual players, likely because it’s P2P instead of servers (so the connection is only as good as the worst player’s connection).
I'm dreaming of the day for all games cross progression and pay one discounted price to play the same game on Xbox/Switch. I'm seeing doubles for most of my games. I'll be purchasing this on Xbox One first and follow up with a purchase on Switch after switch reviews.
I hope the Switch version is good. I really want to support it!
Of course it is! I'm only mildly interested in the game, but it being on the Switch goes a long way to making me want to try it. I hope we see some Switch footage sooner rather than later.
@Zach777 : With 8 million users already (so much for boycotting), Nintendo have little to no reason to bother improving the "service". That's probably the easiest money that Nintendo has ever made.
The problem with Switch online games is that too many people play in handheld mode. Wireless is always going to have lag. You need to play docked with your switch connected to your router with an Ethernet cable. You can have the best internet connection in the world, but if you don't play docked, you're going to get lag.
@The-Chosen-one Some players get extremely stressed when playing fighting games. I think Switch was excluded to avoid massive breakage of Switches prior to game release.
Has this not been the case since the game was announced anyway?
@Zach777 Its worth investing in a LAN adapter. When I play Splatoon 2 docked with LAN connection I get zero disconnects and very little lag & my MK8dx experience has been excellent.
Smash is a lag fest though, only played one match & had a 7 second delay between button press and action.
I'm getting this for my One X. I was originally planning to get it for Switch, but there's too many variables holding it back. No pre-order option (no Shao Kahn?), no deluxe version, and it's being ported by a third party instead of by Netherlands themselves. We really don't know what the quality will be like for the Switch version. As a serious Mortal Kombat fan, I think I need to go for the X version and wait and see on Switch.
If it's amazing for Switch I might buy it for both consoles, but the X is definitely getting my money first. I can pre-order it there, for one.
Nintendo , the red headed step child of the gaming industry the moment the N64 (my favorite system) hit shelves.
I'd much rather have a port of mk armagedon from the Wii. Or mk deadly alliance from ps2.
@SuperWeird Uhm... that's NetherRealm, not Netherlands.
Would be kind of amazing, though, if a game would have been developed by an entire country...
@ThanosReXXX
aah i understand now. Tnx!
Eh, not that big a deal really. PC version also excluded, only for people here in the U.S., on top of that, still only regulated to a select number of people.... Yeah, I wouldn't necessarily say this really means bad things for the Switch version.
With that said, I just hope the Switch version runs well enough.
I bet it's because it has no online!
@ThanosReXXX With NetherRealm track record with the PC,no,it's not looking good for the Switch port.
@The-Chosen-one You're welcome.
@MsJubilee What does NetherRealm's track record on PC have to do with the Switch? Either way, the Switch missing from this online stress test says absolutely NOTHING whatsoever, so people drawing conclusions out of that, are more than likely assuming a bit too much...
@MadJay1664 Why would you want a PS2 or Wii port? I've got Armageddon and I thought it was pretty good, but slapping on a fresh layer of HD paint won't make it a good current gen game. Not to mention when I buy a "new" game, I much prefer it to be a NEW game rather than replay something I already have.
Also the pre- order bonus Shao Kahn. I've come to expect no less from NR ever since Injustice Wii U. Be prepared to be mostly ignored Nintendo players. I've canceled my preorder and will wait to see Switch gets actual parity support. But I know the likely answer already.
@Megal0maniac
-Assumptions are always dangerous.
@DanteSolablood
-I’ve been looking at them. I can’t seem to find a Nintendo made one.
@ShadJV
-I don’t think so. MK8D has never had an issue. Neither has Pokken Tournament DX. I don’t know a lot about online programming (ahem I know nothing) but I’d think you want to iron it out before releasing a game.
@MysticGengar But have they tricked us all and added Scooby
If a developer treats a version of a game as being inferior, fans will look at it that way. I don’t think it will impact sales all that much for the Switch version, but come on
@Indielink I totally understand why, but I just don't seem to have much luck heh. All the recent ones were a total waste of my time as I spent ages waiting in lobbies or just keep being disconnected without actually getting to do anything. Anyway, enough of my whinging!
