The beta test for Starbound isn't very far off, according to the game's lead developer Tiy, who just posted a lengthy, and detailed article on the official Starbound website about what's in store for would-be beta testers.
Tiy says that the beta will take place in three main stages: Progenitor, Automaton, and Bio-Organic. The first, Progenitor will be the "buggiest and busiest" stage of the beta, with updates coming in thick and fast and features disabled until the developers finish them up. The second stage, Automaton, will be largely feature complete and allow testers to find bugs while experiencing the game as a complete sandbox. The final stage, Bio-Organic, will be the final push towards the game's 1.0 release with players providing feedback on what will become the finished game.
"So it won’t be too long now guys," wrote Tiy. "I just wanted to clue you in on what we’re planning. We’re all pushing as hard as we can to start this up as soon as possible."
We'll keep you in the know. For more details on Starbound, check out my interview with the developers.