I would just make a few considerations that may not please everybody, but I think they have to be said. The fact is the later the open beta comes up, the lesser the potential players will still remain, waiting for it. As time goes by most RTW players will begin to move to other RTS games, like Imperial Glory or the forthcoming RTW-Barbarian Invasion. EB-Mod is, therefore, risking to die of success. You are pretending to mod the "definitive" roman game, but, meanwhile, people is already enjoying either the IG Napoleonic campaigns or RTR 5.4.1 version (and waiting for the release of 6.0 in a few days!!!). Maybe it is too late, but you would better have a "commercial" strategy, not in terms of getting money, but in terms of retaining most of the potential players. Your product may be the best in the market, but when you make it available for the customer it is too late and you fail. Briefly, I do believe extremely urgent to finish the mod within the next 2 months, before September/October. Otherwise, players will prefer to face the new challenges of the barbarian invasions of 4th and 5th Century AD rather than keep on waiting and waiting the open beta......

PS- I do not pretend to offend anybody . I have a great respect for the whole mod team and I believe they are making a great job. But, without this "commercial" strategy only a handful of players -those devoted to the mod cause, those enthusiastics to roman times (like me) and a few others, will still be there and enjoy the mod.