@Zach777 All Nintendo games on the Switch are peer to peer online. Having a bad connection in a game only means either one of the following three things
1. You have a terrible internet connection. And / or
2. The people you play with have a bad connection. And / or
3. The people you play with are in a different region.
Why do us Ninty fans always draw the short straw?
@ThanosReXXX Oh right...!
@SuperWeird Ah, don't worry about it. Happens to the best of us.
Couldn't help myself, though...
Fans throw a GET OVER HERE! spear at the game,
but WB inputs a same-frame teleport away from the Switch.
@spirit_flame did u seriously get confused by the title? Who in their right mind would think NL is hosting the stress test. That makes no sense.
@Zach777 can't say I have many issues with either Splatoon or Smash. On smash I usually just remove someone from Arena due to their poor connection and Splatoon, arms and MK8DX run buttery smooth for me.
I just saw, "Mortal Kombat 11 is skipping Switch" and that got me worried before I did a double take. I don't care for the stress test. I just want it on the Switch when it releases.
Online stress test?
"I'm getting pretty tired of this, man."
"You volunteered for this didn't you? We're paying you, aren't we?"
"Yeah, but I didn't know I'd be getting electric shocks!"
I like that switch only owners have access to games like Mortal Kombat and Doom and Wolfenstein. Having said that, after buying Doom and Wolfenstein II on both Xbox one X and switch, I will be purchasing MK 11 on the Xbox. I am sure the switch version will have to make quite a few concessions to run this. Just like my original Gameboy version on Mortal Kombat did.
Then I'm skipping the game.
First strike.
I just might not get this after all.
@Zach777 Ignore the folks saying its your side. Splatoon drops because the host rage quits and Smash is awful even on a fibre to the premises connection. I rarely have issues with Rocket League which is not handled by Ninty. Also... the hackers
@Zach777 generally that’s not a problem with programming though. If it’s server based, it could be crappy servers... but this is P2P so there’s no servers. Meaning when there’s problems, it’s one of the users’ connections. Granted, P2P isn’t the best choice here, since one bad connection affects all other players in the match. Which is why Nintendo recommends buying an adaptor to use a wired connection. If you have good enough internet, it doesn’t matter, but Smash is their most demanding online game, it needs to send a lot of information about each player on pretty much every frame because it’s still fast paced. Splatoon is likely pretty demanding too because it’s sending information on 16 players and the state of the entire field. On the other hand, Pokken is purely one on ones and has considerable less information to send for the two characters; it does need fast reaction times but it’s not as frame perfect so it can get away with a little less. And Mario Kart isn’t very demanding comparatively, it has a lot of players but doesn’t need any real information other than location and whether they used an item (and it likely fudges a lot, it can skip quite a few frames of information and fill in the gaps with predictive movement, fixing their position if necessary afterwards without much noticing because it’s less than a second, and it doesn’t even need to worry about being perfect if the characters aren’t on the player’s screen). Smash and Splatoon are likely your two most demanding games which is why you’re having problems there. They rely on stronger internet.
P2P isn’t the best choice because it puts responsibility on the users, and I don’t necessarily agree with having users pay when they aren’t even utilizing servers, but that’s what they went with and it would take heavy restructuring of the game to change to servers so that’s basically what we’re stuck with now. But it does mean that when there’s problems, it’s almost always one of the player’s connections, and this is easily verifiable in Smash if you have a good connection and find someone with a bad connection (or from a far region, as that’s a factor too) - every match with that person will be laggy. And if you find every match is laggy for you, chances are you’re that person, which is why Nintendo kept pushing for people to buy Ethernet adaptors before Smash came out. It’s a demanding, fast paced game and only can really work online with really stable internet, and Ethernet is much more stable than WiFi. If they had servers instead of P2P, it would take a little strain off the users and, more importantly, lag would only affect the player with poor internet, not all players in the match.
@BumpkinRich except plenty of us play Smash online all the time and rarely experience lag, only when we encounter a player with poor internet, whom we immediately kick from the room. Smash runs fine with good internet, but one player with bad internet poisons the whole match.
@DanteSolablood chances are you played against someone with poor internet in that match. There’s no lag if all players have good internet. I literally play online all the time.
@ShadJV Thats because you are doing the work Nintendo should be doing for you. You literally just explainred part of the matchmaking process that most games do.
