Beta/demo without preorder?

[Interrobang]

I'd like to try out Heroes 6 but I'm not sure my computer will be able to handle it, so I don't want to preorder yet. At this time, is there any (legal, legitimate) way to access the beta without preordering? If, as I suspect, the answer is no, will there be access to a beta version or demo at a later time?

[Pol]

Try to look for Beta keys. They are sometimed distrbuted free or for 5 euro/dollars. But be carefull, trust only big known shops, otherwise it is not worthy of the try.

I should warn you also, that the public beta is one of the older builds of game and it is not kept up to date.

Better to check Minimal requirements thread first.

[Interrobang]

I did check the requirements and I'm golden except for my video card, and because I use a laptop they tend to be difficult to predict performance. Basically, I'm confident that the game will run, but I don't know if it will run well enough to be playable. In the meantime I'll keep and eye out for a way to get a key. Thanks.

[ThunderTitan]

Can't pre-orders be cancelled?

[Interrobang]

I'd probably order from Steam, and often they won't take cancellations of pre-orders if you've had Beta access.

[Variol]

You can go to this site:
http://cyri.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri/
and select the game from the drop-down list, or just type it in the search. This is very handy and saves hours of downloading time for nothing.

I had some trouble running it with Firefox, due to some Java issue (I think) but it did work with IE. My processor would be too slow to run the game. Everything else passed.

EDIT:
I thought I would post the results, because it looks like my processor should at least pass the minimum spec.

Minimum: Intel Core 2 Duo E4400 @ 2.0 GHz, AMD Athlon X2 5000+ @ 2.6 GHz
You Have: Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU E6300 @ 2.80GHz

It looks like this should pass, right? Or is Core 2 Duo something different than Dual-Core?

[Blocks100]

I too don't quite meet the minimum requirements (on the CPU side) and would rather not want the hassle of ordering something and then cancelling it after I find out, with beta access, that it runs like a dog.

Mind you, playing the demo of HOMMV put me off buying it for years! Still would like one for this latest instalment though....

[mr.hackcrag]

EDIT:
I thought I would post the results, because it looks like my processor should at least pass the minimum spec.

Minimum: Intel Core 2 Duo E4400 @ 2.0 GHz, AMD Athlon X2 5000+ @ 2.6 GHz
You Have: Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU E6300 @ 2.80GHz

It looks like this should pass, right? Or is Core 2 Duo something different than Dual-Core?

If you don't mind saying, how old is your computer?

[Variol]

It will be 2 years in October. It was an excellent price on a 1 day sale, plus I got some additional discounts as well. When it becomes worth it, I can drop a new CPU in there. I have a good 1gig video card and 8gig of RAM.

[ThunderTitan]

Minimum: Intel Core 2 Duo E4400 @ 2.0 GHz, AMD Athlon X2 5000+ @ 2.6 GHz
You Have: Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU E6300 @ 2.80GHz

It looks like this should pass, right? Or is Core 2 Duo something different than Dual-Core?

Looks to me like the program only read the generic info about the processor... while Core 2 Duo is more f a brand...

But you should also post the video card if you want to know if it will work...