When you say 'we' are you talking about people in a resonably close geographic location.. in the same country for example.
Get ready for poor online performance on Switch. You'll be doing the stress testing for them on release.
@BumpkinRich I’m talking about people who don’t have problems with lag in Smash. The game’s matchmaking does take region into account but it can’t tell who has poor internet.
And I’m not saying Nintendo didn’t drop the ball with Switch Online, it really should have had servers instead of P2P. But I am saying that Smash lag is completely avoidable. I find a laggy person maybe 1 in 20 matches at worst, and I just kick them and the problem is solved.
@ShadJV It shouldnt be down to people to be kicking players for making their game bad. Thats an awful way for a game to work.
Matchmaking should not be putting those players in you game.
@ShadJV Thanks, I freely admit that I only played the one match of Smash, but that was bad enough that I've not gone back.
Not had any issue with other online games though.
@BumpkinRich it’s impossible for the game’s matchmaking to know someone’s internet is poor. The reason that doesn’t happen in other games isn’t because of better matchmaking, it’s because they use servers so players with bad internet only lag their own game. Nintendo Online uses P2P so one bad internet affects everyone involved. No matter how they made Smash or its matchmaking, that was unavoidable because it’s how Switch Online is set up. And even if they add servers now, it’s too late to incorporate them in past games, they’d have to rebuild the online modes from the ground up (I doubt they’ll bother switching to servers for the Switch). The one thing they could’ve done is give bans to players who frequently disconnects, which they do in Splatoon. That comes with its pros and cons, but it’s a bandaid to a chronic problem - it’ll make the experience a bit better for the players with good internet but it’s much better to have servers so players with poor internet have the option to keep playing and just deal with the lag on their end (which doesn’t work with team games but is fine with solo because they’re bringing no one down with them). And even then, that only weeds out players with internet so bad it loses connection, not the ones simply causing lag.
@DanteSolablood it’s worth giving another shot, the rate of running into those players isn’t very high. Most give up with playing Smash online pretty quickly and switch to complaining about it online. Battle Arenas help the best because, if you create the arena, you can kick anybody who joins and has lag, and then have continuous matches against players that don’t. If you have friends with the game, all the better. And as you go up in ranking the laggy players become even fewer, most don’t get very high in the rankings for obvious reasons.
I just hope the switch version plays just as well.
I’m a huge fan.
And let’s all keep fingers crossed for a Mortal Kombat HD release of the MK,MK2, UMK3
@jswhitfield8 The Switch version is. Some contract studio down in Miami is doing it - I forget their name.
@ShadJV Thanks, I don't like to complain online but I do like to be honest. That's why I paired up my answer with hiw little experience I'd had.
I'll give it another shot.
@Zach777 I heard Smash is this way because it’s peer to peer often relying on your opponents connection. With the switch being WiFi only (in most cases) its always going to lead to lag issues.
I’m not sure about the others and how they reflect on Nintendo’s network.
Sounds like Netherealm Studios might be giving Switch owners less. I could see this being another failed AAA game on a Nintendo console. AAA developers who have succeeded on Switch have done solid releases.
@TheFox I get what you're saying but I didn't mean HD remasters I meant literally the same games just ported over like street fighter for example. Easy money for them and saves me going out to buy a Wii or a ps2 again lol
@ilikeike Well the Online Stress Test is supposed to be in correlation with the upcoming private beta for the game, which was always exclusive to PS4 and Xbox One users. For some reason Switch and PC were left out but oh well.
@bert0503 Well that isn't really the case. It appears the Switch version will be getting the same post release content as all the other versions since Switch pre orders will come with Shao Kahn like the other versions. I wouldn't be surprised if Switch also gets the Kombat Packs/Season Pass later down the line with the other versions as well.
@BlueBlur101 It's not just that. Also, solid online multiplayer. Some games are barely playable on release when it comes to online multiplayer.
@bert0503 NetherRealm's track record with online has been pretty good as of late. They definitely addressed all of MKX's online play complaints with Injustice 2, which had better netcode and smoother matchmaking, so I expect a good online experience here.
Meanwhile we're 3 months in and Smash's online is still the worst thing in existence
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